FIJI--_Continued_.
WAR AND AMUSEMENTS.
WEAPONS OF THE FIJIANS -- THE SLING, AND MODE OF USING IT -- THE
CLUB, AND ITS VARIOUS MODIFICATIONS -- GRADUAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE
CLUB INTO THE PADDLE -- MODE OF MAKING THE CLUBS, AND PREPARATION OF
THE TREES -- ORNAMENTS OF THE CLUBS, AND THEIR NAMES -- FIJIAN SPEARS
-- THEIR TERRIBLE BARBS -- OBJECTS OF WAR -- THE REVIEW -- THE FATE
OF THE BOASTER -- INGENIOUS ENGINEERING -- CRUELTY TOWARD PRISONERS
-- “CONSECRATION” OF A WARRIOR, AND HIS NEW NAME -- DOMESTIC LIFE --
CEREMONIES AT BIRTH -- TRAINING IN REVENGE -- AMUSEMENTS -- VARIOUS
GAMES -- RIRIKI -- WOMEN AGAINST MEN -- DANCES AND SONGS -- MARRIAGE
FESTIVITIES -- WEDDING OF A CHIEF’S DAUGHTER -- DOMESTIC DISCIPLINE
-- THE KING’S STAFF -- FESTIVITIES AT HOUSE BUILDING -- MODE OF
THATCHING AND DECORATING THE HOUSES -- A PRACTICAL JOKE.
In accordance with the plan on which this work has been arranged,
Fijian warfare will be described as it was before fire-arms were
introduced, and had changed the ancient style of warfare.
The original weapons of the Fijian are the club, the axe (which, by
the way, is little more than a modification of the club), the bow,
the sling, and the spear. In most of these weapons is exhibited the
fancifully artistic nature of the manufacturers. The sling is perhaps
the only weapon from which ornament is almost wholly absent. Like the
corresponding weapon of the New Caledonians, it carries stones of
tolerable weight and great hardness, and, when wielded by a skilful
hand, becomes no inefficient weapon even against fire-arms themselves.
A stone hurled from a Fijian sling has been known to render a musket
useless, the stone having struck the barrel, and bent and indented it
as much as would have been done by a bullet.
The chief weapon of the Fijian is the club, and upon this he lavishes
all the artistic power at his command, covering nearly the whole of it
with the most intricate and delicately executed carvings. Some clubs
are straight, like thick cudgels, others are curved. Those which are
knobbed at the end have an infinite variety in the knob, as we shall
presently see. Some are more or less flattened, while there are some
which are so flat and so broad that it is not easy at first sight to
determine whether they are clubs or paddles. Some are so large that
they require the whole exertion of a muscular man to wield them, while
others are so short that they are kept stuck in the girdle, and used
as missiles, precisely as the short knob-kerries are used by the South
Africans. A Fijian will often carry two or more of these clubs in his
girdle.
Some of the most characteristic forms of Fijian clubs are given on
the following page, all being drawn from specimens in my collection.
Fig. 1 represents a club, and is evidently modified from a gnarled and
knotted branch, and by comparing a number of specimens together it is
easy to trace the progress of manufacture. This form of club is also to
be found among the Papuans of New Guinea, the natives of the Outanata
district carrying it. With the exception of the deep transverse cuts,
there is no attempt at ornament. It is tolerably heavy, though not very
large, and requires two hands to be wielded properly.
Figure 2 represents one of the paddle-like clubs which have just been
mentioned. The blade is not an inch in thickness in the middle, and
it gradually slopes off to either side, so as to form a tolerably
sharp edge. With the exception of the handle, it is entirely covered
with carving; the dentated pattern, which seems common to nearly all
savage art, being very conspicuous. It is extremely weighty, and, to an
European, appears a very awkward instrument, except perhaps that the
broad blade might be utilized as a shield.
[Illustration: (1.) ORATOR’S FLAPPER. (See page 930.)]
[Illustration: (2.) IDOL OF SOLOMON ISLANDS. (See page 970.)]
[Illustration: (3.) SPEAR. (See page 952.)]
[Illustration: (4.) FIJIAN CLUBS. (See page 948.)]
