prompt:
Chapter: NOTHING can be more uniform and undiversified than the life of the
Typees; one tranquil day of ease and happiness follows another in quiet
succession; and with these unsophisicated savages the history of a
day is the history of a life. I will, therefore, as briefly as I can,
describe one of our days in the valley.

To begin with the morning. We were not very early risers--the sun would
be shooting his golden spikes above the Happar mountain, ere I threw
aside my tappa robe, and girding my long tunic about my waist, sallied
out with Fayaway and Kory-Kory, and the rest of the household, and bent
my steps towards the stream. Here we found congregated all those who
dwelt in our section of the valley; and here we bathed with them. The
fresh morning air and the cool flowing waters put both soul and body in
a glow, and after a half-hour employed in this recreation, we sauntered
back to the house--Tinor and Marheyo gathering dry sticks by the way
for fire-wood; some of the young men laying the cocoanut trees under
contribution as they passed beneath them; while Kory-Kory played his
outlandish pranks for my particular diversion, and Fayaway and I, not
arm in arm to be sure, but sometimes hand in hand, strolled along, with
feelings of perfect charity for all the world, and especial good-will
towards each other.

Our morning meal was soon prepared. The islanders are somewhat
abstemious at this repast; reserving the more powerful efforts of
their appetite to a later period of the day. For my own part, with the
assistance of my valet, who, as I have before stated, always officiated
as spoon on these occasions, I ate sparingly from one of Tinor's
trenchers, of poee-poee; which was devoted exclusively for my own use,
being mixed with the milky meat of ripe cocoanut. A section of a roasted
bread-fruit, a small cake of 'Amar', or a mess of 'Cokoo,' two or three
bananas, or a mammee-apple; an annuee, or some other agreeable and
nutritious fruit served from day to day to diversify the meal, which was
finished by tossing off the liquid contents of a young cocoanut or two.

While partaking of this simple repast, the inmates of Marheyo's house,
after the style of the ancient Romans, reclined in sociable groups upon
the divan of mats, and digestion was promoted by cheerful conversation.

After the morning meal was concluded, pipes were lighted; and among them
my own especial pipe, a present from the noble Mehevi.

The islanders, who only smoke a whiff or two at a time, and at long
intervals, and who keep their pipes going from hand to hand continually,
regarded my systematic smoking of four or five pipefuls of tobacco in
succession, as something quite wonderful. When two or three pipes had
circulated freely, the company gradually broke up. Marheyo went to the
little hut he was forever building. Tinor began to inspect her rolls of
tappa, or employed her busy fingers in plaiting grass-mats. The girls
anointed themselves with their fragrant oils, dressed their hair, or
looked over their curious finery, and compared together their ivory
trinkets, fashioned out of boar's tusks or whale's teeth. The young men
and warriors produced their spears, paddles, canoe-gear, battle-clubs,
and war-conchs, and occupied themselves in carving, all sorts of figures
upon them with pointed bits of shell or flint, and adorning them,
especially the war-conchs, with tassels of braided bark and tufts of
human hair. Some, immediately after eating, threw themselves once more
upon the inviting mats, and resumed the employment of the previous
night, sleeping as soundly as if they had not closed their eyes for a
week. Others sallied out into the groves, for the purpose of gathering
fruit or fibres of bark and leaves; the last two being in constant
requisition, and applied to a hundred uses. A few, perhaps, among the
girls, would slip into the woods after flowers, or repair to the stream
will; small calabashes and cocoanut shells, in order to polish them
by friction with a smooth stone in the water. In truth these innocent
people seemed to be at no loss for something to occupy their time; and
it would be no light task to enumerate all their employments, or rather
pleasures.

My own mornings I spent in a variety of ways. Sometimes I rambled about
from house to house, sure of receiving a cordial welcome wherever I
went; or from grove to grove, and from one shady place to another, in
company with Kory-Kory and Fayaway, and a rabble rout of merry young
idlers. Sometimes I was too indolent for exercise, and accepting one of
the many invitations I was continually receiving, stretched myself out
on the mats of some hospitable dwelling, and occupied myself pleasantly
either in watching the proceedings of those around me or taking part
in them myself. Whenever I chose to do the latter, the delight of the
islanders was boundless; and there was always a throng of competitors
for the honour of instructing me in any particular craft. I soon became
quite an accomplished hand at making tappa--could braid a grass sling as
well as the best of them--and once, with my knife, carved the handle of
a javelin so exquisitely, that I have no doubt, to this day, Karnoonoo,
its owner, preserves it as a surprising specimen of my skill. As noon
approached, all those who had wandered forth from our habitation, began
to return; and when midday was fairly come scarcely a sound was to be
heard in the valley: a deep sleep fell upon all. The luxurious siesta
was hardly ever omitted, except by old Marheyo, who was so eccentric
a character, that he seemed to be governed by no fixed principles
whatever; but acting just according to the humour of the moment,
slept, ate, or tinkered away at his little hut, without regard to the
proprieties of time or place. Frequently he might have been seen taking
a nap in the sun at noon-day, or a bath in the stream of mid-night.
Once I beheld him perched eighty feet from the ground, in the tuft of a
cocoanut tree, smoking; and often I saw him standing up to the waist
in water, engaged in plucking out the stray hairs of his beard, using a
piece of muscle-shell for tweezers.

The noon-tide slumber lasted generally an hour and a half: very often
longer; and after the sleepers had arisen from their mats they again
had recourse to their pipes, and then made preparations for the most
important meal of the day.

I, however, like those gentlemen of leisure who breakfast at home and
dine at their club, almost invariably, during my intervals of health,
enjoyed the afternoon repast with the bachelor chiefs of the Ti, who
were always rejoiced to see me, and lavishly spread before me all the
good things which their larder afforded. Mehevi generally introduced
among other dainties a baked pig, an article which I have every reason
to suppose was provided for my sole gratification.

The Ti was a right jovial place. It did my heart, as well as my body,
good to visit it. Secure from female intrusion, there was no restraint
upon the hilarity of the warriors, who, like the gentlemen of Europe
after the cloth is drawn and the ladies retire, freely indulged their
mirth.

After spending a considerable portion of the afternoon at the Ti, I
usually found myself, as the cool of the evening came on, either sailing
on the little lake with Fayaway, or bathing in the waters of the
stream with a number of the savages, who, at this hour, always repaired
thither. As the shadows of night approached Marheyo's household were
once more assembled under his roof: tapers were lit, long curious chants
were raised, interminable stories were told (for which one present was
little the wiser), and all sorts of social festivities served to while
away the time.

The young girls very often danced by moonlight in front of their
dwellings. There are a great variety of these dances, in which, however,
I never saw the men take part. They all consist of active, romping,
mischievous evolutions, in which every limb is brought into requisition.
Indeed, the Marquesan girls dance all over, as it were; not only do
their feet dance, but their arms, hands, fingers, ay, their very eyes,
seem to dance in their heads.

The damsels wear nothing but flowers and their compendious gala tunics;
and when they plume themselves for the dance, they look like a band of
olive-coloured Sylphides on the point of taking wing. In good sooth,
they so sway their floating forms, arch their necks, toss aloft their
naked arms, and glide, and swim, and whirl, that it was almost too much
for a quiet, sober-minded, modest young man like myself.

Unless some particular festivity was going forward, the inmates of
Marheyo's house retired to their mats rather early in the evening; but
not for the night, since, after slumbering lightly for a while, they
rose again, relit their tapers, partook of the third and last meal of
the day, at which poee-poee alone was eaten, and then, after inhaling a
narcotic whiff from a pipe of tobacco, disposed themselves for the great
business of night, sleep. With the Marquesans it might almost most be
styled the great business of life, for they pass a large portion
of their time in the arms of Somnus. The native strength of their
constitution is no way shown more emphatically than in the quantity of
sleep they can endure. To many of them, indeed, life is little else than
an often interrupted and luxurious nap.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: In order to best describe Typee life, the narrator profiles a typical day. Usually, they wake late, after the sun is up. Then they rise and bathe in a nearby refreshing stream. A light breakfast is enjoyed and then pipes are smoked. After breakfast, people tend to whatever they like. Tinor inspects her cloth and food supplies; Marheyo works on his hut; the girls adorn their hair and skin with oils. The narrator usually wanders with Kory-Kory or else sits inside. Then they enjoy a midday nap. Usually in the afternoon, the narrator goes to the Ti, where Mehevi and the other chiefs gather. Since women are not allowed in the Ti, it resembles a happy bachelor pad where the best food can be found and where the men sit around smoking and talking. After night falls, a light evening meal of "poee-poee," cooked breadfruit, is eaten. Native girls often dance around their huts under the moonlight. Everyone then sleeps. In general, life with the Typees resembles a continual gentle slumber, with activities in between


prompt:
Chapter: ALMOST every country has its medicinal springs famed for their healing
virtues. The Cheltenham of Typee is embosomed in the deepest solitude,
and but seldom receives a visitor. It is situated remote from any
dwelling, a little way up the mountain, near the head of the valley; and
you approach it by a pathway shaded by the most beautiful foliage, and
adorned with a thousand fragrant plants. The mineral waters of Arva Wai*
ooze forth from the crevices of a rock, and gliding down its mossy side,
fall at last, in many clustering drops, into a natural basin of stone
fringed round with grass and dewy-looking little violet-coloured
flowers, as fresh and beautiful as the perpetual moisture they enjoy can
make them.

*I presume this might be translated into 'Strong Waters'. Arva is the
name bestowed upon a root the properties of which are both inebriating
and medicinal. 'Wai' is the Marquesan word for water.

The water is held in high estimation by the islanders, some of whom
consider it an agreeable as well as a medicinal beverage; they bring it
from the mountain in their calabashes, and store it away beneath heaps
of leaves in some shady nook near the house. Old Marheyo had a great
love for the waters of the spring. Every now and then he lugged off to
the mountain a great round demijohn of a calabash, and, panting with his
exertions, brought it back filled with his darling fluid.

