Significance

The coconut was fully utilized in Tongareva. Though it is conceivable that a people could subsist on fish supplemented by the fruit of the hala, the population would of necessity be small. After its introduction the coconut was planted on all the islands surrounding the lagoon, and the rich crop obtained enabled a larger population to subsist than would otherwise have been possible. On atolls the spread of the people is intimately associated with the spread of the coconut, and the part played by the coconut in improving the conditions of life and increasing population cannot be overestimated.

The need for the coconut as the main staple of vegetable food led the people to study every phase in the growth of the fruit. This resulted in such a minute practical classification of the stages of growth with analyses of food values at each stage that the student, aware only of its food uses in the high volcanic islands, realizes for the first time the full value of the coconut. Every part of the nut that was possibly edible was utilized. Besides the flesh and fluid, parts of the enveloping husk and the growing plant within the cavity were constituents of the diet. The growth of the nut was divided into ten named stages, and eight of these had their particular uses as food. The stages of growth could be distinguished unerringly even from the ground, so that the person requiring nuts for a particular food preparation walked through his plantation, scrutinized the tops of the trees, and only climbed the tree when he had recognized the right fruit.

Botanical Features

The coconut palm is designated niu; its leaves, nikau. The tough spathe which incloses the flower is the taume, which opens and droops down as the flower increases in size. The dry taume is used as firewood. The flowers are in spikes branching from a central axis. Near the base of each lateral axis is a single female flower. The numerous male flowers grow on all sides of the axis between the female flower and the apex. The whole collection of flower spikes attached to one central axis is termed the rōrō. The female flowers are termed pei.

The nut of the coconut consists of the epicarp, mesocarp, endocarp, testa. endosperm, embryo, and contained fluid.

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The epicarp is the smooth, tough, outer coat. The mesocarp consists of the fibrous covering commonly alluded to as the husk and termed puru in Tongareva. The mesocarp, according to Winton (34), consists of a hard outer coat a few millimeters thick, a soft portion 3 or 4 centimeters thick on the sides and much thicker at the base, and longitudinal fibers. The longitudinal fibers are the coir fibers used to make sennit cords and ropes. The soft portion consists of soft ground tissue composed of thick-walled parenchymatous cells. The thicker soft portion at the base is free of fibers in the early stages of growth, and as it was used as food by the Tongarevans it received the special name of karisi. In the later stages of growth the karisi becomes dry and fibrous and ceases to be edible. In certain varieties of coconut termed mangaro, the whole husk is sweet and is chewed like sugar cane. The endocarp forms the shell (ipu), which becomes hard and brittle in the later stages of growth.

Three ridges on the outer surface of the shell pass longitudinally from the base to the apex, and between the ridges at the base are three depressions, or eyes, where the tissue is softer and thinner. Winton (34) states that the ridges are equidistant, but if the basal end is closely examined it will be found that of the three spaces bounded by the three ridges one is always wider than either of the other two. It is the depression in the wider space that the natives term the mata. The mata is filled with soft tissue, and it is always through this depression that the growing cotyledon point of the embryo emerges when it sprouts. My attention was drawn to this depression by the natives, who also demonstrated that it is the only depression through which a coconut leaflet midrib can be pushed to make a hole into the nut so that the fluid may be extracted without breaking the shell. The other two depressions do not pass through the shell.

The testa is light brown in color and is united with the inner surface of the shell and the outer surface of the endosperm. The raphe, with branching veins of vascular tissue, runs through the substance of the testa. If the mature endosperm is separated from the shell with a knife the testa splits at the branching raphe, the outer part adheres firmly to the shell, and the inner part adheres to the endosperm as a brown outer layer. While the mature nut is being grated the brown inner part of the testa adheres to the shell, and thin parts of the endosperm stick to the testa.

