Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

Everyone from across the valley comes to the Ti to celebrate. A vast quantity of food is served, and everyone eats until they are full. They smoke tobacco and drink an intoxicating beverage called arva. As the feast rolls into the second day, Tommo notices women crying. He is told that they are “bereaved widows,” mourning the husbands who fell in battle. All day, men play the drums and priests chant while casting their hands over idols. The festival continues into the next day as well and then ends as the sun sets. Tommo compares European and American festivals to this Feast of the Calabashes, much preferring the Typee celebrations.

Still uncertain of the festival’s purpose, Tommo believes that it has religious significance. He asks the Typees about their religion. Since most missionaries condemn the Typees as un-Christian pagans, little is known about their beliefs. Tommo is increasingly sure that Europeans’ condemnation of these people as “savages” is untrue. He has seen nothing to confirm reports of humans being sacrificed on altars, for example, and has not even witnessed anything particularly religious. Kory-Kory teaches Tommo about the local religion, showing Tommo carved idols and a mausoleum built for a dead warrior. The dead man is placed inside a canoe facing a lake, he is told, so that the man can row to eternity. The chief god of the Typees, Moa Artua, is represented by a small wooden statue guarded by a priest named Kolory. Often, the chiefs call to Kolory to perform religious ceremonies. He takes the statue from its safe place and whispers into its ear. When he returns the statue to its box, the chiefs applaud. While the statue is removed, it can seemingly talk to Kolory. This, Tommo is told, is one of the most important rituals. Tommo suspects that the Typees have not been particularly devout recently. Many of their wooden statues are rotting away. He sees Kory-Kory kick a wooden statue, which falls apart. He suspects that they could use “a spiritual revival” (179).

To Tommo, the Typees seem the most naturally beautiful people in the world. He praises their hair and complexions. Both men and women are fit and healthy, unlike many Europeans Tommo has met. The women keep their hair long and treat their hair and skin with oils. Although they mostly dress in typical Polynesian style, some women have calico clothing from Europeans. Social class does not seem to exist among the Typees, Tommo says, except for the chiefs. The villagers quickly and diligently obey the chiefs’ orders, though their standard of living is not particularly above anyone else’s. They do not enjoy the privileges of a European monarch, Tommo notes. Even other cultures with monarchs, such as the Hawaiian people whom Tommo has met, have greater class distinction. Tommo understands that Mehevi is foremost among the chiefs and that he rules from the Ti. Tommo still enjoys visiting the Ti to sit, eat, smoke, and talk.

Tommo compares Mehevi to a king but reiterates that Mehevi does not enjoy the privileges of his European counterparts. The entire structure is less formal. Several times, Tommo has seen Mehevi engaged in sexual relations with a young woman. He suspects that they have a relationship, though he previously considered Mehevi a bachelor. The woman has a child, he notes, who closely resembles Mehevi. Tommo compares the nature of relationships among the Typees to those in Europe or America. Typee women often have numerous lovers or “a plurality of husbands” (191). The woman whom Tommo has seen with Mehevi, he says, lives with another man. Occasionally, Tommo observes, a woman may live with two men who both strive for her attention. The village has fewer women than men, Tommo notes, which may explain this common practice. Nevertheless, most people seem content with the idea of women having multiple lovers. When a man flirts with Tinor, for example, Tommo has seen Tinor’s husband Marheyo watching, seemingly unperturbed. Despite their tendency to take several lovers, Tommo notes that women are selective about whom they spend time with. Tommo notes that many Polynesian cultures reject fixed relationships. This open sexuality, he mentions, has caused problems with Europeans. Many women in Tahiti died of sexually transmitted diseases, contracted from European men. Tommo cannot consider the Typees in this respect, as he has never noted any death in the village. If a death occurred, he believes that the body would be embalmed before burial.

Tommo continues describing Typee culture. The villagers govern themselves according to a code of honor resembling “tacit common-sense law” (201) and received wisdom rather than formal accusations and trials. Up to this point, Tommo cannot recall seeing any arguments in the village. One of the reasons they get along so well, he suspects, is that they do not invest much in the concept of ownership. Some houses are larger or better than others, but no one buys land or resources as in Europe or America. Tommo is also struck by how most ideas seem unanimous; few people disagree. Little ideological debate occurs in Typee society. This makes village life seem peaceful, quiet, and agreeable. In such a situation, Tommo notes, the Europeans must seem like “primitive tribes.”

Tommo describes Typee fishing parties as an insight into their generosity. They do not fish every day, even though they love the taste of fish. Fishing involves a trip to the ocean, and after this trip is made, everyone shares the catch equally. The fisherman return, and the fish are divided equally among all the villagers, each family getting a certain amount depending on the family’s size. Tommo is awoken one night by Marheyo, who is telling him that the fishing party has returned. Marheyo collects his allotted amount of fish from the Ti and returns to the village, where the house has woken up and prepared a fire. They eat the fish raw, though prepared in a particular style. Tommo soon overcomes his disgust at the “vile” (208) idea of raw fish. He comes to even enjoy the taste.