Dog breed
The Tahitian Dog (Tahitian: ʻŪrī Mā’ohi, translated as 'native dog') is an extinct breed of dog from Tahiti and the Society Islands. Similar to other strains of Polynesian dogs, it was introduced to the Society Islands and Tahiti by the ancestors of the Tahitian (Mā’ohi) people during their migrations to Polynesia.
They were an essential part of traditional Tahitian society; their meat was included in Tahitian cuisine and other parts of the dog were used to make tools and ornamental clothing. Dogs were fed a vegetarian diet and served during feasts as a delicacy. European explorers were the first outsiders to observe and record their existence, and they were served to early explorers including Captain James Cook. The Tahitian Dog disappeared as a distinct breed after the introduction of foreign European dogs.
Characteristics: The Tahitian Dogs were described as having a small or medium build, resembling terriers or crooked-legged dachshund in size. Their coats were usually brown, white or rust-yellow with smooth hairs. They had broad heads, small eyes, long backs, sharp-pointed muzzles and erect ears. They were described as lazy, shy, and not ferocious, but as having notoriously bad dispositions. They seldom barked but sometimes howled. Often they are lumped together with the Hawaiian Poi Dog by 19th-century taxonomists because of their similar appearance and diet, in contrast to the Kurī, which was much larger in size due to their higher protein diet.
Their diet included breadfruits, coconuts, yams, poi made from taro and sometimes fish. This soft vegetarian diet caused the dogs to develop round skulls and a small stature.
German naturalist Georg Forster wrote generally about the Polynesian dogs, but more specifically in response to the ones he saw in the Society Islands during a visit to Huahine in September 1773:
The dogs of all these islands were short, and their sizes vary from that of a lap-dog to the largest spaniel. Their head is broad, the snout pointed, the eyes very small, the ears upright, and their hair rather long, lank, hard, and of different colours, but most commonly white and brown. They seldom if ever barked, but howled sometimes, and were shy of strangers to a degree of aversion.
Characteristics: The Tahitian Dogs were described as having a small or medium build, resembling terriers or crooked-legged dachshund in size. Their coats were usually brown, white or rust-yellow with smooth hairs. They had broad heads, small eyes, long backs, sharp-pointed muzzles and erect ears. They were described as lazy, shy, and not ferocious, but as having notoriously bad dispositions. They seldom barked but sometimes howled. Often they are lumped together with the Hawaiian Poi Dog by 19th-century taxonomists because of their similar appearance and diet, in contrast to the Kurī, which was much larger in size due to their higher protein diet.
Their diet included breadfruits, coconuts, yams, poi made from taro and sometimes fish. This soft vegetarian diet caused the dogs to develop round skulls and a small stature.
German naturalist Georg Forster wrote generally about the Polynesian dogs, but more specifically in response to the ones he saw in the Society Islands during a visit to Huahine in September 1773:
The dogs of all these islands were short, and their sizes vary from that of a lap-dog to the largest spaniel. Their head is broad, the snout pointed, the eyes very small, the ears upright, and their hair rather long, lank, hard, and of different colours, but most commonly white and brown. They seldom if ever barked, but howled sometimes, and were shy of strangers to a degree of aversion.
History: The Tahitian Dog, known as the ʻŪrī Mā’ohi in the Tahitian language, was introduced to Tahiti and the Society Islands (in modern French Polynesia) by the ancestors of the Tahitian (Mā’ohi) people during their migrations to Polynesia. They were closely related to the Hawaiian Poi Dog and the New Zealand Kurī; the latter is believed to be a descendant of the breed. Similar breeds of Polynesian dogs were brought alongside pigs and chickens when the people settled the islands of Polynesia. Genetic studies indicate that the New Zealand Kuri/dog is derived from Indonesian dogs, and therefore by inference it is likely that Society island dogs are of the same origin. The Marquesan Dog became extinct in the neighboring Marquesas Islands before 1595. Even though dogs were virtually absent from Western Polynesia, they were recognized when European explorers later brought them as items of trade, indicating a universal cultural recognition of the dog in the many islands.
Dogs were tied with strings around the belly and kept in the house, where they were raised as a food source alongside domesticated pigs. Seen as a delicacy, they were served during feasts and to the high chiefs. Dogs were less abundant than pigs in the islands, possibly because they were killed while they were young. European visitors noticed that native women, especially those who lost their own children, would often breastfeed puppies and small pigs.
They were an essential part of traditional Tahitian society. Dog teeth were fashioned into fishhooks and dog bones were made into weapons and implements. They also used dog hair, especially the long tail hairs of the Tuamotuan varieties of dogs, to decorate the fringes of the taumi – a traditional breast ornament often called a gorget – which were worn by priests and high chiefs. The Tuamotuan breed were described as similar to their Tahitian counterparts distinguishable by their longer hair. Historian Margaret Titcomb noted that Tuamotuan varieties may not have been a separate breed that developed in isolation, arguing that the people of the Tuamotus could have eaten their short haired varieties and kept their longer haired dogs for exports to the Society Islands.