The endosperm forms the flesh, or meat, of the nut. It commences to grow from the base of the nut and spreads over the entire inner surface of the shell. In the early stages the flesh (varevare, “slimy”) is thin and slimy. It is edible and may be removed with the fingers. As the nut matures the flesh becomes white, thick, and firm, and is from 1 to 2 centimeters thick. It adheres closely to the shell and has to be removed with an implement. The mature, firm flesh is termed katinga. The cells contain bundles of needle-shaped fat crystals and lumps of protein matter. The fluid has popularly been termed “coconut milk” because of its milky appearance in the mature nuts which appear on the market. The fluid (vai) used for drinking is obtained from the nuts in the stages before absolute maturity (sakari). It is a clear fluid and closely resembles albumen or barley water, not milk of even the most watery consistence. The fluid forms in the shell before the appearance of the flesh. In the earliest stage in the growth of the nut the fluid is bitter and unfit to drink. After the bitter kawakawa stage the fluid makes a most refreshing beverage and is used until the mature sakari stage is reached, when the fluid is too bitter to drink. It gradually diminishes in quantity, due to the action of the absorbing organ of the embryo.

The embryo is imbedded in the flesh near the base of the nut. After the nut has reached maturity a soft spongy mass (uto) spreads out from the region of the embryo near the base, and, gradually absorbing the fluid and part of the inner surface of the flesh, it fills the entire cavity of the nut (fig. 12, i, j). At the same time a sprout penetrates the mata depression at the base, and as it pushes its way through the husk envelope it develops into the growing plant, with leaves, stems, and roots. Dr. Forest B. H. Brown informs me that the cotyledon which develops from the embryo has an absorbing organ, termed Sauforgan by German botanists, which develops within the cavity, and another part divided into plumule, caulicle, and radicle, which pushes out page 110 through the eye of the shell. From the plumule, caulicle, and radicle are developed, respectively, the leaves, stem, and roots of the plant.

The Uto

The absorbing organ of the coconut cotyledon (uto) is most appreciated as a food, for it provides a vegetable food distinct from the ordinary flesh of the nut. Mature nuts with the husk intact are collected and stored to await the uto stage of growth. From the size or length of the growing shoot the householder can tell whether or not the uto has filled the entire cavity of the nut and is ready for use. The uto at this stage forms a light, spongy, somewhat watery mass which may be eaten raw, grated, or cooked. The small amount of unabsorbed flesh that still remains is also utilized.

To obtain the full good from the uto an ingenious method is adopted. The uto nuts which have begun to sprout are laid in a shallow pit in layers and covered with earth to the depth of about 1 foot above the upper layer. When the shoots of the upper layer appear above the earth they are allowed to grow for another foot. The pit is then uncovered, and the shoots of all the nuts are nipped off above the stems of the two lowest leaves. The nuts are replaced and covered. When the shoots again reach a height of 1 foot they are nipped once more. Growth usually ceases after the second nipping, but some nuts may require a third nipping. During this period the uto absorbing organ has completely absorbed the endosperm flesh within the nut cavity. As it has no more room for expansion, the uto not only fills the cavity but becomes firmer and more compact, thus increasing in value as a food. It has also absorbed the fat crystals of the endosperm and is accordingly richer and more palatable. If the growing sprout is nipped off close to the husk, growth is stopped altogether, the absorbing organ ceases to function, and the uto remains thin and spongy, and, of course, a portion of the flesh remains unabsorbed.

In some mature nuts the fluid dries up and there is no growth. Experience has shown that the flesh of such nuts keeps for some time, so attempts are made to dry up the fluid artificially. It has been found that the nuts grow when in contact with the ground and exposed to moisture, but even then some nuts do not sprout. To prevent growth the mature nuts are collected and placed on a scaffolding above the ground and under cover. The nuts are selected from those newly plucked or fallen mature nuts that show no signs of growth. Nuts exposed on the ground to form uto that show no signs of growth after a reasonable time are removed and stacked on the covered scaffold. Nuts on the scaffold that commence to sprout are removed and added to the uto reserve. From the sakari mature stage the fluid gradually dries up. When the fluid is not quite dried up and the flesh is still white the nut is termed maimasa. In the last stage (takataka) page 111 the cavity of the nut becomes quite dry and the flesh brown or dark in color. The stages are distinguished by shaking the nut and listening to the sound made by the fluid within. The flesh of some nuts becomes mouldy, and such nuts, when opened, are discarded as unfit for consumption. When the flesh assumes a reddish-brown color the nuts are called kura (red). The kura is regarded as the best form of takataka.

