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New Zealand 1826-1827: From the French of Dumont D'Urville

From the Diary of M. Gaimard

page 218

From the Diary of M. Gaimard

On the 26th [February] Messrs. Lottin, Guilbert, Bertrand, Faraguet and I, accompanied by Simonet with his gun and a Zealand guide, went by boat up to the source of a saltwater river, the Wai-Mogoia. On its left bank we saw the village of Ourouroa, a number of canoes and a great many inhabitants. After crossing an isthmus about two miles in extent, we reached the west coast of New Zealand at a village called Manoukao. The chief, Inaki, a fine tall man, surrounded by his warriors, received us in ceremonial dress and with an air of splendour. We presented one or two gifts to him; among other things he received one of the medals of the expedition that M. Lottin gave him, and a blue handkerchief that I asked him to accept. A war dance, which was really impressive, was performed in our honour by about a hundred Zealanders armed with rifles, axes, spears, and patous-patous [clubs]. As a general rule the men we had before us were tall, well-proportioned and strongly built. They have fine regular features and a martial air and the faces of the chiefs and distinguished warriors are adorned with the deep tattoo which is achieved by very painful incisions and is authentic testimony to their high rank and military glory. They have aquiline noses with slightly spreading nostrils, rather yellow whites to their eyes, wonderfully white teeth, long black hair, generally straight, but occasionally curly, black beards and moustaches.

The women who are usually short and well-built have slightly flattened noses; only the wives of chiefs have any tattoo, a special design on their lips and shoulders. Women of the lower orders and maids are not allowed to change the natural red of their lips to the dark blue that comes from tattooing; this blue is, in their eyes, the loveliest of shades and its use is the exclusive privilege of the patrician class. In their habits they were just the same as the Tolaga women. One of the youngest of them, named Iétoutou, remarkable for her beauty and the charming lines of her figure, struck us as being more graceful than any we had seen in our previous calls. A cambric handkerchief, which one of our people had given her, delighted her and she showed her joy in the most striking manner.

This expedition proved without any doubt that this part of New Zealand is in fact an extensive peninsula to which the Bay of Islands belongs, as several whaling captains had already informed M. de Blosseville.

page 219

Shouraki Bay has excellent harbours which sooner or later will become the sites of European settlements. The Zealanders with whom we have been brought in contact seem to be a very warlike people. They love firearms above anything else. The most important chief we have seen in this district, Terangui, boasted of having defeated, killed, and eaten Pomare, a redoubtable rangalira or leading chief. He showed us with much pride the booty he had taken, and told us all about his own wonderful exploits. He now hopes to defeat and then eat in the same way Shongui, who at the moment is the most powerful rangalira in the Bay of Islands.

French navigator and geographer, 1802-1833. Appendix.