H. Claessen The merry maidens of Matavai; A survey of the views of eighteenth-century participant observers and moralists

In: Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde 153 (1997), no: 2, Leiden, 183-210

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Introduction After the discovery of in 1767, the notion of 'paradise regained' and the idea of the 'noble savage' pervaded publications on for quite some time. The enthusiasm of the French explorers found an outlet in scholarly reports as well as in more popular descriptions. Nowadays these ideas are still very much alive in popular Hollywood films and in the language of tour operators trying to induce people to visit Polynesia. How did this enthusiasm come about? Where did the rosy picture of Polynesia and the Polynesians originate? Did it spring from the relief which the eighteenth-century sailors must have felt when they finally reached a group of beautiful islands inhabited by hospitable people after a long and hazardous voyage? Should we look for an explanation in the views of French moralists and philosophers like Jean Jacques Rousseau? Or did the visitors indeed experience a touch of paradise in the arms of the merry maidens of Matavai - and other islands? Matavai Bay, the main port of call for eighteenth- and nineteenth-century visitors to Tahiti, became famous for the numerous sexual encounters that took place here between European sailors and Tahitian girls. This way Matavai became a kind of symbol for 'love in the South Seas'. All the above-mentioned factors probably played a part in the devel- opment of South Sea Romanticism. The relief felt by sailors on finally reaching land again can be sensed behind the carefully worded entries in the journals of the captains of expeditions, and is often found expressed more explicitly in the writings of members of their crews. The role of moralists and philosophers has been pointed out again and again, for their views pervaded the writings of French explorers like Bougainville (1771/1966) and Commerson (1769/1915) and the works of authors like Diderot (1772/1966). Such philosophical views were also in evidence in the work of , the German naturalist who with his

HENRI J.M. CLAESSEN is emeritus professor of anthropology of the University of Leiden. He has specialized in political anthropology and the anthropology of the Pacific, and his most recent publication is (with J.G. Oosten as co-editor) Ideology and the formation of early states, Leiden: Brill, 1996. Professor Claessen's address is Santhorstlaan 87, 2242 BE Wassenaar, The Netherlands.

BKI 152-11 (1997) Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access 184 Henri J.M. Claessen son Georg accompanied on his second voyage of discovery (J.R. Forster 1778/1996). This influence has been discussed in some depth by anthropologists and historians (e.g., Claessen 1994; Smith 1960; Jongmans 1955; Dorsenne 1929). But what about the merry maidens? They, too, have been the subject of several publications (e.g., Sahlins 1985; Danielsson 1961). So why devote another article to them? The answer is that the maidens as such have so far been given but scant attention. They have often been represented as simple, carefree creatures with no other interest in life than to eagerly await the arrival of European sailors to make love with (see, for example, Samwell 1967, passim). Other eighteenth- century voyagers depicted these same merry maidens as vile prostitutes exploiting the lusts of innocent sailors (e.g., J.R. Forster 1982:390; cf. Guest 1996:xliv-xlvi), or as the unhappy victims of greedy fathers and husbands (Von Krusenstern 1985:60). The purpose of this article is to find out to what extent these varied views represent historical reality - as far as it will be possible for us to have an understanding of the past of a remote culture (cf. Claessen and Oosten 1987). Towards this end a number of journals and memoirs of early visitors in which encounters between Polynesian girls and European men are described in some detail will be examined. This information will be combined with data on the attitude towards sexuality in Polynesia collected by anthropologists in recent years. The combination of these two kinds of information will make it possible, hopefully, to draw some conclusions about the real position of the 'merry maidens' - if they were merry at all - and to find out which views represented historical reality better: the relatively mild views based on intimate personal contacts of the 'participant observers', as one might call them, or the moralists' views based on European/Christian prejudices brimming with ethical judgements. It is between these two poles that we will be directing our course in this article. Tahiti It seems only appropriate to start this investigation in Tahiti, as it was here that intimate contacts between European sailors and Polynesian girls first took place on a large scale. It is true that Tahiti was not the first island in Polynesia to be discovered by Europeans. Long before Captain Wallis entered Matavai Bay in 1767, Dutch navigators like Le Maire and Schouten (1622 and 1618 respectively / 1945), Tasman (1642/1919), and Jacob Roggeveen (1722/1838) had crossed the Pacific Ocean - though their journals hardly contain data on intimate relations between sailors and local girls (which is not to say that there were no such relations). Moreover, intrepid Spanish captains sailed the waters of the Pacific in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries - but their reports are coloured mainly with blood, rather than with sex. Alvaro de Mendana, the discoverer of the (1595), has become especially infamous in this respect.

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Beaglehole (1966:67) even styles his journal a 'chronicle of murder' (cf. also Danielsson 1960:23-6) - a harsh, but not undeserved judgement, whatever de Mendana's qualities as a sailor may have been (as is emphasized by Friederici 1925, who only discusses his discovery of the Solomon Islands, which took place in 1568). For the present article the journals of the eighteenth-century voyagers, most of which are characterized by a more open mind and scientific attitude, will provide a better basis. It is not uncommon to begin a discussion of the 'merry maidens' of Matavai with the journals of Bougainville and the members of his staff. But, although the French voyagers were the first to return to Europe with enthusiastic reports about Tahiti, they were not the first to discover the island. The credit for this goes to Captain , who with his ship The Dolphin dropped anchor in Matavai Bay in 1767. Wallis was ill at the time and the actual command of his ship rested with George Robertson, the master, and John Gore, the senior midshipman. It is mainly from Robertson's journal (first published in 1948 and reprinted in 1955; here the 1955 edition is used) that the course of the first encounters with the Tahitians will be reconstructed. Wallis' journal, because of his illness at the time, is based mainly on hearsay. His report includes some data which are not found in Robertson's account, however, simply because he received his information from several people (cf. Claessen 1994:17).

Apparently there were a number of cultural misunderstandings between the Tahitians and the British from the very start. W.H. Pearson (1969) relates in detail how the English leaders failed to understand the welcome rituals of the Tahitians, and how the Tahitians reacted fiercely to the British 'mistakes'. There was distrust on both sides. The first meeting seemed promising enough, however. More than a hundred canoes came up to The Dolphin and the Tahitians held up plantain tree branches as a sign of peace (Robertson 1955:20). Some Tahitians even ventured aboard The Dolphin, and there was some barter. When more and more canoes arrived and the Tahitians 'began to be a Little surly' (Robertson 1955:22), however, the British became afraid and fired one of their guns. The Tahitians thereupon withdrew. The subsequent meetings display the same pattern: as soon as a large number of canoes surrounded the ship, the British fired a gun. Soon also muskets came into play and the first Tahitian was wounded (Robertson 1955:23). Efforts to establish better relations (on both sides) failed, and tensions grew stronger. In the course of an attempt to get fresh water some skirmishes occurred, and then the Tahitians introduced a new 'weapon' (at least in the perception of the British):

'They [the Tahitians, HC] soon found none of them was hurt, and all returned back to the Water-side, and brought a good many fine young Girls down of different colours. Some was a light copper colour others a mulatto and some

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almost if not altogether White. This new sight Attracted our men's fancy a good deal, and the natives observed it, and made the Young Girls play a great many droll wanton tricks, and the men made signs of friendship to entice our people ashore, but they very prudently deferred going ashore, until we turned better acquainted with the temper of this people.' (Robertson 1955:34.)