Fig. 3 is a club, which may be considered as a sort of intermediate
form between the two already mentioned. Like the last, it has a
broad blade, but is evidently a club and not a paddle. The blade is
strengthened by a bold ridge running along the centre. In order to
show the mode in which it is flattened, a side view of the lower
part is shown at fig. _a_, and a cross section of the blade is given
at fig. _b_. This kind of club is modified in various ways, but is
always made on the same principle, _i. e._ a round handle and a
flattened paddle-like end, sometimes nearly plain, as in the above
mentioned specimens, and sometimes furnished with knobs, teeth, and
spikes projecting from the sides. In some cases it assumes the shape
of a crescent, and looks, indeed, much like a cheese knife very much
magnified.
Another very characteristic shape is given in fig. 4. As may be
imagined from the illustration, it is very weighty, so that even
to carry it about must be rather troublesome. It is covered with
carvings in the most lavish manner, and such value has been set by the
manufacturer upon the weapon, that he has even taken the trouble to
invent different patterns for the opposite sides.
The peculiar form of this club is evidently due to the structure of
the branch from which it was cut, the projecting portion being the
base of another branch. Although in many specimens--my own among the
number--the club has been carved from a great log of solid wood, the
form has evidently been borrowed from the junction of two branches. The
edge of the club is cut into slight teeth, and just within the edge are
a number of round holes, set in a line. A tolerably bold ridge runs
along the head of the club and follows its curve, and through this
ridge are also bored a number of holes, apparently for the purpose of
attaching bunches of feathers, or other ornaments, to the weapon.
The most characteristic club of Fiji is, however, that of which an
example is given in fig. 5. It is made from the stem and part of the
root of a young tree. In this part of the world there are certain trees
which grow in a manner which to us seems very peculiar. As is the case
with many trees, it sends a tap-root deeply into the earth, and is
further supported by a number of smaller roots which diverge from it
on all sides, and retain it in its upright position, just as a mast is
upheld by the standing rigging.
While the tree is very young, it is drawn down nearly horizontally, and
fixed in that position, so as to be bent nearly at right angles close
to the earth. When it has grown to the thickness of a man’s wrist, the
top is cut off and the roots dug out of the ground. The tap-root is
then scraped down to a point, and all the smaller roots are cut off to
within an inch and a half of the tap-root, so as to form a radiating
mass of spikes, which are sharpened, and thus present the appearance
shown in the illustration.
Such a club as this is an exceedingly valuable weapon, and the greatest
care is taken in its manufacture. The spike at the end is scraped
and rounded until it assumes a perfectly regular shape, and is then
polished until it shines like a well-rubbed piece of mahogany. The
radiating spikelets are each trimmed with the greatest nicety, so that,
in whatever direction the weapon is viewed, they all radiate with exact
regularity.
The handle is polished as carefully as the lower spike, and in most
cases is adorned with elaborately carved patterns. In many clubs it
is completely covered with black and white sinnet made expressly for
this purpose, and plaited in patterns as elaborate as those which are
carved. Some of the best clubs are further ornamented by having scarlet
feathers worked in with sinnet. There are, indeed, scarcely any bounds
to the decoration of clubs, many of which are inlaid with shell, or
hogs’ tusks, or whales’ teeth, or even the teeth of men. These latter
ornaments are chiefly reserved for the knobs of the small missile club.
Beside these, there is an infinite variety of forms, some of the clubs
exactly resembling the steel maces of the days of chivalry, others
being first squared and then cut into pyramidal form, while others look
just like enormous mushrooms. Some of them have the handles completely
covered with wickerwork; but, as a rule, these highly ornamental
weapons are not for use but for show, like the court sword of the
present day.
Some of the names given to these clubs are highly suggestive.
For example, one was called “Weeping urges me to action,” others
“Disperser,” “Smasher,” and so forth. Those which belong to well-known
chiefs or distinguished warriors are used much as cards among
ourselves. If, for example, a great chief desires to pay a visit, he
will send his club as an intimation that the owner will follow. Or, if
one chief asks another for aid in war, the ordinary mode of showing
that the application is favorably received is for the latter to send
his club by the ambassador who brought the message.
There is as great variety of spears as of clubs. Spears are almost
invariably of great length, some measuring fourteen or fifteen feet in
length. They are made from hard wood and are almost invariably armed
with a series of barbs. In the manufacture and arrangement of the
barbs, the Fijians show wonderful ingenuity. Mostly, they are not from
the same piece of wood as the spear itself, but in many weapons they
are made of other materials. The sharp tail-bone of the sting-ray is a
favorite material, both for the points and barbs of spears, probably
because it is very hard, and so brittle that it is nearly sure to
break off in the wound. Other barbs are made of a wood which has the
property of swelling up when moistened, and bursting in the wound, so
that it can hardly be extracted. Such spears as this are called by a
very ominous title, “The priest is too late.” Some of the spears are
not only carved in various patterns, but have the heads cut into a
kind of bold open work pattern, which has a very elegant appearance,
though it must detract greatly from the strength of the weapon. One
of the ordinary Fijian spears is shown on page 949, and is taken from
specimens in my collection, in which there are several others, but all
of a similar character.
