Typee

Herman Melville

Also known as the author · the narrator · Tommo

The first-person sailor who recounts the voyage and his experiences in the Marquesas. The introduction identifies the narrator of the escape story as Melville; in Typee Valley, he is known as Tommo.

Pedro

The ship’s last remaining chicken, whose expected fate as fresh meat gives the crew hope that the captain will head for land.

Mungo

The ship’s Black cook, who tells the narrator that Pedro is to be served at the captain’s table.

Jack Lewis

Also known as bold Jack

A sailor and helmsman aboard the ship. He jokes that the vessel seems unwilling to sail away from land.

Captain Vangs

The captain of a whaling ship called the Dolly in the introduction. The narrator describes his rule as tyrannical and arbitrary, and says he strikes sailors who complain.

Pedro’s companions

Also known as the hens

The chickens once kept aboard ship; they have been eaten before the voyage reaches the Marquesas.

Mendanna

The Spanish navigator who discovered the Marquesas while searching for gold.

Marquess de Mendoza

Viceroy of Peru, in whose honor Mendanna named the Marquesas.

Captain Cook

Also known as Cook

A navigator who, according to the narrator, barely touched at the Marquesas during his voyages. The narrator also cites his difficulty understanding Pacific islanders’ sacred rites.

Captain Porter

Also known as Porter · Commodore David Porter

American naval officer whose account of the Marquesas is mentioned by the narrator; he later led an expedition against the Typees with Nukuheva and Happar allies. His invasion is cited as a reason the Typees distrust foreigners.

Charles Samuel Stewart

Also known as Stewart

Chaplain of the American sloop of war Vincennes, whose book includes an account of the South Seas. He praises the beauty of Marquesan women.

Ellis

Author of Polynesian Researches, cited for accounts of failed missionary efforts in the Marquesas.

The intrepid missionary

An unnamed missionary who brings his wife to the Marquesas in an attempt to establish a mission, then returns with her to Tahiti.

The missionary’s wife

Also known as the young and beautiful wife · the gentle dame

An unnamed white woman brought to the Marquesas by her missionary husband. The islanders’ reaction to her leads the couple to abandon their mission and return to Tahiti.

Movianna

Also known as Mowanna · the king

King of Nukuheva and husband of the island queen. The French use him as a figurehead to claim authority over the island’s separate clans; he later sends Jimmy to bring Tommo and Toby back and seeks a share of the reward for their capture.

The Queen of Nukuheva

Also known as the Island Queen · Movianna’s consort

The unnamed wife of King Movianna, whom the narrator later sees aboard a warship. Her uninhibited curiosity about a tattooed sailor embarrasses the French officers.

The narrator’s shipmates

Also known as the crew

The sailors aboard the whaling ship, who share the narrator’s longing for land and welcome the Marquesan visitors. The narrator describes most of them as divided and too fearful to resist the captain’s abuse.

The French captain

An unnamed French naval officer who suggests that the American flagship receive the king and queen of Nukuheva.

The Commodore

Also known as our worthy Commodore

The unnamed commander of the American squadron’s flagship, who receives the royal visitors aboard.

The tattooed old sailor

Also known as the old salt

An unnamed member of the ship’s company whose extensive tattoos attract the Queen of Nukuheva’s attention.

Boatswain

The ship’s dog, who barks when land is sighted.

The South-Sea pilot

Also known as our eccentric friend

An unnamed former lieutenant in the English navy who has spent years among Pacific islands. When the narrator meets him at Nukuheva, he is intoxicated and has been appointed harbor pilot by the French authorities.

The Marquesan swimmers

Also known as the whinhenies · the mermaids

A group of unnamed young women who swim out to welcome the Dolly and board the ship.

The Marquesan cocoanut seller

An unnamed islander who swims among a necklace of floating cocoanuts to bring them to the ship.