It is not clear to what extent the appearance of the girls was intended as a ruse, but it is quite possible that it was only meant as an expression of friendly hospitality. In interpreting Robertson's text we should bear in mind that the British were afraid of and thoroughly mistrusted the Tahitians. In any case, this meeting made it clear to the Tahitians that the strangers were extremely interested in girls. To make a long story short, on 24 June 1767 the Tahitians launched an attack on The Dolphin. According to Robertson's journal more than five hundred canoes and four thousand men were involved, as well as a number of 'fair young Girls', who 'played a great many wanton tricks, which drew all our people upon the Gunwales to see them' (Robertson 1955:40). One of the crew members, Francis Wilkinson, who kept a short journal, comments on the women as follows:

'... the Women were Directed by the Men to stand in the Prow of their Canoes and Expose their Bodies Naked to our View. As our Men are in good Health and Spirits and begin to feel the Good Effect of the Fresh Pork, we Thank God for it. It is not to be wondered at that their Attention should be drawn to a sight so uncommon to them, Especially as their Women are so well proportioned, their Features rather Agreeable than what is styled Beautiful, and tho' they are not so fair as our English Ladies I think they are infinitely too much so for their copper coloured Husbands.' (Quoted in Warner 1955:44.)

Finally a large canoe arrived, and after a signal from it the attack started with a hail of stones. The British replied with gunshots, and several canoes were damaged and their crews killed or wounded. In this battle the superiority of European guns over Polynesian'numbers was convincingly demonstrated, and the Tahitians sued for peace. At last it was possible to procure food and water, which constituted the greatest needs of the crew. The British remained suspicious, however. The gunner, who was in charge of trading, only exchanged goods with an old man, while the others stood watching from the far bank of a stream. Finally tensions eased and there were contacts at closer range. Spikes and nails appeared to be the Tahitians' favourite commodities, and soon all sorts of things, varying from hogs and water to the favours of the girls, were exchanged for nails. Soon after that the British officers were entertained by Tahitian notables, among whom Purea, the female ruler of the early state of Papara, who had come to Matavai Bay to meet the strangers, was the most prominent. Robertson seems to have taken something of a fancy to Purea, for his descriptions of her are more positive than most of those of other Tahitians (e.g., Robertson 1955:100 ff.). While the officers of The Dolphin

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 187 were enjoying themselves in high society, the common sailors were having a good time with Tahitian women. When it became known that sexual favours were procurable at the price of one nail, the men set about this trade with so much vigour that the gunner, who was carrying on the trade in food, was afraid of losing his customers. He therefore advised Wallis to put a stop to what he called 'the old trade' (Robertson 1955:78). There' were more compelling reasons for curtailing 'the old trade', however, as the available stock of nails was soon exhausted and the sailors then began pulling out the nails for their hammocks and, when these also ran out, the nails of the ship. This led Wallis to impose heavy penalties for the removal of nails, and several sailors were flogged. This did not put a stop to 'the old trade', however. The British finally left Tahiti on 27 July 1767 to start the long voyage home, where they arrived without serious misadventures in May 1768. Before going on to discuss the French expedition of Bougainville, who reached Tahiti in May 1768, it seems appropriate to summarize the observations of the British on Tahitian women and girls. There is no reason for suspecting Robertson of influence from the views of Rousseau. His journal is simple and straightforward, and nowhere can he be accused of idealizing Tahiti. Yet even he did not fail to notice the beauty of Tahitian girls. The Tahitians cleverly played on the lusts of the sailors, who had been deprived of female company for quite some time. The British had shown great interest in the girls who were present when they were taking in water from the very first moment of contact. Thus, when the Tahitians prepared for their attack on The Dolphin they tried to divert the attention of the sailors by having in their canoes nude girls, 'who played a great many droll wanton tricks'. When peace was established, a brisk exchange of nails for sex soon developed. These nails were not for the girls who had earned them, however, but for their male relatives. In this connection Wallis noted (quoted by Warner 1955:122): 'Even the fathers and brothers showed Sticks proportionate to the Nail they were to give' in exchange for the favours of female members of their family. Clearly, sex meant business to the Tahitians. There are nevertheless no indications in Robert- son's journal that the girls objected to the part they had to play - though Wilkinson's observation (quoted above) that 'the Women were Directed by the Men to stand in the Prow of their Canoes and Expose their Bodies Naked to our View' may be indicative of some pressure being exerted by Tahitian men. But then, sex was permitted, encouraged, and considered great fun in Tahiti; that it sometimes became mixed up with the duty to obtain nails was perhaps of less importance to the 'merry maidens'.

Let us now turn to the experiences of the French, who arrived in Tahiti nearly a year later, and see to what extent their observations may be of help in modifying the up to now rather one-sided picture. Their ships anchored on the eastern side of Tahiti, in Hitiaa Lagoon (Dunmore 1965,

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map 3, p. 74). Like Wallis, they were soon surrounded by numerous canoes, and the Tahitians - who had certainly learned from their experience with the British - did their best to convince the French of their good intentions. They loudly shouted 'taio', which means 'friend', waved green branches and leaves, and asked for nails. The following passage from Bougainville's journal is most revealing:

'Les pirogues etaient remplies de femmes qui ne le cedent pas, pour l'agrement de la figure, au plus grand nombre des Europeennes et qui, pour la beaute du corps, pourraient le disputer a toutes avec avantage. La plupart de ces nymphes etaient nues, car les hommes et les vieilles qui les accompagnaient leur avaient ote le pagne dont ordinairement elles s'enveloppaient. Elles nous firent d'abord, de leurs pirogues, des agaceries ou, malgre leur naivete, on decouvrit quelque embarras; soit que la nature ait partout embelli le sexe d'une timidite ingenue, soit que, meme dans les pays ou regne encore la franchise de l'age d'or, les femmes paraissent ne pas vouloir ce qu'elles desirent le plus. Les hommes, plus simples ou plus libres, s'enoncerent bientot clairement: ils nous pressaient de choisir une femme, de la suivre a terre, et leurs gestes non equivoques demontraient la maniere dont il fallait faire connaissance avec elle.' (Bougainville 1966:185/186.)

Bougainville wonders how on earth it would have been possible under these circumstances to keep at their work four hundred young French sailors who had not seen a woman for six months. The temptations became even greater when:

'Malgre toutes les precautions que nous pumes prendre, il entra a bord une jeune fille, qui vint sur le gaillard d'arriere se placer a une des ecoutilles qui sont au- dessus du cabestan; cette ecoutille etait ouverte pour donner de l'air a ceux qui viraient. La jeune fille laissa tomber negligemment un pagne qui la couvrait, et parut aux yeux de tous telle que Venus se fit voir au berger phrygien: elle en avait la forme celeste. Matelots et soldats s'empraissent pour parvenir a l'ecoutille, et jamais cabestan ne fut vire avec une pareille activite.' (Bougainville 1966:186.)

These lines set the tone for the remainder of Bougainville's account. He repeatedly refers to beautiful girls, the great hospitality of the Tahitians, the beautiful landscape - a veritable Garden of Eden - the seductive dances and the good meals. And he is not the only member of his ship's company writing in this vein, for the same holds true for the journal of the volunteer Fesche, published only in part (Fesche 1929), and for the enthusiastic letter written by Philibert de Commerson (1915). Lefranc (1929:94) mentions in addition an account by the surgeon Vives, of which only some pages have been published (in Bougainville 1966:369-405). There are several more observations by Bougainville that deserve our attention. After mentioning that many French sailors went ashore every day, he continues:

'On les invitait a entrer dans les maisons, on leur y donnait a manger; mais ce n'est pas a une collation legere que se borne ici la civilite des maitres de maisons; ils leur offraient des jeunes filles; la case se remplit a l'instant d'une foule

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curieuse d'hommes et femmes, qui faisaient un cercle autour de l'hote et de la jeune victime du devoir hospitalier; la terre se jonchait de feuillage et de fleurs, et des musiciens chantaient aux accords de la flute un hymne de jouissance. Venus est ici la deesse de l'hospitalite, son culte n'y admet point de mysteres, et chaque jouissance est une fete pour la nation. Us etaient surpris de l'embarras qu'on temoignait; nos moeurs ont proscrit cette publicite. Toutefois je ne garantis pas qu'aucun n'ait vaincu sa repugnance et ne se soit conforme aux usages du pays.' (Bougainville 1966:194-195; see also 1966:216.)