The water tasted like a solution of a dozen disagreeable things, and was
sufficiently nauseous to have made the fortune of the proprietor, had
the spa been situated in the midst of any civilized community.

As I am no chemist, I cannot give a scientific analysis of the water.
All I know about the matter is, that one day Marheyo in my presence
poured out the last drop from his huge calabash, and I observed at the
bottom of the vessel a small quantity of gravelly sediment very much
resembling our common sand. Whether this is always found in the water,
and gives it its peculiar flavour and virtues, or whether its presence
was merely incidental, I was not able to ascertain.

One day in returning from this spring by a circuitous path, I came upon
a scene which reminded me of Stonehenge and the architectural labours of
the Druids.

At the base of one of the mountains, and surrounded on all sides by
dense groves, a series of vast terraces of stone rises, step by step,
for a considerable distance up the hill side. These terraces cannot
be less than one hundred yards in length and twenty in width. Their
magnitude, however, is less striking than the immense size of the blocks
composing them. Some of the stones, of an oblong shape, are from ten
to fifteen feet in length, and five or six feet thick. Their sides are
quite smooth, but though square, and of pretty regular formation, they
bear no mark of the chisel. They are laid together without cement, and
here and there show gaps between. The topmost terrace and the lower
one are somewhat peculiar in their construction. They have both a
quadrangular depression in the centre, leaving the rest of the terrace
elevated several feet above it. In the intervals of the stones immense
trees have taken root, and their broad boughs stretching far over, and
interlacing together, support a canopy almost impenetrable to the sun.
Overgrowing the greater part of them, and climbing from one to another,
is a wilderness of vines, in whose sinewy embrace many of the stones
lie half-hidden, while in some places a thick growth of bushes entirely
covers them. There is a wild pathway which obliquely crosses two of
these terraces; and so profound is the shade, so dense the vegetation,
that a stranger to the place might pass along it without being aware of
their existence.

These structures bear every indication of a very high antiquity and
Kory-Kory, who was my authority in all matters of scientific research,
gave me to understand that they were coeval with the creation of the
world; that the great gods themselves were the builders; and that they
would endure until time shall be no more.

Kory-Kory's prompt explanation and his attributing the work to a
divine origin, at once convinced me that neither he nor the rest of his
country-men knew anything about them.

As I gazed upon this monument, doubtless the work of an extinct and
forgotten race, thus buried in the green nook of an island at the ends
of the earth, the existence of which was yesterday unknown, a stronger
feeling of awe came over me than if I had stood musing at the mighty
base of the Pyramid of Cheops. There are no inscriptions, no sculpture,
no clue, by which to conjecture its history; nothing but the dumb
stones. How many generations of the majestic trees which overshadow them
have grown and flourished and decayed since first they were erected!

These remains naturally suggest many interesting reflections. They
establish the great age of the island, an opinion which the builders
of theories concerning, the creation of the various groups in the South
Seas are not always inclined to admit. For my own part, I think it
just as probable that human beings were living in the valleys of the
Marquesas three thousand years ago as that they were inhabiting the land
of Egypt. The origin of the island of Nukuheva cannot be imputed to the
coral insect; for indefatigable as that wonderful creature is, it would
be hardly muscular enough to pile rocks one upon the other more than
three thousand feet above the level of the sea. That the land may have
been thrown up by a submarine volcano is as possible as anything else.
No one can make an affidavit to the contrary, and therefore I still say
nothing against the supposition: indeed, were geologists to assert that
the whole continent of America had in like manner been formed by the
simultaneous explosion of a train of Etnas laid under the water all the
way from the North Pole to the parallel of Cape Horn, I am the last man
in the world to contradict them.

I have already mentioned that the dwellings of the islanders were almost
invariably built upon massive stone foundations, which they call pi-pis.
The dimensions of these, however, as well as of the stones composing
them, are comparatively small: but there are other and larger erections
of a similar description comprising the 'morais', or burying grounds,
and festival-places, in nearly all the valleys of the island. Some of
these piles are so extensive, and so great a degree of labour and skill
must have been requisite in constructing them, that I can scarcely
believe they were built by the ancestors of the present inhabitants. If
indeed they were, the race has sadly deteriorated in their knowledge of
the mechanic arts. To say nothing of their habitual indolence, by what
contrivance within the reach of so simple a people could such enormous
masses have been moved or fixed in their places? and how could they with
their rude implements have chiselled and hammered them into shape?

All of these larger pi-pis--like that of the Hoolah Hoolah ground in the
Typee valley--bore incontestible marks of great age; and I am disposed
to believe that their erection may be ascribed to the same race of men
who were the builders of the still more ancient remains I have just
described.

According to Kory-Kory's account, the pi-pi upon which stands the Hoolah
Hoolah ground was built a great many moons ago, under the direction of
Monoo, a great chief and warrior, and, as it would appear, master-mason
among the Typees. It was erected for the express purpose to which it is
at present devoted, in the incredibly short period of one sun; and was
dedicated to the immortal wooden idols by a grand festival, which lasted
ten days and nights.

Among the smaller pi-pis, upon which stand the dwelling-houses of the
natives, I never observed any which intimated a recent erection. There
are in every part of the valley a great many of these massive stone
foundations which have no houses upon them. This is vastly convenient,
for whenever an enterprising islander chooses to emigrate a few hundred
yards from the place where he was born, all he has to do in order to
establish himself in some new locality, is to select one of the many
unappropriated pi-pis, and without further ceremony pitch his bamboo
tent upon it.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: The valley also contains a medicinal spring far from any dwelling. It is called "Arva Wai" which means "strong waters. The narrator thinks that it tastes unpleasant, although Marheyo frequently drinks it. Near the spring stand large, finely constructed terraces of stone, apparently having once been arranged by the ancient island dwellers. The narrator feels certain that men have lived on the island for thousands of years and that they once arranged these stone terraces for the purposes of religion


prompt:
Chapter: FROM the time that my lameness had decreased I had made a daily practice
of visiting Mehevi at the Ti, who invariably gave me a most cordial
reception. I was always accompanied in these excursions by Fayaway
and the ever-present Kory-Kory. The former, as soon as we reached the
vicinity of the Ti--which was rigorously tabooed to the whole female
sex--withdrew to a neighbouring hut, as if her feminine delicacy
'restricted' her from approaching a habitation which might be regarded
as a sort of Bachelor's Hall.

And in good truth it might well have been so considered. Although it
was the permanent residence of several distinguished chiefs, and of
the noble Mehevi in particular, it was still at certain seasons the
favourite haunt of all the jolly, talkative, and elderly savages of
the vale, who resorted thither in the same way that similar characters
frequent a tavern in civilized countries. There they would remain hour
after hour, chatting, smoking, eating poee-poee, or busily engaged in
sleeping for the good of their constitutions.

This building appeared to be the head-quarters of the valley, where all
flying rumours concentrated; and to have seen it filled with a crowd
of the natives, all males, conversing in animated clusters, while
multitudes were continually coming and going, one would have thought it
a kind of savage Exchange, where the rise and fall of Polynesian Stock
was discussed.

Mehevi acted as supreme lord over the place, spending the greater
portion of his time there: and often when, at particular hours of the
day, it was deserted by nearly every one else except the verd-antique
looking centenarians, who were fixtures in the building, the chief
himself was sure to be found enjoying his 'otium cum dignitate'--upon
the luxurious mats which covered the floor. Whenever I made my
appearance he invariably rose, and like a gentleman doing the honours of
his mansion, invited me to repose myself wherever I pleased, and calling
out 'tamaree!' (boy), a little fellow would appear, and then retiring
for an instant, return with some savoury mess, from which the chief
would press me to regale myself. To tell the truth, Mehevi was indebted
to the excellence of his viands for the honour of my repeated visits--a
matter which cannot appear singular, when it is borne in mind that
bachelors, all the world over, are famous for serving up unexceptionable
repasts.

One day, on drawing near to the Ti, I observed that extensive
preparations were going forward, plainly betokening some approaching
festival. Some of the symptoms reminded me of the stir produced among
the scullions of a large hotel, where a grand jubilee dinner is about to
be given. The natives were hurrying about hither and thither, engaged in
various duties, some lugging off to the stream enormous hollow
bamboos, for the purpose of filling them with water; others chasing
furious-looking hogs through the bushes, in their endeavours to capture
them; and numbers employed in kneading great mountains of poee-poee
heaped up in huge wooden vessels.

After observing these lively indications for a while, I was attracted to
a neighbouring grove by a prodigious squeaking which I heard there. On
reaching the spot I found it proceeded from a large hog which a number
of natives were forcibly holding to the earth, while a muscular fellow,
armed with a bludgeon, was ineffectually aiming murderous blows at the
skull of the unfortunate porker. Again and again he missed his
writhing and struggling victim, but though puffing and panting with
his exertions, he still continued them; and after striking a sufficient
number of blows to have demolished an entire drove of oxen, with one
crashing stroke he laid him dead at his feet.

Without letting any blood from the body, it was immediately carried to a
fire which had been kindled near at hand and four savages taking hold of
the carcass by its legs, passed it rapidly to and fro in the flames.
In a moment the smell of burning bristles betrayed the object of this
procedure. Having got thus far in the matter, the body was removed to a
little distance and, being disembowelled, the entrails were laid aside
as choice parts, and the whole carcass thoroughly washed with water. An
ample thick green cloth, composed of the long thick leaves of a species
of palm-tree, ingeniously tacked together with little pins of bamboo,
was now spread upon the ground, in which the body being carefully
rolled, it was borne to an oven previously prepared to receive it. Here
it was at once laid upon the heated stones at the bottom, and covered
with thick layers of leaves, the whole being quickly hidden from sight
by a mound of earth raised over it.

