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tition of his uncouth name), as soon as he should return from Hamoa. He had, indeed, brought two wives with him, natives of that place, but, finding that his friends at home had not been unmindful of him in this particular, he resolved to marry these young maidens also: and, partly to please his own humour, and partly to afford a little amusement to the Hapai people, he resolved, also, that the ceremony should be performed, for the most part, after the manner of the Navigator's islands.

On the morning of the day of marriage, which was about a week after the arrival of the prince, most of the lower class of the people were employed in bringing from different parts of the island, yams, ripe plantains, and bananas; cocoa-nuts, bread-fruit, fish, and cakes*. These were piled up on the marly in four large heaps, with a baked pig on the top of each. The people assembled on the spot, dressed up in new garments, ornamented with wreaths of flowers, and with red ribbands made of the fine membrane of the leaf of the lo aców, much resembling silk their persons were anointed with sweet-scented oil.

• These cakes are made of flour prepared from the Mahoá root (see the Dictionary), mixed up with scraped cocoanut into a paste, and baked. They are considered a luxury. VOL. I.

M

The spectators seated themselves in two sections of a circle, one beginning from the right, the other from the left hand of Finow and his matabooles; at their terminations stood the Hapai people on the one side, and the newcomers (most of them Hapai people also), on the other, so as to be opposite to each other, both parties being furnished with clubs made of the green branches of the cocoa-nut tree. The prince, who was also armed with a club, stood up among his Hamoa companions.

The two brides were now conducted by their female attendants from the house of Finow (near the marly). They were dressed in the finest Hamoa mats*, but not in such profusion as described in Tooitonga's marriage, and were veiled in the finest gnatoo. They were led into the house on the marly, and seated on bales also of the finest gnatoo. Here their feet, hands, faces, and breasts, were anointed with a mixture of sandal-wood oil, and the purest turmeric, producing a deep orange tint on their skins. They remained seated in this place, to be spectators of the

*These mats are made entirely by hand, and, when very fine and large, occupy two years making; this renders them exceedingly valuable. They are so exquisitely manufac tured, that one would suppose them to be woven by a loom.

combat that was about to ensue between the inhabitants of Hapai and their friends from Hamoa.

The two parties being ready, the challenges were given in the following way: a man from one side runs over to the opposite party and sits down before it; he then demands if any one will engage with him: the person who chooses to accept the challenge, comes forward brandishing his club, when the two combatants proceed to the middle of the circle, each attended by one from his own party to assist as second. They next determine whether they shall fight after the Tonga or Hamoa fashion; the difference of which is, that the Hamoa custom allows a man to beat his antagonist after he is knocked down, as long as he perceives signs of motion: the Tonga mode, on the contrary, only allows him to flourish his club over his fallen foe, and the fight is at an end. This point being agreed on, the two champions for the applause of the multitude begin to engage. When they have finished, another party comes on in the same way. Sometimes there are three or four sets of combatants engaged at the same time. When a man gains a victory, his own party gives a shout of approbation, wo wo, a ma to, i oi,

i, oi*; the champion then advances towards the chief who presides at the head of the circle (in this instance the king), sits down before him, out of respect, then rises immediately, and returns to his own party.

Such was the mode in which these clubfights were conducted: the prince engaged in several of them, and performed great feats of bravery: he fought no less than fourteen or fifteen battles, and always came off victorious.

The fighting with clubs being over, at a sig. nal from Finow, the boxing and wrestling matches commenced. As their performances in these ways have been so accurately described by Captain Cook, it would be unnecessary to enter here into a detail.

These feats being over, the prince and his chiefs retired to the neighbouring houses to dress their heads with a sort of turban, made of white gnatoo, ornamented with small red feathers. Thus equipped, they returned to the

The words of this exclamation have, separately, no particular meaning in respect to the pronunciation, the o in wo must be dwelt on at least five seconds; the a is to be sounded as in ab! tar, &c. the i as e in he, we, &c.: the whole is given in a sort of recitative, and very slowly.-N. B. when an e occurs in the Tonga language, it must be pronounced like a in date, late, &c. For farther particulars on the subject of pronunciation, see the grammar.

marly', when the chiefs sat down again among their own party, and the prince went up to his two brides, who were still sitting in the house, raised them up, one by each hand, and led them forth upon the marly amid the acclamations of the people, who clapped their hands, whilst the matabooles exclaimed, malíe! malíe! (well done! well done!). The young chiefs and their companions from Hamoa, sung the following song, beating time with their hands: it is in the language of the Navigator's islands, and Mr. Mariner does not understand the meaning of it; he was so much in the habit of hearing the Tonga people sing in that language, which they affect to admire, though very few understand what they sing, that he neglected to enquire the meaning of this song; but the words, or rather the syllables (for it is hard to say whether they are divided quite right), he remembers perfectly well, as many of the people went about all the following night singing it, according to the custom at Hamoa: the song is as follows:

Láfe láfe é, láfe láfe é,

Láfe láfe é chiniláu;

Chi a my′ ta tó.

Oóa láo fía tála ou.

Móegnagnóngo é, Móegnagnóngo é;

Toobó mo Laképa é, Toobó mó Laképa é.

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