Historische Dokumente:
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aus: http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/cook/17700921.html
Cook's Journal: Daily Entries
21 September 1770the Island we have been last at, ^whi^ch
^is call'd by the Natives Savu it the
Middle of it lies in ^about the Latde of 10°..35' St
Longde 237°.30'Wt &C it ^may
be about 8 Leagues in length from East to West, but of what breadth I know
not because I only saw the north side. There are as I am told three bays where
Ships can Anchor, the best is on the South West side of the SE
point, the one we lay in call'd Seba — lies on the NW side of
the Island this bay is very well shelter'd from the SE
Trade wind but lays wholy open to the NW - The Land of this
Island which bounds the Sea is in general low, but in the Middle of the Island
are Hills of a Moderate height and the whole is agreeably deversified with woods
and Lawns which affords a most pleasing prospect from the sea. We were told that
the Island is but indifferently water'd in the dry season, especially towards
the latter end of it, at which time there is no runing stream upon the whole
Island, only small springs which are all at a distance from the Sea side. The
dry season commences in March or April and ends in November or
the remaining 3 or 4 Months they have westerly winds with rain and this is the
time that their crops of Rice, Callivances and Indian Corn are brought forth
which are Articles that this Island produceth, they also breed a great number of
Cattle such as / viz / Buffaloes, Horses, Hogs, Sheep and Goats,
Many of the former are sent to Concordia where they are Kill'd and
salted in order to be sent to the More Northern Island[s] which are under the
dominion of the Dutch - Sheep and Goats flesh is dried upon this Island, packe'd
up in Bales and sent to Concordia for the same purpose. The Dutch Resident from
whome we had these informations told ^us that the Dutch ^at
Concordia had lately behav'd so ill to the Natives of Timor that they were
obliged to have recourse to this Island and others adjacent for provisions for
their own subsistance, and likewise Troops / Natives of this Island / to assist
the Dutch againest those of Timor. Besides the above productions this
Island here are an emmence Number of Palm Trees from which is extracted
the Palm Wine, as it is call'd, avery sweet agreeable Cooling liquor, what they
do not emmidiatly use they boil down and make Syrrup ^or Sugar
of which they keep in earthen jarrs. Here are likewise Cocoa-nutts and Tamarind
Trees, Limes &Ca but in no great plenty. Indico ^Cotton
and Cinnamon sufficient to Serve the Natives, this last Article we were told the
Dutch discourage the growth of —
The Island is divided into five Kingdoms which
have lived in Peace and Amity with each other for these hundred years, At
present the Whole Island is partly under the direction of the Dutch East India
Company who have a Resident or Factor who constantly lives ^here
without whose leave the Natives are not to supply any other Nation with any
thing what ever, but the whole product of the Island besides what serves
themselves is to be sold to the Company at their ^prefer'd
own price ^to be paid for in for European or some other
Foriegn Commidity's and not for ^in Gold or Silver.
in a manner the property of the Company - The Company by way of a Tribute oblige
them to raise and pay Annualy a certain quantity of Rice, Indian Corn and
Callivances, for which the Company make each of the Kings a Yearly present of a
Casks of Arrack and some other trifles, the live stock Sheep
and Goats flesh ^&Ca they pay for in Goods.
The small Island which lies about a League to the westward of this pays Annualy
a certain quantity of Areaca Nutts which is allmost the only
produce of that Island. The Island of Rotte is upon the same footing as this of Savu.
