Ben Wilson

Seemed to be a priest or conjurer, or at least we thought him to be one by the noises he made, possibly exercising every part of the ship he came into. For when anything new caught his attention, he shouted as loud as he could for some minutes without directing his speech either to us or to any one of his countrymen.

Seemed to be a priest or conjurer, or at least we thought him to be one by the noises he made, possibly exercising every part of the ship he came into. For when anything new caught his attention, he shouted as loud as he could for some minutes without directing his speech either to us or to any one of his countrymen.

Modern knowledge of the varied activities of the several kinds of Haas shamans is limited, but it is entirely possible that ritual formulae were being pronounced and that some pollution or spiritual threat was being dispelled. Banks registers, however superficially and hesitantly, something that was real and dynamic in an indigenous cosmology. All right.

Modern knowledge of the varied activities of the several kinds of Haas shamans is limited, but it is entirely possible that ritual formulae were being pronounced and that some pollution or spiritual threat was being dispelled. Banks registers, however superficially and hesitantly, something that was real and dynamic in an indigenous cosmology. All right.

So again, like, I don't know, just imagine what that's like. New area, new territory, new people. And now they're coming on board and one of them is a shaman and he is like casting out spirits from every part of your ship. Again, it just must have been incredibly cool and exciting to witness it if you remember of this expedition. So they stop in Tierra del Fuego in mid-January.

So again, like, I don't know, just imagine what that's like. New area, new territory, new people. And now they're coming on board and one of them is a shaman and he is like casting out spirits from every part of your ship. Again, it just must have been incredibly cool and exciting to witness it if you remember of this expedition. So they stop in Tierra del Fuego in mid-January.

They leave on January 17th and they sail for a few months and then make it to Tahiti on April 13th. Tahiti is not unknown. They've had some limited contact with Europeans. So the endeavor knows what to expect a little bit, a very little bit. And the Tahitians know what to expect a little bit from Europeans. So they arrive. And again, like if you go to Tahiti now, it feels like a paradise.

They leave on January 17th and they sail for a few months and then make it to Tahiti on April 13th. Tahiti is not unknown. They've had some limited contact with Europeans. So the endeavor knows what to expect a little bit, a very little bit. And the Tahitians know what to expect a little bit from Europeans. So they arrive. And again, like if you go to Tahiti now, it feels like a paradise.

You know, if you go to Hawaii or if you've been to any Polynesian island. You know what that feels like. And it's incredible. Can you imagine what it must have felt like in the mid 1700s? These guys are from England and they show up and it's warm. The landscape is picturesque. A party goes ashore and the local Tahitians give them banana or plantain leaves as an emblem of peace.

You know, if you go to Hawaii or if you've been to any Polynesian island. You know what that feels like. And it's incredible. Can you imagine what it must have felt like in the mid 1700s? These guys are from England and they show up and it's warm. The landscape is picturesque. A party goes ashore and the local Tahitians give them banana or plantain leaves as an emblem of peace.

And they give them gifts of beads to the Tahitians. And, you know, immediately the relations are relatively friendly between the Tahitians and the Endeavor. So like, man, again, like these places are paradises now.

And they give them gifts of beads to the Tahitians. And, you know, immediately the relations are relatively friendly between the Tahitians and the Endeavor. So like, man, again, like these places are paradises now.

But if you think about them back then, when it's totally unexplored, not totally again, Tahiti, not totally unexplored, but, um, certainly like only, uh, maybe a couple dozen people from Europe have ever seen this place. And, um, it just must've been even more of a paradise. Again, established friendly relations.

But if you think about them back then, when it's totally unexplored, not totally again, Tahiti, not totally unexplored, but, um, certainly like only, uh, maybe a couple dozen people from Europe have ever seen this place. And, um, it just must've been even more of a paradise. Again, established friendly relations.

Banks writes that, quote, in short, the scene we saw was the truest picture of an Arcadia of which we were going to be kings that the imagination can form. Okay, so these people are just like, this place is perfect. Arcadia means just like a primitive place

Banks writes that, quote, in short, the scene we saw was the truest picture of an Arcadia of which we were going to be kings that the imagination can form. Okay, so these people are just like, this place is perfect. Arcadia means just like a primitive place

uh utopia right completely unspoiled but by anyone else and you know you hear in there he says we're gonna be kings of this place like they they can already sense that um yeah this is a place that they're really gonna be able to enjoy part of the allure again was sexual sexual contact between sailors and native women was well quickly would become quite common

uh utopia right completely unspoiled but by anyone else and you know you hear in there he says we're gonna be kings of this place like they they can already sense that um yeah this is a place that they're really gonna be able to enjoy part of the allure again was sexual sexual contact between sailors and native women was well quickly would become quite common

It proved to be an enduring problem for Cook. He's always trying to tamp down on it. But he's unsuccessful in that for a number of reasons. One is... I mean, people are, are attracted to exoticism and that goes both ways, you know? So these sailors are into these native women. A lot of the native women are into the sailors, you know, these are people from a new cool land and that goes both ways.

It proved to be an enduring problem for Cook. He's always trying to tamp down on it. But he's unsuccessful in that for a number of reasons. One is... I mean, people are, are attracted to exoticism and that goes both ways, you know? So these sailors are into these native women. A lot of the native women are into the sailors, you know, these are people from a new cool land and that goes both ways.