This form of public lovemaking seems to possess certain ritual overtones. It has the appearance of a carefully stage-managed celebration rather than a spontaneous tumble in the hay. One may even wonder which of the parties here was the exploited one, the girl or the sailor. Interestingly, a similar scene is described in the journal of Cook's first visit to Tahiti (Cook 1968: 93-4), where a Tahitian boy and a very young girl are the protagonists. Cook shows himself to be surprised, to say the least, but concludes that 'it appear'd to be done more from Custom than Lewdness', for there were a number of Tahitians present who, 'far from showing the least disapprob- ation', instructed the girl 'how she should act her part'. , who accompanied Cook on this voyage, observed that Tahitian women were quite willing to enter into more intimate relations with visitors, and 'were much less jealous of observation than we were' (Banks 1962 1:254). Banks was, in fact, greatly interested in Tahitian women, as is apparent from various remarks in his journal (Banks 1962 1:255, 300), and even more so from his letter to the Dutch Count William Bentinck (Banks 1962 11:330-4). In this letter, written very much in the style of Rousseau, Tahiti is described as the 'Island of Love', where 'Love is the Chief Occupation'. Some brief references to this form of Tahitian hospitality are also found in the rather more factual journal of the botanist Solander, who tells us that, when walking across the island, the British were continually invited to enter people's houses, where they 'nous y presentoient des rafraichisse- ments & de tres-jolies femmes, & nous pressoient de les accepter, avec une franchise & une cordialite qui donnoient un nouveau prix aux choses qui nous etoient offertes' (Solander 1773:61). And elsewhere Solander informs us, after painting in enthusiastic - but delicate - terms the beauty of the Tahitian women: 'Mais ces belles Otahitiennes sont lascives, & ne mettent point la continence au rang des vertus. Nos soldats & matelots les trouverent si favorables a leurs desirs, qu'ils n'eurent d'autre embarras que celui du choix, pendant tout notre sejour dans cette isle.' (Solander 1773:70.) Cook's journal, in comparison with the journals of Robertson and Bougainville (and the letter of Banks), is rather reticent about women, and quite silent on the subject of the 'old trade'. This might have some connection with the fact that he had strictly forbidden the exchange of 'any thing that is made of Iron' for 'any thing but provision' (Cook 1968: 76). Moreover, the Tahitians at first were rather cautious in their dealings

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with Cook; they certainly remembered the guns of The Dolphin. Cook for his part concentrated his attention on the upper classes of Tahitian society and on the preparations for the observation of the transit of the planet Venus, the main object of his stay here. Sex did not completely escape his attention, on the other hand, as is apparent from the following remark:

'The young girls when ever they can collect 8 or 10 together dance a very indecent dance which they call Timorodee singing most indecent songs and using most indecent actions in the practice of which they are brought up from their earlyest Childhood, in doing this they keep time to a great nicety; this exercise is however generaly left of as soon as they arrive at years of maturity for as soon as they have form'd a connection with a man they are expected to leave of dancing Timorodee." (Cook 1968:127.)

It should be noted that Cook is less reticent about the sexual liberties of the Tahitians in the journal of his second voyage (1772-1775; e.g., Cook 1969:236 and 238-9). Here he states that married women and unmarried women 'of the better sort' were difficult to obtain (see also Wales 1969:796-7, on the same journey). One gets the impression that the crew was more uninhibited in this respect than on the first visit (see 1983:307). For the 'Garden-of-Eden approach' we must turn to Bougainville (and Banks' letter), however. Nevertheless, convincing though Bougainville's case for a Garden of Eden may seem at first sight, on closer inspection there appear to be some inconsistencies in his description. In the above quotation, for example, he mentions that at least some of the girls were reluctant to show themselves naked to the sailors, but were forced to do so by their companions. He refers to a 'timidite ingenue' and to women who 'paraissent ne pas vouloir ce que elles desirent le plus' (one is tempted to ask: how could he know?). He moreover mentions that it was the women's male companions who pressed them on the French sailors (who for their part were not averse to close contact with Tahitian girls). The initiative did not come from the girls - as one would have expected. Furthermore, a short journal written by one Lieutenant Caro (1962), a 'simple' sailor who was not familiar with the works of Rousseau, contains some interesting observations, but hardly a single lyrical line. Even the public lovemaking (see above) is commented upon in only two lines, saying that the female members of the household of Ereti (the chief of Hitiaa) did not take part in it and that only unmarried girls were free to do as they pleased (Caro 1962:16).

The data in the journals of the French expedition are consistent with Robertson's observations, Banks' journal, and Solander's comments. After experience had taught them that the strangers were militarily invincible, the Tahitian men tried a different approach and cunningly exploited the lust of the sex-starved sailors to procure as many foreign objects as possible (apart

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 191 from stealing these). Sex for them indeed meant business. Interestingly, it is more apparent in the French reports than in the English that not all the girls were eager to participate in this exchange. Male pressure was sometimes brought to bear to overcome their resistance. On the other hand, the majority of the girls seem to have had no qualms at all about having sex with strangers. Our sources do not enable us to distinguish between married women and unmarried girls - though Caro's comment in this respect should not be overlooked. That the women of Ereti's household did not participate in the sex game may be connected with the fact either that the chief was certain to receive European goods as gifts from the foreign leaders anyway, or that he was powerful enough to obtain such goods from his subjects once the visitors were gone. While European goods were sufficiently valuable for commoners to send their wives and daughters to foreign ships to procure them, the daughters of the notables were staked in another game: the gamble for high-status marriages and power. This is not to say that noble women never entertained relations with foreigners at all, of course. At least the remarks in Banks' journal teach us differently. The pattern for Tahiti was set by the visits of Wallis and Bougainville. So whenever a European ship entered Matavai Bay in subsequent years, the girls would set out to obtain the goods desired by their fathers or husbands - varying from nails to gunpowder - from the sailors in return for sexual favours. In the course of a few years this once 'charming' custom degraded into outright prostitution. The British merchant Turnbull, who lived in Tahiti between 1801 and 1804, relates how one evening Pomare II (the arii rahi of Pare Arue) sent a dozen girls to a European ship to procure a large quantity of gunpowder through prostitution (Turnbull 1806:384).

So far in this description no attention has been given to the attitude towards sex of the Tahitians themselves. Douglas Oliver, who wrote an extremely detailed survey of traditional Tahitian culture, discusses this attitude in considerable depth (Oliver 1974:350-74). According to him, the Tahitians regarded sex 'as one of the most pleasurable of all activities' (Oliver 1974:350). Boys and girls learned to deal with sex from childhood on, and most of them acquired great skill in this respect. Strangely enough, contraception was not practised, he says (Oliver 1974:360). 'Instead the Maohi appear to have depended upon abortion and infanticide to avoid raising unwanted offspring' (Oliver 1974:412). This is not to say that contraceptives did not exist; it only means that neither the early European visitors nor the later anthropologists found clear indications of their existence. In evaluating the reports of the European visitors, Oliver rightly points out that 'the situation created by the presence of shiploads of Europeans can by no definition be regarded as normal' (Oliver 1974:354). This may explain the above-mentioned reluctance of some of the girls.

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European goods (nails, hats, scissors, red feathers) were so attractive to the Tahitians, however, that many of them were prepared to pay any price, including the sexual favours of their wives and daughters, to obtain them. If one adds to this the circumstance that for the majority of women 'sexual intercourse was an avocation' (Oliver 1974:356), sufficient conditions are given for a lively sexual scene in Tahiti. This is not to say that there were no restrictions at all. 'Both marriage and upper-class status tended to restrict, up to a point, a woman's sexual liberty' (Oliver 1974:358). As regards the instances of public copulation described above, Oliver (1974:363) is inclined to regard these as no more than a 'special form of entertainment' - the ritual overtones mentioned by Bougainville notwithstanding - for such special entertainment was offered at performances of the arioi society (a group of people dedicated to the worship of the god Oro) as well (see also Babadzan 1993). For a balanced evaluation of the position of the 'merry maidens' a comparison with the situation in other Polynesian islands is needed, however. For a number of Tahitian customs are found elsewhere as well, while in other islands there were also customs which were found in only a rudimentary form in Tahiti. Other Islands - Other Customs? It is not possible in the limited scope of an article to discuss all the Polynesian islands. Nor is it possible to describe the customs in other islands in the same detail as those in Tahiti. Hence a selection has to be made. As a result Tonga, the Marquesas Islands, , and the Hawaiian Islands will be briefly discussed in this section.

