“A Night Dance by Men, in Hapaee” from the atlas of the official publication of the journal of Captain Cook’s 3rd and last voyage of exploration entitled; “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Undertaken, by the Command of his Majesty, for making Discoveries in the Northern Hemisphere. To determine The Position and Extent of the West Side of North America; its Distance from Asia; and the Practicability of a Northern Passage to Europe. Performed under the direction of Captains Cook, Clerke, and Gore, In His Majesty's Ships the Resolution and Discovery. In the Years 1776, 1777, 1778, 1779, and 1780. In Three Volumes. Vol. I and II written by James Cook, F.R.S. Vol. III by Captain James King, LL.D. and F.R.S.”
The engraving was made from a drawing made by John Webber, who was the artist on the voyage. The engraving depicts a dance performance by 105 men to welcome Cook and his men to Hapaee, an island in Tonga, which Cook called the Friendly Islands because of his unusually warm welcome. Here, Captain Cook and another sailor sit among a circle of Tongan men observing a large group native men performing a dance, lit by tapers held by the watchers. There are instrumentalists in the center of the dancers, beating sticks on the ground. Afterwards, the English reciprocated by putting on a fireworks exhibition for the natives. The dance on this island was usually performed in a remote location and lit with torchlight. The me’elaufola, as it was called, was thought to harness sacred powers from Pulotu, the afterworld.
The rhythm of the dancers’ feet, extended arm movements, and thuds of bamboo canes escalated to a frenzied crescendo of noise, prompting ecstatic revelations and visions of the spiritual world. In Webber’s engraving the dancers’ bodies are lit from below, shrouding the scene with an atmosphere of anticipation and mysticism. Captain Cook is shown is shown in the foreground from behind him as he and some of his officers watch the dance.
Captain Cook described the event in his words in his journal: ”Each of them with an instrument shaped somewhat like a paddle, 2 1/2 feet in length, with a small handle, and a thin blade so that they were very light. With these instruments they made many and various flourishes, each of which was accompanied with a different attitude of the body or a different movement. The musical instruments consisted of 2 drums, or rather two hollow logs of wood, from which some varied notes were produced, by beating on them with two sticks. It did not appear that the dancers were much assisted or directed by these sounds, but by a chorus of vocal music, in which all the performers joined at the same time. Their song was not destitute of pleasing melody; and all their corresponding motions were executed with so much skill, that the numerous body of dancers seemed to act, as if they were one great machine.”
The Richard & Leslie Breiman Collection.
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