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Island is divided (in Otahite there may be about 100 such districts); which are by the Earees parceld out to the Manahounies, who cultivate each his part and for the use of it owe their Cheif service when calld upon and provisions, especialy when he travels, which he often does accompanied by many of his freinds and their families often amounting to near 100 principals beside their attendants. Inferiour to the Manahounes are the toutous who are upon almost the same footing as the Slaves in the East indian Islands, only that they never appeard to us transferrable from one to the other; these do all kinds of Laborious work, till the land, fetch wood and water, dress the victuals, under the direction however of the Mistris of the family, catch fish &c. Besides these are the two classes of Erate and Towha which seem to answer to Yeoman and Gentleman as they came between Earee and Manahouni; but as I was not acquainted
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Voyaging Accounts |  |
© Derived from State Library of NSW Transcription of Banks's Journal page (vol.1) 433, February 2004
Published by kind permission of the Library
To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/-banks_remarks-186.html