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<7/^ • >r -X^ 




THE 



KING AND PEOPLE 



OF FIJI. 



<^y 




F 






( 



THE 

KING AND PEOPLE 

OP 



FIJI: 



CONTAINING A 

LIFE OF THAKOMBAU; 

WITH NOTICES OF 

THE FIJIANS, THEIR MANNERS, CUSTOMS, AND 

SUPERSTITIONS, 

PREVIOUS TO THE GEEAT RELIGIOUS REFORMATION 

IN 1854. 

BY THE 

REV. JOSEPH WATERHOUSE, 
J^ot faurUtn Igrarts a IBiswfimarB in SrjL 






LONDON : 

WESLEYAN CONFERENCE OFFICE, 2, CASTLE-STREET, CITY-ROAD; 
SOLD AT ee, PATERNOSTEB-EOW. 

MDCCCLXVI. 



''^^l_j_S- 



TO THE 

REV. JAMES CALVERT, 

THE SUKVIVINQ PATHEK OP THE 

FIJIAN MISSION, 

THIS VOLUME 13 INSCBIBED, 

AS A SMALL TEIBUTE TO HIS GBEAT WORTH, 

AND AN IMFEBFEGT 

TOKEN ©P GRATITUDE, 

BY 

THB AUTHOR. 



* 



PREFACE. 

In the year 1849 I was appointed as a Missionary 
to the Fiji Islands, under the direction of the Society 
connected with the Wesley an-Methodist Conference 
of Great Britain. 

The present volume is one result of my residence 
and labour in this beautiful Group. 

As the notes of the first Englishman who, with- 
out conforming to savage manners, was permitted 
to reside in the city of Thakombau, tho titular King 
of Fiji, the work may possess an additional interest 
to the reader. 

I have but to add that, in the following pages, 
kindly taken through the press by the Rev. Geobge 
Stbinqeb Howe, of England, the Fijian names and 



VUl PEEFACE. 

words are given in their own orthography, with the 
one exception of the name of the king, Thakombau 
(Cakobau), in which case I have adopted the spell- 
ing to which English readers have been made accus- 
tomed. 

JOSEPH WATERHOUSE. 



Fui Islands, 1864. 









CONTENTS 



^,(3f'f^ 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

FiBST Blood. 3 



CHAPTER II. 
INTBODUCTORY 11 

Descriptive and Historical Introduction — Tradition 
of Gorai — Nailatikau — Banuvi — Naulivou — 
Tanoa. 

CHAPTER Ml. 

BiBTH AKD Training 33 

Birth of Thakombau — Rewa — Boko Tabaiwalu — Edu- 
cation of Sera — Bevolt and death of Eoroitamana 
— Fijian Poem — Fate of a Royal Family — Descrip- 
tion of Bau — ^Vasu-ki-lagi, a Fijian Tale. 

chapter iv. 

Thakombau 66 

Tanoa's Beign and Exile — Tuireikoso — Mara — Coun- 
terplot — Restoration of Tanoa — Death of Mara — 
Memorial Songs. 

chapter v. 

Light and Darkness 69 

Arrival of Missionaries — ^Admittance to Bau refused — 



X CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Gongresa of Chiefs — Namosimalua professes 
Christianity-r-U.S. Exploring Expedition — War 
and Treachery. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Habitations op Cruelty 95 

New Canoe — Military Stores — Massacre — Bravery of 
Thakombau — Treacherous Retaliation — Quarrel 
with the Whites — Rev. John Hunt — Conversion 
of Varani — Plot of Raivalita — His Death — ^War 
with Rewa — Destruction of the Town — Persecut- 
ing Visit to Viwa — Deliverance of the Christians 
— The Natewa War — Gavidi — Marriage Ceremony 

chapter vii. 
Resistance and Conviction 147 

The Nakelo War— Ratu Qara— Visit of Rev. Walter 
Lawry — ^Work and Character of Rev. John Hunt 
— Rev. R. B. Lyth — Visit of Captain Erskine — 
Extracts from his Journal — Rev.* J. Calvert — ^Visit 
of Captain Fanshawe — ^Visit of Lieut. Pollard — 
Death of Gavidi — Hopeful Signs — Mr. Lawry's 
last Visit. 

chapter viii. 
Often Repbovbd 185 

The Writer's Introduction to Thakombau — Mara and 
Lakemba — Open Persecution — Siege of Dama — 
The Tongans involved — Warnings — ^Apparent Suc- 
cess — Disappointment — Continued War with Ratu 
Qara — Steadfast Christians at Eoro— The Diffi- 
culty with Mr. Williams — Captain Magruder — 



CONTENTS. XI 

PAOB 

Rata Qara heads the Rewans against Bau — Arrival 
and Disappointment of a Romish Bishop — Fresh 
Perplexities — Sir J. E. Home — Death of Tanoa — 
Funeral Horrors — Crimes — Political Reverses — 
Bau Burnt — Revolt at Eaba — Rev. J. Watsford — 
Inauguration of the King — W. Owen, Esq. — 
AfEairs at Ovalau, and Death of Yarani — Mara's 
Doings. 