Both these Islands and the Three Solors belong to the Goverment of Concordia
From what we could learn of the Island of Timor it seems to be much
upon the same footing as it was in Dampiers time which is that the Dutch Posess
little more of that Island than what lies under the command of the Fort
Concordia; the Rest is in posession either of the Native Indians or the
Portuguese. we were likewise told that the Island of Ende belongs to the
Portuguese, that the principal settlement was is at
Larentucka where there is a Fort and a good harbour. We were told that
Concordia on the Island Timor is a free Port for Ships of any Nation to touch at
where they would not only be supplied with refreshments but Naval stores also,
Tradeing Ships might probably meet with a good reception, but Kings
Ships I am perswaided would be look'd upon as spys for my own part
was I only in want of refreshments and obliged to touch at any of these Islands
I should prefer going to a Portuguese settlement, before any of the Dutch and
when I was solicited by the officers to call at Timor I propose'd going to one
of the Portuguese settlements but ^this Mr
Hicks made some objections to which was sufficient for me to lay it aside as I
had not the least inclination to touch any where till we arrived at Batavia, for
my falling in with Savu was mere chance and not design. But to return to
this Island the Natives of which are of a dark brown Colour, with long lank hair,
their cloathing is a peice of Calicoe or other Cotton cloth ^wraped
about their Middle, the better sort have a nother peice which they wear over
their Shoulders and the most of them wear Turbands or had kerchiefs ty'd round
their heads. They eat of all the tame Animals they have got, viz, Hoggs, Horses,
Buffaloes, Cocks and Hens, Dogs, Catts, Sheep and Goats, and are esteem'd much
in the same order as I have mentioned, that is their Hogs flesh, which is
certainly as good as any in the World, they prefer before any thing else next to
Hoggs Horses and so on. Fish is not esteemd by them and is only eat by the
Common or poor people who are allow'd little else of meat kind. They have
acustom a mong them that when ever a King dies all the Cattle &Ca
that are upon his Estate are kill'd with which the successor makes a feast to
which is are invited all the principal people of the
Island who stay untill all is consumed After this they every one
according to his abillitys make the Young King a present, by
which mea[n]s he gets a fresh stock which he is obliged to husband for some
time. The other principal men make also feasts which are as extraordinary as
these, for they seldom end so long as the giver has got any thing left alive
upon his Estate. They are said to be a people of good morals, Virtuous and
Chaste, each man having only one wife which he keeps for life Fornication
and Adultery is hardly known among them. When a great Man Marries he makes
presents to all his wifes Relations of European and other foreign commodities to
the Value of 100 Rix-Dollars this custom the Dutch East India
Company find it their intrest to incourage. They speake a Language peculiar to
themselves into which the Dutch have caused the Bible and
New-Testament to be Translated and have interduced them it with
the use of letters and writing among them; by this means several hundreds of
them have been converted to Christianity, the rest are either ^some
Heathens or ^and others of no Religion
attall, and yet they all Stick up to the strick'd rules of Morality. They all
both men and women Young and old Chew of the Beetle Leaf, Araeca
Nutts, and a sort of white lime which I beleive is made from Coral ^Stone
this has such an effect upon the teeth that very few even of the young people
have hardly any left in their heads and those they have are as black as Ink;
their houses are built on post[s] about 4 feet from the Ground, we ask'd the
reason why they built them so, and was told that it was only custom, they are
however certainly the Cooler for it. they ^are
thatched with Palm leaves and the Floor and sides are boarded —
The Man who resides here ^upon
this Island in behalf of the Dutch East India Company is a German by birth
his name is ^Johan Christopher Lange it is
hard to say upon what footing he is here, he is so far a Governor that the
Natives dar[e] do nothing openly without his consent, and yet he can transact no
sort of business with Foreigner's either in his own or that of the Companys name
^nor can it be a place of either honour or profit, he is
the only white man upon the Island and has resided there ever sence it hath been
under the direction of the Dutch which is about 10 years He is allowd 50 Slaves
/ Natives of the Island / to attend upon him, these ^belong to
and are Mentain''d by the Company. He goes the circuit of the Island once
in two Months, but on what account he did not tell us; when he makes these
rounds he carries with him a certain quantity of spiret to treat the great men
with, which he says he is obliged to look well after otherwise the[y] would
steal it and get Drunk and yet at a nother time he told us that he never know'd
a theft commited in the Island, but some of the Natives themselves contridicted
him in this by stealing from us an Ax, however from their behavour
to us in general I am of opinion that they are but seldom guilty of these crimes.
