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The number furnished by the principal districts, which Tupia recollected, when added together, amounted, as I have observed before, to six thousand six hundred and eighty. Upon such occasions, the united force of the whole island is commanded in chief by the earee rahie. Private differences between two earees are decided by their own people, without at all disturbing the general tranquillity.
The earee rahie, of which there are two in this island, one being the sovereign of each of the peninsulas of which it consists, is treated with great respect by all ranks, but did not appear to us to be invested with so much power as was exercised by the earees in their own districts; nor indeed did we, as we have before observed, once see the sovereign of Obereonoo while we were in the island.
Among the Indians that came on board the Resolution, and no small number of whom did not scruple to call themselves earees, there was one of this sort, who had been entertained in the cabin most of the day, and to all of whose friends Captain Cook had made presents, as well as liberally to himself.
Both ships were crowded with natives, who brought off cocoanuts, plantains, bananas, apples, yams, and other fruits and vegetables, which they exchanged for nails and beads. Presents of shirts and axes were made to several who called themselves chiefs, or earees, and who promised to bring off hogs and fowls, which, however, they did not do.
Among those who visited us today were two chiefs of great consequence, Marremarre and his son Poohaitaiah Otee, Earees of the districts of Itteeah and Attahooroo. Otee was fed at dinner in the same manner as Tinah. It was evident that the attention which I showed to these chiefs seemed to give uneasiness to Tinah.
All this was said to be done at the expense of a great man among them, who was at the head of their body, whose name was Kaoo, and who on other occasions manifested his attachment to the English. There was not always so much reason to be satisfied with the conduct of the warrior chiefs, or earees, as with that of the priests.
These earees did not scruple to pilfer whatever came in their way, and one of them, who pretended to be very friendly, was found handing articles which did not belong to him out of the quarter-galley. As his companions on deck were behaving in the same way, they were all turned out of the ship, and two muskets were fired over the head of the chief offender to frighten him.
The earees are lords of one or more of the districts into which each of the peninsulas is divided, of which there may be about one hundred in the whole island; and they parcel out their territories to the manahounies, who cultivate each his part which he holds under the baron.
The wives of the Earees are sometimes subject to this restriction after the birth of a child but are released after a certain time on performing a ceremony called Oammo. After dinner Tinah invited me to accompany him with a present of provisions to a party of the Arreoys, a society described in the accounts of the former voyages: in this ceremony he made me the principal person.
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