Many of the weapons have more than one point. In the specimens which I
have, the points are rather more than a yard in length, and are made of
separate pieces of wood, ingeniously dovetailed into the shaft of the
spear, and held in their place by lashings of sinnet. In my specimen,
the manufacturer has been so lavish of his labor, that he has not only
woven the sinnet into elegant patterns, but has continued them along
the whole of the shaft, covering it with a sort of mixture of the
zigzag and the dentated patterns. There are also spears with several
points, each point being barbed or deeply serrated on the inside cap.
These are not for war, but for fishing purposes. As for the war in
which these weapons are used, it is hardly deserving of the name.
When two chiefs have decided on going to war, messengers pass between
them, and both sides beat up recruits for their armies and offer
gifts to the gods. Whales’ teeth and food form the chief part of
these offerings, and the latter is often given in vast quantities.
Independent chiefs often take advantage of war to increase their
property. Such a chief, for example, though urged by both sides to
join them, trims and hesitates, and bides his time. One party will
then send him a bribe, and as soon as the other party hear of it, they
send a larger bribe, in order to “press down” the former gift. The
result usually is, that the recipient keeps both bribes, and eventually
declines to fight on either side.
The forces are gathered by a series of reviews, held as the army
marches. These reviews form the great charm of war, as any amount of
boasting may be done without the slightest risk. Each warrior rushes
up to the commanding chief, brandishes his weapons, and boasts of the
great deeds which he is going to do; all the warriors being in their
very best, with bodies covered with black powder, so as to contrast
with the snow-white masi, and their faces painted as none but a Fijian
can paint them, in order to look as martial as possible.
The chief often ridicules the pretensions of these men, insinuating
that they will be more ready to run away than to fight; but this is
only for the purpose of inciting them to display their courage, and,
by way of inducing them to fight well, large gifts are promised to
those who distinguish themselves in battle.
Sometimes a warrior, carried away by the excitement of the moment,
boasts that he will kill the enemy’s chief, eat his flesh, and make a
drinking-cup of his skull. This is generally a very foolish proceeding.
The menaced chief is sure to hear of it, and to promise a large reward
if the boaster be taken alive.
Should he be captured, his fate is certain. His hands are bound behind
him, and a large bundle of dried cocoa-nut leaves is fastened tightly
across his shoulders, projecting for several feet on either side.
The ends of the leaves are then lighted, and the poor wretch is left
to die, the spectators laughing and jeering at him as he runs about,
maddened by the torment. This punishment is called by a name which
signifies carrying fuel. The artist has represented in the lower
engraving, on the 943d page, this frightful fate of the boaster.
The party that are attacked usually retire into a native fort, the
structure of which often shows great engineering skill. The Fijians
are very apt at selecting a spot which is difficult of access, and
fortifying it in such a manner that two or three men could hold it
against a thousand. Mr. Williams visited one of these forts, and found
that the approach to it was not without danger, even in time of peace.
The only path to the fort led through thick and tangled vegetation,
and terminated on the edge of a precipice. The entrance to the fort
was on the face of the precipice, several yards from the end of the
path, and there was no mode of getting to it except by crawling along
the perpendicular rock by means of little holes in which the toes and
fingers could be inserted.
When the natives cannot find a place of such natural strength, they
have a way of defending the entrance by a series of gates with
traverses between them, so that any enemies who forced the first gate
were obliged to go for some distance through a narrow passage which was
pierced with loopholes, through which spears could be thrust and arrows
shot. Even if they succeeded in passing the second gate, a similar
gauntlet had to be run before they could reach the third. Thorny
trees are in great request for the outer defences of these forts, the
bare-skinned natives greatly dreading the prickly walls, which every
year grow more dense and less penetrable.
