The Land of the Hibiscus Blossom
James Hume Nisbet (1888)
Country of origin: Australia
Available texts by the same author here
XVII. Rea's Troubles Begin.
TOTO was a comic rogue when he liked to set himself out to amuse people; his large loose mouth gave him a soft appearance, while he could make faces which convulsed the on-lookers; no merry gathering or feast was considered complete without this witty one.A coward, ah, yes! they all allowed that, but then he made no pretensions to be a hero; he could sing hymns so that they sounded like comic songs, and mimic the missionary to perfection, and tell lies by the yard, but then his were comic lies, and no one ever took offence at his jokes, because people don't like to hit those professors of peace who will not strike back again, and Toto seldom jested unless he knew his man.
He passed in Hula amongst husbands and fathers for an easy-tempered wealthy fool who could not do much harm, and he knew too much about the daughters and wives of some, for them to betray his real character, while at the same time he was by nature discreet where they had entrusted their secrets to him. In New Guinea his profession was unknown; indeed, he was there the originator of his calling, and the natives of Hula were the last to hear how their village was talked of in other parts of the land, just as a husband is ofttimes the latest to hear that which the world is constantly whispering about.
Toto was the very last one to boast about what would have cost him his head.
Since the father of Rea laid his hand on her lover's shoulder in the gardens of Hula, and parted the pair, there had come a change over the spirit of their dreams.
Toto's wealth had long attracted the attention of the father, who wished for nothing so much as to break his engagement with Kamo and take on with the more eligible suitor, yet hitherto he had not dared to interfere with the choice of the maiden, but now that unlucky Kamo had given him the opportunity, he determined to improve upon it, so that while the fond pair were making up their differences under the cocoa-nuts, the stern parent had been holding a consultation with the elders of the tribe, Toto assisting with his sage advice. The result was that the youth was condemned for having affronted the dignity of his chief in the person of his daughter, and the sentence passed that the engagement should come to an end, and parental authority he brought to bear upon the inclination of the maiden if she did not herself see the necessity of asserting her own dignity.
Kamo that night slept in the woods after all, while Rea lay in the house of her father, a tearful prisoner, and alone.
To-night there is to be a feast and a ghost entertainment, for the spirit--men have come into the village, to tell fortunes and to prophecy.
The spirit-men are the guests of good-natured Toto.
This is one of his good qualities; he is very hospitable, and ever ready to place his two-roomed house at the disposal of strangers. All day long the preparations went on, and Toto bustled about getting masks and things ready, while the villagers kept away from the vicinity of the wizards with great awe, and waited on the night with trembling expectancy.
Kamo went about disconsolate, only able to get a look and wan smile from Rea, as she peeped out from under the matting of her father's house. He could only wave his hand in return and pass by, for her father sat in silent, stern state by the foot of the ladder and looked on the young man as if he had been a stranger.
Kamo, having been with the white men, did not place much faith in the predictions of these spirit-teachers or devil-men, but he appreciated the power they possessed, and knew quite well that the result of to-night's predictions would be another bar in his way; he felt convinced that the friends of Toto were not likely to predict anything favourable to his love, and he also surmised that it was by Toto's arranging that the show had been got up.
Nevertheless youth is hopeful, and the present ever better than future benefits; he felt sure that in the bustle of the crowd and in the darkness he might have a chance of whispering a word in Rea's ear, and that was enough to comfort him.
A balmy night towards the close of the dry season! In another week the wind would shift, and the lakatois with their merchandise might be expected home; most of the men had gone west to Moresby, and other places along the coast, so that the population at present consisted principally of women, old men, and boys. Kamo's projected marriage had interfered with his taking part in the expedition, and now he wanders over the sands watching the people as they gather round the fires, placed in front of Toto's house, all anxiously waiting on the opening of the door.
They were, or pretended to be, very much afraid of these devil-men, and although they knew the hideous masks were made of wood and paint, yet the spirits behind transformed the wooden stocks into real monsters for the time.
These natives have no mode or ceremony of religious observances, they believe in a good spirit and a malignant one. The good spirit makes the world fair, and the flowers and fruit to grow, and does good because he cannot do evil. It is only the evil spirit who, by reason of his imperfections, can be moved by prayers and flattery, as a bad man, a tyrant, likes fawning slaves; so they administer to the vanity of the Evil one that he may forego his wicked intentions. They honour the Good by the silence of unuttered respect.
The new moon shines upon the bay with a subdued radiance, for over her silver horn the filmy mists which betoken a change of weather are gathered; this thin veil the rays scatter, till the whole scene is penetrated by the tender illumination. The houses in the water are ghost-like and seem to hang in the air, the vapours lying heaviest around the posts.
