Typee: A Romance of the South Seas

by Herman Melville

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  THE FEAST OF CALABASHES

  THE whole population of the valley seemed to be gathered within theprecincts of the grove. In the distance could be seen the long front ofthe Ti, its immense piazza swarming with men, arrayed in every varietyof fantastic costume, and all vociferating with animated gestures; whilethe whole interval between it and the place where I stood was enlivenedby groups of females fancifully decorated, dancing, capering, anduttering wild exclamations. As soon as they descried me they set up ashout of welcome; and a band of them came dancing towards me, chantingas they approached some wild recitative. The change in my garb seemed totransport them with delight, and clustering about me on all sides, theyaccompanied me towards the Ti. When however we drew near it these joyousnymphs paused in their career, and parting on either side, permitted meto 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 werefairly under way.

  What lavish plenty reigned around?--Warwick feasting his retainers withbeef and ale, was a niggard to the noble Mehevi!--All along the piazzaof the Ti were arranged elaborately carved canoe-shaped vessels, sometwenty feet in length, tied with newly made poee-poee, and shelteredfrom the sun by the broad leaves of the banana. At intervals were heapsof green bread-fruit, raised in pyramidical stacks, resembling theregular 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-piwere large boughs of trees; hanging from the branches of which, andscreened from the sun by their foliage, were innumerable little packageswith leafy coverings, containing the meat of the numerous hogs whichhad been slain, done up in this manner to make it more accessible to thecrowd. Leaning against the railing on the piazza were an immensenumber of long, heavy bamboos, plugged at the lower end, and with theirprojecting muzzles stuffed with a wad of leaves. These were filled withwater from the stream, and each of them might hold from four to fivegallons.

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

  Within the building itself was presented a most extraordinary scene. Theimmense lounge of mats lying between the parallel rows of the trunks ofcocoanut trees, and extending the entire length of the house, at leasttwo hundred feet, was covered by the reclining forms of a host of chiefsand warriors who were eating at a great rate, or soothing the cares ofPolynesian life in the sedative fumes of tobacco. The smoke was inhaledfrom large pipes, the bowls of which, made out of small cocoanut shells,were curiously carved in strange heathenish devices. These were passedfrom mouth to mouth by the recumbent smokers, each of whom, taking twoor three prodigious whiffs, handed the pipe to his neighbour; sometimesfor that purpose stretching indolently across the body of some dozingindividual whose exertions at the dinner-table had already inducedsleep.

  The tobacco used among the Typees was of a very mild and pleasingflavour, and as I always saw it in leaves, and the natives appearedpretty well supplied with it, I was led to believe that it must havebeen the growth of the valley. Indeed Kory-Kory gave me to understandthat this was the case; but I never saw a single plant growing on theisland. At Nukuheva, and, I believe, in all the other valleys, the weedis very scarce, being only obtained in small quantities from foreigners,and smoking is consequently with the inhabitants of these places a verygreat luxury. How it was that the Typees were so well furnished withit I cannot divine. I should think them too indolent to devote anyattention to its culture; and, indeed, as far as my observationextended, not a single atom of the soil was under any other cultivationthan that of shower and sunshine. The tobacco-plant, however, like thesugar-cane, may grow wild in some remote part of the vale.

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

  'Arva' is a root very generally dispersed over the South Seas, and fromit is extracted a juice, the effects of which upon the system are atfirst stimulating in a moderate degree; but it soon relaxes the muscles,and exerting a narcotic influence produces a luxurious sleep. Inthe valley this beverage was universally prepared in the followingway:--Some half-dozen young boys seated themselves in a circle aroundan empty wooden vessel, each one of them being supplied with a certainquantity of the roots of the 'arva', broken into small bits and laidby his side. A cocoanut goblet of water was passed around the juvenilecompany, who rinsing their mouths with its contents, proceeded to thebusiness before them. This merely consisted in thoroughly masticatingthe 'arva', and throwing it mouthful after mouthful into the receptacleprovided. When a sufficient quantity had been thus obtained water waspoured upon the mass, and being stirred about with the forefinger of theright 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 inthe treatment of scrofulous affections, and in combating the ravagesof a disease for whose frightful inroads the ill-starred inhabitants ofthat group are indebted to their foreign benefactors. But the tenants ofthe Typee valley, as yet exempt from these inflictions, generally employthe 'arva' as a minister to social enjoyment, and a calabash of theliquid circulates among them as the bottle with us.

  Mehevi, who was greatly delighted with the change in my costume, gaveme a cordial welcome. He had reserved for me a most delectable messof 'cokoo', well knowing my partiality for that dish; and had likewiseselected three or four young cocoanuts, several roasted bread-fruit,and a magnificent bunch of bananas, for my especial comfort andgratification. These various matters were at once placed before me; butKory-Kory deemed the banquet entirely insufficient for my wants untilhe 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 andtender.

