Polynesian Researches, Volume 1

Couverture
Fisher, Son & Jackson, 1831
 

Expressions et termes fréquents

Fréquemment cités

Page 111 - He, having willed to produce various beings from his own divine substance, first with a thought created the waters, and placed in them a productive seed : that seed became an egg bright as gold, blazing like the luminary with a thousand beams ; and in that egg he was born himself, in the form of Brahma, the great forefather of all spirits.
Page 55 - Sometimes unite; the Indian nut* alone Is clothing, meat and trencher, drink and can, Boat, cable, sail, and needle, all in one.
Page 72 - These pets are kept in large holes, two or three feet deep, partially filled with water. On the sides of these pits they generally remained, excepting when called by the person who fed them. I have been several times with the young chief, when he has sat down by the side of the hole, and, by giving a shrill sort of whistle, has brought out an enormous Eel, which has moved about the surface of the water, and eaten with confidence out of its master's hand.
Page 10 - To these sublime horrors a scene of enchantment suddenly succeeds. A new Cythera emerges from the bosom of the enchanted wave. An amphitheatre of verdure rises to our view. Tufted groves mingle their foliage with the brilliant enamel of the meadows. An eternal spring, combining with an eternal autumn, displays the opening blossom along with the ripened fruits.
Page 34 - ... place a layer of the fruit, then stones, leaves, and fruit alternately, till the hole is nearly filled, when leaves and earth to the depth of several inches are spread over all. In rather more than half an hour, the bread-fruit is ready ; ' the outsides are, in general, nicely browned, and the inner part presents a white or yellowish cellular pulpy substance, in appearance slightly resembling the crumb of a wheaten loaf.
Page 192 - Many of their songs referred to the legends or achievements of their gods, some to the exploits of their distinguished heroes and chieftains ; while others were of a more objectionable character. They were often, when recited on public occasions, accompanied with gestures and actions corresponding to the events described, and assumed a histrionic character. In some cases, and on public occasions, the action presented a kind of pantomime. They had one song for the fisherman, another for the canoebuilder,...
Page 106 - This always appeared to me a mere recital of the Mosaic account of creation, which they had heard from some European, and I never placed any reliance on it, although they have repeatedly told me it was a tradition among them before any foreigner arrived. Some have also stated that the woman's name was Ivi, which would be by them pronounced as if written Eve. Ivi is an aboriginal word, and not only signifies a bone, but also a widow, and a victim slain in war. Notwithstanding the assertion of the...
Page 253 - The forehead and the back of the head, of the boys, were pressed upwards, so that the upper part of the skull appeared in the shape of a wedge. This, they said, was done, to add to the terror of their aspect, when they should become warriors.
Page 249 - Whenever we have asked them, what could induce them to make a distinction so invidious, they have generally answered, — that the fisheries, the service of the temple, and especially war, were the only purposes for which they thought it desirable to rear children ; that in these pursuits women were comparatively useless ; and therefore female children were frequently not suffered to live. Facts fully confirm these statements.

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