Page 686

Voyages in the Southern Hemisphere, Vols. II - III

Table of Contents On this day ... 20 September 1770 Endeavour Voyage Maps James Cook's Journal Ms 1, National Library of Australia Transcript of Cook's Journal Joseph Banks's Journal Sydney Parkinson's Journal Description of the Island of Savu Index Search Contact us

Description of the Island of Savu (continued) These people bore their testimony that the love of finery is a universal passion, for their ornaments were very numerous. Some of the better sort wore chains of gold round their necks, but they were made of plaited wire, and consequently were light and of little value; others had rings, which were so much worn that they seemed to have descended through many generations; and one person had a silver-headed cane, marked with a kind of cypher, consisting of the Roman letters V, O, C, and therefore probably a present from the Dutch East India Company, whose mark it is: they have also ornaments made of beads, which some wear round their necks as a solitaire, and others, as bracelets, upon their wrists: these are common to both sexes, but the women have besides, strings or girdles of beads, which they wear round their waists, and which serve to keep up their petticoat. Both sexes had their ears bored, nor was there a single exception that fell under our notice, yet we never saw an ornament in any of them; we never indeed saw either man or woman in any thing but what appeared to be their ordinary dress, except the King and his minister, who in general wore a kind of night-gown of coarse chintz, and one of whom once received us in a black robe, which appeared to be made of what is called prince’s stuff. We saw some boys, about twelve or fourteen years old, who had spiral circles of thick brass wire passed three or four times round their arms, above the elbow, and some men wore rings of ivory, two inches in breadth, and above an inch in thickness, upon the same part of the arm: these, we were told, were the sons of the Rajas, or Chiefs, who wore these cumbrous ornaments as badges of their high birth. Voyaging Accounts © Derived from Vols. II-III of the London 1773 edition: National Library of Australia call no. FERG 7243, pages 686 - 687, 2004 Published by kind permission of the Library To cite this page use: https://paulturnbull.org/project/southseas/journals/hv23/686.html