CHAPTER IX. 

Hopeful Signs 223 

The Missionary at Bau — ^Visit of King Gteorge Tubou 
— Rev. Robert Young — A Victim rescued — 
Mission-house built — Burning of Bau — Koroira- 
vulo^s Treason — Defeat at Kaba — Consultation of 
the Gods — Second Defeat — Nagalu's Vengeance 
— King George's Letter — Mr. Consul Williams. 

CHAPTER X. 
ThB CbISIS 251 

Causes of Change — Murder of Tui Cakau — Good 
Offices of the Queen — The King yields at last — 
Announcement to the Chiefs — Heathenism re- 
nounced — First Christian Sabbath at Bau — Im- 
portant Changes — Schools — Fijian Opinions of 
the Change — Commotion of Priests — Threatening 
Predictions — The Prophets cured — Further Re- 
volts — Naulivou — Bau in Danger — Victory at Koro 
— Ratu Qara again at War — Prayer and Fighting 
— The King in Peril — Proposed Political Reform — 
Good Influence of Captain Denham — The King's 
niness-r-The League — Constant Alarms — Efforts 
to save Life — ^Tale of Treachery — The Weeping 



Xll CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Dalo — Death of Batu Qara — ^Notes on his Life and 
Character — Important Help of the Tongans — End > 
of the Kebellion. 

CHAPTER XI. 

About the People 297 

Courtesy — Pride — Duplicity — Shrewdness and Cun- 
ning — Reasoning — Mechanical Skill — Husbandry 
— Knowledge of Nature — Business — Home — Moral 
Character — Education — Betrothal and Marriage — 
Strangling of Widows — Polygamy — Cannibalism . 
— ^War — ^War-Songs — Diplomacy — Self-Sacrifice 
and Suicide — Destruction of the Sick — Burial — 
Funeral Observances — Infanticide — ^Witchcraft — 
Punishments — Thefts — Murder of "Wrecked Per- 
sons — Proverbs — Preservation of Food — Tobacco 
— The Tama — ^Various Characteristics — ^Yaqona — 
Atonement — Traditions — Superstitions — Lan- 
guage. 

CHAPTER Xll. 

Mythology and Supebstitions . . .355 



APPENDICES 42S 





CHAPTER I. 



Jfirst ^laoh 







B 



CHAPTER I. 








FIRST BLOOD. 

^^**^ ""^ the shore of Muala — an island which 
might be taken as a type of many others 
"hdSf^^ in the Fiji group, with its central mountain 
Of> sloping in richest luxuriance of verdure down 
to the strand to meet the bright water, which rested 
within the encircling shelter of the coral-reef^ through 
gaps in which the native craft found a passage into 
the open Pacific, or entrance into the quiet harbours 
frequent along the indented coast ; — on the beach of 
this Muala, one day, about the year 1822, a man was 
wandering carelessly and idly along. He was evi- 
dently a chief of rank. His long trailing girdle of 
native drapery; his club resting with dignity on 
his right shoulder ; his long, narrow comb, formed of 
ribs of the cocoa-nut leaf, fixed boldly in the front 
part of his bushy and carefully-dressed hair ; and a 
waterproof fan, made out of the leaf of the umbrella- 
tree, held in his left hand ; all proclaimed his freedom 
from the oppressive restrictions of the tahiis that 
burden the Fijian peasantry. 

b2 



4 FIRST BLOOD, 

He was not alone. At a respectful distance two 
men followed, clothed in the usual narrow strip of 
native cloth, about two inches wide, passed round 
the body and between the legs. Their very physi- 
ognomy proclaimed their slavish grade. Their stoop, 
as of " a strong ass couching down between two 
burdens," and their manner of trailing the heavy 
club, which is the native's constant companion, 
declared them to be serfs. 

The sudden appearance of a large war-canoe, 
sailing towards the island, ended the saunter of the 
idlers. The chief stood still, looking inquiringly at 
the approaching sail. His minions crouched down 
on their haunches, maintaining perfect silence. At 
length their master spoke : " 'Tis the Bau canoe. 
Go, one of you, tell your lady, and let all our people 
prepare to entertain our guests. Cook the turtle; 
grate the pudding-nuts; dig the Icava, New mats 
in the large house for the chiefs." The younger of 
the two slaves respectfully clapped his hands, and 
saying, "I go, sir," arose and ran, yet stooping, until 
he was sufficiently distant from his liege to feel war- 
ranted in assuming a more manlike gait. It was not 
long after his departure that the chief sent his re- 
maining attendant to hurry the household in their 
preparations. The canoe was at hand, having long 
been concealed by the haze which frequently announces 
the coming of easterly winds. 

