Every thing being thus prepared, about eleven o’clock they began to exhibit various dances, which they call mai.  The music[166] consisted, at first, of seventy men as a chorus, who sat down; and amidst them were placed three instruments, which we called drums, though very unlike them.  They are large cylindrical pieces of wood, or trunks of trees, from three to four feet long, some twice as thick as an ordinary sized man, and some smaller, hollowed entirely out, but close at both ends, and open only by a chink, about three inches broad, running almost the whole length of the drums; by which opening, the rest of the wood is certainly hollowed, though the operation must be difficult.  This instrument is called naffa; and, with the chink turned toward them, they sit and beat strongly upon it, with two cylindrical pieces of hard wood, about a foot long, and as thick as the wrist; by which means they produce a rude, though loud and powerful sound.  They vary the strength and rate of their beating, at different parts of the dance; and also change the tones, by beating in the middle, or near the end, of their drum.

[Footnote 166:  Mr Anderson’s description of the entertainments of this day being much fuller than Captain Cook’s, it has been adopted, as on a former occasion.—­D.]

The first dance consisted of four ranks, of twenty-four men each, holding in their hands a little, thin, light, wooden instrument, above two feet long, and, in shape, not unlike a small oblong paddle.  With these, which are called pagge, they made a great many different motions; such as pointing them toward the ground on one side, at the same time inclining their bodies that way, from which they were shifted to the opposite side in the same manner; then passing them quickly from one hand to the other, and twirling them about very dextrously; with a variety of other manoeuvres, all which were accompanied by corresponding attitudes of the body.  Their motions were, at first, slow, but quickened as the drums beat faster; and they recited sentences, in a musical tone, the whole time, which were answered by the chorus; but at the end of a short space they all joined, and finished with a shout.

After ceasing about two or three minutes, they began as before, and continued, with short intervals, above a quarter of an hour; when the rear rank dividing, shifted themselves very slowly round each end, and, meeting in the front, formed the first rank; the whole number continuing to recite the sentences as before.  The other ranks did the same successively, till that which, at first, was the front, became the rear; and the evolution continued, in the same manner, till the last rank regained its first situation.  They then began a much quicker dance (though slow at first), and sung for about ten minutes, when the whole body divided into two parts, retreated a little, and then approached, forming a sort of circular figure, which finished the dance; the drums being removed, and the chorus going off the field at the same time.