His going round the Island once in Two Months is most likly to see that the
Natives make the necessary preparations for fullfilling their engagements with
the Dutch and to see that the Large boats or small Vessels are taken proper care
of which the Dutch keep in all the Bays of this Island in order to collect and
carry the Grain &Ca to the Ship which comes Anualy here, they are
likewise employ'd in carrying Catle grain &C to Timor and when not wanted
they are hauld ashore into Houses or Shads built on purpose. As I have mentioned
Slaves it is necessary to Observe that ^all
also all the great Men have slaves which are the Natives of the
Island, they can dispose of them one to a nother but cannot sell them ^to
go out of the Island, the price of a Slave is a good large fatt Hogg.
Horse &Ca - I have before mentioned that many of the people can
speake Portuguese, but hardly any one Dutch from this it is
probable that this Island was formerly under the Jurisdiction of the Portuguese
tho the Dutch Governor never own'd as much but said that the Dutch had Traded
here these hundred years past —
22 September 1770
Saturday 22nd. Winds at SSE,
SE and East a gentle breeze which we steer'd WSW
by Compass. At 4 oClock we discover'd a small low Island bearing SSW
distant 3 Leagues, this Island hath no place in any of our charts ^/
Latde 10°.47' Longd 238°.28' West./. At Noon we
were in the Latitude of 101°..9' So Longitude 238°..56'
West Course and distance saild sence Yesterday Noon St 63° West 67
miles —
aus: http://southseas.nla.gov.au/journals/hv23/681.html
John Hawkesworth's Account of the Voyages...in the Southern Hemisphere, London: 1773
As well as the official account of Cook's first voyage, Hawkesworth's Account contained authorized versions of the journals kept by John Byron, Philip Carteret and Samuel Wallis during their Pacific voyages.
Voyages in the Southern Hemisphere, Vols. II - III
CHAP. XI. A particular Description of
the Island of Savu, its Produce and Inhabitants, with a Specimen of their
Language.
THIS island is called by the natives SAVU; the middle of it lies in about the
latitude 10° 35’ S., longitude 237° 30’ W.; and has in general been so
little known that I never saw a map or chart in which it is clearly or
accurately laid down. I have seen a very old one, in which it is called Sou, and
confounded with Sandel Bosch. Rumphius mentions an island by the name of Saow;
and he also says that it is the same which the Dutch call Sandel Bosch: but
neither is this island, nor Timor, nor Rotte, nor indeed any one of the islands
that we have seen in these seas, placed within a reasonable distance of its true
situation. It is about eight leagues long from east to west; but what is its
breadth, I do not know, as I saw only the north side. The harbour in which we
lay is called Seba, from the district in which it lies: it is on the north west
side of the island, and well sheltered from the south west trade wind, but it
lies open to the north west. We were told, that there were two other bays where
ships might anchor; that the best, called Timo, was on the south west side of
the south east point: of the third we learnt neither the name nor situation. The
sea-coast, in general, is low; but in the middle of the island there are hills
of a considerable height. We were upon the coast at the latter end of the dry
season, when there had been no rain for seven months; and we were told that when
the dry season continues so long, there is no running stream of fresh water upon
the whole island, but only small springs, which are at a considerable distance
from the sea-side: yet nothing can be imagined so beautiful as the prospect of
the country from the ship. The level ground next to the seaside was covered with
cocoa-nut trees, and a kind of palm called Arecas; and beyond them the
hills, which rose in a gentle and regular ascent, were richly clothed, quite to
the summit, with plantations of the fan-palm, forming an almost impenetrable
grove. How much even this prospect must be improved, when every foot of ground
between the trees is covered with verdure, by maize, and millet and indico, can
scarcely be conceived but by a powerful imagination, not unacquainted with the
stateliness and beauty of the trees that adorn this part of the earth. The dry
season commences in March or April, and ends in October or November.
