Mehevi

Character Analysis

Mehevi, head-chief of the Typee Valley ("king" if you wanna be monarchy-centric about it), is an exceptionally welcoming sort, so graceful and unassuming that it takes Tommo quite some time before realizing his role in the tribe. Once he does, he sticks close to the chief: "I forthwith determined to secure, if possible, the good-will of this individual, as I easily perceived he was a man of great authority in his tribe, and one who might exert a powerful influence upon our subsequent fate" (11.11).

Dining at the Club

Each day, "like those gentlemen of leisure who breakfast at home and dine at their club" (20.9), Tommo heads to the Ti to eat and laze around with Mehevi and the other chiefs. While Tommo is captive, he is also a guest, and is afforded the luxury of their daily banquet.

When a native healer is called for Tommo's leg, Mehevi is there holding the patient in place, "upon the same principle which prompts an affectionate mother to hold a struggling child in a dentist's chair" (11.15). When Tommo wants a boat in the lake, and wants Fayaway to be in it, it's to Mehevi that Kory-Kory must go, for permission. Like any good leader, Mehevi rules without seeming sinister. But make no mistake: he's calling the shots.