Bemidji Daily Pioneer Newspaper, November 17, 1919, Page 2

TAHITI GREETS VETERANS WITH " ANCIENT RITES fFantastic Dances Are Revived © to Welcome Returning Soldiers. WOMEN SING FOLK SONGS Walking on Hot Stones Notable Fea- ture of the Ceremony—Priests Side- | step the Hot Spote—Ancient Cus- | toms All but Suppressed by Civil ' lzing French - Influences — Queer Ritos Described by Eye Witness. — When the boys of Tahitl came p g home from the world war the fantastic native dances, the “himinies” or folk songs which have ‘been compared to Wagnerian opers, and the ancient fire-walking ceremony, were revived to welcome them. These customs, all but suppressed by civilizing French influences, were among the most interesting practices of Polynesian peoples, according to & bulletin from the National Geograph- ic soclety in Washington. “Tahiti women were extolled by early travelers as being the most beau- tiful in the Pacific islands; their men still are fine physical specimens; and the early civilization of this isolated people has been one of the wonders of science,” says the bulletin. “The Tahitians knew some of-the constellations, navigated by the posi- tions of the stars, made progress fi music which is startling, yet preserved many savage customs, such as pluck- ing an eye from a human being to be placed in the mouth of a priest as an acceptable offering to their gods.” The bulletin then quotes from a diary presented to the soclety by the late S. P. Langley who visited the island nearly twenty years ago and heard old-time songs and saw native dances and rites, which have been re- vived to honor the men who fought under allied colors in France, Saw Ancient Rites. “The native women sing ‘himinies’ with some very striking effects,” he wrote. “The volces have something plangent and metallic in them, yet are melodious and in harmony. In the first song, at the end of each verse, all stopped suddenly, giving the effect of the ‘couac’ of the opera singer. In afk the verses there was an undertone be- neath the song. This undertone con- tinued alone for a few seconds at the end:of each verse, after. the superim- posed song was finished, and died out separately and slowly, like the drone of some great bagpipe. The natives gave names to each of us, mine being ‘A-to-hi,’ which means ‘qul a les lau- riers. “I went out to the public dancing and singing, in competition for prizes offered by the government. It takes place in the square before the govern- ment house, and everybody is there, either performing or looking on. Al- most the whole population of the is- land has come. “The chief interest among the is- landers seems to lle in the ccmpeti- tion of singing ‘himinies,’ and next to that in the dancing, which is panto- mimic as much as regular. As a public show most of the native dances are unpresentable, so that, I have under- stood, the authorities had some diffi- culty in finding a dance which will do for such an occasion. Savages are here from the neighboring tribes, a fine looking chief from Cook Island taking a part, and a woman from the same island gave a little of the presentable part of the ‘hula-hula.’ Her body would be quivering llke a jelly, and suddenly grow rigid as a statue—a notably odd effect. Thirty Take Part. “In one very good dance by the Cook Islanders over thirty persons ' take part. They sit down in three rows, representing rowers in a canoe, while two scull and steer. They have pad- dles, and paddle to the sound of drums. A lookout man sweeps the ho- rizon till he sees a big fish, and the cnnoe rows for him. One of the steer ors sharpens a harpoon and passes it forward, and the fish (a man dressed in red) is harpooned. There is a tre- mendous time in pulling him in; he runs around and entangles the line among the bystanders, and finally he gets a second harpoon in him, is haul- ed on board and (in pantomime) cut up with an ax, dismembered and eat- en by the crew. Everybody is in mo- tion, but it s rather a pantomime than a dance. “In the afternoon I went to see preparations for the fire walking. Within a hundred yards of the ship a shallow pit is dug, about 9 by 20 feet by 18 inches deep. This is to be filled with firewood and the stones heaped on the wood. These are smooth, wa- ter-worn, volcanic stones of varying size, but all rather large smd welgh- ing, at a guess, from 15 to 50 pounds. The number of stones was about two hundred, and their average length -about 16 inches. “In" preparation for the fire cere- mony I took a ship's tin measure full of fresh water, This {8 to be used in half filling, with three or four meas- ures, a large wooden bucket or tub with fresh water, into which one of the -maller hot stones from the ceater of e S B8 the fire is to be put after the cere: mony. “The wooden bucket was provided, together with iron rakes from the en- gineer's room. The firewood was scarcely sufficlent for & good heating; ‘the stones in. the center and heneath were, however, undoubtedly ‘red hot.’ The outer 'inclosure, surrounded by canvas walls, was about 120 feet by 60 feet. Wadk on Hot Stones. “The fire there, I am told, invari- ably burned for four or five days be- fore, and the stones became coated with lime. I learn that on one oc- casion, the French authorities having forbidden the priest to perform in his usual place, he made the ‘oven’ of other stones, heating them for 88 hours. On attempting to cross, he walked only part of the way angd ran the reet. His two disciples and a woman also ran across, and the woman's feet were 8o badly burned that she was laid up for 8 week. The prophet and his disciples declined to have their fee¥ examined, and cleared out of sight. “When the priest came in the stones on the side of the pile would bear to be touched by the hand. “The aids began to turn the stones over with long green poles which burn- ed at the ends. The upper stones ‘were none of them red hot on top; the lower ones, tyo layers deep, how- ever, could be seen to glow betwéen the others, but they were only