The data on the Tongan Islands have been gathered mainly from the journals written during Cook's visits here on his second and third expeditions. It should be noted, however, that some references to women are also found in the journals of Le Maire and Schouten, who visited some of the smaller Tongan islands in 1616. So Le Maire (1945:73) informs us that Tongan women were ugly and without moral restraints. His companion, Schouten, states (1945:198) that women here sometimes had sexual intercourse in public, but does not mention whether the men concerned were Dutch sailors or Tongans. Tasman's brief statement (1919:61) that numerous women came to his ship is too general to be of any use to us. Cook, on his first visit here in 1773, was offered a woman but politely declined the offer, 'tho she was neither old nor ugly' (Cook 1969:254). Elsewhere he states that it was 'no great crime' especially for unmarried women to be generous with their favours (Cook 1969:268). Cook also declined the beautiful girl urged upon him by 'an old Lady', though he could have taken her 'on credit' and given a shirt or a nail later (Cook 1969:444). From Clerke's Log we learn that 'The Women are in general handsome and to the last degree obliging' (Clerke 1969:758). The

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 193 astronomer Wales gives a more balanced judgement. He emphasizes that 'the favours of Married Women are not to be purchased, except of their Husbands, to whose command they seem to pay implicit obediance'. Wales moreover states that not all unmarried women admitted 'familiarities, or at least are very carefull to whom they grant them'. On the other hand there were many 'prostitutes', in his view, 'and such no doubt were those who came on board the ship' (Wales 1969:796-7). Georg Forster paints the situation on board a ship in colourful detail:

'Unter den letztern gab es sehr viel Frauenspersonen, die wie Amphibia im Wasser herumgaukelten, und sich leicht bereden liessen an Bord zu kommen, nackt als die Natur sie geschaffen hatte. Um Keuschheit war es ihnen auch eben so wenig zu thun als den gemeinen Madchen auf Tahiti und die Societats-Inseln, und man kan wohl denken, dass unsere Seeleute sich den guten Willen dieser Schonen zu Nutzen machten ... Ein Hemd, ein Stuck Zeug, oder ein Paar Nagel waren zuweilen hinreichende Lockungen fiir die Dirnen, sich ohne Schaam preis zu geben.' (Georg Forster 1983:400.)

He, too, suggests that married women did not take part in such activities. He then wonders why in Polynesia the custom existed 'dass unverhei- rathete Personen sich ohne Unterschied eine Menge von Liebhabern preis geben diirfen! Sollten sie denn wohl erwarten dass Madchen, welche den Trieben der Natur Gehor und freyen Lauf geben, bessere Weiber wiirden als die unschuldigen und eingezogenern?' (Georg Forster 1983:400-1.) Cook, as usual, is rather reticent on the subject, though his officers are not. William Anderson, the surgeon, for example, remarks that sex was a subject of great interest to the Tongans: 'free intercourse between the sexes amongst the younger sort is not at all reckoned criminal but rather encourag'd'. He adds that

'they rather seem to think it unnatural to suppress an appetite originally implanted in them perhaps for the same purposes as hunger and thirst, and consequently make it often a topic of public conversation, or what is more indecent in our judgement, have been seen to cool the ardour of their mutual inclinations before the eyes of many spectators' (Anderson 1967:945).

This was a tendency with a long history, as we saw above. Samwell, the surgeon's mate of The Discovery, kept a detailed journal, in which he repeatedly expressed his great interest in the weaker sex: 'We found no great Difficulty in getting the Girls on board, for the Charms of a Hatchet, a Shirt or a long nail they could no more withstand than we could theirs which were far from despicable' (Samwell 1967:1015). Some time later he and some friends spent the night at the house of one of the chiefs, who 'promised to procure a mistress for each of us'. So they spent the night there 'with our Dulcineas who were all fine girls & did Honour to Toobow's hospitality' (Samwell 1967:1033). In a more general comment Samwell states that, 'As to modesty these women have no more Claim to it

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than the Otaheiteans, we have had on board the ships large Companies of them dancing stark naked, at the same time using the most lascivious Gestures' (Samwell 1967:1042). It becomes clear from the context that Samwell here is referring to women of 'the lower Class'. This impression is strengthened by the additional remark that 'These Agee ['eiki, i.e. chiefly, HC] Girls, as we called them, never came on board the Ships, nor were their favours to be purchased for Hatchets or anything else that we had, they are kept inviolate for the Chiefs who marry them' (Samwell 1967:1042). The 'Agee Girls' belonged to the chiefly class and took no part in the sexual activities in which the common girls seem to have indulged. As in Tahiti, it is not clear here, either, to what extent the girls came of their own free will or were sent by their male relatives. That the latter may sometimes have been the case follows from another comment by Samwell:

'During our stay here we had a constant Intercourse with the Women both on board the Ships and on Shore, & the price was a Shirt or a Hatchet for the Night; they were brought to us & the Bargain made by their Fathers, Brothers or some Friend or Relation ... They are of a very amorous Complexion & highly deserving of what they got.' (Samwell 1967:1044.)

Later visitors like D'Entrecasteaux and Labillardiere, who were in Tonga in 1793, also mention in their journals the many girls who were sent (?) to their ships by the chiefs and who offered their favours in exchange for foreign goods (D'Entrecasteaux 1808:288; Labillardiere 180011:100, 104).

There are several customs with regard to sex and marriage in the Tonga Islands that were not mentioned by the early visitors but were observed by anthropologists who came much later, although the British sailor Mariner, who lived in the islands for four years, already describes several of these customs in detail (Mariner 1819:401-15). A very clear picture of the situation is presented by Elizabeth Bott (1981). She states that under the traditional system 'land was controlled by titles and titles were normally inherited either by a brother or a son'. This means that normally political positions were passed down in the patrilineal line. It was not uncommon, however, 'for titles to go to a daughter's son if the political circumstances were considered to warrant it' (Bott 1981:15). It is here that the role of noble women becomes especially conspicuous. In the Tongan family, sisters had a higher rank than brothers (Bott 1981:17; Van der Grijp 1993:164 ff.). In the case of the sacred ruler, the tu'i tonga, the danger of his sister's children claiming the succession, in virtue of having a higher rank than he, was obviated by having this sister marry a Fijian notable (Bott 1981:32; also Gailey 1987:67-79). The higher social position of sisters casts doubts on the early visitors' suggestion that 'brothers' offered their sisters to the sailors; for how can this be squared with the sisters' higher rank? Moreover, as appears from recent accounts of Tongan family life, there existed a strong brother-sister taboo in Tonga (Rogers 1977;

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Perminow 1993:84-100; Van der Grijp 1993:169). It is possible, of course, that under missionary influence the rules of avoidance have been strengthened recently, but this could only happen if such customs already existed. As in Tahiti, marriages among high-ranking Tongans were carefully calculated. People married either to secure political support or to raise the rank of their heirs. Marriages were also the means whereby Tongan rulers sought to establish claims over distant villages and islands. They sent younger brothers and younger sons away to marry the daughter(s) of local chiefs. As such a younger son or brother had a high rank in the remote village or island concerned, he was usually welcome and the intended marriage took place. Then the 'rule of patrilineal succession of leaders was waived so that the son of the immigrant aristocrat and the chief's daughter could succeed to the leadership position of the old chief (Bott 1981:41-2, see also 15). Against this background it seems only logical that the daughters of notables were not sent to the ships of foreigners to procure hatchets or shirts; they had other, more important duties!