Knowing the strength of the forts, the natives do not care about
assaulting them, and, as they advance to the walls, avail themselves
of every cover. They then yell and shout derisive taunts at the enemy,
challenging them to come out and fight. Sometimes the challenge
is answered, a number of warriors issuing from the fort and each
selecting an adversary; often, however, as soon as the besiegers see
their challenge answered, they run away as fast as they can, the Fijian
liking to come behind his enemy and knock him on the head stealthily
better than to oppose him in open fight.
Should a fort be taken, the slaughter is dreadful, and is nothing but
a massacre, the greater number being killed, and the rest reserved to
be put to death by torture. One favorite mode of torture is to stun the
unhappy captive with a club, and to throw him into a heated oven by way
of bringing him back to his senses. The struggles of the unfortunate
man as the fierce heat restores him to consciousness are greeted with
laughter and jeers by the delighted spectators. Others are bound hand
and foot and given to the sons of chiefs as subjects on which they can
try their skill at torturing.
As these expeditions are nearly always made in canoes, the return of
the war party is seen from a great distance, and all the population
assemble on the beach to welcome the victorious warriors, the women
dancing and singing songs of triumph in honor of the conquerors. A
horrible scene then takes place, too horrible indeed to be described;
the bodies of the dead are offered in the temples, the ovens are
prepared, and for some days unbridled license reigns supreme.
In connexion with warfare must be mentioned a curious custom of giving
a new name to men who have killed any of the enemy during the campaign.
Whether the enemy be an armed warrior slain in fair fight, an unarmed
man knocked down by stealth, a woman, or even a little child, signifies
nothing. The warrior has clubbed an enemy, and has a right to his new
name of honor. Should he have killed a chief, he takes the name of his
victim, and sometimes his own chief honors him by calling the man his
flag, his canoe, his comb, &c. Of the consecration ceremony, wherein
the new name is given, Mr. Williams once saw a very excellent example
at Somo-somo, the subject of consecration being a young chief.
“The king and leading men having taken their seats in the public
square, fourteen mats were brought and spread out, and upon these were
placed a bale of cloth and two whale’s teeth. Near by was laid a sail
mat, and on it several men’s dresses. The young chief now made his
appearance, bearing in one hand a large pine-apple club, and in, the
other a common reed, while his long train of masi dragged on the ground
behind him.
“On his reaching the mats, an old man took the reed out of the hero’s
hand, and despatched a youth to deposit it carefully in the temple of
the war god. The king then ordered the young chief to stand upon the
bale of cloth; and while he obeyed, a number of women came into the
square, bringing small dishes of turmeric mixed with oil, which they
placed before the youth, and retired with a song. The masi was now
removed by the chief himself, an attendant substituting one much larger
in its stead. The king’s Mata (aide-de-camp) next selected several
dishes of the colored oil, and anointed the warrior from the roots of
the hair to his heels.
“At this stage of the proceedings one of the spectators stepped forward
and exchanged clubs with the anointed, and soon another did the same.
Then one left him a gun in place of the club, and many similar changes
were effected, under a belief that the weapons thus passing through his
hands derived some virtue.
“The mats were now removed, and a portion of them sent to the temple,
some of the turmeric being sent after them. The king and old men,
followed by the young man and two men sounding conchs, now proceeded
to the seaside, where the anointed one passed through the ancients to
the water’s edge, returned, while the king and those with him counted
one, two, three, four, five, and each then threw a stone into the sea.
The whole company now went back to the town with blasts of the trumpet
shells, and a peculiar hooting of the men.
“Custom requires that a hut should be built, in which the anointed
man and his companions may pass the next three nights, during which
time the newly named hero must not lie down, but sleep as he sits; he
must not change his masi, or remove the turmeric, or enter a house in
which there is a woman, until that period has elapsed. In the case
now described, the hut had not been built, and the young chief was
permitted to use the temple of the god of war instead.
“During the three days he was on an incessant march, followed by half a
score lads reddened like himself. After three weeks he paid me a visit,
on the first day of his being permitted to enter a house in which there
was a female. He informed me his new name was _Kuila_, or Flag.”
When a name of honor has thus been given to a man, the complimentary
title of _Koroi_, or consecrated, is prefixed to it.
The battles of the Fijians are not, as a rule, remarkable for the
slaughter that takes place. They are, in fact, little but a series of
single combats. When a man falls, his friends try to get him off the
ground to save his life, if possible, or to be able to bury the body if
he should die; while the enemy use their best endeavors to secure the
wounded man in order to bake and eat him. No dishonor is attached to
the fact of a slain man being eaten. On the contrary, it is a proof of
his courage, for none but those who die bravely in battle are eaten in
the feast which follows upon the victory, the bodies of slain cowards
being contemptuously thrown into the bush.