The chief then turned his face towards home, but 
proceeded slowly. What a change has come over 
him ! His eyes strike fire and his bosom heaves with 
passion, as he says within himself, " I will be revenged ! 
They shall call me t\e Avenger of his son ! " 



SOJSr-AVENQER. 5 

Furnishing himself with a reed, he hurries to the 
temple of his god. It is empty. He enters boldly, 
although assuming the attitude and demeanour be- 
coming one who has come to propitiate the gods, and 
supplicate favours at their hands. Bemoving his 
turban, he presents his reed, and prays : " Ye gods ! 
acquaint ye with my wrongs ! Take knowledge of my 
sufferings ! By this reed, I pledge myself to fill this 
temple with riches. Ye gods ! avenge my son ! 
Destroy his murderers ! So be it ! " 

The Son-avenger now hastens to his busy dwelHng. 
It is a large house, like a lofty barn, forming one 
great room, about sixty feet long, and twenty-five wide, 
with the roof-pitch some twenty feet ft^m the floor. 
Hung midway from the ground are sundry shelves, 
well laden with property ; and all along, at the upper 
end of the hall, is a row of well-poHshed spears and 
clubs. The floor is spread with mats ; and those at 
the upper end, appropriated to the chief himself, are 
of fine quality. Here sits also the principal wife, who 
is a fine-looking woman, with a pleasing face and 
dignified manners — although unclothed, except with 
the very narrow fringe which the Fijian woman wears. 
The chief speaks rapidly to this lady, who hands him 
a string of white cowry-shells, with which he adorns 
his neck. Leaving his club behind him, he proceeds 
to that part of the beach where the vessel is anchor- 
ing. Anxious to conciliate the visitors, and to secure 
their friendship, he scrupulously attends to all the 
forms of Fijian etiquette. " My chiefs of Bau" land ; 
and their host, bending in their presence, conducts 
them to the town. 

In the town there are two clans. That which is 



6 FIRST BLOOD. 

stronger in numbers has recently killed the young 
chief belonging to the other family; and, fearing 
retribution, is at this time actually planning the ex- 
termination of its rivals. Deeply did that clan regret 
the arrival of the Bauans, as it compelled them to 
defer the execution of their bloody scheme. 

As the evening advanced, the more youthful of 
the travellers retired to rest. After an amusing con- 
versation, and perhaps the recitation of an entertain- 
ing romance, they fell asleep, one after another. 
The young men also had just disposed themselves for 
sleep, when a Bau chiefs messenger approached them 
by stealth, and said, " Young men ! the chiefs wish 
you to prepare Izava for the priest, that they may 
consult the gods." Unwillingly they obeyed, and for 
hours were they thus engaged. The necessary cere- 
monies were performed before the Bauan priest, who 
accompanied the expedition ; and the weary ones 
were ordered back to their mats. 

The next morning the two town clans were to 
unite in presenting cooked provisions to their noble 
guests. The children of the town, and the young 
boys belonging to the war-canoe, played together on 
the beach ; whilst the food was being conveyed to the 
front of the house occupied by the visitors. 

Suddenly the children were alarmed by hearing a 
shout. A young Bauan then approached them, and 
addressed in the most respectful form the boy of 
greatest rank, a mere child of five or six summers, 
who had arrived with the other visitors in the Bau 
canoe. " Sir," said he, " let us keep together : the 
club is in circulation." " How so ? " inquires the 
child Seru. " Our chiefs, together with the Avenger- 



SERIPS FIRST VICTIM, 7 

of-his-son, are killing off the clan who lately mur- 
dered the young chief," was the reply. 

As food was being served up to the Bauans, the 
Avenger-of-his-son had given a preconcerted signal ; 
and his followers, joined by their warlike guests, fell 
upon their unsuspecting victims, and murdered them 
in cold blood. Pretty girls and handsome women 
alone were saved. Fifty able men soon lay stretched 
on their mother earth. 

One more scene in this savage and bloody drama 
has yet to be described. A party descends to the 
beach. Some of the boys, now orphans, are there 
seized and cruelly put to death. One lad, about eight 
years old, is dragged to where there sits the boy-chief, 
Seru, in whose sports he has just been joining. The 
victim is held down, while Seru clubs him with all 
the force his little arms can put forth, until the boy is 
stunned, and at last, after repeated blows, lies dead 
at the feet of his young murderer. This is noted 
here as the first deed of blood done by him who 
afterwards became the redoutable Thakombau, whose 
history is here given. The boy-chief puts aside his 
heavy weapon to gaze on his first sacrifice to the cus- 
toms of his people. Thence he departs to wash his 
hands, and partake of food ; feeling himself every 
inch a man. 