Next in this survey we shall consider the Marquesas Islands. The first European to arrive here, in July 1595, was the Spanish voyager Alvaro de Mendana, who anchored at Fatuhiva. Soon after the first Marquesans had come aboard, Mendana ordered them to leave the ships and, to show that he was serious, ordered his sailors to shoot at the visitors. A number of islanders were killed. This peculiar form of hospitality was repeated, with some variations, at every island the Spaniards called at. It is estimated that more than 300 people died as a consequence of these encounters (Danielsson 1960:22-6). The brutal killings notwithstanding, sexual contacts must have taken place between the Europeans and local women, for, as Danielsson claims (1960:26), the Spaniards introduced syphilis in the Marquesas. Small wonder, therefore, that the next European voyager to call here, James Cook in 1774, was treated with distrust and suspicion. After experiencing some navigational problems, Cook anchored at Tahu Ata (south of Hiva Oa) in Vaitahu Bay. Before long some canoes approached the British ship. A limited trade in breadfruit and fish developed, but the islanders tried to keep the British nails and hatchets without giving anything in return. As a consequence one of the Marquesans was killed (Cook 1969:365). The trading continued, however, as did the thieving. When Cook landed with a party afterwards, the islanders took fright and could only with difficulty be induced to trade with the foreigners again (Cook 1969:367). The results of this barter trade fell short of expectations, however, and Cook soon left the Marquesas Islands. It is mainly from Georg Forster's journal (1983:521 ff.) that some information can be gleaned about Marquesan women. Forster relates that during the first days of their stay no women were to be seen anywhere; only one older woman showed up for a few moments (Georg Forster

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1983:526). When during a walk across the island Forster and his com- panions saw 'eine junge Frauensperson aus einem Hause herauskommen', this woman immediately fled into the bushes (Georg Forster 1983:530). Forster states that she was like a Tahitian woman in appearance. Finally, however, a number of Marquesan women visited the British ships. It is again Georg Forster who gives some details of these visits: 'Auch befand sich unter denselben eine Anzahl Frauensleute, mit denen die Matrosen bald Bekanntschaft machten, weil verschiedne sich ebenso gefallig bewiesen, als die auf den andern Siidsee-Inseln. Sie waren kleiner als die Mannsleute, aber von sehr proportionirtem Gliederbau.' (Georg Forster 1983:533.)

The next visitor to the Marquesas was the French captain Etienne Marchand, who arrived here in 1791 (on Marchand see Dunmore 1965: 343-53). The French visit seems to have been much more relaxed than the British one of some twenty years previously, for according to Denning the French retained 'nostalgic memories' of it (Denning 1974:2). Danielsson (1960:29-30) gives more details of this visit and quotes extensively from Marchand's journal. Marchand seems to have been influenced by the ideas of Rousseau and Bougainville. For example, he describes his arrival at Vaitahu Bay in the following words:

'Women and girls in groups on the bank lent charm to the scene; and the men who surrounded the boat informed our sailors by unequivocal signs, that the women were at their disposal, while they themselves, by meaning looks and attractive gestures, that language of all countries, emphatically confirmed the offer of their persons made by the men' (Marchand as cited in Danielsson 1960:30).

Soon contacts were established between the French sailors and the Marquesan women and so, Marchand continues:

'Let us draw a thick veil over what happened there. I will only say that on the approach of the night the young Marquesan women reappeared on deck, carrying nails, little mirrors, little knives, grains of coloured glass, ribbons, scraps of cloth, and other products of our arts, which they had obtained in exchange for the only commercial asset they had to dispose of. Often, later on, they introduced some mystification in their dealings; they were seen without any other garment than that of Nature, climbing up the mast by the ratlines, with an agility which the young sailors who eagerly followed them could scarcely equal; and the ship's tarred rigging was transformed into a grove of Gnidus.' (Marchand as cited in Danielsson 1960:30.)

When the women were obliged for some reason to leave the ship, they stayed in its vicinity, swimming around it:

'But, true sirens as they were, they did not go far away of the ship; they carried out a thousand evolutions in our sight, showing themselves in every aspect; and perceiving at once that this performance gave infinite pleasure to our sailors, they

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humoured them by giving it several times over: it was a pledge for the next day: it was a bringing to life of that charming picture of the birth of Venus, in which Boucher's brush depicts young Nereids playing on the waves around the shell which bears the goddess.' (Marchand as cited in Danielsson 1960:30.)

It was 'paradise regained' and 'the noble savage' all over again, as if nothing had happened since Bougainville's visit to Tahiti more than twenty years before. Marchand was probably the last European visitor to witness the already declining Marquesan culture in its pristine state (Van Bakel 1989; Kirch 1991), for some years later the missionaries of the Duff arrived. They, too, experienced the enterprising spirit of the Marquesan women. The latter swam to the ship in large numbers, and after a while a few of them were allowed on board, where they arrived clad only in some green leaves. The missionaries handed out clothing, but there were too many girls for them all to be dressed from the missionaries' meagre stock. As James Wilson, the captain of the Duff, informs us:

'they were in a measure disappointed, for they could not all succeed so well as the first in getting clothed; nor did our mischievous goats even suffer them to keep their green leaves, but as they turned to avoid them they were attacked on each side alternately, and completely stripped naked' (Wilson 1799:130).

After some negotiating the missionaries came to an understanding with one of the chiefs, and two of them, Harris and Crook, undertook to stay at the island. The chief made them welcome in his house, where they spent the nights. As befits good missionaries, they were not interested in sexual contacts with native women. This so surprised - or rather, annoyed - the chief's wife that she tried to find out one night when Crook was visiting another village to what extent Harris was a normal man. With some of her women friends 'she pounced on the unsuspecting Harris, who fled in terror' (Wilson 1799:141-2; Danielsson 1960:34; Van der Grijp 1989:40). This put an end to Harris' missionary zeal. Crook was not discouraged, however, and stayed in the Marquesas for more than a year. The indulgent attitude of visitors like Marchand (and actually also the crew of the Duff) towards the Marquesan women vanished in later years. Von Krusenstern, for example, who visited the Marquesas Islands in 1804, reacted most prudishly to the swimming women and girls. Though he allowed them aboard once, the following days he had them driven away by having muskets fired over their heads (Von Krusenstern 1985:60). He was, however, prepared to assume that their behaviour:

'nicht so sehr in Leichtsinn oder ziigelloser Sinnlichkeit ihren Grund hat als in dem Gehorsam gegen die unnatiirlichen und tyrannischen Befehle der Manner und Vater, welche ihre Weiber und Tbchter abschicken, urn Eisen und andere Kleinigkeiten zu erlangen. Denn des Morgens sah man sie ihnen entgegenschwimmen, urn die erworben Schatze in Empfang zu nehmen.' (Von Krusenstern 1985:60.)