* * * * *
We now come to a more pleasing part of Fijian character, namely, the
various incidents of domestic life.
As soon as the Fijian child comes into the world, it is taken from the
mother, and given to another woman for three days, during which time
she lies at her ease. The first clothing which the child receives is
a thick coating of turmeric oil, and the first food which it knows is
either the juice of sugar-cane or of cocoa-nut. A name is given to
the child as soon as possible after its birth, and these names are
generally significant of some event that has happened either to the
child itself or to some member of its family.
Though the Fijian children spend the great part of their time in the
open air, and are untrammelled by clothing, they are liable to a very
unpleasant disease called the “thoko,” which somewhat resembles the
“yaws” of the negro tribes. The parents are rather glad than sorry to
see their children afflicted with this disease, as they believe that
it forms a necessary adjunct to infantile health, and that a child who
escapes the thoko is sure to be sickly and feeble when it grows up.
The Fijian child receives no training, unless encouragement of every
bad passion may be called by that name. Revenge is impressed upon the
child’s mind from its earliest infancy, and most horrible are the means
which are sometimes employed for this purpose. In riper years the
duty of revenge is kept always before his eyes. Should one man insult
another, the offended individual keeps himself constantly reminded of
the offence by placing some object in his sight, and not removing it
until he has avenged himself.
Sometimes he will effect the same purpose by depriving himself of some
luxury until he has had his revenge. One man, for example, will plait
his hair in a particular manner, another will hang some article of
dress in his house, while another will refuse to dance, or to eat of
some particular kind of food. One chief, for example, hung a roll of
tobacco on the roof of his house, with the intention of refusing to
smoke until he had killed his enemy and could smoke that tobacco over
the dead body. Another refrained from speaking, and would only answer
by whistling.
The knowledge of this custom makes the Fijians a most nervous race.
Should a strange canoe appear off the coast, the inhabitants of the
villages are all in a stir, some escaping to the woods, and others
concealing their food and other valuables in secret storehouses. They
do not like to walk alone in the evening. Mr. Williams mentions that
he has seen a whole company disperse at the lifting of a telescope,
and, more than once, when he was visited by natives and the door
suddenly slammed with the wind, the whole of his visitors rushed
tumultuously out of the windows. On one occasion, a number of men were
dragging a large canoe into the sea, when one of them espied a slight
crack on one side. He whispered his discovery to the man next him, he
to the next, and so on, and in a few minutes every man had run away
from the boat, fearing lest the owner should charge him with having
done the damage.
The amusements of the Fijians are rather more varied than is usually
the case among savages. Some of them are identical with many of our
own children’s games, such as “hide and seek,” “blind man’s buff,” and
a sort of “hop, skip, and jump.” A sort of “pitch and toss,” is also
in vogue, the substitute for pence being the flat, circular fruit of a
species of mimosa.
They have one game which bears some resemblance to that of the
“kangaroo-rat” of Australia, which has been described on page 730. The
players have a reed about four feet in length, at one end of which is
an oval piece of hard and heavy wood some six inches in length. This
instrument is held between the thumb and middle finger, the end of the
forefinger being applied to its extremity. With a peculiar underhand
jerk the player drives it horizontally, so that it glides over the
ground for a considerable distance, the player who sends the missile
farthest being the winner. In order that this favorite game maybe
constantly played, each village has attached to it a long strip of
smooth sward, which is kept sedulously trimmed, so that the missile may
skim along with as little resistance as possible.
Then there is the swing. This is made much like the New Zealand swing,
but is used in a different manner. Instead of being held by the hands
alone, the rope has a loop at the end, into which the swinger inserts
his foot. Sometimes, it has a large knot, on which both feet can be
supported. Drawing the rope to the top of a convenient bank, the
swinger grasps it with his hands, leaps in the air, places his foot
in the loop, and goes sweeping through an enormous arc, the radius of
which often exceeds fifty feet. In some cases the swing is fixed by the
water side, and the more daring of the performers loosen their grasp at
the proper moment, and are hurled through the air into the water.
One favorite game, called Ririki, is played after the following
fashion:--Close to the water’s edge is fixed a stout post, and on this
is laid the trunk of a tall cocoa-nut tree, so that its base rests on
the ground, and the tip projects over the water. The game consists in
running at full speed up this inclined tree, and jumping into the
water one after the other, swimming ashore and repeating the process.