Some respectable members of the murdered clan 
fled, but were not permitted to escape. Messengers 
were sent after them to the various towns where 
they sought refuge, and some were clubbed ; whilst 
others, being entitled by rank to a more honourable 
death, were strangled. 

The Avenger had made but one stipulation with 



8 FIRST BLOOD, 

his butcliers : they were not to eat his unfortuiiate 
friends ! It was an act of self-denial too great for 
cannibals ; and the Avenger was compelled to allow 
his visitors a little liberty in the gratification of their 
unnatural appetite. 

After a few weeks' recreation, the war-canoe, laden 
with valuable property and beautifol females, shaped 
its course for the " God-land," Bau. 




I < >"Ha 



" /'•• 




CHAPTER II 



Jntroitnutacc|[« 




CHAPTER II. 



V. -"^^S^jj^-X. 






INTRODUCTORY. 



:5=0^<^'-'- 



Descriptive and Historical Introduction — Tradition of Qorai 
— NailatiJtau — Banuvi — Naulivou — Tanoa, 




^^HE truly Fijian scene just described will be 
made more intelligible by some information 
ssv^^xr o concerning the remarkable group of islands 
/^VaI wherein it occurred, and by a sketch of such 
of their previous history as can be ascertained. 

The two principal islands of the archipelago lying 
between 16° and 21° south latitude, and between 177° 
east and 178° west longitude, besides very many 
which are lofty, picturesque, and fruitful, are Viti- 
levu (" Great Fiji"), which is 85 miles long by 40 
miles broad, and Vanua-levu (" Great Land**), 95 
miles by 25 or 30. There are also nearly one hundred 
inhabited islands of all sizes, containing a population 
of about 200,000 souls. 

Previous to the European knowledge of the 
islands,* the natives fondly thought that Fiji consti- 
tuted the world. To this day, they will say, " All the 
world knows," when referring only to their own 

*Tasiuiui saw them in 1643. 



12 INTRODUCTORY. 

group. They had traditions respecting the creation 
of their world, and the introduction of fire ; but none, 
so far as the writer has been able to ascertain, con- 
cerning the existence of any other country. After 
this period, canoes sometimes drifted from the Friendly 
Islands; and those crews that escaped the mouth of 
the shark and the throat of the Fijian, quietly settled in 
"the world," generally under the protection of some 
chief of rank. These settlers soon lost the knowledge 
of their mother-tongue ; but maintained their distinc- 
tiveness by keeping together in a body, and by the 
election of a chief in each little settlement, bearing 
a Tongan title of office. They intermarried with the 
aborigines ; and their little colonies may be found in 
several parts of the group. As a race, they are, 
perhaps, superior to the Fijians. All these involuntary 
immigrations are comparatively recent. Probably 
their intercourse with Captain Cook had improved 
the naval architecture of the Tongans, and encour- 
aged them in a bolder navigation. 

The two large islands constitute the continents of 
their httle world. In the estimation of the islanders 
Viti-levu, in conjunction with the little islets that 
border its coast, is the Europe. Here is the Fijian 
Italy whither their religious ideas have tended ; and 
the Fijian France which has carried the scourge of 
war to many of the continental kingdoms. The 
mountain barbarians have here overrun the country 
of their more luxurious neighbours. Here a Fijian 
Rome and a Fijian Carthage have had their Punic 
war. Here exist their maritime nations, answering 
to the flourishing empires of the European world ; 
and here are the Fijian Spain and Portugal, without 



VJSBATA AND MUWA. 13 

a navy. However trifling Fijian history may appear 
to a stranger, its details grow in importance to those 
who live amongst them ; and the student who has 
watched them in the place of their occurrence may 
surely be excused if he has sometimes allowed him- 
self to be amused and interested by thus tracing 
historic parallels, where the principles involved and 
the motives at work were the same, and where the 
diversity in their operation and results was caused 
only by the difference of magnitude in the forces 
employed and the field on which they moved. 

In the middle of the eighteenth century the two 
principal powers of central Fiji were Verata and 
Kewa, towns on Na Viti Levu. These kingdoms 
originally sprang from the same source, and are still 
called tauvu (" same root"). The probability is that a 
poHtical division of the country between two con- 
tending Verata chiefs, the sons of a Fijian Clovis, led 
to the establishment of the two powers that still re- 
cognise a mutual origin. To this day, a Kewan meet- 
ing a man from Verata would exclaim, ^^Noqu vimiyavu^* 
(" My foundation"), expecting the same salutation. 
The official name of the Re wans is Burehasaga ("the 
Temple with Branches"). "jE7 vinaka mai na mata 
mai Burehasaga,** " Welcome to the ambassador from 
Burebasaga." The idea is that of division. It is 
also a fact, strongly in favour of this theory, that 
temples are dedicated both at Verata and Bewa to 
the same god, Komainaduduhilag\ alias Tavea lagi 
("RecHning on the Sky"). 

