Note 168 — CHAP. II.
Reading edition
Something like this ceremony was performed by the inhabitants of the Marquesas, when Captain Cook visited them in 1774. See his 2d Voyage, Vol. III. It is curious to observe, at what immense distances this mode of receiving strangers prevails.—Padillo, who sailed from Manilla in 1710, on a voyage to discover the Palaos Islands, was thus received there. The writer of the relation of his voyage says, “Aussitôt qu’ils approchèrent de notre bord, ils se mirent à chanter. Ils régloient la cadence, en frappant des mains sur leurs cuisses.”
Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses, tom. xv. p. 323.