Typee: A Peep at Polynesian Life

During one of his regular walks with Kory-Kory, Tommo comes upon the house where the tattoo artist lives. He sees the artist “touching up” the old tattoos of a man, who winces as the needle painfully punctures his skin. The artist, Karky, happily shows Tommo his art. He invites Tommo to get a tattoo, but Tommo is reluctant. Kory-Kory joins in, encouraging Tommo to get a tattoo. Tommo desperately pushes them away and runs from the hut. They pursue him at first, but Karky soon abandons the chase. After some time, Mehevi comes to Tommo and announces that he must be tattooed. Tommo is horrified by the thought, but Mehevi repeats the demand. As a compromise, he suggests that he receive a tattoo on his arms. Mehevi agrees, but only after he receives a tattoo on his face. Tommo does not want a tattoo on his face. Seeing his distress, Mehevi backs off, though many people continually urge Tommo to receive a tattoo.

Before bed, the Typees typically perform a “low, dismal, and monotonous chant” (226). This can last hours and involves every person. Tommo is never sure of the meaning of the chant, assuming that it is a ritual of some kind. Although the Typees chant, they never sing. Tommo notices, and when he sings in front of Mehevi for the first time, the chief is astonished. The Typees express their musicality in other ways, such as small flutes played with the nose. Fayaway plays these flutes with particular skill. To entertain the chiefs, Tommo shadowboxes with other men. While watching a mother teaching a child to swim, he realizes that this early training is why they are all such excellent swimmers. Tommo shares a recipe for the coconut oil that the Typee women apply to their luxurious hair.

People continue to encourage Tommo to get a tattoo. Their insistence makes him feel lonely once again. Additionally, his leg pain returns. Three months have passed since he came to the village. One day, his thoughts melancholy, he enters his house to find Marheyo and other men examining a package. The package, Tommo notes, has been stored up in the roof of the house for some time. Although it is not his package, he often wondered what was inside. Now, Tommo knows. The men are inspecting “three human heads” (232). These shrunken heads have been preserved but are shriveled and horrifying. Two are the heads of local people, Tommo notes, but the third once belonged to a European. Quickly, the men bundle up the heads, and Kory-Kory jabbers an excuse. Tommo does not listen to him. He decides that since the Typees have already killed one white person, they will eventually kill him, and he wonders whether the shrunken head was Toby’s. He did not see the head long enough to know.

A week passes. Again, the Typees fight against the Happars. Tommo stays behind as the warriors rush to the fight. Later, some of the men return home. They are carrying injuries, as well as the dead bodies of Happar enemies. They dump these bodies at the Ti, shouting and cheering. Tommo is exited, but Kory-Kory tells him that he must return home. Tommo wants to stay, but the other chiefs insist that he leave the Ti. Tommo and Kory-Kory return to the village. There, Kory-Kory watches him to ensure that he cannot learn what is happening at the Ti.

The next day, the mood in the village is particularly festive. People dress in their best clothes. They head to the Ti again, and Tommo is told that he must stay in the village with Kory-Kory. Later, people return home. They explain that the feast was not in their honor but for others. Tommo decides that the purpose of the feast was for the chiefs to eat the flesh of the dead Happars. Not everyone was allowed to join. Tommo is permitted to go to the Ti the next day. There, he finds nothing out of the ordinary except a single vessel. He looks inside the vessel and finds the “disordered members of a human skeleton” (238). Behind him, the chiefs shout about a taboo. Tommo knows that they are cannibals and begins to plot his escape in earnest.