Stages of Growth

The stages of growth of the nut are shown in figure 12. The characters and use of the nut at its different stages of development are given in Table 8.

As shown in Table 8, the word ni is used in the fifth, sixth, and seventh stages of growth, but it is qualified by adjectives to indicate the particular stages, usually referred to as panapana, ni mata, and motomoto. No term is used to indicate the fruit in general. The different stages have become so distinct that a general term is not only vague, but useless. If a European should ask for a “coconut” the word would convey no meaning to the Tongarevan, for the Tongarevan associates directly the name for the kind of nut and its use. It is in practical circumstances that the Polynesian dialects have enriched their vocabularies with specific terms. Older, more general terms have even been lost.

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The fluid

From the few springs on the islands water for drinking was collected in coconut shell vesssels. However, the main beverage of the people was the fluid of the coconut obtained from the rau, kaipu, ni mata panapana, ni mata, and ni motomoto stages of growth. As the coconut grows luxuriantly on all the islands except some of the rocky islets, water was always close at hand, albeit it was on the tops of trees instead of on the ground. The introduction of metal tanks and concrete reservoirs to catch rain water from corrugated iron roofs has of late years made water more available. The coconut, however, still continues to afford an important part of the drinking supply, and the fluid of the coconut is regarded not as a luxury, but as a necessity. A much larger quantity of nuts is used for drinking on atolls than on high islands. In fact, traders and government officials favor the use of rain water in order that more nuts may be available for the copra trade.

With a good supply of bearing coconut trees, the Tongarevan population could subsist without fresh water. The fluid of the coconut could supply all the fluid needed for drinking purposes. In the cooking oven no water was used. Food, such as fish, was washed in the waters of the lagoon. The various food preparations from the coconut or the hala came from clean fruit that needed no washing. The clothing could not stand washing and when necessary, it was freshly made from new material. The people of both sexes lived much of the time in the bath provided by the sea and the lagoon. Where fresh-water pools existed, as on Mangarongaro, the people availed themselves of the opportunity of washing in them, but cleanliness of person did not depend upon them. There was thus nothing to make fresh water an absolute necessity to human existence.

During my expeditions to the various islands around the lagoon the older men always insisted on taking some of the younger men to “climb for water.” At appropriate intervals, without being told, these young men procured drinking nuts for us. They examined the trees from the ground for nuts in the ni mata or ni motomoto stages, which provide the best drinking fluid. Failing these, they had recourse to the younger stages and always apologized for them.

Foods Derived from the Flesh

The flesh of the coconut may be eaten in its natural state in all stages from the immature soft kaipu to the hard takataka. People working on land away from their homes, when they have drunk the fluid from the drinking page 114 nuts, break up the shell and eat the flesh, which is readily detached with the fingers or with a piece of shell. The flesh is eaten with as much satisfaction as the consumption of bread gives to people of other cultures. The midday meal was unknown in olden times, and the eating of the flesh from the drinking nuts appeased hunger between the morning and evening meals. Similarly, the fisherman is satisfied with a few coconuts that he carries out in his canoe. If fish or shellfish are available, they are utilized to supplement the coconut flesh, for an appetite can always be developed when circumstances provide extra material to satisfy it. The harder katinga flesh of the sakari, uto, or takataka was also eaten uncooked, a kasi seashell being used to remove the flesh in appropriate mouthfuls.

As shown in Table 8, the following dishes are prepared from the coconut at four stages of its growth:

1. Suisui. A nut in the ni mata stage is opened and the fluid is poured off into a container. The flesh is grated with the hand tuai. The fluid is poured back and the grated flesh is mixed with it. The mixture forms suisui which is eaten uncooked, “ka kai mata.” Some of the hardier people looked upon the suisui preparation as an unnecessary refinement. Hence the song:

Ei aha e varuvaruhia ai ki te tuai?
E hungahunga i e.
Saroa ki te kasi,
Romia ki te rima
Kia uru ko te sumu,
Kia reka te kaki,
Kia papa te manava,
Kia papa te moe.

