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Walter E. Traprock - The Cruise of the Kawa
main-routes, good and bad trails and points of interest. Moolitonu was, in fact, a human Blue-book.
Equipped with individual taa-taas and quart cocoanut shells of hoopa, a delicious
twenty-seven per cent. milk, we set out along a well-traveled trail, stopping ever and anon to enjoy the
tranquil beauty of the outer sea or the more spectacular glimpses of the inner lagoon dominated by the
mountain. We had made the circuit of approximately three-fourths of the island, when suddenly, without
a word of warning, we stumbled into the Hativa-faui, or ladies' dressing-room. Instantly we were
surrounded by a bevy of captivating beauties. Our guides had evidently counted on our surprise for they
laughed uproariously, their mirth being joyously echoed by the graceful women who crowded about us,
patting, petting and bidding us unmistakable welcome to their compound. I have never seen a more
charming sylvan retreat.
Let me briefly outline the Filbertine domestic arrangements as they were gradually unfolded to us. To
begin with, make no mistake, marriage in the Filbert Islands is a distinct success. This is accomplished
by the almost complete separation of the husband from his wives. During the day these joyous maids and
matrons lead their own lives in their own community, rehearsing their songs, weaving chaplets of
flowers, stringing pearls for their simple costumes, playing games and exchanging the badinage and
gossip which are the life-breath of womanhood the world over. They are inordinately proud of their hair,
as well they may be, and spend hours at a time dressing and undressing it.
The men, on their side, are equally free. The result is that a meeting with their wives is an event.
Happiness, love and the elation of celebration are the harmonious notes of this beautiful domestic
diapason.
Feast-days, banquets, picnics, swimming parties - the Filbertines adore salt water, which is not potable
but thirst-producing - these are the occasions of a frank and joyous mingling of the sexes.
Before we left the clearing we were treated to a most graceful spectacle, a performance of the
Ataboi, a dance descriptive of the growth and blossoming of the alova flower. This was
performed by seven beautiful girls to an accompaniment of song and clapping. The plaintive love-motif
was unmistakably introduced by a deep-chested dame who played on the bazoola, a primitive
instrument fashioned from the stalk of the figwort (Scrophulariaceae ). It may interest music
lovers to know that the Filbertines employ the diatetic scale exclusively, four notes in the ascent and five
on the recoil.
At the close of the performance we were shown the nursery compound, an enclosure teeming with
beautiful children, screened by hedges where the little ones could be heard but not seen.
Two days subsequent to our amble we were invited to a grand banquet which led to disturbing problems
and momentous decision on our part. This feast was our formal welcome; the keys of the islands, so to
speak, were presented to us. There were ladies present - and everything.
It was served in a special clearing lighted by the moon and countless anchoridae tied by their legs
in festoons, a procedure which causes them to open and shut their lambent eyes very rapidly, and gave a
quaint cinema effect to the scene. After counting the courses up to twenty-seven I lost as each was
accompanied by a new brand of island potion. Fortunately we were seated on the ground.
Triplett was in his glory. If I have failed to mention recently our hard-bitten old navigator it is only
because we had seen comparatively little of him. Resting on his titular dignity as chief he seldom
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