Such is the summary style in which the Typees convert perverse-minded
and rebellious hogs into the most docile and amiable pork; a morsel
of which placed on the tongue melts like a soft smile from the lips of
Beauty.

I commend their peculiar mode of proceeding to the consideration of all
butchers, cooks, and housewives. The hapless porker whose fate I have
just rehearsed, was not the only one who suffered in that memorable day.
Many a dismal grunt, many an imploring squeak, proclaimed what was going
on throughout the whole extent of the valley; and I verily believe the
first-born of every litter perished before the setting of that fatal
sun.

The scene around the Ti was now most animated. Hogs and poee-poee were
baking in numerous ovens, which, heaped up with fresh earth into slight
elevations, looked like so many ant-hills. Scores of the savages were
vigorously plying their stone pestles in preparing masses of poee-poee,
and numbers were gathering green bread-fruit and young cocoanuts in the
surrounding groves; when an exceeding great multitude, with a view of
encouraging the rest in their labours, stood still, and kept shouting
most lustily without intermission.

It is a peculiarity among these people, that, when engaged in an
employment, they always make a prodigious fuss about it. So seldom do
they ever exert themselves, that when they do work they seem determined
that so meritorious an action shall not escape the observation of those
around if, for example, they have occasion to remove a stone to a little
distance, which perhaps might be carried by two able-bodied men, a whole
swarm gather about it, and, after a vast deal of palavering, lift it
up among them, every one struggling to get hold of it, and bear it off
yelling and panting as if accomplishing some mighty achievement. Seeing
them on these occasions, one is reminded of an infinity of black ants
clustering about and dragging away to some hole the leg of a deceased
fly.

Having for some time attentively observed these demonstrations of good
cheer, I entered the Ti, where Mehevi sat complacently looking out upon
the busy scene, and occasionally issuing his orders. The chief appeared
to be in an extraordinary flow of spirits and gave me to understand that
on the morrow there would be grand doings in the Groves generally, and
at the Ti in particular; and urged me by no means to absent myself. In
commemoration of what event, however, or in honour of what
distinguished personage, the feast was to be given, altogether passed my
comprehension. Mehevi sought to enlighten my ignorance, but he failed as
signally as when he had endeavoured to initiate me into the perplexing
arcana of the taboo.

On leaving the Ti, Kory-Kory, who had as a matter of course accompanied
me, observing that my curiosity remained unabated, resolved to make
everything plain and satisfactory. With this intent, he escorted
me through the Taboo Groves, pointing out to my notice a variety of
objects, and endeavoured to explain them in such an indescribable jargon
of words, that it almost put me in bodily pain to listen to him. In
particular, he led me to a remarkable pyramidical structure some three
yards square at the base, and perhaps ten feet in height, which had
lately been thrown up, and occupied a very conspicuous position. It
was composed principally of large empty calabashes, with a few polished
cocoanut shells, and looked not unlike a cenotaph of skulls. My cicerone
perceived the astonishment with which I gazed at this monument of savage
crockery, and immediately addressed himself in the task of enlightening
me: but all in vain; and to this hour the nature of the monument remains
a complete mystery to me. As, however, it formed so prominent a feature
in the approaching revels, I bestowed upon the latter, in my own mind,
the title of the 'Feast of Calabashes'.

The following morning, awaking rather late, I perceived the whole of
Marheyo's family busily engaged in preparing for the festival.

The old warrior himself was arranging in round balls the two grey locks
of hair that were suffered to grow from the crown of his head; his
earrings and spear, both well polished, lay beside him, while the highly
decorative pair of shoes hung suspended from a projecting cane against
the side of the house. The young men were similarly employed; and the
fair damsels, including Fayaway, were anointing themselves with 'aka',
arranging their long tresses, and performing other matters connected
with the duties of the toilet.

Having completed their preparations, the girls now exhibited themselves
in gala costume; the most conspicuous feature of which was a necklace
of beautiful white flowers, with the stems removed, and strung closely
together upon a single fibre of tappa. Corresponding ornaments were
inserted in their ears, and woven garlands upon their heads. About their
waist they wore a short tunic of spotless white tappa, and some of them
super-added to this a mantle of the same material, tied in an elaborate
bow upon the left shoulder, and falling about the figure in picturesque
folds.

Thus arrayed, I would have matched the charming Fayaway against any
beauty in the world.

People may say what they will about the taste evinced by our fashionable
ladies in dress. Their jewels, their feathers, their silks, and
their furbelows, would have sunk into utter insignificance beside the
exquisite simplicity of attire adopted by the nymphs of the vale on this
festive occasion. I should like to have seen a gallery of coronation
beauties, at Westminster Abbey, confronted for a moment by this band of
island girls; their stiffness, formality, and affectation, contrasted
with the artless vivacity and unconcealed natural graces of these savage
maidens. It would be the Venus de' Medici placed beside a milliner's
doll. It was not long before Kory-Kory and myself were left alone in the
house, the rest of its inmates having departed for the Taboo Groves.
My valet was all impatience to follow them; and was as fidgety about my
dilatory movements as a diner out waiting hat in hand at the bottom
of the stairs for some lagging companion. At last, yielding to his
importunities, I set out for the Ti. As we passed the houses peeping out
from the groves through which our route lay, I noticed that they were
entirely deserted by their inhabitants.

When we reached the rock that abruptly terminated the path, and
concealed from us the festive scene, wild shouts and a confused blending
of voices assured me that the occasion, whatever it might be, had
drawn together a great multitude. Kory-Kory, previous to mounting the
elevation, paused for a moment, like a dandy at a ball-room door, to put
a hasty finish to his toilet. During this short interval, the thought
struck me that I ought myself perhaps to be taking some little pains
with my appearance.

But as I had no holiday raiment, I was not a little puzzled to devise
some means of decorating myself. However, as I felt desirous to create a
sensation, I determined to do all that lay in my power; and knowing that
I could not delight the savages more than by conforming to their style
of dress, I removed from my person the large robe of tappa which I was
accustomed to wear over my shoulders whenever I sallied into the open
air, and remained merely girt about with a short tunic descending from
my waist to my knees.

My quick-witted attendant fully appreciated the compliment I was paying
to the costume of his race, and began more sedulously to arrange the
folds of the one only garment which remained to me. Whilst he was doing
this, I caught sight of a knot of young lasses, who were sitting near us
on the grass surrounded by heaps of flowers which they were forming into
garlands. I motioned to them to bring some of their handywork to me;
and in an instant a dozen wreaths were at my disposal. One of them I
put round the apology for a hat which I had been forced to construct for
myself out of palmetto-leaves, and some of the others I converted into a
splendid girdle. These operations finished, with the slow and dignified
step of a full-dressed beau I ascended the rock.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: Tommo visits the Ti everyday to spend time with Mehevi, since the Ti is one of the best places to be for good conversation and the best food. One day, Tommo senses great commotion around the Ti and learns that a large festival will take place on the following day. Pigs are being caught to be roasted and many calabashes of poee-poee are being prepared. After asking for the meaning of the festival, Kory-Kory takes him to the Taboo grove and points out a large pyramidal structure that has been made of calabashes and empty coconut shells. Tommo still does not understand the meaning of the festival, but he decides to call it the "Feast of the Calabashes. The following day everyone dresses in his or her finest attire. To honor the holiday, Tommo too dresses in a Typee style costume of white tappa and adorns himself with flowers


prompt:
Chapter: THE whole population of the valley seemed to be gathered within the
precincts of the grove. In the distance could be seen the long front of
the Ti, its immense piazza swarming with men, arrayed in every variety
of fantastic costume, and all vociferating with animated gestures; while
the whole interval between it and the place where I stood was enlivened
by groups of females fancifully decorated, dancing, capering, and
uttering wild exclamations. As soon as they descried me they set up a
shout of welcome; and a band of them came dancing towards me, chanting
as they approached some wild recitative. The change in my garb seemed to
transport them with delight, and clustering about me on all sides, they
accompanied me towards the Ti. When however we drew near it these joyous
nymphs paused in their career, and parting on either side, permitted me
to pass on to the now densely thronged building.

So soon as I mounted to the pi-pi I saw at a glance that the revels were
fairly under way.

What lavish plenty reigned around?--Warwick feasting his retainers with
beef and ale, was a niggard to the noble Mehevi!--All along the piazza
of the Ti were arranged elaborately carved canoe-shaped vessels, some
twenty feet in length, tied with newly made poee-poee, and sheltered
from the sun by the broad leaves of the banana. At intervals were heaps
of green bread-fruit, raised in pyramidical stacks, resembling the
regular piles of heavy shot to be seen in the yard of an arsenal.
Inserted into the interstices of the huge stones which formed the pi-pi
were large boughs of trees; hanging from the branches of which, and
screened from the sun by their foliage, were innumerable little packages
with leafy coverings, containing the meat of the numerous hogs which
had been slain, done up in this manner to make it more accessible to the
crowd. Leaning against the railing on the piazza were an immense
number of long, heavy bamboos, plugged at the lower end, and with their
projecting muzzles stuffed with a wad of leaves. These were filled with
water from the stream, and each of them might hold from four to five
gallons.

The banquet being thus spread, naught remained but for everyone to
help himself at his pleasure. Accordingly not a moment passed but the
transplanted boughs I have mentioned were rifled by the throng of the
fruit they certainly had never borne before. Calabashes of poee-poee
were continually being replenished from the extensive receptacle in
which that article was stored, and multitudes of little fires were
kindled about the Ti for the purpose of roasting the bread-fruit.

Within the building itself was presented a most extraordinary scene. The
immense lounge of mats lying between the parallel rows of the trunks of
cocoanut trees, and extending the entire length of the house, at least
two hundred feet, was covered by the reclining forms of a host of chiefs
and warriors who were eating at a great rate, or soothing the cares of
Polynesian life in the sedative fumes of tobacco. The smoke was inhaled
from large pipes, the bowls of which, made out of small cocoanut shells,
were curiously carved in strange heathenish devices. These were passed
from mouth to mouth by the recumbent smokers, each of whom, taking two
or three prodigious whiffs, handed the pipe to his neighbour; sometimes
for that purpose stretching indolently across the body of some dozing
individual whose exertions at the dinner-table had already induced
sleep.