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If there is one unequivocal example of European prejudice, we have it here. For in reality there was not the least indication that parental pressure was needed to induce girls to visit the ships. The behaviour of the 'enter- prising' Marquesan girls was wholly in accordance with the prevailing sexual customs of this people. Little girls were carefully prepared by their parents for their future role as mates, and it was wholly normal for boys and girls to have frequent sexual contacts during adolescence. As parents did not desire total openness in these matters, however, there was much adventure and strategy involved in these contacts (Suggs 1963:119-23). Von Krusenstern is one of the first European observers to mention the custom of the 'second husband' (1985:76-7), a custom that is also referred to by the missionary Thomson (1980:26). Edward Robarts, who lived in the Marquesan Islands for more than twenty years, describes this custom in some detail (1974:270-1). He informs us that once a marriage was concluded, the wife had the right - with her husband's approval - to take a number of secondary husbands. These men, the pekio, occupied a position somewhere between that of a servant and a lover. For this position they were dependent on the whims of the woman. The woman not only granted them sexual favours, but had to possess quite a degree of skill in the art of love, for sex was the only remuneration these second husbands received. This might explain the great emphasis placed on the sexual education of girls, who proved themselves accomplished lovers already at a 'tender age' (Von Krusenstern 1985:60-1; Suggs 1963:118-9). Nicholas Thomas, in his recent monograph on the Marquesas Islands, points out that the background of the pekio system was quite complicated. It was one of the means whereby a woman of property could exercise power. It was a form of patronage. Through it a woman tied men sexually and in return achieved close relations with servants, who 'through something like conjugality, were incorporated into domestic groups in an enduring way' (Thomas 1990:82, see also 41-2, 192-3). Though there was great sexual liberty, there were also severe restrictions upon women. For example, they could not belong to the tapu class, membership of which was the exclusive privilege of high-born males. Women could, however, live in the 'style of life which the tapu class enjoyed' (Denning 1974:21, 23). In conclusion, the ka'ioi should be mentioned here. This was a society 'whose members from puberty to marriage enjoyed considerable freedom of sexual experimentation', as Denning puts it (1974:23; cf. Thomas 1990:91). It resembled the Tahitian arioi society, which was also characterized by great sexual liberty (cf. Babadzan 1993).

Easter Island was discovered by Jacob Roggeveen in April 1722. The Dutch expedition spent only a few days here, but as the island is relatively small, its members were nevertheless able to explore the greater part of it. Hence their report is quite detailed. They were surprised to see only few women:

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'Ook is 't seer aenmerklyk, dat wy niet meer als 2 a 3 oude vrouwen hebben gesien, aanhebbende een kleedje van de middel af tot beneden haere knien, en een ander om de schouders geslagen, doch soo, dat de neerhangende borst-vellen bloot waren; maer jonge vrouwen en dochters kwamen niet te voorschyn, soo dat men te gelooven heeft dat de jaloesy de mannen bewogen sal hebben om deselve op een afgelegen plaats van 't Eyland te verbergen' (Roggeveen 1838:115). [It is furthermore quite curious that we did not see more than two or three old women, dressed in a length of cloth coming from their waist to below their knees, and another one around their shoulders, though draped in such a way that their shrivelled, pendulous breasts were uncovered; young women and daughters did not make an appearance, however, which leads us to believe that jealousy prob- ably induced the men to hide them in a remote part of the island. (My translation, HC.)]

Strangely enough, the German sailor Behrens, who was a member of the Roggeveen expedition, states that the men of Easter Island offered their women to the Dutch sailors in large numbers (Roggeveen 1838:115, note). This journal is not very reliable, however (De Bree 1942:42-50), which makes it surprising that Erika Vogler should base her review of the discovery of Easter Island (1989:53-4) wholly on this author. The next visitor to the island (leaving aside the short stay of the Spanish captain Gonzales in 1770) was James Cook, who anchored here in 1774. The British, who searched the island quite thoroughly, reported that there was hardly a woman to be seen here:

'The Inhabitants of this isle from what we have been able to see of them do not exceed six or seven hundred souls and above two thirds of these are Men, they either have but few Women among them or else many were not suffer'd to make their appearence, the latter seems most Probable' (Cook 1969:350, 354).

Nevertheless, difficult though it may seem under these circumstances, several of the sailors established intimate contacts with Easter Island women. So Johann Reinhold Forster reports that 'several had some favours of the Girls, & found them by no means very shy, if they only came up to their price, which was by no means beyond an old rag or the like' (J.R. Forster 1982:476). More detailed observations of the women are given by Johann Reinhold's son Georg. His first comment is in agreement with Rogge- veen's and Cook's reports: 'Ihre Frauenspersonen, die sehr klein und zart gebauet waren, hatten auch Puncturen [tattoos, HC] im Gesicht, die an Gestalt den Schonpflasterchen unsrer Damen glichen. Doch befanden sich unter dem ganzen hier versammleten Haufen nicht iiber zehn bis zwolf Frauensleute.' (Georg Forster 1983:484.) The great difference in numbers between men and women is mentioned in his report again a little further down, and this time he tries to find an explanation for it: 'Es war uns unmoglich, die Ursach dieser Ungleichheit in der Zahl der beyden Geschlechter, zu errathen; da aber alle Weibsleute, die wir bisher gesehen,

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ungemein freygebig mit ihren Gunstbezeugungen waren, so vermuthete ich damals, dass die Verheyratheten und Eingezognern, welche vielleicht die grosste Anzahl ausmachten, keinen Gefallen finden mogten, mit uns bekannt zu werden, oder vielleicht durch die Eifersucht der Manner gezwungen wiirden, in den entfernten Theilen der Insel zuriick zu bleiben. Die wenigen, welche wir hie und da ansichtig wurden, waren die ausschweifendsten Creaturen, die wir je gesehen. Sie schienen iiber alle Schaam und Schande vollig weg zu seyn; und unsre Matrosen thaten auch, als wenn sie nie von so etwas gehort hatten; denn der Schatten der colossalischen Monumente, war ihnen in Hinsicht auf ihre Ausschweifungen schon Obdachs genug.' (Georg Forster 1983:493.)

It is most probable that these sailors had never heard of the experiences of Bougainville's men in Tahiti six years previously, or, for that matter, of the experiences of the Dutch in the Tonga Islands in 1616. Georg Forster, however, must have been acquainted at least with the journal of the Frenchman. Fortunately, young Georg also met with 'chaste' women (though, it must be said, in their husbands' company), who behaved in a more decorous manner; they offered food or fled at the Europeans' approach (Georg Forster 1983:498, 501). He never found out how or where these chaste women had hidden during their stay, however, though the visitors had explored the tiny island from end to end (Georg Forster 1983:507). He was not the only visitor to wonder why so few women showed themselves. The German poet Adelbert von Chamisso, who visited Easter Island with a Russian expedition under Von Kotzebue in 1816, also reports that 'Wir sahen nur wenige Weiber, diese mit dunkelrot gefarbten Gesichtern, ohne Reiss und Anmut und, wie es schien, ohne Ansehen unter den Mannern' (Von Chamisso 1838 IV: 175). In view of these and other similar statements about Easter Island women, archaeologist Jo Anne van Tilburg's wistful observation that 'The women were always described in what we would today regard as sexist terms' (Van Tilburg 1994:105) is not surprising. The same criticism, one might add, holds for the reports on other islands. There is hardly any difference in this respect between the notions of the libertine Samwell, as conveyed in his journal, and those of the stern German moralist J.R. Foster, as recorded in his Observations made during (1778/1996), moreover. All eighteenth-century visitors to the South Sea islands qualify as 'sexists' judged by late-twentieth-century standards. It should be pointed out in their defence (if necessary), however, that they wrote and acted wholly in accordance with the norms and values of their time, which were so very different from ours.

Because of the virtually total annihilation of Easter Island culture by Chilean colonists, not much is known about the traditional society here. Recent research into the past therefore is mainly concentrated on the archaeology of the island (Van Tilburg 1994). The only recent ethno- graphic description of the islanders was written by Alfred Metraux (1965),

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 201 who collected his data in 1934. It is not clear to what extent his findings are applicable to the culture of the eighteenth-century inhabitants of Easter Island. Metraux explains (1965:177 ff.) why the foreign visitors saw so very few women: most of them were carefully hidden - a conclusion these visitors had already drawn themselves. The women who came to the beach were those who 'sans dommage pour leur rang ou pour leur condition, pouvaient tirer profit de leurs charmes. Cette liberte de moeurs, dont il a ete souvent question, ne s'etendait done pas a toute la population feminine. Les femmes de la classe des [i.e., chiefs] etaient sans doute tenues a plus de discretion.' (Metraux 1965:178.) Hence there is reason to suppose that the customs of Easter Island did not differ very much - at least in this respect - from those in other Polynesian islands.

