Some account of New Zealand : particularly the Bay of Islands, and surrounding country : with a description of the religion and government, language, arts, manufactures, manners and customs of the natives, &c. &c.

by John Savage

Paper Book, 1973

Status

Available

Call number

919.31019

Publication

Christchurch, N.Z. : Capper Press, 1973

Description

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAP. III. Town of Tippoonah?Residence of a Chieftain?Confinement of Tippeehee's daughter for Disobedience?Dwellings of the Natives. THE capital of this part of the country, which is situated partly on the main land, and partly on a small island, is called Tippoonah, and consists in the whole of about an hundred dwellings. On the main the dwellings of the natives are surrounded each by a little patch of cultivated ground; but the island is appropriated to the residence of a chieftain and his court, where no cultivation is carried on. This island is so exceedingly abrupt in its ascent, and consequently so easily defended against an enemy, that it is frequently the refuge of the natives intime of war; answering all the purposes of a citadel of considerable strength: It is also their arsenal and general depot for articles of value in times of?peace?I was about to add, but, alas these times are rarely known in savage life where the population is considerable. Tippeehee, the chieftain, has a well constructed dwelling on this island, and a large collection of spears, war mats, and other valuables. A short distance from the residence of the chief is an edifice every way similar to a dove cote, standing upon a single post, and not larger than dove cotes usually are. In this Tippeehee confined one of his daughters several years; we understood she had fallen in love with a person of inferior condition, and that these means were adopted to prevent her from bringing disgrace upon her family. The space allotted to the lady would neither allow of her standing up, or stretching at her length; she had a trough in which her food was deposited as often as was thought necessary during her confinement, and I could not find that she was allowed any other accommodation. These privations..… (more)

Language

Physical description

viii, 110 p.; 22 cm
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