Why grate with the hand grater?
The pieces are too small.
Scrape with a sea shell,
Squeeze with the fingers
That the oil may enter,
That the throat be sweet,
That desire be fully satisfied,
That sleep be sound.

2. Ni varu. The ni mata flesh is scraped with a hand grater, and the fluid replaced. The top shell is replaced as a cover. The shell with the grated flesh and its own fluid is placed on shredded husk laid over the hot stones of an oven, the oven is covered, and the preparation cooked. The ni varu is the preparation that Lamont (15) so frequently refers to as “neu oara,” and which seems to have been his favorite food on Tongareva.

3. Ni ta. The flesh of the nut in the ni motomoto stage is grated with a hand grater within the shell. A nut in the kaipu stage is stripped of its husk in such a way that the karisi at the stalk end is left adhering to the shell. The karisi is grated with a hand grater and mixed with the grated ni motomoto in its shell. The preparation derives its name from ta (to mix), because of the mixing of two ingredients derived from different stages. The ni ta is eaten uncooked. Lamont (15, p. 153) refers to a preparation which he terms “poey” (poi):

“The ‘moto moto’ is the ripe cocoa-nut, with the husk still green, and from it is made the ‘poey,’ in the same manner as the neu oara, only more coarsely scraped. This is commonly dressed in wooden bowls at their feasts, when there are many to be served, and it is not considered so delicate as the ‘neu oara.’”

4. Roro. The flesh of the coconut at the sakari stage, when minced or scraped, may be eaten uncooked by people with good teeth. Roro is the liquid expressed from the grated flesh of the mature nut. Roro serves as a food, a drink, and a medicine. It is usually referred to by Europeans as “coconut cream.” The sakari may be grated with the coral grater (kau tuai), but in olden days the flesh was usually scraped out in fine, thin strips with a kasi shell. The older generation of women were very expert and quick in the use of the kasi shell and rather despised the kau tuai grater, which is probably a page 115 fairly recent introduction. The scraped material is collected in a wooden bowl until a sufficient quantity has been prepared. The beaten green husk of a ni motomoto is used as a strainer; the husk of a mature nut is too dry. The husk is opened out into a flat layer and a quantity of the grated flesh is placed upon it. (See pl. 1, A.) The husk is folded around the flesh and held in the two hands, the right hand vertically above the left. The round wooden roro bowl is placed below, and by short, sharp twists with the hands working in opposite directions the liquid is expressed into the bowl (pl. 1, B). By the short, quick twists the creamy liquid is caused to froth and issue between the fingers to run down into the bowl. This special form of wringing is termed viaha. A froth forms on the surface of the liquid in the bowl. The process is continued until the liquid reaches the rim of the bowl and the froth stands well above it. The higher the froth, the greater is the success of the operation. This method of raising a froth differs from anything seen in the Cook Islands and is not known in the neighboring atolls of Manihiki and Rakahanga. It seems to be a local technique that has become important as a means of social expression.

The main use of roro is as a drink. It contains much oil and acts as a purgative, and though its use at social gatherings is the more important, its purgative properties are recognized. A pregnant woman is given a bowl of roro a day or so before confinement for the purpose of cleaning out the bowels and hence assisting delivery.

Roro is also used as a relish to mix (ta) with other foods. Though the fluid in the mature nut lessens in quantity and is unfit to drink, it may be used to moisten the grated nut and so to assist in extracting as much of the oil as possible. The straining process with the husk strainer is termed tatau. Lamont (15, p. 153–154) in speaking of “ororo” says the vegetable part (karisi) of the young nut is added, “the acid of which produces slight fermentation. A proper proportion of cocoa-nut water is added, with a small quantity of neu mata. Some of this mixture is placed in the husk of a certain cocoa-nut, after being well pounded, washed, and cleansed of its powdery portions, leaving only a fibrous substance, and the juice is expressed with a churning motion, producing a white, milky substance, which, as it increases in the bowl, foams up like new milk from the cow, and has a pleasant look.”