In the country lying between these two states, 
there was then rising into notice an independent and 
warlike kingdom, known by the name of Bau. Its 



14 INTRODUCTORY, 

authority and influence on the mainland were but 
small ; but the energy with which it maintained its 
claims ensured the respect of its more powerful 
neighbours. Its greatest want was men, — " the men 
belonging to Verata and Rewa," to use the language 
of the oral historians. The difierent Bau clans had 
various towns. The kings and principal authorities 
occupied one site ; the YvAaradame^ or royal soldiers, 
dwelt in a town not far from it ; and the royal ambas- 
sadors {Matorni-vcmucb) lived yet a little iurther on. 
All these sites are still shown. 

The king's town was occupied by chiefs in number 
and in office sufficient to govern all Polynesia. The 
sacred king was called JBoifeo Tui Bau ("The Reverenced 
King of Bau"), who seems to have been connected by 
office with the gods. He was bound to uphold reli- 
gion, and to maintain the custom of cannibalism. 
His person was peculiarly sacred. He never person- 
ally engaged in war. He alone could wear a turban 
during the drinking of the Ajova. It was taihu to 
strangle his widow ; though some of the widows of 
all other men were always thus destroyed. It was 
taihv, to cry or make lamentation on the occasion of 
his decease. At his death alone was the conch-shell 
blown ; being a repetition of the ceremony annually 
practised on the supposed departure from earth of 
the Fijian Ceres. 

Next in rank was the more powerftil, though some- 
what less sacred, king called "Na Vu-nuValu (" The 
Boot of War"). He was the commander in times of 
war, the great state executive officer in seasons of 
commotion, and the prime minister of all the politi- 
cal departments. The Vunivcdu must necessarily be 



BAXT, 15 

of the Tui Kdba clan, and the Boho Tui Bau of the 
Yusaratu, Perhaps a Vunivalu was allowed to assume 
as his family-name the designation of Tni Kaba 
(" king of Kamba") from his success in conqnering 
the peninsula of that name. 

The next great officer of state was the Tunitoga, 
He was the official adviser of the two kings, and their 
spokesman. It was his prerogative to be the state 
match-maker. He disposed absolutely of all the 
young chieftainesses. When an application for mar- 
riage was proposed, it was made in the first instance 
to him; and his decision was final. He was the 
natural guardian of all the daughters of the king and 
chiefs ; and his will was superior to that of the parent 
himself. 

The priests (Jbete) and the royal messengers (matci' 
nirvcmu) were next in consequence. 

The metropolis of this rising kingdom was situa- 
ted within a mile of the islet now so familiar as Bau. 
This insignificant isle, then known, according to some 
authorities, as "the Pig's-head," with a circumference 
of less than a mile, unadorned with the verdure of 
the tropics, and destitute ahke of wood and water, 
was occupied by two tribes of fishermen, who were 
portioned out in families as belonging to the respective 
clans and officers. In addition to their more legitimate 
employment, the Pig*s-head (Butoni) and the Levnka 
people were fishers of men, and frequently surprised 
and captured the enemies of their chiefs. The Levuka 
fishermen lived on the hill, and were in rank sub- 
ordinate to the Butoni. 

The fishermen were accustomed to voyage to con- 
siderable distances, though the canoes, cut with stone 



16 INTRODUCTORY, 

tools, were ill-made and small. As they depended 
on their chiefs for vegetables, there was occasionally 
a scarcity of food at Ban daring the absence of the 
canoes. It is said that, on returning from seaward, 
the crews would strain their eyes to see if the fisher- 
men's children were at play on the top of the hill. 
If snch were the case, the crew concluded that plenty 
reigned amongst them. But if the children crowded 
towards the beach, the order would be given, " Stand 
by the cargo of provisions ; lest it be devoured by 
these hungry folks before it can be shared out." 

North of Ulu-i-bau lay Verata ; to the south lay its 
twin-sister Bewa. The new kingdom of Bau, though 
of small extent, was incessantly waging war with either 
the one or the other. When at peace with Verata, it 
commenced hostilities against Rewa. When weary 
of fighting in that direction, it concluded a truce, 
and turned its arms against Verata. Probably the 
alleged prediction that Bau was to rule the whole 
group led to these interminable and harassing wars. 

It is perhaps impossible to trace the origin of the 
Bau chiefs. There is a tradition that at a remote 
period a Tongan canoe drifbed to the eastward islands; 
and that a woman who was on board, and is said to 
have been saved, was afterwards secured by the 
Bauans, and became the wife of the Vunivalu king ; 
and her descendants have since remained in power. 

According to tradition, the gods appointed Bau 
to take the lead amongst the numerous " kingdoms ■' 
of Fiji. 