The tobacco used among the Typees was of a very mild and pleasing
flavour, and as I always saw it in leaves, and the natives appeared
pretty well supplied with it, I was led to believe that it must have
been the growth of the valley. Indeed Kory-Kory gave me to understand
that this was the case; but I never saw a single plant growing on the
island. At Nukuheva, and, I believe, in all the other valleys, the weed
is very scarce, being only obtained in small quantities from foreigners,
and smoking is consequently with the inhabitants of these places a very
great luxury. How it was that the Typees were so well furnished with
it I cannot divine. I should think them too indolent to devote any
attention to its culture; and, indeed, as far as my observation
extended, not a single atom of the soil was under any other cultivation
than that of shower and sunshine. The tobacco-plant, however, like the
sugar-cane, may grow wild in some remote part of the vale.

There were many in the Ti for whom the tobacco did not furnish a
sufficient stimulus, and who accordingly had recourse to 'arva', as a
more powerful agent in producing the desired effect.

'Arva' is a root very generally dispersed over the South Seas, and from
it is extracted a juice, the effects of which upon the system are at
first stimulating in a moderate degree; but it soon relaxes the muscles,
and exerting a narcotic influence produces a luxurious sleep. In
the valley this beverage was universally prepared in the following
way:--Some half-dozen young boys seated themselves in a circle around
an empty wooden vessel, each one of them being supplied with a certain
quantity of the roots of the 'arva', broken into small bits and laid
by his side. A cocoanut goblet of water was passed around the juvenile
company, who rinsing their mouths with its contents, proceeded to the
business before them. This merely consisted in thoroughly masticating
the 'arva', and throwing it mouthful after mouthful into the receptacle
provided. When a sufficient quantity had been thus obtained water was
poured upon the mass, and being stirred about with the forefinger of the
right hand, the preparation was soon in readiness for use. The 'arva'
has medicinal qualities.

Upon the Sandwich Islands it has been employed with no small success in
the treatment of scrofulous affections, and in combating the ravages
of a disease for whose frightful inroads the ill-starred inhabitants of
that group are indebted to their foreign benefactors. But the tenants of
the Typee valley, as yet exempt from these inflictions, generally employ
the 'arva' as a minister to social enjoyment, and a calabash of the
liquid circulates among them as the bottle with us.

Mehevi, who was greatly delighted with the change in my costume, gave
me a cordial welcome. He had reserved for me a most delectable mess
of 'cokoo', well knowing my partiality for that dish; and had likewise
selected three or four young cocoanuts, several roasted bread-fruit,
and a magnificent bunch of bananas, for my especial comfort and
gratification. These various matters were at once placed before me; but
Kory-Kory deemed the banquet entirely insufficient for my wants until
he had supplied me with one of the leafy packages of pork, which,
notwithstanding the somewhat hasty manner in which it had been prepared,
possessed a most excellent flavour, and was surprisingly sweet and
tender.

Pork is not a staple article of food among the people of the Marquesas;
consequently they pay little attention to the BREEDING of the swine. The
hogs are permitted to roam at large on the groves, where they obtain
no small part of their nourishment from the cocoanuts which continually
fall from the trees. But it is only after infinite labour and
difficulty, that the hungry animal can pierce the husk and shell so as
to get at the meat. I have frequently been amused at seeing one of
them, after crunching the obstinate nut with his teeth for a long time
unsuccessfully, get into a violent passion with it. He would then root
furiously under the cocoanut, and, with a fling of his snout, toss it
before him on the ground. Following it up, he would crunch at it again
savagely for a moment, and then next knock it on one side, pausing
immediately after, as if wondering how it could so suddenly have
disappeared. In this way the persecuted cocoanuts were often chased half
across the valley.

The second day of the Feast of Calabashes was ushered in by still more
uproarious noises than the first. The skins of innumerable sheep seemed
to be resounding to the blows of an army of drummers. Startled from my
slumbers by the din, I leaped up, and found the whole household engaged
in making preparations for immediate departure. Curious to discover of
what strange events these novel sounds might be the precursors, and not
a little desirous to catch a sight of the instruments which produced
the terrific noise, I accompanied the natives as soon as they were in
readiness to depart for the Taboo Groves.

The comparatively open space that extended from the Ti toward the rock,
to which I have before alluded as forming the ascent to the place, was,
with the building itself, now altogether deserted by the men; the whole
distance being filled by bands of females, shouting and dancing under
the influence of some strange excitement.

I was amused at the appearance of four or five old women who, in a state
of utter nudity, with their arms extended flatly down their sides, and
holding themselves perfectly erect, were leaping stiffly into the
air, like so many sticks bobbing to the surface, after being pressed
perpendicularly into the water. They preserved the utmost gravity of
countenance, and continued their extraordinary movements without
a single moment's cessation. They did not appear to attract the
observation of the crowd around them, but I must candidly confess that
for my own part, I stared at them most pertinaciously.

Desirous of being enlightened in regard to the meaning of this peculiar
diversion, I turned, inquiringly to Kory-Kory; that learned Typee
immediately proceeded to explain the whole matter thoroughly. But all
that I could comprehend from what he said was, that the leaping figures
before me were bereaved widows, whose partners had been slain in battle
many moons previously; and who, at every festival, gave public evidence
in this manner of their calamities. It was evident that Kory-Kory
considered this an all-sufficient reason for so indecorous a custom; but
I must say that it did not satisfy me as to its propriety.

Leaving these afflicted females, we passed on to the Hoolah Hoolah
ground. Within the spacious quadrangle, the whole population of the
valley seemed to be assembled, and the sight presented was truly
remarkable. Beneath the sheds of bamboo which opened towards the
interior of the square reclined the principal chiefs and warriors, while
a miscellaneous throng lay at their ease under the enormous trees which
spread a majestic canopy overhead. Upon the terraces of the gigantic
altars, at each end, were deposited green bread-fruit in baskets of
cocoanut leaves, large rolls of tappa, bunches of ripe bananas, clusters
of mammee-apples, the golden-hued fruit of the artu-tree, and baked
hogs, laid out in large wooden trenchers, fancifully decorated with
freshly plucked leaves, whilst a variety of rude implements of war were
piled in confused heaps before the ranks of hideous idols. Fruits of
various kinds were likewise suspended in leafen baskets, from the tops
of poles planted uprightly, and at regular intervals, along the lower
terraces of both altars. At their base were arranged two parallel rows
of cumbersome drums, standing at least fifteen feet in height, and
formed from the hollow trunks of large trees. Their heads were covered
with shark skins, and their barrels were elaborately carved with various
quaint figures and devices. At regular intervals they were bound round
by a species of sinnate of various colours, and strips of native cloth
flattened upon them here and there. Behind these instruments were built
slight platforms, upon which stood a number of young men who, beating
violently with the palms of their hands upon the drum-heads, produced
those outrageous sounds which had awakened me in the morning. Every few
minutes these musical performers hopped down from their elevation into
the crowd below, and their places were immediately supplied by fresh
recruits. Thus an incessant din was kept up that might have startled
Pandemonium.

Precisely in the middle of the quadrangle were placed perpendicularly
in the ground, a hundred or more slender, fresh-cut poles, stripped of
their bark, and decorated at the end with a floating pennon of white
tappa; the whole being fenced about with a little picket of canes. For
what purpose these angular ornaments were intended I in vain endeavoured
to discover.

Another most striking feature of the performance was exhibited by a
score of old men, who sat cross-legged in the little pulpits, which
encircled the trunks of the immense trees growing in the middle of the
enclosure. These venerable gentlemen, who I presume were the priests,
kept up an uninterrupted monotonous chant, which was partly drowned in
the roar of drums. In the right hand they held a finely woven grass fan,
with a heavy black wooden handle curiously chased: these fans they kept
in continual motion.

But no attention whatever seemed to be paid to the drummers or to the
old priests; the individuals who composed the vast crowd present being
entirely taken up in chanting and laughing with one another, smoking,
drinking 'arva', and eating. For all the observation it attracted,
or the good it achieved, the whole savage orchestra might with great
advantage to its own members and the company in general, have ceased the
prodigious uproar they were making.

In vain I questioned Kory-Kory and others of the natives, as to the
meaning of the strange things that were going on; all their explanations
were conveyed in such a mass of outlandish gibberish and gesticulation
that I gave up the attempt in despair. All that day the drums resounded,
the priests chanted, and the multitude feasted and roared till sunset,
when the throng dispersed, and the Taboo Groves were again abandoned to
quiet and repose. The next day the same scene was repeated until night,
when this singular festival terminated.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: The whole population of the valley has gathered at Ti for the celebration. Poee- poee, green breadfruit, cooked pork, and fresh bananas abound and everyone eats their fill while smoking and drinking "arva," a local intoxicating brew. On the second day of the Feast, Tommo sees some wailing women and learns that they are mourning the loss of their husbands who have been slain in battle. Drumming takes place all day while priests chant monotonously over religious idols in the Hoolah Hoolah ground. The Feast continues the next day as well and ends at sunset. Tommo decides that European and American feasts pale in comparison to the Feast of the Calabashes.


prompt:
Chapter: ALTHOUGH I had been baffled in my attempts to learn the origin of
the Feast of Calabashes, yet it seemed very plain to me that it was
principally, if not wholly, of a religious character. As a religious
solemnity, however, it had not at all corresponded with the horrible
descriptions of Polynesian worship which we have received in some
published narratives, and especially in those accounts of the
evangelized islands with which the missionaries have favoured us. Did
not the sacred character of these persons render the purity of their
intentions unquestionable, I should certainly be led to suppose that
they had exaggerated the evils of Paganism, in order to enhance the
merit of their own disinterested labours.