5. Kopani ota. The grated nut before the roro is expressed is termed roro sakari. The flesh, after straining it, is termed ota. The ota, after all the fluid is expressed, is removed from the strainer into a receptacle. After all the roro has been expressed from the prepared quantity of grated nut the ota is placed in an empty coconut shell and cooked in an oven. The preparation is then termed kopani ota. The cooked preparation will keep for a considerable time. It was therefore used on journeys, and the Tongarevans believe that it was used by Hiro and other navigating ancestors on their long deep-sea voyages. The correct food complement (kinaki) of kopani ota was dried Tridacna (kopani ota te kinaki he pasua maro.)

6. Takarari. The uto may be eaten uncooked and is palatable. For takarari the uto nut is husked, and the contents cooked in an oven without opening the shell. A ni mata is opened and grated with a hand grater. The cooked uto is extracted from the shell, pounded, and mixed with the grated ni mata and its fluid.

7. Kohu. The cooked grated ni mata forming the preparation called ni varu is mixed with roro cream and mashed cooked uto. Other uto are cooked whole and cut at the top to open them out. The kohu is then used as a filling.

8. Ipu soka. Cooked uto is mashed up in an empty coconut shell, mixed with roro and then cooked in an oven for ipu soka.

The Husk

Besides the karisi part of the husk (puru), the ordinary fibrous part of the husk of the variety of coconuts called mangaro may be chewed direct from the shell or after cooking in an oven. A sweet juice is extracted page 116 which is not unlike that of sugar cane. The correct food to eat with the sweet husk is ota. As ota is the grated mature coconut flesh from which the liquid has been expressed by wringing to provide roro, the food is somewhat dry. The liquid from the husk thus forms a natural complement (kinaki). Lamont (15, p. 153) says, “Then there is the ‘mangaro,’ a particular kind of cocoa-nut, the husk of which when chewed has a sweet flavour like sugar-cane, and when cooked is very sweet and nutritious.”

Husking Implements

For harvesting and husking coconuts special implements have been devised. The husker (ko) is a unique implement because of its shortness and because it does not have one end driven into the ground to fix it in a stationary position. For making the husker a stout piece of ngangie wood about 1.75 inches in diameter is selected, and a section about 16 inches long is cut off. One end is cut off blunt to prevent penetration into the ground, and the other end is sharpened to a long mesial point slightly flattened on the two opposite sides. (See pl. 1, C.)

The husking of coconuts is man's work. To use the short husker the man seats himself on the ground and places the blunt end of the husker on the ground between his feet, where it is kept upright by the pressure of the soles of the feet turned against the sides of the implement (see pl. 1, D). The surrounding husk envelope is roughly triangular in section so that three prominent longitudinal ridges, corresponding to the apices of the triangular section, are apparent. As the object is to remove the husk in longitudinal sections, one of the ridges is usually selected as the first section for removal. The coconut, held at both ends with its long axis horizontal, is lifted with both hands and brought down sharply on the point of the implement. Care is taken in judging the line of penetration in order that the point may pass through the segment on the near side of the shell. If the blow is not sufficient for the point of the husker to pass right through the husk the nut is raised again with the husker sticking in it, and the nut is brought down again so that as the blunt end of the husker strikes the ground the point is forced through the husk. After the husker has been driven through a section of husk on the near side of the nut the section is removed by levering the nut outward and downward away from the implement. The impaled section splits longitudinally and is torn from the nut. Other sections of the husk are dealt with in a similar way until the shell is cleared.

In the high volcanic islands, where there is a greater variety of vegetable foods, one method of husking prevails, as the sole object is to remove page 117 the husk. In Tongareva the use of the karisi part of the husk as food has led to different methods of husking in order that the karisi may be left attached to those nuts in which it is used as food. Owing to differences in development of the husk fibers, three methods of husking have been developed:

1. In the rau and kaipu stages the coir fibers have not developed enough to form a firm attachment to the karisi part. The point of the husker is driven in on the apex side of the middle line. Three segments comprising the longitudinal ridges, and then the intermediate sections, are removed. At the apex the husk is thinner and the segments torn off retain the same thickness, so that they run off toward the base, leaving the karisi intact. Any extra fibers are trimmed off with shallow penetrations of the point of the husker. The trimmed nuts are brought into the kitchen with all the food parts intact, the nut with the contained fluid and flesh, and the outer karisi attached to the shell.