This is a very lively game, the natives shouting and laughing the whole
time, and plunging so rapidly in succession that the water beneath the
end of the inclined tree is white with foam. The people are admirable
swimmers, and, having been accustomed to swim as soon as they could
walk, disport themselves in the water with as much ease as on land.
They are fond of swimming out to sea in parties, and join in various
aquatic games, such as trying to push each other under water, diving,
racing, and so forth.
Some of their sports are rather rough. They have one game which bears
a certain resemblance to snow-balling, except that the missiles are
bitter oranges instead of snow-balls. In some places they jerk stones
at each other by means of elastic bamboos, and do so with such force
that considerable pain is caused when the missile strikes the bare skin.
Sometimes a sort of mock battle takes place. When food is brought to
the men, the women suddenly rush upon them, try to drive them away, and
to seize the food. Rough as the women may be, the men seldom retaliate,
except by taking their assailants round the waists and throwing them on
the ground. Mr. Williams mentions one instance when a woman actually
shot a man dead with an arrow, turning the mock fight into a sad
reality. Several cases are known where the men have been so severely
handled that they have afterward died of their wounds.
On certain occasions an amusing game is played by the young men. A thin
earthenware vessel is filled with water and suspended from a bough, and
a number of young men with their eyes blindfolded, try to break the
vessel by striking at it with long sticks.
Music and dancing are greatly studied among the Fijians, and any one
who knows a new dance is sure to earn plenty of goods by teaching it.
Their musical instruments are very poor, consisting of drums, pipes,
and trumpets. The first-mentioned instruments are nothing more than
wooden cylinders, through one side of which a groove is cut about an
inch or so in width. The pipes are of two kinds; namely, a sort of
pandean pipe made of several strips of bamboo fastened together, and
the flute. This latter instrument is played by placing the aperture
close to one nostril, and breathing through it while the other is
stopped with the thumb of the left hand. The trumpets are merely
conch-shells blown through a hole in the side.
The dances are very carefully got up, and more resemble military
movements than dances, the similitude being increased by the martial
array of the dancers, who are all dressed as if for war, their faces
painted with scarlet, their bodies powdered with black, and their best
clubs or spears in their hands. They execute intricate manœuvres,
marching in various figures, wheeling, halting, and stamping their
feet in exact time to the rhythm of the song and the beat of the drum.
Sometimes several hundred men are engaged in the dance, while the
musicians are twenty or thirty in number.
The scene at one of these dances is very picturesque, but it wants the
furious energy which gives such fiery animation to the war dance of the
New Zealanders, the movements, though correct in point of time, being
comparatively dull and heavy. In order to enliven it a little more, a
professional buffoon is usually introduced upon the scene, who performs
sundry grotesque movements, and is usually applauded for his exertions.
Music and dancing are always used at the celebration of a marriage,
and, as may be imagined from the punctilious nature of the Fijian,
there is no lack of ceremony on the occasion.
Mostly, girls are betrothed when they are quite infants, no regard
being paid to disparity of age between themselves and their intended
husbands. The form of betrothal is rather curious, and consists in
the mother of the child taking a small liku, or woman’s girdle, and
presenting it to the man, who from that moment takes her daughter under
his protection until she is old enough to be married.
In those cases where a young man takes a liking to a young woman, he
asks her of her father, making at the same time a small present as a
matter of form. Should the application be successful, an interchange
of presents then takes place between the friends of both parties, and
in a few days follows the ceremony called “warming,” which consists in
conveying to the house of the bride some food prepared by the intended
husband. In most parts of Fiji, the bride has a complete holiday for
four days, sitting quietly at home, dressed in her finest apparel, and
painted with turmeric and oil. At the expiration of the four days,
she is taken by a number of married women to the sea, where they all
join in fishing, and afterward cook the fish that they have taken. The
cooking being completed, the bridegroom is sent for, and the betrothed
couple eat together, each giving the other a portion of food.
After this ceremony comes a period during which the bridegroom is
employed in building a house for his intended wife, and the girl
undergoes the painful tattooing which marks her as having taken her
place among women. During this time, she remains within the house so
as to shield her complexion from the sun. The house being completed,
all the friends of both families are gathered together, and a great
feast takes place, at which the givers make it a point of honor to be
as lavish as possible. At the end of this feast, the girl is formally
handed over to her husband, and exchanges her narrow liku for the
broader garment befitting her new condition.
