GENERAL HABITS.

283

CHAPTER XXIII.

General habits of chiefs, matabooles, mooas, women andchildren—Quotation from Cook ’s Voyages, affording avery correct view of their public festivals and rejoicingsin honour of illustrious visitors, and describing very ac-curately their boxing and wrestling matches, and sundrydances: the whole including, a point of time when Cap­ tain Cook and his companions were to have been assas-sinated by the natives—An account of their different dancesand songs—Specimen of their songs in rhyme—Specimensof their music—An account of their various sports andgames—The pastimes of a day, with an account of an ex-traordinary character—Conclusion.

Under the head of religion, we have given acursory view of the general habits of Tooitonga,Veachi, and the priests : we shall now set forth,in a similar manner, those of the rest of society,as they regard chiefs, matabooles, mooas, tooas,women and children-

Respecting the general habits of chiefs, ma-tabooles, and mooas; the higher chiefs seldomif ever associate freely together, unless at themorning cava parties, and those meetings areto be considered, in a great measure, as visits ofcustom and form. The matabooles and mooas