Rear-Admiral Du Petit Thouars

Also known as Du Petit Thouars

The French admiral who led the occupation of the Marquesas and demanded payment from Tahiti under threat of taking possession. He later meets the king of Tior during a formal visit.

The French troops

The soldiers landed by Du Petit Thouars to build defenses and prepare for possible resistance by the islanders.

The French officer who rides the horse

An unnamed officer who rides the French squadron’s horse along the beach, delighting the islanders.

Pomare

Also known as the unfortunate queen

The queen of Tahiti, who flees by canoe to Emio after French threats and failed negotiations.

The English lady

Also known as Mrs Pritchard

The wife of missionary consul Pritchard, who refuses to let a French officer lower the British flag while her husband is away in London. She keeps the flag raised by controlling its halyard from an upstairs window.

Toby

Also known as Richard T. Greene

Melville’s companion during their escape from the whaling ship and stay in Typee Valley. The introduction identifies him as Richard T. Greene; in the account, he is a resourceful, courageous sailor who agrees to share the escape.

Pritchard

Also known as Mr Pritchard

A missionary consul whose house and grounds display the British flag at Nukuheva. He is away in London when his wife confronts a French officer over the flag.

The French officer at Pritchard’s house

An unnamed French officer who visits Mrs Pritchard to ask that the British flag be lowered. He leaves without taking it down.

Captain Marryatt

A writer whose books, along with hard times, are said to inspire young men from Nantucket to sign on for Pacific whaling voyages.

The master of the Katherine

An unnamed shipmaster who was seized by Typees after going ashore in an armed boat to trade. A young girl helped him escape at night.

The young girl who helps the master of the Katherine

An unnamed girl from the Typee valley who facilitates the captured master of the Katherine’s escape to Nukuheva.

Ned

A sailor aboard the narrator’s ship who points out the Typee valley and jokes about the danger of landing there.

The king of Tior

Also known as the patriarch-sovereign of Tior · the old king

An unnamed, very elderly ruler of Tior who meets Rear-Admiral Du Petit Thouars during the French admiral’s formal visit. Though frail with age, he retains a strikingly large and imposing frame.

The Typee boy guide

An unnamed young islander who, with a girl, is found by Tommo and Toby in the forest and guides them toward shelter in the valley. He and the girl mislead them about being in Happar territory before the pair reach Typee.

The Typee girl guide

An unnamed young islander who, with a boy, is found by Tommo and Toby in the forest and guides them toward shelter in the valley. She and the boy mislead them about being in Happar territory before the pair reach Typee.

Mehevi

Also known as King Mehevi · the king · the sovereign of the valley · his Typeean majesty

The greatest Typee chief and sovereign of the valley, though Tommo only recognizes his royal status at the Feast of Calabashes. He protects Tommo, arranges care for him, presides over the Ti, and repeatedly urges him to accept tattooing; he later declares Tommo taboo.

The Typee healer

Also known as the old island physician · the leech

An unnamed elderly island healer summoned by Mehevi to treat Tommo’s injured leg. He painfully pounds the limb before applying herbs and leafy bandages.

Kory-Kory

A Typee man assigned by Mehevi to serve as Tommo’s personal attendant. Tommo describes him as devoted and good-natured; he is the son of Marheyo and Tinor.

Marheyo

Kory-Kory’s elderly father, a retired Typee warrior of formerly immense strength. He is warm-hearted and eccentric, and ultimately helps Tommo escape.

Tinor

Also known as Kory-Kory’s mother

Kory-Kory’s mother, the industrious mistress of the household. She treats Tommo with particular kindness and maternal affection, and tends Toby’s head wound with herbs.

Giovanni Battista Belzoni

Also known as Belzoni

An explorer mentioned by the narrator for his passage through the Egyptian catacombs, used as a comparison for the difficulties Tommo and Toby face in the ravine.

Hippocrates

Also known as old Hippocrates

An ancient physician mentioned by Tommo as a comparison for the elderly Typee healer.