One day, says the legend, an old man of small 
stature, by name Gorai, made his appearance at 
Sapai, the town of the royal messengers. He had 



LEGEND OF QORAL 17 

two bamboos, which he rested ag^ainst a tree, and then 
entered the house belonging to the family of the 
Masaus. The appearance of a stranger was nothing 
unusual ; and he received the warm hospitality, the 
practice of which is habitual to the Fijian, and which 
is a wonderM trait in his character. Being appa- 
rently weary, he was speedily directed to a bed, 
which was prepared in a separate chamber. It was 
observed that, during the night, he kept uttering, as 
his companions thought, the shout of respect. The 
fact was he was very cold, which caused him to 
shiver and moan. In the morning an abundant 
breakfast was served up, which he ate with avidity ; 
after which he sauntered out of doors. Accidentally 
meeting a woman of the Yusaradave tribe, who was 
going to the beach to fill a pitcher with salt water, he 
entreated her to give him a root of hava. Seeing 
his woeful condition, the woman, with the character- 
istic compassion of her sex, ran to procure the Tcava^ 
and soon returned with a supply, for which he seemed 
very grateftil. He then went back to the house in 
which he had slept ; and found the head of the estab- 
lishment had made his appearance, and wished to 
converse with him. " Were you wrecked ? " was the 
first inquiry. " No," was Gorai's reply, " I am not 
the castaway of a wreck. Vatumudre, the great god 
that hves at Nakorocau, in the Somosomo dominions, 
sent me to go and see the race that should become 
the chief power and government in Fiji. He gave 
me two bamboos, as a support to assist me in swim- 
ming. Having arrived at Koro, I was preparing to 
rest ; but the god called out to me to proceed, saying, 
' Yet ftirther on ! * When I reached Wakaya, the 



18 INTRODUCTORY. 

voice was repeated. I then swam towards Ovalan, 
and was about to go ashore there, when the god 
again required me to go 'further on.' I came on. 
The god pointed to the large opening in the reef 
leading to these waters, and said, ' That's the way: 
follow the channel.' I swam on, until I came here ; 
where I see -the tovm which contains the germ of the 
nation that will hold the sway in "Fiji." » 

On hearing this report, the host clapped his hands 
for joy, and exclaimed, ** Stay now with your servant: 
you are my guest." 

Next morning, by direction of the host, the Vusara- 
daves prepared a feast for the stranger. Gorai made a 
long stay at Sapai. When he wished to return home, 
the clan of his host conveyed him in a large canoe 
to Somosomo ; the king of which nation immediately 
acknowledged the superiority of the Bauans, and ten- 
dered to the Masau family, on behalf of their chiefs, 
the first tribute from Somosomo, — at that time the 
most wealthy town in Fiji, the whole of the eastward 
island being then its tributaries. The Masau canoe 
was deeply laden with the property thus presented. 

Several months afterwards, Gorai again visited 
Sapai in a large canoe, bringing more tribute. The 
native vessels are anchored by means of a spar, firmly 
fiied in shallow water, to which the canoe is secured. 
The mark of Gorai's anchor is still pointed out. Off 
Sapai there is a stony bottom, in which a spar could 
not be fixed. Here, where all around is hard and 
impenetrable rock, there is just one soft spot, of very 
narrow circumference, into which you may drive a 
strong stake. This is said to be the imprint of the 
stranger's anchor. 



NAILATIKAt. 19 

The two bamboos, which assisted Gorai in his first 
voyage, took root at Sapai ; and gave rise to a forest 
of their kind, which was considered sacred, and which 
has been accidentally destroyed by fire during the 
writer's residence in Fiji. 

It seems very likely that this tradition arose in 
the probable fact of a Cakaudrovi chief^ of the name 
of Gorai, having been saved under the circum- 
stances described. The ominous inquiry, " Were you 
wrecked ? " would lead to the practice of deception 
in order to avert an expected death. The subsequent 
tribute might be nothing more than the usual acknow- 
ledgment for preservation, called "ika ni bula" — 
compensation for saving life. 

In accordance with this tradition, the Masau 
family are the ordinary ambassadors to Somosomo ; 
the Vusaradave clan always prepare the first feast 
for their guests from that kingdom ; and the Somsomo 
people remain out of doors four nights after their 
arrival ab Bau, constantly uttering a guttural noise, 
in imitation of that which Gorai is said to have made 
on the occasion of his first memorable visit. 