The principal trees of this island, are the fan-palm, the cocoa-nut, tamarind, limes, oranges, and mangoes; the other vegetable productions are maize, Guinea corn, rice, millet, callevances, and water-melons. We saw also one sugarcane, and a few kinds of European garden-stuff; particularly cellery, marjoram, fennel, and garlic. For the supply of luxury, it has betele, areca, tobacco, cotton, indico, and a small quantity of cinnamon, which seems to be planted here only for curiosity; and indeed we doubted whether it was the genuine plant, knowing that the Dutch are very careful not to trust the spices out of their proper islands. There are however several kinds of fruit, besides those which have been already mentioned; particularly the sweet sop, which is well known to the West Indians, and a small oval fruit, called the Blimbi, both of which grow upon trees. The blimbi is about three or four inches long, and in the middle about as thick as a man’s finger, tapering towards each end: it is covered with a very thin skin of a light green colour, and in the inside are a few seeds disposed in the form of a star: its flavour is a light, clean, pleasant acid, but it cannot be eaten raw; it is said to be excellent as a pickle; and stewed, it made a most agreeable sour sauce to our boiled dishes.
The tame animals are buffaloes, sheep, goats, hogs, fowls, pigeons, horses, asses, dogs and cats; and of all these there is great plenty. The buffaloes differ very considerably from the horned cattle of Europe in several particulars; their ears are much larger, their skins are almost without hair, their horns are curved towards each other, but together bend directly backwards, and they have no dewlaps. We saw several that were as big as a well grown European ox, and there must be some much larger; for Mr. Banks saw a pair of horns which measured from tip to tip three feet nine inches and an half, across their widest diameter four feet one inch and an half, and in the whole sweep of their semicircle in front seven feet six inches and a half. It must however be observed, that a buffalo here of any given size, does not weigh above half as much as an ox of the same size in England: those that we guessed to weigh four hundred weight did not weigh more than two hundred and fifty; the reason is, that so late in the dry season the bones are very thinly covered with flesh: there is not an ounce of fat in a whole carcass, and the flanks are literally nothing but skin and bone: the flesh however is well tasted and juicy, and I suppose better than the flesh of an English ox would be if he was to starve in this sun-burnt country.The horses are from eleven to twelve hands high, but though they are small, they are spirited and nimble, especially in pacing, which is their common step: the inhabitants generally ride them without a saddle, and with no better bridle than a halter. The sheep are of the kind which in England are called Bengal sheep, and differ from ours in many particulars. They are covered with hair instead of wool, their ears are very large, and hang down under their horns, and their noses are arched; they are thought to have a general resemblance to a goat, and for that reason are frequently called cabritos: their flesh we thought the worst mutton we had ever eaten, being as lean as that of the buffalo’s, and without flavour. The hogs, however, were some of the fattest we had ever seen, though, as we were told, their principal food is the outside husks of rice, and the palm syrup disolved in water. The fowls are chiefly of the game breed, and large, but the eggs are remarkably small.
Of the fish which the sea produces here, we know but little: turtles are sometimes found upon the coast, and are by these people, as well as all others, considered as a dainty.The people are rather under, than over the middling size; the women especially are remarkably short and squat built: their complexion is a dark brown, and their hair universally black and lank. We saw no difference in the colour of rich and poor, though in the South Sea islands those that were exposed to the weather were almost as brown as the New Hollanders, and the better sort nearly as fair as the natives of Europe. The men are in general well-made, vigorous, and active, and have a greater variety in the make and disposition of their features than usual; the countenances of the women, on the contrary, are all alike.
The men fasten their hair up to the top of their heads with a comb, the women tie it behind in a club, which is very far from becoming. Both sexes eradicate the hair from under the arm, and the men do the same by their beards, for which purposes, the better sort always carry a pair of silver pincers hanging by a string round their necks; some however suffer a very little hair to remain upon their upper lips, but this is always kept short.
