by Louis Becke
THE DOCTOR'S WIFE
Consanguinity--From A Polynesian Standpoint
"Oho!" said Lagisiva, the widow, tossing her hair back over hershoulders, as she raised the heavy, fluted tappa mallet in her thick,strong right hand, and dealt the rough cloth a series of quickstrokes--"Oho!" said the dark-faced Lagisiva, looking up at the WhiteMan, "because I be a woman dost think me a fool? I tell thee I knowsome of the customs of the PAPALAGI (the white foreigners). Much wisdomhave ye in many things; but again I tell thee, O friend of my sons,that in some other things the people of thy nation--ay, of all whitenations, they be as the beasts of the forest--the wild goat andpig--without reason and without shame. TAH! Has not my eldest son, TuiFau, whom the white men call Bob, lived for seven years in Sini(Sydney), when he returned from those places by New Guinea, where hewas diver? And he has filled my ears with the bad and shameless customsof the PAPALAGI. ISA! I say again thy women have not the shame of ours.The heat of desire devoureth chastity even in those of one blood!"
"In what do they offend, O my mother?"
"AUE! Life is short; and, behold, this piece of SIAPO [The tappa cloth ofthe South Seas, made from the bark of the paper mulberry.] is fora wedding present, and I must hurry; but yet put down thy gun andbag, and we shall smoke awhile, and thou shalt feel shame while I tellof one of the PAPALAGI customs--the marrying of brother and sister!"
"Nay, mother," said the White Man, "not brother and sister, but onlycousins."
"ISA! [an expression of contempt]" and the big widow spat scornfully onthe ground, "those are words--words. It is the same; the same is theblood, the same is the bone. Even in our heathen days we pointed thefinger at one who looked with the eye of love on the daughter of hisfather's brother or sister--for such did we let his blood out upon thesand. And I, old Lagisiva, have seen a white man brought to shame throughthis wickedness!"
"Tell me," said the White Man.
* * * * *
"He was a FOMA'I (doctor), and rich, and came here because he desiredto see strange places, and was weary of his life in the land of thePAPALAGI. So he remained with us, and hunted the wild boar with ouryoung men, and became strong and hardy, and like unto one of ourpeople. And then, because he was for ever restless, he sailed away onceand returned in a small ship, and brought back trade and built a storeand a fine house to dwell in. The chief of this town gave him, forfriendship, a piece of land over there by the Vai-ta-milo, and thus didhe become a still greater man. His store was full of rich goods, and hekept many servants, and at night-time his house was as a blaze of fire,for the young men and women would go there and sing and dance, and hehad many lovers amongst our young girls.
"I, old Lagisiva, who am now fat and dull, was one. Oho, he was a manof plenty! Did a girl but look out between her eyelashes at a piece ofprint in the store, lo! it was hers, even though it measured twentyfathoms in length--and print was a dollar a fathom in those days. Soevery girl--even those from parts far off--cast herself in his way,that he might notice her. And he was generous to all alike--in thatalone was wisdom.
* * * * *
"Once or twice every year the ships brought him letters. And he wouldcount the marks on the paper, and tell us that they came from a womanof the PAPALAGI--his cousin, as you would call her--whose picture washung over his table. She was for ever smiling down upon us, and hereyes were his eyes, and if he but smiled then were the two alike--alikeas are two children of the same birth. When three years had come andgone a ship brought him a letter, and that night there were many of usat his house, men and women, to talk with the people from the ship.When those had gone away to their sleep, he called to the chief, andsaid:--
"'In two days, O my friend, I set out for my land again; but to return,for much do I desire to remain with you always. In six months I shallbe here again. And there is one thing I would speak of. I shall bringback a white wife, a woman of my own country, whom I have loved formany years.'
"Then Tamaali'i, the chief, who was my father's father, and very old,said, 'She shall be my daughter, and welcome,' and many of us younggirls said also, 'She shall be welcome'--although we felt sorrowful tolose a lover so good and open-handed. And then did the FOMA'I call tothe old chief and two others, and they entered the store and lightedlamps, and presently a man went forth into the village, and criedaloud: 'Come hither, all people, and listen!' So, many hundreds came,and we all went in and found the floor covered with some of everythingthat the white man possessed. And the chief spoke and said:
"'Behold, my people, this our good friend goeth away to his own countrythat he may bring back a wife. And because many young unmarried girlswill say, "Why does he leave us? Are not we as good to look upon asthis other woman?" does he put these presents here on the ground andthese words into my mouth--"Out of his love to you, which must be athing that is past and forgotten, the wife that is coming must not knowof some little things--that is PAPALAGI custom.'"
"And then every girl that had a wish took whatever she fancied, and thewhite man charged us to say naught that would arouse the anger of thewife that was to come. And so he departed.
* * * * *
"One hundred and ten fat hogs killed we and roasted whole for the feastof welcome. I swear it by the Holy Ones of God's Kingdom--one hundredand ten. And yet this white lily of his never smiled--not even on usyoung girls who danced and sang before her, only she clung to his arm,and, behold, when we drew close to her we saw it was the woman in thepicture--his sister!
"And then one by one all those that had gathered to do him honour wentaway in shame--shame that he should do this, wed his own sister, andmany women said worse of her. But yet the feast--the hogs, and yams,and taro, and fish, and fowls--was brought and placed by his doorstep,but no one spake, and at night-time he was alone with his wife, till hesent for the old chief, and reproached him with bitter words for thecoldness of the people, and asked: 'Why is this?'
* * * * *
"And the old man pointed to the picture over the table, and said: 'Isthis she--thy wife?'
"'Ay,' said the White Man.
"'Is she not of the same blood as thyself?'
"'Even so,' said he.
"'Then shalt thou live alone in thy shame,' said the old man; and hewent away.
"So, for many months, these two lived. He found some to work for him,and some young girls to tend his sister, whom he called his wife,whilst she lay ill with her first child. And the day after it was born,some one whispered: 'He is accursed! the child cries not--it is dumb.'For a week it lived, yet never did it cry, for the curse of wickednesswas upon it. Then the white man nursed her tenderly, and took her awayto live in Fiji for six months. When they came back it was the same--noone cared to go inside his house, and he cursed us, and said he wouldbring men from Tokelau to work for him. We said naught. Then in timeanother child was born, and it was hideous to look upon, and that alsodied.
* * * * *
"Now, there was a girl amongst us whose name was Suni, to whom thewhite woman spoke much, for she was learning our tongue, and Suni, byreason of the white woman's many presents, spoke openly to her, andtold her of the village talk. Then the white woman wept, and arose andspoke to the man for a long while. And she came back to Suni, and said:'What thou hast told me was in my own heart three years ago; yet,because it is the custom of my people, I married this man, who is theson of my father's brother. But now I shall go away.' Then the whiteman came out and beat Suni with a stick. But yet was his sister, whomhe called his wife, eaten up with shame, and when a ship came they wentaway, and we saw her not again. For about two years we heard no more ofour white man, till he returned and said the woman was dead. And hetook Suni for wife, who bore him three children, and then they wentaway to some other country--I know not where.
* * * * *
"I thank thee many, many times, O friend of my sons. Four children ofmine here live in this village, yet not a one of them ever asketh mewhen I last smoked. May God walk with thee always for this stick oftobacco."