The Hawaiian Islands were discovered by Cook on his third voyage, in January 1778. The first island where he landed was Niihau, in the western part of the group. As there was venereal disease on board the ships, Cook had given orders that 'no Women, on any account whatever were to be admitted on board the Ships, I also forbid all manner of connection with them, and ordered that none who had venereal diseases upon them should go out of the ships' (Cook 1967:265). This precaution proved to be wholly ineffectual, for when the British returned to the island a year later, there appeared to be many infected islanders (King 1967:498; Clerke 1967:576; Samwell 1967:1151). It should be observed, however, that the local women had been extremely active in establishing intimate relations with the foreign sailors, for

'the Women us'd all their Arts to entice them [the sailors, HC] into their Houses, & even went so far as to Endeavour to draw them in by force. And tho none who were known to have that dreadful distemper upon them were suffered to set their Foot on Shore, nor even those who had been but lately out of the Surgeon's List, Yet the great eagerness of the Women concurring with the Desires of the Men it became impossible to keep them from each other & we had reason to beleive that some of them had Connections with these Women both on board our Ships & on Shore, Notwithstanding every precaution that was taken to Prevent it.' (Cook 1967:266 note.)

The carefree debauchee Samwell describes the eagerness of the women in the following words:

'Indeed we found all the Women of these Islands but little influenced by interested motives in their intercourse with us, as they would almost use violence to force you into their Embrace regardless whether we gave them any thing or not, and in general were as fine Girls as any we had seen in the South Sea islands' (Samwell 1967:1085).

Here, as well as in the next island, Kauai, the British succeeded in obtaining great quantities of food and fresh water to replenish their diminished

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access 202 Henri J.M. Claessen stocks. After that the expedition left for the coasts of Alaska and Kamchatka. Cook returned to the Islands in November 1778. This time he visited Maui and Hawaii (Cook 1967:475 ff.). While Cook, as usual, is rather reticent about 'the old trade' (in which there is not the least indication of his ever having taken part himself, see Zimmermann 1966:71- 2; Sahlins 1985:3, note 4), it is obvious that the 'young gentlemen' and the common sailors both were very active in this connection. Samwell, for example, repeatedly mentions (e.g., 1967:1083, 1156, 1157, 1158, 1161, 1225, and passim) beautiful girls and intimate contacts. So he writes: 'When any of us see a handsome Girl in a Canoe that he has a mind to, upon waving his Hand to her she immediately jumps overboard & swims to the Ship, where we receive her in our arms like another Venus just rising from the Waves' (Samwell 1967:1154). Finally, the British anchored in Kealakekua Bay - where Cook's journal comes to an abrupt end with his death at the hands of the Hawaiians (Sahlins 1985:104-45). The remainder of the voyage is described in the reports of Clerke and King. Like Cook, they volunteer little information about the relations between Hawaiian women and British men. Clerke, in his general survey of the customs of the islanders, states with regard to the nobles:

'They are profligate to a most shameful degree in the indulgence of their lusts and passions, the Women are much more common than at any place we ever saw before. Marriage, if at all known among them, is very little encouraged, we saw no traces of it, every Aree (chief) according to his rank keeps so many women and so many young men (I'ca'r'nies as they call them) for the amusement of his leisure hours; they talk of the infernal practice with all the indifference in the world, nor do I suppose they imagine any degree of infamy in it.' (Clerke 1967:596.)

This is such a severe judgement that Beaglehole, the editor of the journal, felt obliged to add a note saying that marriage certainly did exist in the Hawaii Islands! King's survey of the islands makes clear that actually the position of women here was not very favourable. Apart from the fact that King, no more than Clerke, found any indications of the existence of marriage, women according to him were subject to many tapu rules: 'they are not only depriv'd of eating with their Lords, but what is more vexatious, the best food is Tabooed [to them]' (King 1967:624). Moreover, noble women especially had to compete for their husbands' favours with the latter's male lovers (this, together with Clerke's above statement about 'the infernal practice', seems to be the first reference to the practice of homosexuality in Polynesia). King noted that on the other hand there were women of consequence who possessed a high status and exercised political power (King 1967:625). The situation did not change very much over the years, as Adelbert von Chamisso's account of the situation of 1815 mentions 'die allgemeine zudringliche, gewinnsiichtige Zuvorkom-

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 203 menheit des andern Geschlechtes; die ringsher und laut zugeschrieenen Antrage aller Weiber, aller Manner namens aller Weiber' (Von Chamisso 1838 111:121). Curiously enough, Archibald Campbell, who stayed here for more than a year (1809-1810), does not mention any scenes of the kind; his only reference to sexual practices is the information that when a ruler died there was a period of a kind of ritual sexual liberty (A. Campbell 1818:93; this is confirmed by Valeri 1985:220). In the interior the relations between the sexes were similar to those on the coast. The Hawaiian author David Malo relates how Hawaiian nobles were entitled to labour services from their subjects. Although it is not clear to what extent sexual services formed part of this obligation, Malo (1971:65) says that 'the wives of the country people were sometimes appropriated by the men about court' and that the men 'sometimes [were] separated from their country wives by the women of the court'. It should be taken into account that Malo's writings were influenced by his Christian background (Valeri 1985:xxiv).

Marshall D. Sahlins paradoxically states in an interesting article (1985:5) that 'The women offered themselves because they thought there was a god, and the sailors took them because they had forgotten it'. The first part of this statement is of greater interest for the present study than the second - it suggests that in the Hawaiian Islands sex was somehow connected with religion. The British sailors' rewarding the women for their services with gifts gradually transformed what initially was a religious practice into mere prostitution, however (Sahlins 1985:6). For, as the British goods were extremely valuable to the Hawaiians, Hawaiian men offered their wives, daughters or sisters to the foreign visitors in order to obtain nails or beads (Samwell 1967:1182; Sahlins 1985:7). Sahlins moreover points out that, though according to the British statements the women 'who flew precipitously into the arms of the English seamen' (Sahlins 1985:9) were women of lower rank, limitations of class did not generally play a role in the sexual activities of the Hawaiians. His article gives the impression that, apart from the fun of it, sex played a crucial role in the access to power and property (Sahlins 1985:10). In a way the Hawaiian approach to sex (actually Sahlins uses the word 'love', which seems to me less appropriate) was quite pragmatic and not inhibited by many tapu rules or prohibitions. To quote Sahlins again: 'children, at least those of the elite, were socialized in the arts of love', and 'rank and tabu might be gained or lost by it', while sexual conquests singularly marked the political career of the young men (Sahlins 1985:10). Sahlins repeats these views again and again: 'sexual conquests are means to a variety of material advantages'; as a consequence, there existed 'a political economy of love' in traditional Hawaiian culture; and 'love is the infrastructure' (Sahlins 1985:19). The marriage system of the Hawaiian chiefs thus 'was a lifetime fete of polygynous and polyandrous matings that defies any simple description. Incest and exogamy, hypergamy and hypogamy; every kind of union had

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its advantages, according to the context of the situation.' (Sahlins 1985:22.) Sahlins adds that the situation was the same in 'the humbler domestic realm of the people'; there were 'no rigid rules of marital residence or prescribed family forms', and for the younger adults there was 'a prolonged period of mobility ... devoted to the pursuit of pleasure'; as a result 'domestic stability was not realized until a relatively advanced age' (Sahlins 1985:23). The result of all this was that the social structure was rather loose; there were no lineages, and the local chief was repeatedly replaced by someone else. There thus was 'no necessary or essential kinship to the people there', which placed the commoners in rather a disadvantageous position vis-a-vis the local chiefs (Sahlins 1985:25). In view of the above statements, the assumption seems not too far-fetched that the enthusiasm with which the foreign sailors were received was connected not only with 'lust', but also with attempts by the local population to profit by them, not only materially but possibly also socially, by thus assuring themselves of 'more highly' classified offspring.

