Note 3 — Notes on the Polynesian Calendar.

In Polynesian Researches Ellis explains a similar expression in Tahiti, from the fact that a dark and bronzed complexion was looked upon, among the chiefs, as a sign of manliness, hardihood, and exposure to fatigue and danger, and a pale complexion was considered a sign of effeminacy. The probable reason and explanation of the proverb may be found in the greater amount of tatooing with which the bodies of the chiefs were adorned. As late as the time of Kamehameha I. of Hawaii, his rival Kahekili, King of Maui, had one-half of his body entirely blackened by tatooing. ↑