  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. Thehogs are permitted to roam at large on the groves, where they obtainno small part of their nourishment from the cocoanuts which continuallyfall from the trees. But it is only after infinite labour anddifficulty, that the hungry animal can pierce the husk and shell so asto get at the meat. I have frequently been amused at seeing one ofthem, after crunching the obstinate nut with his teeth for a long timeunsuccessfully, get into a violent passion with it. He would then rootfuriously under the cocoanut, and, with a fling of his snout, toss itbefore him on the ground. Following it up, he would crunch at it againsavagely for a moment, and then next knock it on one side, pausingimmediately after, as if wondering how it could so suddenly havedisappeared. In this way the persecuted cocoanuts were often chased halfacross the valley.

  The second day of the Feast of Calabashes was ushered in by still moreuproarious noises than the first. The skins of innumerable sheep seemedto be resounding to the blows of an army of drummers. Startled from myslumbers by the din, I leaped up, and found the whole household engagedin making preparations for immediate departure. Curious to discover ofwhat strange events these novel sounds might be the precursors, and nota little desirous to catch a sight of the instruments which producedthe terrific noise, I accompanied the natives as soon as they were inreadiness 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 wholedistance being filled by bands of females, shouting and dancing underthe influence of some strange exc
itement.

  I was amused at the appearance of four or five old women who, in a stateof utter nudity, with their arms extended flatly down their sides, andholding themselves perfectly erect, were leaping stiffly into theair, like so many sticks bobbing to the surface, after being pressedperpendicularly into the water. They preserved the utmost gravity ofcountenance, and continued their extraordinary movements withouta single moment's cessation. They did not appear to attract theobservation of the crowd around them, but I must candidly confess thatfor my own part, I stared at them most pertinaciously.

  Desirous of being enlightened in regard to the meaning of this peculiardiversion, I turned, inquiringly to Kory-Kory; that learned Typeeimmediately proceeded to explain the whole matter thoroughly. But allthat I could comprehend from what he said was, that the leaping figuresbefore me were bereaved widows, whose partners had been slain in battlemany moons previously; and who, at every festival, gave public evidencein this manner of their calamities. It was evident that Kory-Koryconsidered this an all-sufficient reason for so indecorous a custom; butI must say that it did not satisfy me as to its propriety.

  Leaving these afflicted females, we passed on to the Hoolah Hoolahground. Within the spacious quadrangle, the whole population of thevalley seemed to be assembled, and the sight presented was trulyremarkable. Beneath the sheds of bamboo which opened towards theinterior of the square reclined the principal chiefs and warriors, whilea miscellaneous throng lay at their ease under the enormous trees whichspread a majestic canopy overhead. Upon the terraces of the giganticaltars, at each end, were deposited green bread-fruit in baskets ofcocoanut leaves, large rolls of tappa, bunches of ripe bananas, clustersof mammee-apples, the golden-hued fruit of the artu-tree, and bakedhogs, laid out in large wooden trenchers, fancifully decorated withfreshly plucked leaves, whilst a variety of rude implements of war werepiled in confused heaps before the ranks of hideous idols. Fruits ofvarious kinds were likewise suspended in leafen baskets, from the topsof poles planted uprightly, and at regular intervals, along the lowerterraces of both altars. At their base were arranged two parallel rowsof cumbersome drums, standing at least fifteen feet in height, andformed from the hollow trunks of large trees. Their heads were coveredwith shark skins, and their barrels were elaborately carved with variousquaint figures and devices. At regular intervals they were bound roundby a species of sinnate of various colours, and strips of native clothflattened upon them here and there. Behind these instruments were builtslight platforms, upon which stood a number of young men who, beatingviolently with the palms of their hands upon the drum-heads, producedthose outrageous sounds which had awakened me in the morning. Every fewminutes these musical performers hopped down from their elevation intothe crowd below, and their places were immediately supplied by freshrecruits. Thus an incessant din was kept up that might have startledPandemonium.

  Precisely in the middle of the quadrangle were placed perpendicularlyin the ground, a hundred or more slender, fresh-cut poles, stripped oftheir bark, and decorated at the end with a floating pennon of whitetappa; the whole being fenced about with a little picket of canes. Forwhat purpose these angular ornaments were intended I in vain endeavouredto discover.

  Another most striking feature of the performance was exhibited by ascore of old men, who sat cross-legged in the little pulpits, whichencircled the trunks of the immense trees growing in the middle of theenclosure. These venerable gentlemen, who I presume were the priests,kept up an uninterrupted monotonous chant, which was partly drowned inthe 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 keptin continual motion.

  But no attention whatever seemed to be paid to the drummers or to theold priests; the individuals who composed the vast crowd present beingentirely 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 greatadvantage to its own members and the company in general, have ceased theprodigious uproar they were making.

  In vain I questioned Kory-Kory and others of the natives, as to themeaning of the strange things that were going on; all their explanationswere conveyed in such a mass of outlandish gibberish and gesticulationthat 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 toquiet and repose. The next day the same scene was repeated until night,when this singular festival terminated.