When the daughter of an important chief is married, her father always
gives her a number of female attendants, sometimes as many as twelve
or fifteen accompanying the bride to her home. They are placed under
the charge of an elderly woman who acts as their superintendent, and
are called by a name which signifies a pet servant. There is always a
great scene at the departure of a bride to her home, all her relations
and friends crowding round her, and kissing her until she is nearly
smothered by their caresses.
An interesting description of the presentation of a bride is given by
Mr. Williams, and the artist has reproduced the scene in the engraving
No. 1, on the next page. “She was brought in at the principal entrance
by the king’s aunt and a few matrons, and then, led only by the old
lady, approached the king. She was an interesting girl of fifteen,
glistening with oil, wearing a new liku, and a necklace of curved
ivory points, radiating from her neck, and turning upward. The king
then received from his aunt the girl, with two whale’s teeth, which
she carried in her hand. When she was seated at his feet, his majesty
repeated a list of their gods, and finished by praying that the girl
might live, and bring forth male children.
“To her friends, two men who had come in at the back door, he gave a
musket, begging them not to think hardly of his having taken their
child, as the step was connected with the good of the land, in which
their interests, as well as his own, were involved. The musket, which
was about equivalent to the necklace, the men received with bent heads,
muttering a short prayer, the close of which was exactly the same as
they had offered for years, ‘Death to Natawa.’ Tuikilakila then took
off the girl’s necklace and kissed her. The gayest moment of her life,
as far as dress was concerned, was past; and I felt that the untying
of that polished ornament from her neck was the first downward step to
a dreary future. Perhaps her forebodings were like mine, for she wept,
and the tears which glanced off her bosom and rested in distinct drops
on her oily legs were seen by the king, who said, ‘Do not weep. Are
you going to leave your own land? You are but going a voyage, soon to
return. Do not think it a hardship to go to Mbau. Here you have to work
hard; there you will rest. Here you fare indifferently; there you will
eat the best of food. Only do not weep to spoil yourself.’ As he thus
spoke, he played with her curly locks, complimenting her on her face
and figure. She reminded him of a sister of hers, who had been taken
to Mbau in years past.”
She had certainly reason for her tears, as the condition of Fijian
wives is not a very enviable one. As is the case with most countries
in which polygamy is practised, the wives are apt to be very jealous
of each other, and to quarrel among themselves. Generally, their
squabbles are treated with contemptuous indifference by the husband as
long as they do not annoy him personally; but if he should feel himself
angered, he speedily checks the tumult by belaboring all parties alike
with a very sufficient stick which he keeps for the purpose. One chief
had a cudgel as thick as a broomstick, in which he seemed to take no
little pride, having carved and inlaid it with ivory.
Women are not held in any great estimation, whether they be single or
married. A rather ludicrous example of the value set by Fijians upon
women occurred in the course of traffic between Europeans and natives.
A chief had bargained with the captain of a ship for a musket, the
price of which was to be two pigs. The chief went off with his musket,
but could only find one pig. So he honorably kept his bargain by
sending the one pig and a young woman instead of the other.
In the description of the ceremonies attendant upon a wedding, mention
was made of the custom of building a house for the bride. The form of
Fijian houses varies according to locality. In some places they are
sharp-ridged and gabled, like those which have already been described
when treating of New Guinea. In others they are round, and in others
conical. Some are built on posts, and others simply on the ground. As
is the case throughout all Polynesia, the houses are made of a wooden
framework lashed together, and covered with a thatch of reeds. Many of
these houses are of great size, more than a hundred feet in length and
about forty in width. A house that is meant to endure for any length of
time is made of a wood called by the natives _vesi_, which is exactly
similar to the greenheart of India, and a sort of sandal wood is also
used for the same purpose.
The walls are generally made of reeds arranged in three layers,
the middle layer being horizontal and the outer and inner layers
perpendicular. They are tied or sewed together with sinnet, and it is
the Fijian architect’s pride to weave the sinnet into elegant patterns.
Some men are celebrated for their skill in inserting and executing
these patterns, and go about from place to place as they are wanted.
Even the posts that support the edifice are often covered with reeds,
bound together in the same ingenious manner. The door is always a small
one, probably for the same reason that induces a Kaffir to make so low
an entrance to his hut; namely, fear of enemies.