2. The ni mata panapana is a later stage in which the husk fibers adhere more closely to the karisi part still used as food. The preceding method of husking is inapplicable, as the husk segments would tear off much of the karisi and so waste it. The base end of the husk is therefore pierced all around with short slanting punctures by bringing the nut down on the husking point with light blows not sufficient to cause the point to pierce right through the husk. The husk sections are then pierced through in the middle line. On the apical end the husk segments run off close to the shell, but on the thicker base end they run off at the punctures already made, and the karisi is thus left intact on the shell.

3. In the ni mata and succeeding stages, the karisi is not used, and it is unnecessary to leave it intact on the shell. The point of the husker is thus driven through near the base end where the husk is thicker, in order that as much husk as possible may be removed with each segment.

The three methods of husking were demonstrated by Pa of Omoka, the oldest man on the atoll. He held that, seated on the ground with the short husker, an expert could husk more coconuts than an expert in the standing position with the longer fixed husker of the high volcanic islands.

Because of the scarcity of timber, the short huskers were kept by the owners. A man going out into the plantation to get nuts always carried his husker with him, but the advent of the bush knife, with which any piece of wood may be sharpened, has now made the carrying of huskers unnecessary.

Carrying Pole and Climbing Bandage

Permanent carrying poles (kau amo) with a notch at either end are made of tou or hano wood. Temporary ones are formed from the midrib (pararaha) of the coconut leaf. Since the advent of the bush knife, which is now an almost indispensable article for one going out into the coconut groves, the old permanent carrying poles are not used.

In the islands where the hau (Hibiscus tiliaceus) grows, its bark is used to form climbing bandages. In Tongareva a substitute is found in the skin from the part near the base of the upper surface of the coconut leaf midrib. page 118 Strips of this material (tari) are beaten and twisted to render it soft and so to prevent it from snapping. An appropriate loop is formed, and the ends tied together with a reef knot. With the loops over the dorsa of the feet the climber is able to take a purchase against the trunk of the tree. By raising himself with the hands and lifting his feet, the climber can ascend the loftiest coconut tree.

Meals

A forenoon meal and an evening meal are the routine of everyday life. The evening meal is the more important, the social event of the day. Fish that have been caught during the day are cooked, and if the catch has been large the quantity cooked is correspondingly lavish. Fish or shellfish are the flesh complement to the coconut preparations. The men have returned from the labors of the day and are in the proper frame of mind to enjoy themselves. The food cooked by the women is placed before the men, who seat themselves on mats spread on the gravelled space before the huts. The heat of the day is over, and during the meal the gossip of the day is recounted. Laughter and enjoyment prevail, and the members of the family are united in social intercourse, with no immediate worries.

The morning meal is of necessity not as elaborate as the evening meal, and little time is spent over it, as the activities of the day have to be faced. It is usually a cold meal of uncooked preparations of coconut. If food has been left over from the evening meal, the remains furnish the early breakfast. The men are anxious to get out to finish their activities before the time of midday heat. If the breakfast has been scanty, a forenoon meal is cooked after the return from the plantation with the day's supply of nuts, at about the hour of eleven. The children are often sent out into the food plantations (kainga) to get the supply of nuts while the men go fishing or busy themselves with other activities.

The flesh of the drinking nuts used in the plantations is never wasted, but eaten on the spot. Such irregular snacks take the place of the third midday meal of higher cultures. On my expeditions to the various islands both young and old men scooped out and ate the flesh of the drinking nuts, even though we had brought food with us for a midday meal. It had become a habit not to waste the flesh of the nuts. When we came upon a hala tree with ripe fruit the use of the fruit as food was always practically demonstrated to me.

Feast for Visitors (Warusanga)

The Tongarevan feast prepared for visitors derives its name, warusanga, from the verb waru (to grate), referring to the grating of coconuts to make roro, the most important item in the menu. The command by the chief host, “Ka waru te warusanga,” literally means “Grate the grating,” but it has come to mean “Prepare the guest meal.” After such a command the guest meal must be preceded by a bowl of roro. (See p. 114). The roro page 120 liquid is expressed into the round wooden bowls until the froth rises high. A brimming bowl is placed before each guest of distinction, who is then supposed to quaff it without pausing to take breath. By such a display the guest indicates his appreciation of the honor conferred upon him. The preliminary bowl of roro is the highest form of hospitality a host can pay to his guest.