In Fiji is found this intimate connexion between 
their traditions and their customs. Some striking 
natural mark is also generally pointed out in demon- 
stration of the truth of their legends. Instances of 
this will be given in the chapter on Mythology, 

About 1760 the Vunivalu king, by name Nai- 
latikau, changed his residence. The fishermen had 
for some time been rather insolent, and had just com- 
mitted a grave offence against the state. They had 
caught an extraordinarily large fish, and had eaten it 
themselves, instead of presenting it, as was customary^ 

2 



20 INTRODUCTORY. 

to the king. Althongh the offence was committed 
very secretly, it was discoyered by the back-bone of 
the fish being nsed as a bow. The kings and their 
chiefs assembled their forces, and came over, in great 
wrath, to the little islet-rock. The fishermen were 
banished from the island ; but were permitted to re- 
main unmolested at those places to which they fled 
for reftige.* 

The Baoans themselves resolved on occupying 
Ban or the Pig's-head ; and persuaded some of their 
vassals to abandon their mountain-strongholds for 
more convenient positions on the coast. The chiefs 
vastly improved Bau by enlarging the island, by an 
embankment raised on stones gathered from the adja- 
cent reefs. This embankment has rendered the 
appearance of the island much more compact than it 
would be formerly. Their own superior buildings 
and temples, graced with white cowry-shells, adorned 
the land of their choice. They instituted several 
restrictive iaihns^ requiring every canoe, not actually 
under sail, to lie with its outrigger away from the 
town ; and forbidding the hoisting of the sail whilst 
within a certain distance of the shore, <S;c. It must 
have been evident to them that the island was much 
more easy of defence than their former residence. 

It was about this time that a friendly intercourse 
was arranged with the kingdom of Rewa. The state- 
messengers, on board a canoe on its way from Bewa 
to Verata, having been driven, by stress of weather, 
towards the shores of Bau, were accosted by the 
sacred king of Bau, who happened to be bathing in 

* The chiefs did not, as has been asserted, take possession during the 
absenoe of the flBh«rm«&« 



BANUVL 21 

the sea at thd time. ''Whither are jon bound?'* 
" We are going to Verata." " For what ?'* '* For 
a ladjr to marry one of our princes/* " Desist then. 
The elements are against yon. Gome on shore, and 
take one of our ladies. They are fsac superior, and 
we want to be firmly allied with you.** The in- 
vitation was accepted, and the messengers went 
on shore at Bau. A marriage was subsequently 
brought about. The future greatness of Bau arose 
in part from this intimate connexion with the Bewa 
kingdom. 

The great war-god, Cagawalu, a deity of great sub- 
sequent renown, was first worshipped about this time. 
No temple appears to have been erected in his honour 
until the Bau chiefs fixed their residence at Bau. A 
new god may have been thought necessary in order 
to proclaim and accomplish a new destiny. 

After a residence on the island of nearly ten years, 
the Yunivalu Nailatikau died. A portion of Bau 
sunmiit was appropriated as a place of royal or chief 
sepulchre. The deceased king was buried in com- 
pany with some of his wives, who were strangled on 
the occasion of his death ; and a beautifiil temple 
of leaves was erected over his treasured remains. 
Nailatikau was henceforth called ''The First-fruits 
to the Earth,*' which is now his name in Bauan 
history. 

He was succeeded in the government by Banuvi, 
his seoond son, and the elder of the survivors. 

Banuvi reigned from twenty-five to thirty years, — 
an uninteresting period. The stability of the rising 
kingdom was increased, and the fishermen of Lasakau 
(from Beqa), and of Soso (from Eadavu), were al- 



22 INTR OB UCTOR T. 

lowed to remain on Ban, after having reclaimed more 
land from the sea. 

About the year 1800 pieces of broken plates and 
a variety of buttons, the produce of a vessel wrecked 
near Lakeba, revealed another world to the inhabit- 
ants of Fiji. A quantity of this imported wealth 
reached Bau. At the same date, the group was 
visited with the Asiatic cholera. The inhabitants of 
Bau were decimated, and the dead were buried in one 
common grave. The Vunivalu king of Bau fell a vic- 
tim to its virulence ; and, in company with four of 
his wives, whom the plague had spared, but who were 
strangled in accordance with the custom of the 
country, was deposited in the mausoleum. Comme- 
morative of the manner of his decease, he is styled 
in history " The Victim of the Foreign Disease." 

It is said that a goddess came to the earth, went 
to Banuvi's grave soon after his burial, and became 
his wife ! A more trustworthy report tells that just 
at this time there was witnessed a fearful storm of 
large hail-stones, which the Bauans supposed to be 
a falling of the stars. Their astonishment increased 
when they found the stars melting in their hands. 
The visitation — an unusual occurrence in Fiji — in- 
volved the destruction of vegetation. Whether the 
storm of hail was sent to punish the goddess's pre- 
sumption in thus loving a mere Fiji king, or was the 
sky's homage to her beauty, the native historian does 
not say ; but significantly registers the goddess's name 
as " The Origin of the Falling of the Stars." 

