We endeavoured, in vain, to trace the reason of this singular pre-eminence of the Tammahas, for we could learn nothing besides this account of their pedigree.  The mother, and one of the daughters called Tooeela-kaipa, live at Vavaoo.  Latoolibooloo, the son, and the other daughter, whose name is Moungoula-kaipa, reside at Tongataboo.  The latter is the woman who is mentioned to have dined with me on the 21st of June.  This gave occasion to our discovering her superiority over the king, who would not eat in her presence, though she made no scruple to do so before him, and received from him the customary obeisance, by touching her foot.  We never had an opportunity of seeing him pay this mark of respect to Latoolibooloo, but we have observed him leave off eating, and have his victuals put aside, when the latter came into the same house.  Latoolibooloo assumed the privilege of taking any thing from the people, even if it belonged to the king; and yet, in the ceremony called Natche, he assisted only in the same manner as the other principal men.  He was looked upon, by his countrymen, as a madman; and many of his actions seemed to confirm this judgment.  At Eooa, they shewed me a good deal of land said to belong to him; and I saw there a son of his, a child, whom they distinguished by the same title as his father.  The son of the greatest prince in Europe could not be more humoured and caressed than this little Tammaha was.

The language of the Friendly Islands has the greatest affinity imaginable to that of New Zealand, of Wateeoo, and Mangeea; and, consequently, to that of Otaheite and the Society Islands.  There are also many of their words the same with those used by the natives of Cocos Island, as appears from the vocabulary collected there by Le Maire and Schouten.[192] The mode of pronunciation differs, indeed, considerably, in many instances, from that both of New Zealand and Otaheite, but still a great number of words are either exactly the same, or so little changed, that their common original may be satisfactorily traced.  The language, as spoken at the Friendly Islands, is sufficiently copious for all the ideas of the people; and we had many proofs of its being easily adapted to all musical purposes, both in song and in recitative, besides being harmonious enough in common conversation.  Its component parts, as far as our scanty acquaintance with it enabled us to judge, are not numerous; and, in some of its rules, it agrees with other known languages.  As for instance, we could easily discern the several degrees of comparison, as used in the Latin, but none of the inflections of nouns and verbs.