Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

The narrator notices that Toby has a “fearless confidence” about meeting the Indigenous people. His enthusiasm helps the narrator put aside his anxieties about the Typee people. Their descent into the valley is difficult, eventually leading them to a steep ravine. They see no clear way to descend the massive ravine, which features a loud, high waterfall. Toby devises a plan to use “curious looking roots” (60) as ropes to help him climb down the steep walls of the ravine. He grabs one root and then moves across to another. The narrator watches him, fully aware that he is heavier than his companion. Nevertheless, he follows Toby. The roots threaten to give way, but the narrator and Toby descend successfully. When they reach the end of the roots, they must still contend with another part of the ravine’s steep rockface. They edge down, following Toby’s guidance by leaping down onto a tree and allowing themselves to be caught in its thick canopy, and then climb down the tree. They are now in the valley.

At first, the valley appears devoid of people. The two men proceed carefully, not keen to meet people they cannot assume will be friendly. Eventually, they come across an annuee, a type of fruit tree, and gorge themselves on the “much-decayed” fruit. As they eat, the narrator notices that the stalk of a breadfruit has been left nearby. Someone likely placed it there before disappearing. As the men proceed further, they come across “two figures” standing together. From a distance, without making contact, neither the narrator nor Toby can determine whether these people are Typees or Happars. Feeling they cannot turn back, the narrator pulls the calico cloth from its hiding place and waves it in the air as he approaches the two people.

He sees that they are a young boy and a young girl. They seem alarmed. Using broken Polynesian, the narrator tries to communicate. He and Toby soon resort to using vague gestures, pantomiming their need for food. The narrator, still trying to communicate, uses the local word for good and Happar. These words surprise the young people, though they smile. Toby and the narrator decide that this positive reaction means that they must surely have found the Happar people. Rain falls, and with the young people’s apparent permission, the men follow them to the nearby village.

The locals stare at them. The atmosphere is tense. The narrator tries to ease the tension by offering tobacco to a man who is apparently a local chief. The man refuses the offer. Instead, he puts two words to the narrator: Happar or Typee, asking him to choose. Knowing that the wrong choice could cost him his life, the narrator responds “Typee mortarkee,” meaning Typee good, and the crowd, apparently delighted, breaks into laughter. Everyone begins asking him questions. He introduces himself as Tom, though they struggle with the pronunciation and refer to him as “Tommo.” They call Toby by his name. The chief who refused the tobacco introduces himself as Mehevi. The men talk with Mehevi for nearly an hour. He orders food for them, and others bring local delicacies, including mashed breadfruit. Night falls, and the narrator and Toby are still beset by many questions. Well past midnight, the locals lead them to a hut, where they sleep on mats.

The narrator, now referred to as Tommo, wakes to find a group of “lively young ladies” (77) watching him and feels slightly uncomfortable. Mehevi arrives. Tommo notices the many tattoos covering his body, as well as his fine local jewelry. The “warlike” Mehevi wears a necklace made of boar tusks. He talks excitedly about French sailors and other things, though Tommo struggles to keep up due to his limited knowledge of Polynesian languages. Pointing at the swelling on Tommo’s leg, Mehevi calls for a healer. The “old wizard” uses a hammer to poke and probe at the injury and then covers the wound with herbs. Mehevi appoints a man named Kory-Kory as Tommo’s servant and then leaves.

Tommo thinks Kory-Kory is about 25 years old. He has fewer tattoos than Mehevi, and his hairstyle is distinct: His head is carefully shaved except for two tufts of hair. Kory-Kory lives with his father, Marheyo, and his mother, Tinor, in the house where Tommo slept the previous night. Tinor prepares mashed breadfruit and works hard. Tommo notices that other people also seem to live in the house. Among them, he notices a beautiful young woman named Fayaway. He is immediately attracted to her “peculiar style of beauty” (87), convinced that she could have come straight from the Garden of Eden.

Kory-Kory’s attentiveness and diligence as a servant surprise Tommo. At each meal, Kory-Kory feeds Tommo, even physically placing the food in Tommo’s mouth. Whenever Tommo wants to go somewhere, Kory-Kory carries him. Kory-Kory bathes Tommo each morning in a nearby stream. The next day, Mehevi announces a trip to “the Taboo groves of the valley” (91), local religious areas the most holy of which are forbidden to women on threat of death. Kory-Kory carries Tommo there. He is taken into a structure called a Ti, one of the holy places that women cannot enter, and is shown the hoolah hoolah, a site where rituals are performed. As Tommo and Toby sit inside the Ti, they notice that someone has lit a fire outside. This scares them; they worry that they might be cooked by the supposedly cannibalistic Typees. Instead, meat is cooked and brought to the two men. Tommo eats without hesitation, but Toby refuses, surmising that the meat is from a “baked baby.” Tommo panics but quickly assures himself that he is, in fact, eating pork. Nevertheless, the threat of cannibalism worries him.

For the following week, Toby and Tommo receive lavish care from their hosts. Despite their attentiveness, however, Toby cannot stop worrying about the Typee reputation. Tommo continues to experience problems related to his leg injury. The local treatments do nothing. Toby agrees to travel to a French doctor at Nukuheva to fetch “proper medicines.” The villagers are reluctant to let him go but eventually agree, and Marheyo walks with Toby up to the border between the Typee and Happar territories. Hours pass. Tommo hears screaming and finds Toby outside, badly beaten and unconscious. Toby comes to and explains that Happars attacked him, throwing spears at him. He ran away and collapsed on a path, and Typees found him. The Typee villagers cite this incident as evidence that the Happars cannot be trusted. They claim that the Happars are the brutal ones, even accusing the Happars of practicing cannibalism. Toby and Tommo reflect on the events, which they realize will make leaving this place much more difficult.

Tommo continues to experience pain in his leg and is anxious about their hosts’ intentions. He is roused from a morning slumber when French sailors appear in the Typee bay. The Typees react quickly, gathering items they can sell to the French sailors. Tommo wants to see the French people, but Kory-Kory will not agree to carry him, so he must stay behind. The Typees agree to let Toby accompany them to talk to the French sailors regarding medicine while Tommo stays in the village to rest. The day passes, and as the sun sets, the Typees begin to return. Toby is not among them. When Tommo asks about his friend, the Typee hosts are reluctant to speak. Tommo becomes worried and speaks to Fayaway, who explains that Toby went with the French sailors but promised to return in three days. Tommo is upset and feels trapped in the Typee village. Nevertheless, the Typees are nicer to him than ever before. Fayaway and Kory-Kory are particularly attentive to his needs.