OF THE TONGA PEOPLE.

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tipped with the bone of the sting ray. (SeeVol. I. p. 278.)

Clubs and spears. Though the making ofthese be not a distinct profession, yet they aremost commonly manufactured by the toofoongafo vaca, as being expert in the use of the togi.Their clubs are of various shapes; but speci-mens of them, as well as of their spears, maybe seen in our museums.

The next arts to be spoken of are thosepractised by females, not so much as a task orlabour, for women of rank often employ them-selves this way, but as being their proper occu-pation. The most important of these is the

Fabrication of gnatoo. This substance issomewhat similar to cotton, but not woven, be-ing rather of the texture of paper : it is pre-pared from the inner bark of the Chinese papermulberry tree, and is used for dress and otherpurposes.

A circular incision being made round thetree near the root, with a shell deep enough topenetrate the bark, the tree is broken off at thatpart, which its slenderness readily admits of:when a number of them are thus laid on theground, they are left in the sun a couple ofdays to become partially dry, so that the innerand outer bark may be stripped off together,

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