Great, I thought. Their first exposure to a white person, and the first thing they find are two weapons of mass destruction.
The lead warrior said something to the other tribesmen, and they grabbed my arms, dragging me in the direction of the village. As I stumbled to catch my footing, I peered toward the large bonfire burning in the center of their camp. All my fears of being burned alive and eaten by cannibals were suddenly rekindled. I twisted and screamed for them to let me go, but the two men just tightened their grip on my arms until they were throbbing in pain.
As we approached the main camp, the tribesmen sitting around the fire turned toward me with puzzled expressions on their faces. Everyone was wearing grass skirts with war paint streaked across their naked upper bodies and faces. An older man with a beaded vest and elaborate headdress stood to greet the search party. The two tribesmen holding me marched me within three feet of the old man, then they forced me to kneel on the ground in front of him. I peered up at him and they shouted at me, pushing my head back down. I shook my head, unsure what they wanted me to do and the guards puckered their lips, tilting their heads in the direction of the man's feet.
This must have been some strange island ritual that I'd been spared at the other camp because of my infirm condition. I knew based on the superior elevation of Teuila's father's hut that the Anutians placed a high value on the height difference between individuals as a reflection of their relative power standing. It was obvious that this was the other tribe's chief and that as an unwelcome outsider I'd have to pay homage by submitting myself to his lowest level.
I look
ed at his dusty feet and leaned forward slightly as the two warriors nodded. Pinching my lips tightly together, I bent down and touched my mouth to the top of each of the chief's feet. He then motioned to the two tribesmen to lift me up, but when he saw that I stood three inches taller than him, he instructed them to push me back down onto my knees.
"O ai oe?" he said, grabbing my jaw and thrusting my face up to look at him.
"I'm sorry," I said feebly, "I don't speak your language. I'm from America."
"Amerika?" he asked, with a puzzled expression, peering at my faded cotton shorts and bare chest. "Uana oe lava?"
He seemed confused by my unusual appearance. I was pretty sure that if he'd ever seen a Western woman before, she would have been fully clothed.
The lead warrior stepped forward and presented my knife and adze to the chief, mentioning something as he motioned to me. The chief pinched his thumb gently over the end of the knife then turned the adze slowly around in his hands, noticing that it was well worn.
"O fea na mua?" he said, jutting it toward me with a furrowed brow.
He must have wondered what a naked Western woman was doing so close to his camp carrying one of their local tools. I wanted to tell him that I meant no harm and that Te' and I had noticed his tribesmen while bathing in our lagoon, but it was obvious that no one among the group spoke English.
"English?" I said, swinging my fingers from my lips, feigning a speaking motion. "Does anyone here speak English?"
The chief paused for a moment, then motioned to one of the tribesmen to fetch someone from one of the huts overlooking the square. A few minutes later, he returned with a native woman walking a few paces behind.
The chief mentioned something about iglisi to the woman, then he jerked his head in my direction.
"Do you speak English?" she said, looking at me.
"Yes, thank God," I sighed. "I mean you no harm. I'm here alone—"
The chief yelled something at the woman and she turned back to face me.
"What are you doing here?" the woman asked. "How did you get on this island?"
"I came on a chartered cruise from New Zealand. When our crew stopped to visit your island, I got lost and they left without me. I've been here alone for the last week or so."
The chief shook the adze angrily as he shouted at the woman.
“O fea na mua!” he repeated.
"Where did you get this axe?" the woman said. "It looks like one of ours."
I paused as I peered at the chief unsteadily. I wasn't sure how much I should disclose about my knowledge of the other tribe with so much tension brewing between the two clans.
"I met a native girl from the other side of the island," I said. "She taught me how to use it."
The woman said something to the chief, then he looked at me suspiciously, trying to discern my intentions.
"Oe sakina mo latou?" he said.
"Were you spying for them just now?" the woman translated.
"No," I lied. "I was returning from my camp when I got lost. I meant you no harm—"