Fayaway

Also known as the beauteous nymph · the nymph of the valley · my island beauty

A young Typee woman whom Tommo calls his favourite and the loveliest woman he saw in the valley. She shows him tenderness and sympathy, and grieves when he escapes.

Flora

A person named as the maidens’ jeweller; she supplies flowers that Fayaway and the other young women use as ornaments.

The young girl who tends Toby

An unnamed Typee girl who fans Toby while he recovers from his head wound.

Narmonee

A Typee chief and renowned warrior, described as precisely groomed and extensively tattooed. He asks Tommo to shave his head with a razor, and is later wounded while carrying a battle burden.

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Also known as Rousseau

A thinker cited by Tommo for the idea that people can find happiness in the simple physical sensation of being healthy and alive.

Marnoo

A well-regarded Marquesan traveler who speaks English and is protected by the custom of taboo, allowing him to visit rival valleys. He warns Tommo that the Typees will not let him leave, then provides advice that ultimately helps bring about his rescue.

The boy who receives the first pop-gun

Also known as the spirited urchin

An unnamed Typee boy, about six years old, for whom Tommo makes a bamboo pop-gun. His excitement sparks a valley-wide craze for the toy.

The lad who learns to make pop-guns

An unnamed quick-witted Typee youth whom Tommo teaches to make pop-guns; he takes over the work of producing them.

The notable wife of Kamehameha

An unnamed wife of Kamehameha, king of the Sandwich Islands. She was known for dyeing tappa in patterned colors and preferring traditional cloth to European calicoes.

Karnoonoo

A Typee man who owns a javelin whose handle Tommo says he carved with his knife.

Figueroa

The chronicler of Mendanna’s voyage, cited by the narrator for his description of the Marquesans and the first Spanish encounter with them.

Quiros

Also known as the pilot-mayor Quiros

A pilot on Mendanna’s voyage who, according to Figueroa, admired the appearance of two Marquesan boys and regretted leaving them behind.

Fanning

A Yankee mariner of some reputation, mentioned for his account of the Marquesans’ physical appearance.

Carteret

A voyager cited by the narrator among those who struggled to understand Pacific islanders’ sacred rites.

Byron

A voyager cited by the narrator among those who struggled to understand Pacific islanders’ sacred rites.

Kotzebue

A voyager cited by the narrator among those who struggled to understand Pacific islanders’ sacred rites.

Vancouver

A voyager cited by the narrator among those who struggled to understand Pacific islanders’ sacred rites.

Monoo

A great Typee chief and warrior, described by Kory-Kory as directing the construction of the Hoolah Hoolah ground’s pi-pi.

The deceased warrior chief

Also known as the dead chief · the warrior

An unnamed deceased Typee chief whose effigy is shown seated in a canoe at his mausoleum. Kory-Kory says he is paddling toward a paradise of bread-fruit, cocoanuts, and other delights.

Kolory

Also known as the priest Kolory · the Primate of Typee · the Lord Primate · my Lord Archbishop

A prominent Typee priest and warrior who leads chants at the Feast of Calabashes and conducts ceremonies with the small tutelary god Moa Artua. Tommo regards him as the head of the valley’s priesthood.

Moa Artua

A small, rag-wrapped image regarded by Mehevi and other chiefs as Typee’s tutelary god. Kolory treats it like a baby and interprets its supposed messages during a ceremony.

The bereaved widows

Also known as the afflicted females · the Dancing Widows

A group of unnamed women whose partners were killed in battle; they leap during festivals as a public sign of their bereavement.

The old priests

Also known as the venerable gentlemen

Unnamed elderly men who chant and wave fans during the Feast of Calabashes; the narrator presumes they are priests.

The unnamed Typee boy

Also known as tamaree · boy

A young boy summoned at the Ti to bring Tommo food when Mehevi welcomes him.

The unnamed Typee chief

An unnamed chief who proposes the ceremony with Moa Artua and fetches Kolory from the grove.