In a certain work incidentally treating of the 'Washington, or Northern
Marquesas Islands,' I have seen the frequent immolation of human victims
upon the altars of their gods, positively and repeatedly charged upon
the inhabitants. The same work gives also a rather minute account of
their religion--enumerates a great many of their superstitions--and
makes known the particular designations of numerous orders of the
priesthood. One would almost imagine from the long list that is given
of cannibal primates, bishops, arch-deacons, prebendaries, and other
inferior ecclesiastics, that the sacerdotal order far outnumbered the
rest of the population, and that the poor natives were more severely
priest-ridden than even the inhabitants of the papal states. These
accounts are likewise calculated to leave upon the reader's mind an
impression that human victims are daily cooked and served up upon the
altars; that heathenish cruelties of every description are continually
practised; and that these ignorant Pagans are in a state of the
extremest wretchedness in consequence of the grossness of their
superstitions. Be it observed, however, that all this information is
given by a man who, according to his own statement, was only at one of
the islands, and remained there but two weeks, sleeping every night on
board his ship, and taking little kid-glove excursions ashore in the
daytime, attended by an armed party.

Now, all I can say is, that in all my excursions through the valley of
Typee, I never saw any of these alleged enormities. If any of them are
practised upon the Marquesas Islands they must certainly have come to
my knowledge while living for months with a tribe of savages, wholly
unchanged from their original primitive condition, and reputed the most
ferocious in the South Seas.

The fact is, that there is a vast deal of unintentional humbuggery
in some of the accounts we have from scientific men concerning the
religious institutions of Polynesia. These learned tourists generally
obtain the greater part of their information from retired old South-Sea
rovers, who have domesticated themselves among the barbarous tribes of
the Pacific. Jack, who has long been accustomed to the long-bow, and
to spin tough yarns on the ship's forecastle, invariably officiates as
showman of the island on which he has settled, and having mastered a few
dozen words of the language, is supposed to know all about the people
who speak it. A natural desire to make himself of consequence in the
eyes of the strangers, prompts him to lay claim to a much greater
knowledge of such matters than he actually possesses. In reply to
incessant queries, he communicates not only all he knows but a good deal
more, and if there be any information deficient still he is at no
loss to supply it. The avidity with which his anecdotes are noted
down tickles his vanity, and his powers of invention increase with the
credulity auditors. He knows just the sort of information wanted, and
furnishes it to any extent.

This is not a supposed case; I have met with several individuals like
the one described, and I have been present at two or three of their
interviews with strangers.

Now, when the scientific voyager arrives at home with his collection
of wonders, he attempts, perhaps, to give a description of some of the
strange people he has been visiting. Instead of representing them as
a community of lusty savages, who are leading a merry, idle, innocent
life, he enters into a very circumstantial and learned narrative of
certain unaccountable superstitions and practices, about which he knows
as little as the islanders themselves. Having had little time, and
scarcely any opportunity, to become acquainted with the customs he
pretends to describe, he writes them down one after another in an
off-hand, haphazard style; and were the book thus produced to be
translated into the tongue of the people of whom it purports to give the
history, it would appear quite as wonderful to them as it does to the
American public, and much more improbable.

For my own part, I am free to confess my almost entire inability to
gratify any curiosity that may be felt with regard to the theology of
the valley. I doubt whether the inhabitants themselves could do so. They
are either too lazy or too sensible to worry themselves about abstract
points of religious belief. While I was among them, they never held any
synods or councils to settle the principles of their faith by agitating
them. An unbounded liberty of conscience seemed to prevail. Those
who pleased to do so were allowed to repose implicit faith in an
ill-favoured god with a large bottle-nose and fat shapeless arms crossed
upon his breast; whilst others worshipped an image which, having no
likeness either in heaven or on earth, could hardly be called an idol.
As the islanders always maintained a discreet reserve with regard to
my own peculiar views on religion, I thought it would be excessively
ill-bred of me to pry into theirs.

But, although my knowledge of the religious faith of the Typees was
unavoidably limited, one of their superstitious observances with which I
became acquainted interested me greatly.

In one of the most secluded portions of the valley within a stone's
cast of Fayaway's lake--for so I christened the scene of our island
yachting--and hard by a growth of palms, which stood ranged in order
along both banks of the stream, waving their green arms as if to do
honour to its passage, was the mausoleum of a deceased, warrior chief.
Like all the other edifices of any note, it was raised upon a small
pi-pi of stones, which, being of unusual height, was a conspicuous
object from a distance. A light thatching of bleached palmetto-leaves
hung over it like a self supported canopy; for it was not until you
came very near that you saw it was supported by four slender columns of
bamboo rising at each corner to a little more than the height of a man.
A clear area of a few yards surrounded the pi-pi, and was enclosed by
four trunks of cocoanut trees resting at the angles on massive blocks of
stone. The place was sacred. The sign of the inscrutable Taboo was seen
in the shape of a mystic roll of white tappa, suspended by a twisted
cord of the same material from the top of a slight pole planted within
the enclosure*. The sanctity of the spot appeared never to have been
violated. The stillness of the grave was there, and the calm solitude
around was beautiful and touching. The soft shadows of those lofty
palm-trees!--I can see them now--hanging over the little temple, as if
to keep out the intrusive sun.

*White appears to be the sacred colour among the Marquesans.

On all sides as you approached this silent spot you caught sight of the
dead chief's effigy, seated in the stern of a canoe, which was raised on
a light frame a few inches above the level of the pi-pi. The canoe was
about seven feet in length; of a rich, dark coloured wood, handsomely
carved and adorned in many places with variegated bindings of stained
sinnate, into which were ingeniously wrought a number of sparkling
seashells, and a belt of the same shells ran all round it. The body
of the figure--of whatever material it might have been made--was
effectually concealed in a heavy robe of brown tappa, revealing; only
the hands and head; the latter skilfully carved in wood, and surmounted
by a superb arch of plumes. These plumes, in the subdued and gentle
gales which found access to this sequestered spot, were never for one
moment at rest, but kept nodding and waving over the chief's brow. The
long leaves of the palmetto drooped over the eaves, and through them you
saw the warrior holding his paddle with both hands in the act of rowing,
leaning forward and inclining his head, as if eager to hurry on his
voyage. Glaring at him forever, and face to face, was a polished human
skull, which crowned the prow of the canoe. The spectral figurehead,
reversed in its position, glancing backwards, seemed to mock the
impatient attitude of the warrior.

When I first visited this singular place with Kory-Kory, he told me--or
at least I so understood him--that the chief was paddling his way to
the realms of bliss, and bread-fruit--the Polynesian heaven--where
every moment the bread-fruit trees dropped their ripened spheres to the
ground, and where there was no end to the cocoanuts and bananas: there
they reposed through the livelong eternity upon mats much finer than
those of Typee; and every day bathed their glowing limbs in rivers
of cocoanut oil. In that happy land there were plenty of plumes and
feathers, and boars'-tusks and sperm-whale teeth, far preferable to all
the shining trinkets and gay tappa of the white men; and, best of all,
women far lovelier than the daughters of earth were there in abundance.
'A very pleasant place,' Kory-Kory said it was; 'but after all, not much
pleasanter, he thought, than Typee.' 'Did he not then,' I asked him,
'wish to accompany the warrior?' 'Oh no: he was very happy where he was;
but supposed that some time or other he would go in his own canoe.'

Thus far, I think, I clearly comprehended Kory-Kory. But there was a
singular expression he made use of at the time, enforced by as singular
a gesture, the meaning of which I would have given much to penetrate.
I am inclined to believe it must have been a proverb he uttered; for I
afterwards heard him repeat the same words several times, and in what
appeared to me to be a somewhat: similar sense. Indeed, Kory-Kory had
a great variety of short, smart-sounding sentences, with which he
frequently enlivened his discourse; and he introduced them with an air
which plainly intimated, that in his opinion, they settled the matter in
question, whatever it might be.

Could it have been then, that when I asked him whether he desired to go
to this heaven of bread-fruit, cocoanuts, and young ladies, which he had
been describing, he answered by saying something equivalent to our
old adage--'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush'?--if he did,
Kory-Kory was a discreet and sensible fellow, and I cannot sufficiently
admire his shrewdness.

Whenever, in the course of my rambles through the valley I happened to
be near the chief's mausoleum, I always turned aside to visit it. The
place had a peculiar charm for me; I hardly know why, but so it was. As
I leaned over the railing and gazed upon the strange effigy and watched
the play of the feathery head-dress, stirred by the same breeze which in
low tones breathed amidst the lofty palm-trees, I loved to yield myself
up to the fanciful superstition of the islanders, and could almost
believe that the grim warrior was bound heavenward. In this mood when
I turned to depart, I bade him 'God speed, and a pleasant voyage.' Aye,
paddle away, brave chieftain, to the land of spirits! To the material
eye thou makest but little progress; but with the eye of faith, I see
thy canoe cleaving the bright waves, which die away on those dimly
looming shores of Paradise.

This strange superstition affords another evidence of the fact, that
however ignorant man may be, he still feels within him his immortal
spirit yearning, after the unknown future.

Although the religious theories of the islands were a complete mystery
to me, their practical every-day operation could not be concealed. I
frequently passed the little temples reposing in the shadows of the
taboo groves and beheld the offerings--mouldy fruit spread out upon
a rude altar, or hanging in half-decayed baskets around some uncouth
jolly-looking image; I was present during the continuance of the
festival; I daily beheld the grinning idols marshalled rank and file in
the Hoolah Hoolah ground, and was often in the habit of meeting
those whom I supposed to be the priests. But the temples seemed to be
abandoned to solitude; the festival had been nothing more than a jovial
mingling of the tribe; the idols were quite harmless as any other logs
of wood; and the priests were the merriest dogs in the valley.