[Illustration: (1.) A FIJIAN WEDDING. (See page 956.)]
[Illustration: (2.) HOUSE THATCHING. (See page 959.)]
The thatch is sometimes of cocoa-nut or sugar-cane leaves, and
sometimes of grass, while in a few of the best houses both are used.
The leaves are doubled over reeds and sewed together, so as to form
lengths of about five or six feet. Grass thatch is fixed almost exactly
as straw is used in England being laid on the roof in bundles, and held
down by long mangrove branches, and tied firmly with rattan.
House thatching is one of the most animated scenes that can be
imagined. As soon as the roof is finished, notice is given that the
thatchers are wanted, and then straightway assemble a gang of merry
laborers, varying in number according to the size of the house, as many
as three hundred sometimes uniting to thatch a very large house. Some
bring the leaves and grass, others bind and sew them into the proper
form, and others take them to the thatchers. Those who actually apply
the reeds always arrange themselves in pairs on the roof, one outside
and the other inside the building, so that one can take the end of
the lashing as it is pushed through the thatch by his comrade, draw
it tight, and return it to him. The reader may find house thatching
represented in a spirited engraving, on the 957th page.
The noise that arises from a large house during the process of
thatching is almost deafening. Naturally, the Fijian has a great genius
for shouting, and on such occasions he fairly outdoes himself. Some
call for more grass, leaves, mangrove rods and rattans; others from
below shout in reply to them. Those who bring the materials must needs
shout as they clamber to the roof, and every one throws in a few yells
occasionally by way of encouragement to his companions.
The most characteristic part of a Fijian house is the ridge pole
which runs along the top of the roof. It projects at either end for a
considerable distance, and in first-class buildings is worked into a
trumpet-like shape at the extremities. These projecting ends are mostly
blackened, and decorated with large white cowrie shells. A sort of
cable made of grass and bound with vine-stalks is generally laid on the
ridge pole, and in many cases is finished off with a row of tassels,
and nearly covered with patterns worked in sinnet.
Some, though not all, the houses have openings by way of windows, which
can be closed by means of mats fastened over them like curtains. Within
the house, and nearly in the centre, is the fireplace, which is sunk
in the ground to a foot or so in depth, and surrounded by a sort of
fender made of hard wood. In very large houses, the fireplace is ten
or twelve feet square, and is covered by a wooden framework of several
tiers, on which cooking pots and similar utensils can be kept. There is
no chimney, nor even a hole in the roof, so that all the smoke from the
fireplace ascends to the roof, and finds its way out through the thatch
as it best can. In nearly every case the doorway is furnished with a
projecting roof.
In connection with roof thatching, a characteristic joke is recorded of
the Mbau people. The short missile club is called _ula_, and the act of
hurling it is called _ulaula_. The latter word, however, also signifies
house thatching. By way of a practical joke, the people of Mbau sent to
those of Tailevu, asking them to come and _ulaula_. The latter, taking
the word in its ordinary sense, accepted the invitation, and came,
expecting the usual scene of merriment, when to their surprise, they
were saluted by a volley of _ulas_ hurled at them by their entertainers.
The furniture of a Fijian house is simple. At one end is a raised dais,
on which the master of the house sleeps by night and reclines by day.
It is covered with mats, and over it are hung the sheets of thin masi
which are used as mosquito curtains. On this dais are generally one
or two pillows. These implements are not unlike those of the Kaffirs,
being nothing more than cylindrical bars of wood supported on legs at
either end. Some of them are from four to five feet in length. This
form of pillow is used on account of the mop-like headdress of the
natives, which would be pressed out of all shape were it laid on an
ordinary pillow.
On the hearth are several large earthenware cooking pots, oval in
shape, and each set on three stones. As the quantity of food in them
diminishes, they are gradually tilted, so that when they contain but
very little food they lie quite on their sides. Near the hearth lies
the thick concave board on which bread is kneaded, and close to the
board are the smooth round stones by which the operation of kneading is
conducted. The small hand nets used for fishing are kept near the fire,
together with the knives and other implements used in preparing food.
Several earthen water jars are always placed near the fire. They may
be distinguished by their glazed surfaces, and are placed carefully on
a thick bed of grass. A few bamboo vessels containing salt and fresh
water, are generally placed near the larger jars. Round the foot of the
wall are ranged a series of bowls and jars, which contain the arrowroot
and similar articles of food.