Kaahumanu

The former dowager queen of the Sandwich Islands, described by the narrator as a powerful woman who was said to be living at Mowee. He recounts a story of her injuring a man who offended her.

The humpbacked man

Also known as the humpbacked wretch

An unnamed man at Lahainaluna whose back was seriously injured, according to the narrator, by Kaahumanu about twenty-five years earlier.

Kammehammaha III

Also known as his gracious majesty

The chief magistrate of the Sandwich Islands, whom the narrator sarcastically calls a king. The narrator criticizes his character and drinking.

The man injured by Karky

Also known as the tattooed man · the venerable savage

An unnamed older Typee man whose faded tattoos are being touched up by the tattoo artist Karky. He lies through the painful procedure.

Karky

Also known as the artist

A Typee tattoo artist who pursues Tommo, eager to tattoo his face. He is also called Karky the artist.

Moonoony

A young Typee woman who lives with an older woman and a young man near Marheyo’s house. She has a young son who resembles Mehevi, and both Mehevi and the young man are among her lovers.

The young man in Moonoony’s household

Also known as the young fellow of fifteen

An unnamed young man who lives with Moonoony and an older woman. Tommo sees him courting Moonoony at the same time as Mehevi.

The child of Moonoony

Also known as the noble boy

Moonoony’s young son, about a year old, whose appearance Tommo says resembles Mehevi.

The old woman in Moonoony’s household

An unnamed older woman who shares a home with Moonoony and a young man.

The young deceased man of Nukuheva

An unnamed young man whose funeral rites the narrator witnesses near the beach at Nukuheva.

The two female mourners

Two unnamed women who watch beside the young man’s body at Nukuheva, chanting and waving fans.

The masters of ceremonies

Two or three unnamed, ornamented individuals who appear to officiate at the young man’s funeral observances in Nukuheva.

King Kamehameha III

Also known as Kamehameha III

A king of the Sandwich Islands mentioned by the narrator as the subject of royal notices in the Honolulu Court Journal.

William Shakespeare

Also known as Shakespeare

The writer cited by the narrator for the saying that bearers of bad news have a thankless role.

Whittington

Also known as the ex-lord-mayor Whittington

A figure invoked by the narrator in a familiar reference to the cat associated with his fortune.

Count Buffon

Also known as Buffon

A naturalist invoked by the narrator when introducing his account of Typee’s animals.

Baron Cuvier

Also known as Cuvier

A naturalist invoked by the narrator when introducing his account of Typee’s animals.

Hendrik Teniers

Also known as Teniers

An artist whose paintings the narrator references when describing the frightening black cat he sees.

Alexander Selkirk

Also known as Selkirk

A castaway mentioned by the narrator in comparing his delight at tame birds with Selkirk’s reaction to a bird landing on him.

Charles Dibdin

Also known as Dibdin

A songwriter whose lines about a cherub watching over a sailor are recalled by the narrator when he sees Too-Too in a tree.

De Bougainville

Also known as Bougainville

A French voyager whose ships, according to the narrator, introduced a disease to Tahiti in 1768.

Jesus

Also known as Christ

A religious figure whose prayer the narrator invokes when praising the Typees’ kindness and humanity.

Wormoonoo

A Typee man who owns a carved and polished spear.

Karluna

A Typee girl who owns a decorated sperm-whale tooth ornament.

Ruaruga

A resident of the house next to Marheyo’s, described by the narrator as having a somewhat less richly furnished home.

Narnee

A handsome young Typee chief who demonstrates how to climb a coconut tree by walking up its sloping trunk.

Too-Too

A young Typee boy who makes an elevated playhouse among the branches of a coconut tree near Marheyo’s home.

Mow-Mow

Also known as the one-eyed chief

A bulky, one-eyed Typee chief who participates in the battle against the Happars and opposes Tommo’s escape. He leads swimmers in an attempt to intercept Tommo’s boat.