Great celebrations ensue when Marnoo returns to the village. Tommo talks to Marnoo, telling him of his desire to escape. Marnoo suggests that he wait until the Typees are asleep then sneak away. He gives Tommo directions to his home, where Marnoo promises that he will take him to Nukuheva. He will also warn others ahead of time that he will be passing through the area. These instructions are issued in quick, whispered English. Marnoo turns away, keen to avoid suspicion. He leaves the village, and Tommo closely watches the path he takes. Tommo wants to leave that night, but he sleeps beside many people in a room where the door is fastened so tightly that it makes a sound whenever someone tries to leave. He plans to rise, undo the door, then drink water, before returning to the sleeping mat, leaving the door open. Then, he will wait for people to fall asleep again before he runs. Tommo tries this several times, but each time, someone fastens the door shut. Feeling increasingly distressed and resigned to his “dreadful fate,” Tommo does not escape.

Three weeks have passed since Marnoo left the village. Tommo hears news that Toby has returned to the bay, where he is waiting to speak to Tommo. Delighted, Tommo asks Mehevi for permission to visit Toby at the bay. He must beg Mehevi for permission, and Mehevi eventually grants it. As he heads for the bay, he hears rumors that Toby is not there. Tommo is held in a hut briefly and then must proceed alone. He struggles on his injured leg until Marheyo helps him out of pity. Pointing to the water in the bay, Marheyo says “home” and “mother.” These are the only English words that he knows. On Marheyo’s orders, Kory-Kory carries Tommo to the bay. Around them, the locals energetically debate whether to allow Tommo to leave. Not everyone agrees.

At the bay, Tommo sees Karakoee standing at the water’s edge. He recognizes Karakoee from Nukuheva Bay and discerns that Karakoee is attempting to bargain for his freedom. He offers guns and cloth to the Typees in exchange for Tommo. The Typees refuse these offers. Arguments continue, and amid the confusion, Tommo darts toward Karakoee. Together, the two men are dragged onto a boat and rowed away from the shore.

The Typees jump into the water with knives clenched in their teeth. They will try to knock the boat over. The men row quicker, and Tommo arms himself with a boat hook. The chief Mow-Mow appears with an ax between his teeth. Tommo hits him below the throat with the hook, watching the body resurface on the water as the boat rows away. When they reach a safe distance, Tommo faints. He is taken aboard an Australian whaling ship named the Julia. Marnoo, he is told, informed Karakoee about Tommo’s desire to escape. The captain of the Julia needs crew members and decided to rescue Tommo. After he recovers, Tommo tells his shipmates stories about his experiences. He reaches the end of his tale, noting that he never saw Toby again and knows nothing about his fate.

A short Appendix describes Lord George Paulet’s time in the Sandwich Islands (also known as the Hawaiian Islands). People in America criticized Paulet for his behavior, and the author, presumably Herman Melville himself, seeks to justify Paulet’s actions. Paulet went to the islands in response to a rumor that British citizens were being abused. The local chiefs refused to meet Paulet, who spoke to the common people instead. They each voiced dissatisfaction with their rulers, who had outlawed many traditional practices on the advice of Methodist missionaries. Many young girls were thrown in jail due to sexually prohibitive laws, causing dissatisfaction among the people, many of whom accused the same leaders of offering these young girls to visiting Europeans. Paulet took over the island by force and ruled for 10 days, during which time the local people praised him. As the locals resumed their sexual practices, the scenes were described as wild and debauched. People criticize Paulet, the author claims, even though he helped free the people from the grasp of the hated missionaries.

Since the publication of Typee, Toby has been found, alive and well. He describes what happened to him. On the day he disappeared, he was heading to the beach with the Typees when he met a European sailor named Jimmy. For several years, Jimmy had lived in Nukuheva, and he was considered taboo among the Typees, allowing him to move around much like Marnoo. Jimmy offered to help Toby escape. He began to help him secretly while also bargaining with the Typees for his release. He secured Toby’s release in exchange for goods. Jimmy promised to return for Tommo after they had reached Nukuheva. There, however, Toby realized that Jimmy, the “heartless villain,” had betrayed him. He sold Toby to a whaling ship and did not intend to help Tommo at all. Toby was forced to go with the ship, against his will, and only when he found a copy of Typee did he learn that Tommo survived.