After the draught of roro the meal proper is served. Preparations of cooked coconut in their shell containers, with the caps in position, are placed in food baskets and heaped up with cooked fish. The baskets are placed before the guests, who help themselves. Drinking nuts are also provided. The food receptacle for visitors is the raurau basket, which is termed the hariki o te kai. In arranging coconuts in the basket the more mature nuts and the sweet husk (mangaro) are placed below, and the drinking nuts above. It takes as many as four persons to carry some of the large baskets filled with food.

The more the baskets are heaped with food, the greater the display. The greater the display, the more the guests are honored, and the greater the prestige that occurs to the hosts. Such feasts are recounted in detail by visitors on their return, gossip carries the tale around the islands, and reputations are established. On the other hand, lavish hospitality creates an obligation on the part of the recipients, and they in turn endeavor to equal if not to excel the hospitality they have received when opportunity occurs through a reciprocal visit. Some displays of hospitality are competitive, and though food supplies may suffer a severe drain, the mutual visits help to even matters up. Food as a basis of friendly intercourse plays a most important part in Tongareva, as it does in all parts of Polynesia.

The use of the roro as a beverage must be stressed. In Samoa and Tonga kava is the ceremonial beverage which precedes social meals and functions. In Tongareva, where the kava plant does not grow, the desire for a beverage to express a similar, ingrained sentiment has resulted in the use of the unfailing coconut. Thus, a flavoring agent for food was elevated to the high status of a beverage. The demand for the beverage caused the women to develop a new technique; the long, steady straining movements used in expressing the ordinary coconut cream were altered to the short, sharp movements that made the liquid froth. Just as in Western custom ale may be poured from a height to cause froth to rise at the top of the glass, so in Tongareva the excellence of the roro is judged by the height of its froth.

The social function of roro has undoubtedly affected the form of the bowl. The round bowl (kumete tatau), which has a projecting lug on one side perforated for a cord loop by which the bowl may be hung up, was page 121 quite satisfactory for ordinary use. To fit the bowl for use as a drinking flagon a low unperforated lug was made on the side opposite the suspensory lug. In clasping the bowl with both hands the forefingers obtain support on either side of the bowl from the two projections as the bowl is raised to drink. The second projection is not essential, but the craftsmen have added it for the accommodation of drinkers at the social ceremonies. (See pl. 8.)

The following song, composed by Umutoru, is sung while some one is wringing out the roro. (Such songs are termed tauranga, putuki, pesepese, and parapore.)

The Roro Song of Umutoru
E roro au e
Kia inu i te roro,
Kia ora hoki au,
I tupu aniania,
Toku hausanga ia ko te roro.
Kia nui taku roro
Kia makona au, kia taea,
Toku kava ia ko te roro
Kia matakivikivi te ipo wahine
Te rima tumoa i te tatau.
Hana mai ma te riri ma te kava
Ma te ongatia.
Po kowai te tatau o te roro?
Viaha toku mea
Kia inu atu au
E hano ki ko
Kia mamaru ko te ra
E hano mai ai,
Maku tahi e, mau tahi.

Oh roro for me
That I may drink
And so be satisfied.
I grow fatigued,
But my strength will return through the roro.
Let my measure of roro be full
That my thirst be quenched, and desire gratified,
For my kava is roro.
She may turn her face aside, the woman,
Whose hands are skilled in raising the froth with the wringer.
She may come with wrath and bitterness
And disgust with having to labor.
Ah, who then will prepare the roro?
Ah, wring gently to bring up the froth
That I may drink.
Retire to yonder place
Until the sun is shaded,
Then return to me.
I will give something you must reciprocate.