The Australian vessel’s captain

Also known as the captain of an Australian vessel · the disappointed Englishman

An unnamed captain who puts into Nukuheva to recruit sailors. He agrees to provide trade goods so Karakoee can attempt to free Tommo.

The man claiming to be Captain Cook’s cannibal

Also known as the old chief · the living tomb of Captain Cook’s big toe

An unnamed old chief on Maui who claimed that he had eaten Captain Cook’s big toe. His claim brought him profitable audiences with curious travelers.

Karakoee

Also known as the Oahu Kanaka · the Kanaka

An Oahu islander who had often been aboard the Dolly at Nukuheva. With a tabooed crew and supplies provided by the Australian captain, he attempts to buy Tommo’s freedom and helps him escape by boat.

The Typee women making tappa

Also known as the half-dozen girls

A group of unnamed women who make a kind of tappa forbidden for men to touch. They cry out when Tommo handles the material.

The woman bathing her infant

Also known as the delighted parent · the mother

An unnamed Typee woman whom Tommo sees bathing her newborn in a stream and bringing the child there regularly.

The infant in the stream

Also known as the little infant · the baby

The newborn child of the woman bathing it in a stream; Tommo watches it paddle in the water.

The Happar champion

Also known as the celebrated champion of the Happars

An unnamed warrior whose javelin Mehevi takes after the champion flees during the battle.

The Happar warriors carried to the Ti

Also known as the slain enemies

The unnamed dead Happar fighters whose bodies are carried to the Ti after a battle. Tommo suspects their remains are connected to a ritual feast.

The young man domiciled with Marheyo

Also known as the young wag

An unnamed young man living with Marheyo who refuses Toby a spear during a staged battle alarm, joking that a white man fights better with his fists.

Kolor

A chief named among the principal Typee leaders who attend the Hoolah Hoolah feast.

Womonoo

A chief named among the principal Typee leaders who attend the Hoolah Hoolah feast.

Kalow

A chief named among the principal Typee leaders who attend the Hoolah Hoolah feast.

Jimmy

Also known as the old rover · the old sailor

An old grizzled sailor who lives at Nukuheva, serves as an interpreter for the French, and is a royal favourite of King Mowanna. He secretly manipulates events to separate Toby from Tommo and repeatedly delays Tommo’s rescue in hopes of earning money.

The horned hermit

Also known as the old monster of a hermit

An unnamed hermit whom Jimmy claims lives in the mountains, is reputed to be a sorcerer, and hides a pair of horns growing from his temples. Jimmy’s tale about him is described as a cock-and-bull story.

The rooster-crested boy

Also known as the younger son of a chief

An unnamed boy just over ten whom Jimmy claims has a rooster-like comb and voice and has entered holy orders. The narrator presents this as one of Jimmy’s incredible tales.

The old woman, wife of the aged king

Also known as the old king’s wife

An unnamed woman who visits her kin in Typee with her three sons, who are chiefs. She weeps when Toby says he is going to Nukuheva.

The Typee youth carrying a pig

Also known as the young Typee

An unnamed young Typee who carries a pig given to Jimmy by Mow-Mow and accompanies Jimmy and Toby across the mountains. He is protected by Jimmy’s taboo status during the journey through Happar.

The Happar who wounded Toby

Also known as the fiery gentleman

An unnamed Happar warrior whom Toby wants to identify as the man who gave him his wound. He stays out of Toby’s sight while Toby visits the Happar valley.

Jimmy’s Happar wives

Also known as his two wives

Two unnamed women who live with Jimmy in the Happar valley and welcome him and Toby to their home.

The captain of the whaleship

Also known as the whaleship captain

An unnamed captain of a whaleship at Nukuheva that needs men. He agrees to take Toby and Tommo aboard, but refuses Toby’s request for an armed boat to rescue Tommo and later sails away with Toby aboard.