In fact religious affairs in Typee were at a very low ebb: all such
matters sat very lightly upon the thoughtless inhabitants; and, in the
celebration of many of their strange rites, they appeared merely to seek
a sort of childish amusement.

A curious evidence of this was given in a remarkable ceremony in which I
frequently saw Mehevi and several other chefs and warriors of note take
part; but never a single female.

Among those whom I looked upon as forming the priesthood of the valley,
there was one in particular who often attracted my notice, and whom
I could not help regarding as the head of the order. He was a noble
looking man, in the prime of his life, and of a most benignant aspect.
The authority this man, whose name was Kolory, seemed to exercise over
the rest, the episcopal part he took in the Feast of Calabashes, his
sleek and complacent appearance, the mystic characters which were
tattooed upon his chest, and above all the mitre he frequently wore,
in the shape of a towering head-dress, consisting of part of a cocoanut
branch, the stalk planted uprightly on his brow, and the leaflets
gathered together and passed round the temples and behind the ears, all
these pointed him out as Lord Primate of Typee. Kolory was a sort of
Knight Templar--a soldier-priest; for he often wore the dress of a
Marquesan warrior, and always carried a long spear, which, instead of
terminating in a paddle at the lower end, after the general fashion of
these weapons, was curved into a heathenish-looking little image. This
instrument, however, might perhaps have been emblematic of his double
functions. With one end in carnal combat he transfixed the enemies of
his tribe; and with the other as a pastoral crook he kept in order his
spiritual flock. But this is not all I have to say about Kolory.

His martial grace very often carried about with him what seemed to me
the half of a broken war-club. It was swathed round with ragged bits of
white tappa, and the upper part, which was intended to represent a
human head, was embellished with a strip of scarlet cloth of European
manufacture. It required little observation to discover that this
strange object was revered as a god. By the side of the big and lusty
images standing sentinel over the altars of the Hoolah Hoolah ground, it
seemed a mere pigmy in tatters. But appearances all the world over are
deceptive. Little men are sometimes very potent, and rags sometimes
cover very extensive pretensions. In fact, this funny little image was
the 'crack' god of the island; lording it over all the wooden lubbers
who looked so grim and dreadful; its name was Moa Artua*. And it was in
honour of Moa Artua, and for the entertainment of those who believe in
him, that the curious ceremony I am about to describe was observed.

*The word 'Artua', although having some other significations, is in
nearly all the Polynesian dialects used as the general designation of
the gods.

Mehevi and the chieftains of the Ti have just risen from their noontide
slumbers. There are no affairs of state to dispose of; and having eaten
two or three breakfasts in the course of the morning, the magnates of
the valley feel no appetite as yet for dinner. How are their leisure
moments to be occupied? They smoke, they chat, and at last one of their
number makes a proposition to the rest, who joyfully acquiescing, he
darts out of the house, leaps from the pi-pi, and disappears in the
grove. Soon you see him returning with Kolory, who bears the god Moa
Artua in his arms, and carries in one hand a small trough, hollowed out
in the likeness of a canoe. The priest comes along dandling his charge
as if it were a lachrymose infant he was endeavouring to put into a
good humour. Presently entering the Ti, he seats himself on the mats as
composedly as a juggler about to perform his sleight-of-hand tricks; and
with the chiefs disposed in a circle around him, commences his ceremony.
In the first place he gives Moa Artua an affectionate hug, then
caressingly lays him to his breast, and, finally, whispers something in
his ear; the rest of the company listening eagerly for a reply. But
the baby-god is deaf or dumb,--perhaps both, for never a word does, he
utter. At last Kolory speaks a little louder, and soon growing angry,
comes boldly out with what he has to say and bawls to him. He put me in
mind of a choleric fellow, who, after trying in vain to communicated a
secret to a deaf man, all at once flies into a passion and screams it
out so that every one may hear. Still Moa Artua remains as quiet as
ever; and Kolory, seemingly losing his temper, fetches him a box over
the head, strips him of his tappa and red cloth, and laying him in
a state of nudity in a little trough, covers him from sight. At this
proceeding all present loudly applaud and signify their approval by
uttering the adjective 'motarkee' with violent emphasis. Kolory however,
is so desirous his conduct should meet with unqualified approbation,
that he inquires of each individual separately whether under existing
circumstances he has not done perfectly right in shutting up Moa Artua.
The invariable response is 'Aa, Aa' (yes, yes), repeated over again
and again in a manner which ought to quiet the scruples of the most
conscientious. After a few moments Kolory brings forth his doll again,
and while arraying it very carefully in the tappa and red cloth,
alternately fondles and chides it. The toilet being completed, he once
more speaks to it aloud. The whole company hereupon show the greatest
interest; while the priest holding Moa Artua to his ear interprets to
them what he pretends the god is confidentially communicating to him.
Some items intelligence appear to tickle all present amazingly; for one
claps his hands in a rapture; another shouts with merriment; and a third
leaps to his feet and capers about like a madman.

What under the sun Moa Artua on these occasions had to say to Kolory
I never could find out; but I could not help thinking that the former
showed a sad want of spirit in being disciplined into making those
disclosures, which at first he seemed bent on withholding. Whether the
priest honestly interpreted what he believed the divinity said to him,
or whether he was not all the while guilty of a vile humbug, I shall
not presume to decide. At any rate, whatever as coming from the god
was imparted to those present seemed to be generally of a complimentary
nature: a fact which illustrates the sagacity of Kolory, or else the
timeserving disposition of this hardly used deity.

Moa Artua having nothing more to say, his bearer goes to nursing
him again, in which occupation, however, he is soon interrupted by a
question put by one of the warriors to the god. Kolory hereupon snatches
it up to his ear again, and after listening attentively, once more
officiates as the organ of communication. A multitude of questions and
answers having passed between the parties, much to the satisfaction of
those who propose them, the god is put tenderly to bed in the trough,
and the whole company unite in a long chant, led off by Kolory. This
ended, the ceremony is over; the chiefs rise to their feet in high good
humour, and my Lord Archbishop, after chatting awhile, and regaling
himself with a whiff or two from a pipe of tobacco, tucks the canoe
under his arm and marches off with it.

The whole of these proceedings were like those of a parcel of children
playing with dolls and baby houses.

For a youngster scarcely ten inches high, and with so few early
advantages as he doubtless had had, Moa Artua was certainly a precocious
little fellow if he really said all that was imputed to him; but for
what reason this poor devil of a deity, thus cuffed about, cajoled, and
shut up in a box, was held in greater estimation than the full-grown
and dignified personages of the Taboo Groves, I cannot divine. And yet
Mehevi, and other chiefs of unquestionable veracity--to say nothing of
the Primate himself--assured me over and over again that Moa Artua was
the tutelary deity of Typee, and was more to be held in honour than a
whole battalion of the clumsy idols in the Hoolah Hoolah grounds.

Kory-Kory--who seemed to have devoted considerable attention to the
study of theology, as he knew the names of all the graven images in the
valley, and often repeated them over to me--likewise entertained some
rather enlarged ideas with regard to the character and pretensions of
Moa Artua. He once gave me to understand, with a gesture there was no
misconceiving, that if he (Moa Artua) were so minded he could cause a
cocoanut tree to sprout out of his (Kory-Kory's) head; and that it
would be the easiest thing in life for him (Moa Artua) to take the whole
island of Nukuheva in his mouth and dive down to the bottom of the sea
with it.

But in sober seriousness, I hardly knew what to make of the religion
of the valley. There was nothing that so much perplexed the illustrious
Cook, in his intercourse with the South Sea islanders, as their sacred
rites. Although this prince of navigators was in many instances assisted
by interpreters in the prosecution of his researches, he still frankly
acknowledges that he was at a loss to obtain anything like a clear
insight into the puzzling arcana of their faith. A similar admission has
been made by other eminent voyagers: by Carteret, Byron, Kotzebue, and
Vancouver.

For my own part, although hardly a day passed while I remained upon the
island that I did not witness some religious ceremony or other, it was
very much like seeing a parcel of 'Freemasons' making secret signs to
each other; I saw everything, but could comprehend nothing.

On the whole, I am inclined to believe, that the islanders in the
Pacific have no fixed and definite ideas whatever on the subject of
religion. I am persuaded that Kolory himself would be effectually posed
were he called upon to draw up the articles of his faith and pronounce
the creed by which he hoped to be saved. In truth, the Typees, so far
as their actions evince, submitted to no laws human or divine--always
excepting the thrice mysterious Taboo. The 'independent electors' of the
valley were not to be brow-beaten by chiefs, priests, idol or devils.
As for the luckless idols, they received more hard knocks than
supplications. I do not wonder that some of them looked so grim, and
stood so bolt upright as if fearful of looking to the right or the left
lest they should give any one offence. The fact is, they had to
carry themselves 'PRETTY STRAIGHT,' or suffer the consequences. Their
worshippers were such a precious set of fickle-minded and irreverent
heathens, that there was no telling when they might topple one of them
over, break it to pieces, and making a fire with it on the very altar
itself, fall to roasting the offerings of bread-fruit, and at them in
spite of its teeth.

In how little reverence these unfortunate deities were held by the
natives was on one occasion most convincingly proved to me.--Walking
with Kory-Kory through the deepest recesses of the groves, I perceived
a curious looking image, about six feet in height which originally had
been placed upright against a low pi-pi, surmounted by a ruinous bamboo
temple, but having become fatigued and weak in the knees, was now
carelessly leaning against it. The idol was partly concealed by the
foliage of a tree which stood near, and whose leafy boughs drooped over
the pile of stones, as if to protect the rude fane from the decay to
which it was rapidly hastening. The image itself was nothing more than
a grotesquely shaped log, carved in the likeness of a portly naked man
with the arms clasped over the head, the jaws thrown wide apart, and its
thick shapeless legs bowed into an arch. It was much decayed. The
lower part was overgrown with a bright silky moss. Thin spears of grass
sprouted from the distended mouth, and fringed the outline of the head
and arms. His godship had literally attained a green old age. All its
prominent points were bruised and battered, or entirely rotted away.
The nose had taken its departure, and from the general appearance of the
head it might have, been supposed that the wooden divinity, in despair
at the neglect of its worshippers, had been trying to beat its own
brains out against the surrounding trees.

