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A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean
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Historical SummaryOne of the early missionaries in Tahiti reports an incident which was an exaggerated demonstration of agitation on meeting a son but at the same time reminded the son of the meaning of motherhood:
[July 14, 1797.] In passing a few houses, an aged woman, mother to the young man who carried my linen, met us, and, to express her joy at seeing her son, struck herself several times on the head with a shark’s tooth, till the blood flowed plentifully down her breast and shoulders, whilst the son beheld it with entire insensibility. I was not aware of this action to prevent it, but as she continued it without mercy on herself, I spoke to them angrily, and obliged her to desist. The son, seeing that I was not pleased with what was done, observed coolly, that it was the custom of Otaheite.2
2Wilson, J.n/an/an/an/an/a, , Performed in the years 1796, 1797, 1798, in the ship Duff, commanded by Captain James Wilson, 196.
Chicago: A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. Thomas, William I. (New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937), Original Sources, accessed April 23, 2024, http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=A8WUUAR2KSVY3DI.
MLA: . A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean, in Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, edited by Thomas, William I., New York, McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., 1937, Original Sources. 23 Apr. 2024. http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=A8WUUAR2KSVY3DI.
Harvard: , A Missionary Voyage to the Southern Pacific Ocean. cited in 1937, Primitive Behavior: An Introduction to the Social Sciences, ed. , McGraw-Hill Book Company, Inc., New York. Original Sources, retrieved 23 April 2024, from http://originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=A8WUUAR2KSVY3DI.
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