In explaining this song Pa stated that Umutoru supposes that the lady whom he wishes to prepare the beverage may be unwilling to go to the trouble. He urges her to comply and promises that if she does so and returns in the afternoon he will give her something. The gift is not a material one, but “tetahi tika i roto i te hare vananga” (something of benefit from the house of learning). From his store of knowledge he will entertain her, and she in return must receive his attentions with favor. The eighth line in the song, “For my kava is roro,” is significant, indicating that a memory of kava was retained and that roro was a substitute.

An unexpected guest may cause his host a good deal of embarrassment and shame when the larder is low. The following song expresses the apologies of a host, who makes his physical infirmity the reason for the lack of food.

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Apology for Lack of Food
Ka kore aku tukunga i raua ai,
Kua ngaro otioti te hai o taku hangota,
I reira taku tino paipai,
Pau ai oku ivi,
Pokia iho au, te peka o te atua.

Toku tuaro pakinga,
Ki te niho o te toka, i tai nei,
E atua ko Manini,
E atua ko Tokona,
E atua ko Tahora
I puke maua ki te tara o Pakurakura

Ki te tau o Saupewa
Pau ai oku ivi,
Pokia iho ai au, te peka o te atua.

Te ngako o te tukoro
Te ngako o te marau
Te ngako o te veve,
Pau ai oku ivi,
Pokia iho ai au, te peka o te atua.

My store of goods is not sufficient,
Lost completely is my skill in fishing,
By reason of my weakness in body,
My bones are consumed,
I am overwhelmed, I, the companion of the god.
I look in apprehension,
Toward the reef edge of the adjacent sea.
A god is Manini,
A god is Tokona,
A god is Tahora,
We two tried to obtain (food) from the rocks of Pakurakura
From the land point of Saupewa
My bones are consumed,
I am overwhelmed, I, the companion of the god.
Ah, the fat of the tukoro,
The fat of the marau,
The fat of the veve,
My bones are consumed,
I am overwhelmed, I, the companion of the god.

The song may be sung also when, although there is no lack of food, the host assumes a ceremonial humility which draws attention to the quantity of food provided, and thus adds to his own prestige.

Angling for Visitors

A custom called “Te tukau o Tautai-tini” was demonstrated at the Omoka village. Judge Ayson and I, with others, were invited to a feast and given seats outside the village meeting house. Our hosts, armed with fishing rods to which cooked uto was attached as bait, but without hooks, gathered a little distance away. They also carried baskets containing cooked uto to serve as ground bait. The visitors were regarded as a shoal (papa) of bonito. The leader of the fishermen, who acted as observer, pretended to see us for the first time. He called, “Teia ua papa e” (Here is the shoal). The party then replied in unison, “Teia ua kake e” (Here they have arrived). The fishermen then advanced in our direction, and when they were close enough they swung the rods toward us to bring the bait in front of our faces. We were supposed to seize the bait with our mouths and pull vigorously as if we were fish—a performance that created a good deal of merriment. Meanwhile, the fishermen were chewing the cooked uto which, when sufficiently soft, they drew out of their mouths and started throwing at us as ground bait. This they enjoyed exceedingly. A lady angler who was paying particular attention page 123 to a member of our party struck him on the bridge of the nose with a handful of the soft mush which splashed laterally and filled both his eyes, to the intense enjoyment of the skilled angler and her friends. While the general marksmanship was not so expert, it was accurate enough at the short distance to prevent any of us from escaping hits. What may have been enjoyed by a man in a maro girdle was awkward for one in a white suit. However, the demonstration was counted a success, and after scraping off the adhering ground bait we were entertained with the feast. At the feast, which contained a lavish assortment of coconut preparations and fish, the apology for poverty was sung.

Sex Differentiation

Women usually prepare the food and cook it, but the men sometimes scrape the mature coconut with a kasi shell. Men hold the mature nut between their knees while scraping the flesh. Women, however, have to adopt a special position. Sitting on the ground, a woman's left leg is bent toward the body and the right leg crossed over the left thigh. This forms a small triangle bounded by the bent left knee and the right leg. The mature nut is held firmly in the triangle and the scraping proceeds. Pa said it was not right for a woman with food so close to have her thighs apart. When she crosses her right leg over the left thigh with the food to the far side the intervening right leg forms a barrier between the female sex organ and the food, which satisfies Tongarevan psychology.