The dress of both sexes consists of cotton cloth, which being died blue in the yarn, and not uniformly of the same shade, is in clouds or waves of that colour, and even in our eye had not an inelegant appearance. This cloth they manufacture themselves, and two pieces, each about two yards long, and a yard and a half wide, make a dress: one of them is worn round the middle, and the other covers the upper part of the body: the lower edge of the piece that goes round the middle, the men draw pretty tight just below the fork, the upper edge of it is left loose, so as to form a kind of hollow belt, which serves them as a pocket to carry their knives, and other little implements which it is convenient to have about them. The other piece of cloth is passed through this girdle behind, and one end of it being brought over the left shoulder, and the other over the right, they fall down over the breast, and are tucked into the girdle before, so that by opening or closing the plaits, they can cover more or less of their bodies as they please; the arms, legs, and feet are always naked. The difference between the dress of the two sexes consists principally in the manner of wearing the waist-piece, for the women, instead of drawing the lower edge tight, and leaving the upper edge loose for a pocket, draw the upper edge tight, and let the lower edge fall as low as the knees, so as to form a petticoat; the body-piece, instead of being passed through the girdle, is fastened under the arms, and cross the breast, with the utmost decency. I have already observed, that the men fasten the hair upon the top of the head, and the women tie it in a club behind, but there is another difference in the headdress, by which the sexes are distinguished: the women wear nothing as a succedaneum for a cap, but the men constantly wrap something round their heads in the manner of a fillet; it is small, but generally of the finest materials that can be procured: we saw some who applied silk handkerchiefs to this purpose, and others that wore fine cotton, or muslin, in the manner of a small turban.
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.
Almost all the men had their names traced upon their arms, in indelible characters of a black colour, and the women had a square ornament of flourished lines, impressed in the same manner, just under the bend of the elbow. We were struck with the similitude between these marks, and those made by tattowing in the South Sea islands, and upon enquiring into its origin, we learnt that it had been practised by the natives long before any Europeans came among them; and that in the neighbouring islands the inhabitants were marked with circles upon their necks and breasts. The universality of this practice which prevails among savages in all parts of the world, from the remotest limits of North America, to the islands in the South Seas, and which probably differs but little from the method of staining the body that was in use among the ancient inhabitants of Britain, is a curious subject of speculation †
The houses of Savu are all built upon the same plan, and differ only in size, being large in proportion to the rank and riches of the proprietor. Some are four hundred feet long, and some are not more than twenty: they are all raised upon posts, or piles, about four feet high, one end of which is driven into the ground, and upon the other end is laid a substantial floor of wood, so that there is a vacant space of four feet between the floor of the house and the ground. Upon this floor are placed other posts or pillars, that support a roof of sloping sides, which meet in a ridge at the top, like those of our barns: the eaves of this roof, which is thatched with palm leaves, reach within two feet of the floor, and over-hang it as much: the space within is generally divided lengthwise into three equal parts; the middle part, or center, is inclosed by a partition of four sides, reaching about six feet above the floor, and one or two small rooms are also sometimes taken off from the sides, the rest of the space under the roof is open, so as freely to admit the air and the light: the particular uses of these different apartments, our short stay would not permit us to learn, except that the close room in the center was appropriated to the women.
† In the account which Mr. Bossu has given of some Indians who inhabit the banks of the Akanza, a river of North America, which rises in New Mexico, and falls into the Mississippi, he relates the following incident: "The Akanzas, says he, have adopted me, and as a mark of my privilege, have imprinted the figure of a roe-buck upon my thigh, which was done in this manner: an Indian having burnt some straw, diluted the ashes with water, and with this mixture, drew the figure upon my skin; he then retraced it, by pricking the lines with needles, so as at every puncture just to draw the blood, and the blood mixing with the ashes off the straw, forms a figure which can never be effaced." See Travels through Louisiana, vol, i. p. 107.