near red hot in the center. “The old Ppriest, Papa-Ita, beat the near stones with a large bunch of Ti leaves three times, and then began to walk through the middle rather hur- riedly, followed by two acolytes, who appeared to shun the hot central ridge and walked along the sides. Then be walked back, followed by several; then back once more with an increasing crowd, most of whom avoided the center. The horny-footed natives did the rest. One white boy took off his shoes, but could not stang the heat upon his bare feet and stopped. Exhibicion of Savage Magle. “At this point (le., after the second passage forward and back) I had the hottest stone of the pile in the center. on which the feet had certainly rested several times, hauled out and placed in the water bucket. The stone was much larger than I had reckoned or wished. A trifle of the water was spilled by the plunge, and the rest boiled hard and continued to do so for about twelve minutes. At the end of that time the stone was still too hot to handle, and I sent to the ship for a sack to hold it, directing the remaining water to be measured. It was a long stone; the lower part had been immersed in the central fire, and it was certainly much hotter than the average center stones. During this time other persons walked over the stones without special preparation, the disciples still dodging the hot cen- tral part and following near the cooler part.”" I asked ‘Papa-Ita if he could take upon his hand a small hot stone near the center. He said he would, but he did not. Next many white persons walked over, stopping long enough to lean over and lightly and quickly touch the hottest stones with their hands. “After this the outer crowd was al- lowed to come inside the barrier. It was a capital exhibition of savage maglc and well worth seeing, but no miracle.” GERMANS DESERTING ARMY One Hundred Thousand Soldiers Have Fled From Country. One hundred thousand officers and soldiers of the German armies have deserted the colors and fled to neutral countries. There are 45,000 deserters in Switzerland and fully as many have gone to Holland. A large number also have found their way into overseas countries. : The German government has pro- claimed a general amnesty for all de- serters and extended to them an invi- tation to re-enter the fatheriand, pro- viding, however, there are no charges of treason against them. Preacher Alded Kentucky Moonshiners Confessing to aiding and assisting in moonshine stilling, G. W. Stanley of Ash Camp, Ky., for many years & preacher, has been arrested and placed under a $500 bond, Subscribe for The Pioneer. character has made this organiz- ation famous. Our expert knowledge of all the “details of our profession * meets with the ap- proval of every one. Our reputa- tion for fair deal- ing is our clients’ protection. THE BEMIDJI DAILY PIONEER tain Senn commands the entire force that is ready to engage an enemy in elther the Atlantic or -Pacific.’ The North Dakota -not.only is able.to nav- igate the sea at its full 21-knot speed, but could fire every one of its ten 12- inch guns and 14 G-inch guns. All the other battleships and cruis- ers and most of the destroyers and other .vessels of both the Atlantic and Pacific fleets are tied up in ports and navy yards, unfit for active service for want of enough men to man them. At the Philadelphia navy yard are the battleships Connecticut, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Kansas, Minnesota, Michigan and Nevada; at the Boston || navy yard, the battleships Utah and Florida of ‘the Atlantic fleet, and Virginia and New Jersey of the Pacific fleet; at the Norfolk, Va., yard the battleships Navy Lacks Men; Only 6ne Battleship Fully WFENDING the United States today in active sea service there is exactly one warship, the 20,000-ton battleship North Dakota, built in 1610, Capt. Thomas J. Senn commanding. With headquarters at Guantanamo, Cuba, Oap- ’ MONDAY EVENING, NOVEMBER 17, 1919 Mannsd]; ‘ SPECIAL A few more of those dandy FUR COLLARS FOR MEN We will let them go at Saturday’s sale prices, $15.00 to $25.00 Brockman’s Fur Factory South Carolina and Oklahoma ; at Brooklyn-the battleships Pennsylyania and Arizona, and at New York the Delaware. The Pacific fleet, under Admiral Rodman, was able to negotiate Secretary At TROPPMAN’S DEPT. STORE of the Navy Daniels’ excursion to Hawail and get back to home ports, where the ships are riding at anchor awaiting full complements of men. At the Mare Island navy. yard are the battleships Rhode Island, Georgia, Nebraska and Vermont ; at San Pedro, the Idaho and Mississippi; at Sap Francisco, the New |« Mexico, and at Bremerton navy yard the Wyoming, Arkansas, New York, and Texal 8. Admiral Wilson disclosed the condition of the fleets when he informed the house committee on naval affairs that the North Dakota s the only warship able to put to sea with a full complement of 1,100 men. 1 Q S 2 388 “EOE S BEE2 8o ! N T BEm ® =N -—ctDflE v pd —G,__,m 05 582 q_“ PT5 B3 2 S 3 Qs ® S o W flfi;g 5} i < ) gEeg 5883 o8s & Z.S S sy TS s 5258 £38% SL'E o nNsuo TUESDAY November THE DISTRIBUTION OF A SENSATIONAL PURCHASE of Misses and 'Womens DRESSES : pY (Y ¥ (A -s}—\ ;"L‘:fi\ ® .~z J' :"!". Y HURRY : . ) FOLKS - HURRY! Our Mr. Jagrin has just returned from eastern markets where he purchased 100 dresses, the season’s LATEST 11 creations, from manufacturers who were overstocked. By being in a position to pay spot cash he was able to secure the lot at a0 Gents on the Dollar Dresses of Serge and Tricotine, for business and street wear, and dresses of soft silk for party wear; a style, color or fabric for every dress need of the wardrobe. Why! 'Twould cost you double what we are asking at any store in the country. Another feature of this lot is there are no two dresses alike. Values up to $40, $1875 . November 22nd at 10 p. m., we Sa“"-da .} close our doors on one of ‘the uday greatest sales ever conducted in -\ Bemidji or in this section. E GARMENT SHOP BEMIDJI, MINN. q i H Dafarcrtive