Discussion What conclusions do the data presented above enable us to draw about the 'merry maidens' of Matavai? Were these maidens really carefree girls uninhibitedly enjoying intimate relations with foreign visitors? Were they eagerly trying to effect an improvement in their social status by becoming involved with important foreigners? Were they the unhappy victims of greedy fathers and brothers, sent to obtain as many goods as possible? Or were they just scheming prostitutes? In other words, was it a question of innocent European sailors being deceived and exploited by cunning Polynesians? The answers are, of course, all a matter of interpretation. There was merriness as well as exploitation, cunning as well as innocence. The European reports inevitably reflect the prejudices of their authors. French visitors like Bougainville, Fesche and Commerson, but also Marchand, who were influenced by the ideas of Rousseau, were inclined to depict the Polynesians as 'noble savages' and regard the islands as 'paradise regained'. Their reports thus seem to bubble over with enthusiastic descriptions of Polynesian women. British authors, on the other hand, were more restrained in their comments on the 'merry maidens'. Cook is quite discreet in his descriptions, as are Clerke and King. A notable exception is young Samwell, who writes freely and enthusiastically about the many 'Dear Girls' with whom he had intimate relations, while (young) Joseph Banks, too, is quite open on the subject of women. The French authors and Samwell and Banks (as well as the numerous anonymous sailors) can be regarded in the context of this study as participant observers. They actually enjoyed sexual relations with Polynesian women. Openness on the subject of women was not wholly a matter of age, incidentally. Clerke and King both were only in their twenties when they wrote their rather reserved reports, and their reticence

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 205 may be connected with their responsibilities as ships' captains, or perhaps with the tradition of the stiff upper lip. The reports of Forster Senior and Forster Junior, again, show striking mutual differences with regard to the 'merry maidens', which may be explained partly by differences in age but partly also by differences in responsibility. Whereas Forster Senior, the moralist, is outspoken in his disapproval of the conduct of the Polynesian women, Forster Junior, his sometimes negative judgements notwith- standing, shows himself to have a keen eye for the beauty of the native girls. The views of the moralist Von Krusenstern are harsh and prudish. The apprehensive statements of the missionaries of the Duff are representative of the orthodox Christian views of the time. It should also be kept in mind, however, that their accounts were written at a time when the first enthusiasm about the South Sea islands had begun to ebb - the better known the islanders became, the more human they became (see Smith 1960:27; Claessen 1994:27 ff.). In evaluating the statements of the visitors we should take con- siderations such as the above into account. It is not so difficult then to see some prejudice in the enthusiastic accounts of the French as well as in the negative judgements of Johann Reinhold Forster, Von Krusenstern and the missionaries. The reticence of Cook and his officers suggests uneasiness about the 'merry maidens', to say the least. Perhaps the only more or less objective judgement - and a positive one at that - is that of cheerful young Samwell, who had the added advantage of being able to compare the Polynesian women with the numerous other girls he had met all over the world - 'The Dear Girls were his constant preoccupation', writes Beaglehole as a final comment on him (Samwell 1967:lxxxv). What about young Forster? Actually, he never missed an opportunity to write about women. Whether he ever slept with them is unknown, but as both his conduct and his journal were subject to close scrutiny by a strict father, he had to be cautious in his actions as well as his writings. Joseph Banks' positive views should also be taken into account in this survey. Another aspect that deserves attention here is the Polynesian attitude towards sex. All eighteenth-century visitors pointed to the tolerance which the men showed for the sexual freedom of the women and girls. This is not so very surprising, as the Polynesians were extremely permissive in matters sexual. In all the examples cited in this article, for instance, children were instructed in the art of love from a very young age, and all activity in this respect on their part was encouraged and admired (though in the Marquesas Islands sexual relations were not supposed to be entertained too openly). So several European accounts evince great enthusiasm about the sexual skills of Polynesian women. A permissive, liberal attitude to the love life of young people, as long as they were not married, prevailed everywhere. Once married, however, people became subject to certain restrictions and women's freedom to have lovers was curtailed. The visitors repeatedly state, in fact, that it was mainly unmarried women who

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engaged in sexual activities with sailors (though one might ask here how they knew this). When the sailors responded to this form of hospitality by giving their lovers small presents, these relations gradually assumed a different character. In view of their interpretation of the situation, the sailors' reaction was correct. They regarded the Polynesian girls as a kind of prostitutes and remunerated them for their services accordingly. As it was not wholly uncommon in Polynesia for girls to receive small presents from their lovers, the girls gladly accepted the trifles the sailors gave them. These trifles, however - nails, hatchets, mirrors, and so on - turned out to have great value for the Polynesians. Consequently fathers and brothers, recognizing the value of these presents, reacted by urging their daughters and sisters to return to the ships of the strangers to obtain more of these valuables. They were soon followed by the married men, who sent their wives to the ships. In this way the originally relatively innocent sexual encounters developed into outright prostitution. Most accounts stress that the women who came to the ships or became involved in intimate relations with sailors elsewhere were commoners. Women of some rank did not take part in such activities. On the whole this observation seems to have been correct, though there were exceptions and in the Hawaiian Islands in particular, considerations of rank seem to have been of less importance. The most probable explanation for the modest behaviour of women belonging to the elite is a political one: upper-class girls were supposed to marry for power, status, and land. They were supposed to remain attractive partners for fastidious chiefs or chiefs' sons and were pawns in the power game that was continually being played in Polynesian societies. There was moreover no need for nobles to send their wives or daughters to the ships, as the European captains, eager to establish good relations in order to obtain fresh food and water and permission to observe eclipses of the sun and the transit of planets or to study the flora and fauna of the newly discovered islands, showered large quantities of European valuables upon the chiefs anyway. Again, this is not to say that there were no intimate relations between noble women and European visitors; but on the whole they were exceptional. Although some anthropologists arriving in the area later have suggested that there was a connection between religion and sex in Polynesia (which is not so improbable per se), there are few indications of the actual existence of such a connection. Babadzan (1993), who summarizes the existing knowledge about the Tahitian arioi society, makes out a strong case for a connection between sex, fertility and the god Oro in Tahiti. Sahlins (1985), moreover, hints at religious stimuli in sexual activities in Hawaii (see also Valeri 1985:150). The latter's data are scanty, to say the least, while even less is known about the Marquesan ka'ioi. The eighteenth-century visitors to the region do not mention any customs of the kind, and the 'ritual overtones' that might be read into Bougainville's account of public lovemaking suggest a carefully staged performance

Downloaded from Brill.com10/05/2021 07:28:06PM via free access The Merry Maidens of Matavai 207 rather than an act of religious fervour. The idea that Polynesian girls regarded the foreigners as a kind of supernatural beings, or some sort of an elite, which made them attractive sexual partners, does not have much to support it either - although we do know of a myth in the Tonga Islands according to which the god Tangaloa once upon a time descended to earth and seduced a young Tongan girl, who as a consequence gave birth to the founding father of the royal dynasty (I.C. Campbell 1992:7). Also in the Tongan islands a young nobleman sometimes used to go to a distant village to marry the daughter of the local chief, and their son would succeed to the chieftainship there (see above). In conclusion it should be pointed out that the merriment of the maidens usually was of only short duration, as not long after the departure of the European ships venereal diseases generally broke out on the island concerned, to which many of the once merry women succumbed. Attempts by well-intentioned captains to stop infected men going ashore had no effect whatever, and nor did the prohibition against women visiting the ships where the infected sailors were obliged to stay. Venereal diseases, along with other European illnesses, were among the main factors responsible for the decimation of the Polynesian island populations in the nineteenth century (Van Bakel 1989).

We now have the answers to most of the questions asked in the introduction to this article. They are that the 'maidens' were 'merry' indeed for a brief time - only the first few weeks of their encounter with the Europeans. After that their position soon deteriorated and their merriness diminished, as on the one hand their activities developed into prostitution and they came to be exploited by their fathers, brothers, husbands, chiefs, and kings, and on the other hand they became infected with venereal diseases which turned them barren and made their lives very hard. This was their reward for giving pleasure to the sailors and birth to South Sea Romanticism.

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