House Furniture

A few mats were the essential house furnishings in Tongareva. Such personal property as sennit cord, fishing nets, and weapons was also kept in the dwelling.

Sleeping mats of lauhala were in common use, and two kinds of coconut leaf mat were described to me. The coconut leaf mats (pakere rei) were

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used as floor coverings, and shorter mats (tapakau) were used for seats. When the people sat outside for their meals or to rest, the tapakau were brought out of the house and spread on the coral gravel covering the open space.

Back rests (tokotua, from toko, to prop, and tua, the back) dubbed out of tou wood and propped up at an angle by a short stake, were described to me as of old invention. The sitting mat upon which the person sat with the back rest adjusted to a comfortable angle, was spread on the ground. (See fig. 8.) Lamont crawled into one of the small huts to observe the furniture, and he says (15, p. 114):

This was not of the most costly description. A roll of sinnet and a coarse bag-net were suspended from the ceiling, a rough mat of pandanus leaf partially covered the sandy floor, and another was thrown over what seemed a bundle at the far end. Curiosity tempted me to lift the latter, when I beheld an urchin whose little black eyes seemed fairly to start out of their sockets, as they stared at me; while his mouth, which was about as broad as his face, emitted the wildest screams of terror I had ever heard. Nearly as much frightened as the child, I backed out of his den and at the same moment the little imp, throwing up the opposite side of the house, darted into the woods; and, though his yells still were heard, modulated by distance, he was out of sight in an instant.