Through the trees Kamo gets crimson and golden glimpses of the fires, with the dark figures moving about and mixing at times with the slender columns of the palms, while long shafts of dim, dust-colour spread from those bright splashes to the sands and water; a glitter of gold is on the over-turned side of the advancing wavelet, where the dust-tinted shafts fall, or a shade of deep red on the tawny limbs of some naked savage, as he stalked across these light gateways, and for an instant blocked them up; while up the tree-trunks and along the branches or drooping fronds run and drip worsted-like threads of vermilion.
They are now beating on their iguana skin drums and sounding their pan-reeds and shell-rattles, so Kamo moves nearer to the crowd, for he knows the show is about to begin.
As he glides behind the trees and takes his observations before advancing, the door opens and the dread priests of the devil make their weird appearance, led on by the large open-mouthed Toto, who takes the part of the comic muse, or clown, dressed with a female petticoat round his waist and his gaytinted trousers underneath, and making uncouth, and I fear to add, rather obscene gestures as he marches in front.
They laugh at Toto, but gaze with fearful expectancy behind him into the shadow of the doorway from which he has emerged, and where now slowly comes a strange diabolical figure with glassy eyes, which catch the red glitter from the flame, and appear to glare with fury upon that assembled crowd.
Kamo sees where the father of Rea is placed amongst the elders of the tribe, while the maiden he loves sits with downcast air on the margin of the circle of young girls.
She has taken her seat very much in the background, so that she sits in the shadow of the other's backs, while behind her grows a thick undergrowth of shrubbery.
Kamo watches his opportunity, and on hands and knees creeps through the long grasses till he gets near enough to her, then putting out a brown arm, he touches her softly in the side, whispering, "Rea."
None of the others hear him, and Rea does not appear startled, she only allows his hand to drop down to her side, and with Kamo's grasp murmuring, "Yes, Kamo!" and then they are both quiet and appear to watch.
The first actor has come forth, and now stands in the full fire-light, while Toto, feigning great fear, falls flat on his face with his petticoat, as if by accident, over his head, but no one laughs now at the comic fellow, they are watching, eyes and mouth wide open, for what has to come.
The mask is like a monster beast on all fours, shaped something like a gigantic alligator, with feathers and streamers of grasses partly hiding the four feet.
While all eyes were fixed upon it some figures came out of the hut, with false faces and strange dresses, dancing wildly and spinning round the monster, singing a wild chaunt and beating upon their drums. Then from the shadows behind, as if rising from the earth, appeared all dim in the half-light, a great upright form of about fifteen feet high, with a ghastly white face and holes for eyes, which glowed crimson, while from the half-open mouth came puffs of smoke and sparks; it was draped in a mat which fell to the ground like a screen, and hid the performers, who were behind.
When this tall and horrible-looking spectre appeared, the drums ceased their din, and a great silence fell over the crowd, for this was the ghost which prophesied. A hollow rumbling sound first broke upon the silence, suspiciously like two or three men groaning in unison behind, at which the old men shuddered, while the women hid their faces, and then the oracle spoke.
First it praised the eastern monsoon which gave them all health, and blew the traders away on their voyages, then it foretold a rich return when the wind veered and brought them home.
"Meet the men with songs, for they will come in safety when Rea is a wife--"
"Ah!" grunted Kamo, as he heard this ending of the song, clutching at the little hand nervously in the shadow.
"Rea, the daughter of the chief, who will bring much riches to her father, and prosperity to the tribes.
"The tribes who are brothers of Hula.
"They shall swallow the enemy before them as the shark eats up the little fish.
"Rejoice for your men who come back laden to dance at the marriage of Rea.
"Who is the man to marry Rea?
"The wise man of the tribe.
"The rich man of the tribe.
"The good man of the tribe.
"Toto is good, he can buy his wife with many presents.
"He can keep his wife as the daughter of a chief ought to be kept.
"He can--"
"Can he fight for her?" cried out the impulsive Kamo, springing up from behind the circle of girls, and leaping right in front of the huge ghost, which shrank back a little, while Toto looked up from under his petticoat.
"Ho! men of Hula, there is the son-in-law of a chief for you, a man to look at with a woman's raumma. Toto the wise, who makes money out of your daughters; Toto the good, who has made Hula the cry of Kerepuna and Hanuabada. Bah! he is a fine fellow, but let him keep to the petticoat. She how he fights this brave man of Hula."
And Kamo, with a kick at a certain portion of Toto's person just then presented to the gaze of the tribe, snapped his fingers contemptuously, and stalked into the darkness.