I drew near to inspect more closely this strange object of idolatry, but
halted reverently at the distance of two or three paces, out of regard
to the religious prejudices of my valet. As soon, however, as Kory-Kory
perceived that I was in one of my inquiring, scientific moods, to my
astonishment, he sprang to the side of the idol, and pushing it away
from the stones against which it rested, endeavoured to make it stand
upon its legs. But the divinity had lost the use of them altogether; and
while Kory-Kory was trying to prop it up, placing a stick between it
and the pi-pi, the monster fell clumsily to the ground, and would have
infallibly have broken its neck had not Kory-Kory providentially broken
its fall by receiving its whole weight on his own half-crushed back. I
never saw the honest fellow in such a rage before. He leaped furiously
to his feet, and seizing the stick, began beating the poor image: every
moment, or two pausing and talking to it in the most violent manner, as
if upbraiding it for the accident. When his indignation had subsided
a little he whirled the idol about most profanely, so as to give me an
opportunity of examining it on all sides. I am quite sure I never should
have presumed to have taken such liberties with the god myself, and I
was not a little shocked at Kory-Kory's impiety.

This anecdote speaks for itself. When one of the inferior order of
natives could show such contempt for a venerable and decrepit God of the
Groves, what the state of religion must be among the people in general
is easy to be imagined. In truth, I regard the Typees as a back-slidden
generation. They are sunk in religious sloth, and require a spiritual
revival. A long prosperity of bread-fruit and cocoanuts has rendered
them remiss in the performance of their higher obligations. The wood-rot
malady is spreading among the idols--the fruit upon their altars
is becoming offensive--the temples themselves need rethatching--the
tattooed clergy are altogether too light-hearted and lazy--and their
flocks are going astray.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: Although Tommo still does not understand the purpose of the Feast of Calabashes, he recognizes that it has a religious connotation and this leads him to discuss religion amongst the Typees. Generally, European missionaries have condemned these natives as the religious savages, but the narrator feels that many of these claims have been overexaggerated and possibly even false. For example, rumors of natives having human bodies on their altars seems to be entirely unfounded as he witnessed nothing of the kind nor did he ever witness natives involved in overtly-evil, religious doings. Kory-Kory helps to educate Tommo about the native religion by showing him the religious idols, or statues in the valley. Tommo sees the mausoleum of a deceased warrior-chief, seated on a carved canoe facing a lake. The canoe allows the chief, Kory-Kory explains, to paddle towards eternity. The main God of the Typees is called "Mon Artua. He is represented with a small wooden statue, which is usually kept safe by the main priest, Kolory. Mehevi and the chieftains frequently call upon Kolory for religious rituals. Kolory then takes the idol of Mon Artu and whispers into his ear. Mon Artu does not seem to hear him, but Kolory then places him in a wooden box face down on the ground. Mehevi and the chiefs all applaud. When Kolory takes Mon Artu out of the box and talks to it again, the idol now seems to be able to talk back. This ritual is one of the more important ones. In general, Tommo suggests that the Typees have lately been slacking in their religious beliefs, as many of their idols now appear to be rotting. On one occasion he watches Kory-Kory kick a wooden idol. Tommo believes that the native religion could use a good revival


prompt:
Chapter: ALTHOUGH I had been unable during the late festival to obtain
information on many interesting subjects which had much excited my
curiosity, still that important event had not passed by without adding
materially to my general knowledge of the islanders.

I was especially struck by the physical strength and beauty which
they displayed, by their great superiority in these respects over the
inhabitants of the neighbouring bay of Nukuheva, and by the singular
contrasts they presented among themselves in their various shades of
complexion.

In beauty of form they surpassed anything I had ever seen. Not a single
instance of natural deformity was observable in all the throng attending
the revels. Occasionally I noticed among the men the scars of wounds
they had received in battle; and sometimes, though very seldom, the loss
of a finger, an eye, or an arm, attributable to the same cause. With
these exceptions, every individual appeared free from those blemishes
which sometimes mar the effect of an otherwise perfect form. But their
physical excellence did not merely consist in an exemption from these
evils; nearly every individual of their number might have been taken for
a sculptor's model.

When I remembered that these islanders derived no advantage from dress,
but appeared in all the naked simplicity of nature, I could not avoid
comparing them with the fine gentlemen and dandies who promenade such
unexceptionable figures in our frequented thoroughfares. Stripped of
the cunning artifices of the tailor, and standing forth in the garb
of Eden--what a sorry, set of round-shouldered, spindle-shanked,
crane-necked varlets would civilized men appear! Stuffed calves,
padded breasts, and scientifically cut pantaloons would then avail them
nothing, and the effect would be truly deplorable.

Nothing in the appearance of the islanders struck me more forcibly
than the whiteness of their teeth. The novelist always compares the
masticators of his heroine to ivory; but I boldly pronounce the teeth
of the Typee to be far more beautiful than ivory itself. The jaws of the
oldest graybeards among them were much better garnished than those of
most of the youths of civilized countries; while the teeth of the young
and middle-aged, in their purity and whiteness, were actually dazzling
to the eye. Their marvellous whiteness of the teeth is to be ascribed
to the pure vegetable diet of these people, and the uninterrupted
healthfulness of their natural mode of life.

The men, in almost every instance, are of lofty stature, scarcely
ever less than six feet in height, while the other sex are uncommonly
diminutive. The early period of life at which the human form arrives
at maturity in this generous tropical climate, likewise deserves to be
mentioned. A little creature, not more than thirteen years of age, and
who in other particulars might be regarded as a mere child, is often
seen nursing her own baby, whilst lads who, under less ripening skies,
would be still at school, are here responsible fathers of families.

On first entering the Typee Valley, I had been struck with the marked
contrast presented by its inhabitants with those of the bay I had
previously left. In the latter place, I had not been favourably
impressed with the personal appearance of the male portion of the
population; although with the females, excepting in some truly
melancholy instances, I had been wonderfully pleased. I had observed
that even the little intercourse Europeans had carried on with the
Nukuheva natives had not failed to leave its traces amongst them. One of
the most dreadful curses under which humanity labours had commenced its
havocks, and betrayed, as it ever does among the South Sea islanders,
the most aggravated symptoms. From this, as from all other foreign
inflictions, the yet uncontaminated tenants of the Typee Valley were
wholly exempt; and long may they continue so. Better will it be for them
for ever to remain the happy and innocent heathens and barbarians
that they now are, than, like the wretched inhabitants of the Sandwich
Islands, to enjoy the mere name of Christians without experiencing any
of the vital operations of true religion, whilst, at the same time, they
are made the victims of the worst vices and evils of civilized life.

Apart, however, from these considerations, I am inclined to believe that
there exists a radical difference between the two tribes, if indeed
they are not distinct races of men. To those who have merely touched at
Nukuheva Bay, without visiting other portions of the island, it would
hardly appear credible the diversities presented between the various
small clans inhabiting so diminutive a spot. But the hereditary
hostility which has existed between them for ages, fully accounts for
this.

Not so easy, however, is it to assign an adequate cause for the endless
variety of complexions to be seen in the Typee Valley. During the
festival, I had noticed several young females whose skins were almost as
white as any Saxon damsel's; a slight dash of the mantling brown being
all that marked the difference. This comparative fairness of complexion,
though in a great degree perfectly natural, is partly the result of an
artificial process, and of an entire exclusion from the sun. The juice
of the 'papa' root found in great abundance at the head of the valley,
is held in great esteem as a cosmetic, with which many of the females
daily anoint their whole person. The habitual use of it whitens and
beautifies the skin. Those of the young girls who resort to this method
of heightening their charms, never expose themselves selves to the
rays of the sun; an observance, however, that produces little or no
inconvenience, since there are but few of the inhabited portions of the
vale which are not shaded over with a spreading canopy of boughs, so
that one may journey from house to house, scarcely deviating from the
direct course, and yet never once see his shadow cast upon the ground.

The 'papa', when used, is suffered to remain upon the skin for several
hours; being of a light green colour, it consequently imparts for
the time a similar hue to the complexion. Nothing, therefore, can be
imagined more singular than the appearance of these nearly naked damsels
immediately after the application of the cosmetic. To look at one of
them you would almost suppose she was some vegetable in an unripe state;
and that, instead of living in the shade for ever, she ought to be
placed out in the sun to ripen.

All the islanders are more or less in the habit of anointing themselves;
the women preferring the 'aker' to 'papa', and the men using the oil
of the cocoanut. Mehevi was remarkable fond of mollifying his entire
cuticle with this ointment. Sometimes he might be seen, with his whole
body fairly reeking with the perfumed oil of the nut, looking as if he
had just emerged from a soap-boiler's vat, or had undergone the process
of dipping in a tallow-chandlery. To this cause perhaps, united to their
frequent bathing and extreme cleanliness, is ascribable, in a great
measure, the marvellous purity and smoothness of skin exhibited by the
natives in general.

The prevailing tint among the women of the valley was a light olive, and
of this style of complexion Fayaway afforded the most beautiful example.
Others were still darker; while not a few were of a genuine golden
colour, and some of a swarthy hue.

