Thechildrenareveryprettyandattractive,andtheirfacesgivepromiseofanintelligencewhichislackinginthoseoftheadults。
Theyaremuchloved,andarecaressingaswellascaressed。TheinfantsofthemountainAinoshaveseedsofmilletputintotheirmouthsassoonastheyareborn,andthoseofthecoastAinosamorselofsalt-fish;andwhateverbethehourofbirth,“custom“
requiresthattheyshallnotbefeduntilanighthaspassed。Theyarenotweaneduntiltheyareatleastthreeyearsold。Boysarepreferredtogirls,butbotharehighlyvalued,andachildlesswifemaybedivorced。
Childrendonotreceivenamestilltheyarefourorfiveyearsold,andthenthefatherchoosesanamebywhichhischildisafterwardsknown。Youngchildrenwhentheytravelareeithercarriedontheirmothers’backsinanet,orinthebackoftheloosegarment;butinbothcasestheweightismainlysupportedbyabroadbandwhichpassesroundthewoman’sforehead。Whenmencarrythemtheyholdthemintheirarms。Thehairofveryyoungchildrenisshaven,andfromaboutfivetofifteentheboysweareitheralargetonsureortuftsabovetheears,whilethegirlsareallowedtogrowhairallovertheirheads。
Implicitandpromptobedienceisrequiredfrominfancy;andfromaveryearlyagethechildrenareutilisedbybeingmadetofetchandcarryandgoonmessages。Ihaveseenchildrenapparentlynotmorethantwoyearsoldsentforwood;andevenatthisagetheyaresothoroughlytrainedintheobservancesofetiquettethatbabiesjustabletowalknevertoddleintooroutofthishousewithoutformalsalutationstoeachpersonwithinit,themotheraloneexcepted。
Theydon’twearanyclothingtilltheyaresevenoreightyearsold,andarethendressedliketheirelders。Theirmannerstotheirparentsareveryaffectionate。Evento-day,inthechief’sawe-inspiringpresence,onedearlittlenudecreature,whohadbeensittingquietlyfortwohoursstaringintothefirewithherbigbrowneyes,rushedtomeethermotherwhensheentered,andthrewherarmsroundher,towhichthewomanrespondedbyalookoftruematernaltendernessandakiss。Theselittlecreatures,intheabsoluteunconsciousnessofinnocence,withtheirbeautifulfaces,olive-tintedbodies,——allthedarker,sadtosay,fromdirt,——theirperfectdocility,andabsenceofpryingcuriosity,areverybewitching。Theyallwearsilverorpewterornamentstiedroundtheirnecksbyawispofbluecotton。
Apparentlytheordinaryinfantilemaladies,suchaswhooping-coughandmeasles,donotafflicttheAinosfatally;butthechildrensufferfromacutaneousaffection,whichwearsoffastheyreachtheageoftenorelevenyears,aswellasfromseveretoothachewiththeirfirstteeth。
AinoClothing——HolidayDress——DomesticArchitecture——HouseholdGods——JapaneseCurios——TheNecessariesofLife——ClaySoup——ArrowPoison——Arrow-Traps——FemaleOccupations——BarkCloth——TheArtofWeaving。
Ainoclothing,forsavages,isexceptionallygood。Inthewinteritconsistsofone,two,ormorecoatsofskins,withhoodsofthesame,towhichthemenaddrudemoccasinswhentheygoouthunting。
Insummertheywearkimonos,orloosecoats,madeofclothwovenfromthesplitbarkofaforesttree。Thisisadurableandbeautifulfabricinvariousshadesofnaturalbuff,andsomewhatresembleswhatisknowntofancyworkersas“Panamacanvas。“Underthisaskinorbark-clothvestmayormaynotbeworn。Themenwearthesecoatsreachingalittlebelowtheknees,foldedoverfromrighttoleft,andconfinedatthewaistbyanarrowgirdleofthesamecloth,towhichisattachedarude,dagger-shapedknife,withacarvedandengravedwoodenhandleandsheath。Smokingisbynomeansageneralpractice;consequentlythepipeandtobacco-boxarenot,aswiththeJapanese,apartofordinarymaleattire。
Tightly-fittingleggings,eitherofbark-clothorskin,arewornbybothsexes,butneithershoesnorsandals。Thecoatwornbythewomenreacheshalf-waybetweenthekneesandankles,andisquitelooseandwithoutagirdle。Itisfastenedthewholewayuptothecollar-bone;andnotonlyistheAinowomancompletelycovered,butshewillnotchangeonegarmentforanotherexceptaloneorinthedark。LatelyaJapanesewomanatSarufutotookanAinowomanintoherhouse,andinsistedonhertakingabath,whichsheabsolutelyrefusedtodotillthebath-househadbeenmadequiteprivatebymeansofscreens。OntheJapanesewomangoingbackalittlelatertoseewhathadbecomeofher,shefoundhersittinginthewaterinherclothes;andonbeingremonstratedwith,shesaidthatthegodswouldbeangryiftheysawherwithoutclothes!
