My Tahiti by Robert Dean Frisbie — Read

Much of the fei sold in the Papeete market was cut from the densely wooded ridges of Vaiiti. The gathering of the plantains was a communal affair, for it would have been impossible for one man to cut and carry enough to make it worth while taking to Papeete. It was a custom in the village for each of the older men to take turns in marketing the fruit, and for all the men to assist him in gathering it.

This morning it was Tuahu's turn, and he had come down to my place on the lagoon beach to ask me to join the expedition. He was dressed in a pareu, with one of its loose corners brought between his legs and tucked in behind, native fashion. The upper part of his body was bare, and I observed, as often before, his strong muscular chest and arms, and the callous lump, as large as a turkey's egg, on either shoulder. These were commonn to the men of the island and were the result of the thousands of loads of fei, bananas, wild pig, and the like which they carried slungacross their shoulders on poles from the mountains and valleys.