As agreeing with much previously mentioned in this narrative I may
here observe that Mendanna, their discoverer, in his account of the
Marquesas, described the natives as wondrously beautiful to behold, and
as nearly resembling the people of southern Europe. The first of these
islands seen by Mendanna was La Madelena, which is not far distant from
Nukuheva; and its inhabitants in every respect resemble those dwelling
on that and the other islands of the group. Figueroa, the chronicler of
Mendanna's voyage, says, that on the morning the land was descried,
when the Spaniards drew near the shore, there sallied forth, in rude
progression, about seventy canoes, and at the same time many of the
inhabitants (females I presume) made towards the ships by swimming. He
adds, that 'in complexion they were nearly white; of good stature,
and finely formed; and on their faces and bodies were delineated
representations of fishes and other devices'. The old Don then goes on
to say, 'There came, among others, two lads paddling their canoe, whose
eyes were fixed on the ship; they had beautiful faces and the most
promising animation of countenance; and were in all things so becoming,
that the pilot-mayor Quiros affirmed, nothing in his life ever caused
him so much regret as the leaving such fine creatures to be lost in that
country.'* More than two hundred years have gone by since the passage of
which the above is a translation was written; and it appears to me
now, as I read it, as fresh and true as if written but yesterday. The
islanders are still the same; and I have seen boys in the Typee Valley
of whose 'beautiful faces' and promising 'animation of countenance' no
one who has not beheld them can form any adequate idea. Cook, in the
account of his voyage, pronounces the Marquesans as by far the most
splendid islanders in the South Seas. Stewart, the chaplain of the U.S.
ship Vincennes, in his 'Scenes in the South Seas', expresses, in more
than one place, his amazement at the surpassing loveliness of the women;
and says that many of the Nukuheva damsels reminded him forcibly of the
most celebrated beauties in his own land. Fanning, a Yankee mariner of
some reputation, likewise records his lively impressions of the physical
appearance of these people; and Commodore David Porter of the U.S.
frigate Essex, is said to have been vastly smitten by the beauty of the
ladies. Their great superiority over all other Polynesians cannot fail
to attract the notice of those who visit the principal groups in the
Pacific. The voluptuous Tahitians are the only people who at all deserve
to be compared with them; while the dark-haired Hawaiians and
the woolly-headed Feejees are immeasurably inferior to them. The
distinguishing characteristic of the Marquesan islanders, and that
which at once strikes you, is the European cast of their features--a
peculiarity seldom observable among other uncivilized people. Many of
their faces present profiles classically beautiful, and in the valley of
Typee I saw several who, like the stranger Marnoo, were in every respect
models of beauty.

* This passage, which is cited as an almost literal translation from the
original, I found in a small volume entitled 'Circumnavigation of the
Globe, in which volume are several extracts from 'Dalrymple's Historical
Collections'. The last-mentioned work I have never seen, but it is said
to contain a very correct English version of great part of the learned
Doctor Christoval Suaverde da Figueroa's History of Mendanna's Voyage,
published at Madrid, A.D. 1613.

Some of the natives present at the Feast of Calabashes had displayed a
few articles of European dress; disposed however, about their persons
after their own peculiar fashion. Among these I perceived two pieces of
cotton-cloth which poor Toby and myself had bestowed upon our youthful
guides the afternoon we entered the valley. They were evidently reserved
for gala days; and during those of the festival they rendered the young
islanders who wore them very distinguished characters. The small number
who were similarly adorned, and the great value they appeared to place
upon the most common and most trivial articles, furnished ample evidence
of the very restricted intercourse they held with vessels touching at
the island. A few cotton handkerchiefs, of a gay pattern, tied about the
neck, and suffered to fall over the shoulder; strips of fanciful calico,
swathed about the loins, were nearly all I saw.

Indeed, throughout the valley, there were few things of any kind to
be seen of European origin. All I ever saw, besides the articles just
alluded to, were the six muskets preserved in the Ti, and three or four
similar implements of warfare hung up in other houses; some small
canvas bags, partly filled with bullets and powder, and half a dozen old
hatchet-heads, with the edges blunted and battered to such a degree
as to render them utterly useless. These last seemed to be regarded as
nearly worthless by the natives; and several times they held up, one
of them before me, and throwing it aside with a gesture of disgust,
manifested their contempt for anything that could so soon become
unserviceable.

But the muskets, the powder, and the bullets were held in most
extravagant esteem. The former, from their great age and the
peculiarities they exhibited, were well worthy a place in any
antiquarian's armoury. I remember in particular one that hung in the
Ti, and which Mehevi--supposing as a matter of course that I was able to
repair it--had put into my hands for that purpose. It was one of those
clumsy, old-fashioned, English pieces known generally as Tower Hill
muskets, and, for aught I know, might have been left on the island by
Wallace, Carteret, Cook, or Vancouver. The stock was half rotten and
worm-eaten; the lock was as rusty and about as well adapted to its
ostensible purpose as an old door-hinge; the threading of the screws
about the trigger was completely worn away; while the barrel shook in
the wood. Such was the weapon the chief desired me to restore to its
original condition. As I did not possess the accomplishments of a
gunsmith, and was likewise destitute of the necessary tools, I was
reluctantly obliged to signify my inability to perform the task. At this
unexpected communication Mehevi regarded me, for a moment, as if he half
suspected I was some inferior sort of white man, who after all did not
know much more than a Typee. However, after a most laboured explanation
of the matter, I succeeded in making him understand the extreme
difficulty of the task. Scarcely satisfied with my apologies, however,
he marched off with the superannuated musket in something of a huff, as
if he would no longer expose it to the indignity of being manipulated by
such unskilful fingers.

During the festival I had not failed to remark the simplicity of manner,
the freedom from all restraint, and, to certain degree, the equality
of condition manifested by the natives in general. No one appeared to
assume any arrogant pretensions. There was little more than a slight
difference in costume to distinguish the chiefs from the other natives.
All appeared to mix together freely, and without any reserve; although
I noticed that the wishes of a chief, even when delivered in the mildest
tone, received the same immediate obedience which elsewhere would have
been only accorded to a peremptory command. What may be the extent
of the authority of the chiefs over the rest of the tribe, I will not
venture to assert; but from all I saw during my stay in the valley, I
was induced to believe that in matters concerning the general welfare
it was very limited. The required degree of deference towards them,
however, was willingly and cheerfully yielded; and as all authority is
transmitted from father to son, I have no doubt that one of the effects
here, as elsewhere, of high birth, is to induce respect and obedience.

The civil institutions of the Marquesas Islands appear to be in this,
as in other respects, directly the reverse of those of the Tahitian and
Hawaiian groups, where the original power of the king and chiefs was far
more despotic than that of any tyrant in civilized countries. At Tahiti
it used to be death for one of the inferior orders to approach, without
permission, under the shadow, of the king's house; or to fail in paying
the customary reverence when food destined for the king was borne past
them by his messengers. At the Sandwich Islands, Kaahumanu, the gigantic
old dowager queen--a woman of nearly four hundred pounds weight, and
who is said to be still living at Mowee--was accustomed, in some of her
terrific gusts of temper, to snatch up an ordinary sized man who had
offended her, and snap his spine across her knee. Incredible as this
may seem, it is a fact. While at Lahainaluna--the residence of this
monstrous Jezebel--a humpbacked wretch was pointed out to me, who, some
twenty-five years previously, had had the vertebrae of his backbone very
seriously discomposed by his gentle mistress.

The particular grades of rank existing among the chiefs of Typee, I
could not in all cases determine. Previous to the Feast of Calabashes
I had been puzzled what particular station to assign to Mehevi. But the
important part he took upon that occasion convinced me that he had no
superior among the inhabitants of the valley. I had invariably noticed a
certain degree of deference paid to him by all with whom I had ever seen
him brought in contact; but when I remembered that my wanderings had
been confined to a limited portion of the valley, and that towards
the sea a number of distinguished chiefs resided, some of whom had
separately visited me at Marheyo's house, and whom, until the Festival,
I had never seen in the company of Mehevi, I felt disposed to believe
that his rank after all might not be particularly elevated.

The revels, however, had brought together all the warriors whom I had
seen individually and in groups at different times and places. Among
them Mehevi moved with an easy air of superiority which was not to be
mistaken; and he whom I had only looked at as the hospitable host of the
Ti, and one of the military leaders of the tribe, now assumed in my eyes
the dignity of royal station. His striking costume, no less than his
naturally commanding figure, seemed indeed to give him pre-eminence over
the rest. The towering helmet of feathers that he wore raised him
in height above all who surrounded him; and though some others were
similarly adorned, the length and luxuriance of their plumes were
inferior to his.

Mehevi was in fact the greatest of the chiefs--the head of his clan--the
sovereign of the valley; and the simplicity of the social institutions
of the people could not have been more completely proved than by the
fact, that after having been several weeks in the valley, and almost in
daily intercourse with Mehevi, I should have remained until the time of
the festival ignorant of his regal character. But a new light had now
broken in upon me. The Ti was the palace--and Mehevi the king. Both the
one and the other of a most simple and patriarchal nature: it must be
allowed, and wholly unattended by the ceremonious pomp which usually
surrounds the purple.

After having made this discovery I could not avoid congratulating myself
that Mehevi had from the first taken me as it were under his royal
protection, and that he still continued to entertain for me the warmest
regard, as far at least as I was enabled to judge from appearances. For
the future I determined to pay most assiduous court to him, hoping that
eventually through his kindness I might obtain my liberty.

Q: Can you write an appropriate summary of the above paragraphs?
A:

completion: Tommo finds the Typees to be the most beautiful native people that he ever has seen. Their complexions and hair are almost perfect. Both the men and women are spry, healthy, and beautiful, quite different from their European counterparts. Women wear their hair long and frequently adorn it with oils, as they do their skin. They wear simple Polynesian clothing, except for, on a few occasions, when some European calicos are seen. The Typees all seem to be in the same social class, with the exception of the chiefs. When a chief gives an order, it is obeyed promptly, yet still the chiefs do not live on a highly elevated plane as many other monarchies, both European and native demand. After a while, Tommo realizes that Mehevi is the main chieftain. Furthermore, the Ti is his palace. It still is one of Tommo's favorite places as they just sit all afternoon talking and smoking freely as one would in a bachelor pad