Manyofthegarmentsforholidayoccasionsareexceedinglyhandsome,beingdecoratedwith“geometrical“patterns,inwhichthe“Greekfret“takespart,incoarsebluecotton,braidedmostdexterouslywithscarletandwhitethread。Someofthehandsomesttakehalfayeartomake。Themasculinedressiscompletedbyanapronofoblongshapedecoratedinthesameelaboratemanner。
Thesehandsomesavages,withtheirpowerfulphysique,lookremarkablywellintheirbestclothes。Ihavenotseenaboyorgirlaboveninewhoisnotthoroughlyclothed。The“jewels“ofthewomenarelarge,hoopearringsofsilverorpewter,withattachmentsofaclassicalpattern,andsilverneckornaments,andafewhavebrassbraceletssolderedupontheirarms。Thewomenhaveaperfectpassionforeveryhueofred,andIhavemadefriendswiththembydividingamongthemalargeturkey-redsilkhandkerchief,stripsofwhicharealreadybeingutilisedfortheornamentingofcoats。
Thehousesinthefivevillagesuphereareverygood。SotheyareatHorobets,butatShiraoi,wheretheaboriginessufferfromthecloseproximityofseveralgrogshops,theyareinferior。TheydifferinmanywaysfromanythatIhavebeforeseen,approachingmostnearlytothegrasshousesofthenativesofHawaii。Customdoesnotappeartopermiteitherofvarietyorinnovations;inallthestyleisthesame,andthedifferenceconsistsinthesizeandplenishings。Thedwellingsseemill-fittedforarigorousclimate,butthesamethingmaybesaidofthoseoftheJapanese。Intheirhouses,asintheirfaces,theAinosaremoreEuropeanthantheirconquerors,astheypossessdoorways,windows,centralfireplaces,likethoseoftheHighlandersofScotland,andraisedsleeping-
Theusualappearanceisthatofasmallhousebuiltonattheendofalargerone。Thesmallhouseisthevestibuleorante-room,andisenteredbyalowdoorwayscreenedbyaheavymatofreeds。
Itcontainsthelargewoodenmortarandpestlewithtwoends,usedforpoundingmillet,awoodenreceptacleformillet,netsorhuntinggear,andsomebundlesofreedsforrepairingrooforwalls。Thisroomnevercontainsawindow。Fromitthelargeroomisenteredbyadoorway,overwhichaheavyreed-mat,boundwithhide,invariablyhangs。ThisroominBenri’scaseis35feetlongby25feetbroad,anotheris45feetsquare,thesmallestmeasures20feetby15。Onentering,oneismuchimpressedbythegreatheightandsteepnessoftheroof,altogetheroutofproportiontotheheightofthewalls。
Theframeofthehouseisofposts,4feet10incheshigh,placed4
feetapart,andslopingslightlyinwards。Theheightofthewallsisapparentlyregulatedbythatofthereeds,ofwhichonlyonelengthisused,andwhichneverexceed4feet10inches。Thepostsarescoopedatthetop,andheavypoles,restingonthescoops,arelaidalongthemtoformthetopofthewall。Thepostsareagainconnectedtwicebyslighterpolestiedonhorizontally。Thewallisdouble;theouterpartbeingformedofreedstiedveryneatlytotheframeworkinsmall,regularbundles,theinnerlayerorwallbeingmadeofreedsattachedsingly。Fromthetopofthepole,whichissecuredtothetopoftheposts,theframeworkoftheroofrisestoaheightoftwenty-twofeet,made,liketherest,ofpolestiedtoaheavyandroughly-hewnridge-beam。Atoneendundertheridge-beamthereisalargetriangularaperturefortheexitofsmoke。Twoverystout,roughly-hewnbeamscrossthewidthofthehouse,restingonthepostsofthewall,andonpropsletintothefloor,andanumberofpolesarelaidatthesameheight,bymeansofwhichasecondaryroofformedofmatscanbeatonceextemporised,butthisisonlyusedforguests。Thesepolesanswerthesamepurposeasshelves。Verygreatcareisbestowedupontheoutsideoftheroof,whichisamarvelofneatnessandprettiness,andhastheappearanceofaseriesoffrillsbeingthatchedinridges。Theridge-poleisverythicklycovered,andthethatchboththereandatthecornersiselaboratelylacedwithapatterninstrongpeeledtwigs。Thepoles,which,formuchoftheroom,runfromwalltowall,compelonetostoop,toavoidfracturingone’sskull,andbringingdownspears,bowsandarrows,arrow-
traps,andotherprimitiveproperty。Theroofandraftersareblackandshinyfromwoodsmoke。Immediatelyunderthem,atoneendandoneside,aresmall,squarewindows,whichareclosedatnightbywoodenshutters,whichduringtheday-timehangbyropes。
NothingisagreaterinsulttoanAinothantolookinathiswindow。
Ontheleftofthedoorwayisinvariablyafixedwoodenplatform,eighteenincheshigh,andcoveredwithasinglemat,whichisthesleeping-place。Thepillowsaresmallstiffbolsters,coveredwithornamentalmatting。Ifthefamilybelargethereareseveralofthesesleepingplatforms。Apolerunshorizontallyatafittingdistanceabovetheoutsideedgeofeach,overwhichmatsarethrowntoconcealthesleepersfromtherestoftheroom。Theinsidehalfofthesematsisplain,buttheoutside,whichisseenfromtheroom,hasadiamondpatternwovenintoitindullredsandbrowns。
Thewholeflooriscoveredwithaverycoarsereed-mat,withintersticeshalfaninchwide。Thefireplace,whichissixfeetlong,isoblong。Aboveit,onaveryblackandelaborateframework,hangsaveryblackandshinymat,whosesuperfluoussootformsthebasisofthestainusedintattooing,andwhoseapparentpurposeistopreventthesmokeascending,andtodiffuseitequallythroughouttheroom。Fromthisframeworkdependsthegreatcooking-pot,whichplaysamostimportantpartinAinoeconomy。