hich stretch their
trunk-like branches horizontally over the beach, forming a natural
roof against sun and rain. The half-grown boys are too lively to
enjoy contemplative laziness; gossip and important deliberations
about pigs and sacrifices do not interest them, and they play about
between the canoes, wade in the water, look for shells on the sand,
or hunt crabs or fish in the reef. Thus an hour passes. The sun
has warmed the sand; after the cool night this is doubly agreeable,
and a light breeze cools the air. Some mothers bathe their babies in
the sea, washing and rubbing them carefully, until the coppery skin
shines in the sun; the little creatures enjoy the bath immensely,
and splash gaily in the element that will be their second home
in days to come. Everyone on the beach is in the easiest undress:
the men wear nothing but a bark belt, and the women a little apron
of braided grass; the children are quite naked, unless bracelets,
necklaces and ear-rings can count as dress. Having rested and amply
fortified themselves for the painful resolution to take up the day's
work, people begin to prepare for departure to the fields. They have
to cross the channel, about a mile wide, to reach the big island where
the yam gardens lie, sheltered by the forest from the trade-winds;
and this sail is the occasion for the prettiest sight Vao can offer.

The tides drive the sea through the narrow channel so hard as to start
a current which is almost a stream. The head-wind raises short, sharp,
white-capped waves; shallow banks shine yellow through the clear water,
and the coral reefs are patches of violet and crimson, and we are
delighted by constant changes, new shades and various colourings,
never without harmony and loveliness. A cloudless sky bends over
the whole picture and shines on the red-brown bodies of the people,
who bustle about their canoes, adding the bright red of their mats
and dresses to the splendour of the landscape.

With sudden energy the women have grabbed the boats and pushed them
into the water. The girls are slim, supple and strong as the young men,
the mothers and older women rather stiff, and usually hampered by at
least one child, which they carry on their backs or on their hips,
while another holds on to the garment which replaces our skirts. There
is plenty of laughter and banter with the men, who look on unmoved
at the efforts of the weaker sex, only rarely offering a helping hand.

From the trees an