The reign of NauHvou, Banuvi's son and successor, 
was pregnant of great events and wonderftJ changes. 
At the time of his installation, the Bauans were desti-^ 



NAULIVOV. 23 

tute of some of the most ordinary comforts of life. 
They had oil ; but did not know how to use it for light* 
ing their houses. Burning reeds were the principal 
substitute for the lamp, with a little oil dropped on the 
reeds on special occasions. They had arrowroot; 
but were ignorant of its use, and of the mode of its 
preparation. The tobacco-plant was a luxuriant weed ; 
but its use for smoking was unknown. It was very 
legitimately employed to lessen vermin, and was 
called " The Destroyer of lice. ' * But during this reign 
it was used for smoking, and the poet composed 
**The Song of the Tobacco." * 

The intercourse between the respective tribes was 
very restricted. When one clan visited another, 
both parties met armed, and prepared for fighting. 
Women and children were never allowed to be present 
on either side. The respective parties entered the 
market-place from opposite directions. The exchange 
of property was then made ; both sides being contin- 
ually on their guard against surprise and treachery. 
But they were not as pusillanimous as is the present 
generation. A strong proof exists in the fact that 
they frequently fought pitched battles ; and the field 
of action generally assumed the appearance of an army 
of duellists. They had their legendary heroes, even 
their Goliaths, who have defied a whole army. Their 
system of knighting heroes is perpetuated to this 
day. An account of the ceremony will be found 
on a subsequent page. Emulous of partaking in this 
chivalrous custom, its aspirants have not hesitated at 
fratricide in war. 

The first event of importance that transpired 

* See Appendix I. 



wmmmmmmmmmmtmmmmmi^m^mm^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^'^f^ i i "i 



24 INTROBVCTORT. 

during this reign was an involuntary contact with 
civilization. Some of the chiefs had voyaged to KorO) 
and, during their stay at the island, were greatly 
alarmed at the approach of a ship. There was a 
difference of opinion as to the nature of the object 
before them. Some said, of course, that it was a god ; 
others, that it was an amphibious animal. The vessel 
drew near to the reef, furled some of her sails, sent a 
boat into the reef-passage, and then boldly followed 
and anchored. After a time some of the natives went 
pff to her, but did not venture on deck. At length 
two or three of the bolder of the Bauans went on 
board the ship; and, as they acquired confidence, 
soon made themselves at home. The ship came to 
buy sandal-wood, and was directed to Sandal- wood 
Bay, on Great Land, for a cargo. The Bauans pur- 
chased a quantity of knives and hatchets, a pig 
" twelve feet long,*' a pair of geese, a large monkey, 
and, though last, not the least valuable, a cat. The 
historians call the captain of this vessel ^^ Red-face." 

The ship pursues her voyage, and the Bauans 
return home. What reports they would spread! 
The vessel was called the "land-ship," because, like 
an island, it seemed to be well stored and stocked 
with every thing that was necessary. The most 
prized of the imported a.niTnal8 was the monkey, 
whom some wit woxdd probably declare to be one of 
the crew whom he had kidnapped. Certain it is that 
for miles and miles the populace came to see the 
monkey. But it was soon found that, however, 
amusing Jacko was, he was, on account of his use* 
lessness, only fit for chiefs. Far otherwise with the 
cat. The merits of the puss were appreciated. Bau 



A WHITE PREEST. 25 

swarmed with large mice, and fireqnently their mid* 
night frolics prevented a whole honsehold from 
securing sleep. It is said that they would even run 
over the sacred heads of chie&y and would pugnaci- 
ouslj survey an infimt prince ! 

The next wonder of the age was a white man, 
called by historians, "the carpenter," one of the 
crew of the vessel just mentioned. Accompanied by 
a Tahitian, he came to Ban in one of the large canoes. 
Soon after his arrival he pretended to have received a 
revelation from " First-fruits to the earth," consti- 
tuting him a &voured priest ; for it must be remem- 
bered that the Bauan Yunivalus are deified after death. 
The carpenter played well his part. When professing 
to be inspired, he shook and foamed like a genuine 
Eijian, and Naulivou declared him to be a true priest. 
He occupied the mausoleum as his dwelling. He 
soon became dangerously addicted to excessive kavar 
drinking. He made known that there was one who 
was superior to " First-fruits," or any other Fijian 
god, and then died. Charity conceives the hope that,. 
as a work meet for repentance, the carpenter intended 
to publish the true God ; but he signally failed. The 
Bauans understood him to declare that the rainbow 
was the supreme Deity. This visitor is supposed to 
have been an Englishman. 

The most destructive hurricane that the Bauans 
have ever seen happened during this reign. Every 
house was levelled, every tree destroyed, and some of 
the war-canoes were stranded on the mainland. The 
adjacent isle-patoh of Nailusi was almost demolished. 
The storm was said to have been caused through a 
quarrel amongst the three principal gods of Bau. The 



26 iNmoDucTonr, 

priests of Ba^nlii eventually beat the ocean with their 
sacred shovel-clnbs, and the wind ceased ! A dead 
whale, supposed to have been killed by the tempest, 
was found. Whales*-teeth were then highly prized ; 
and the whale was called " The Fish for Teeth." 

This hurricane closely preceded, or followed, the 
total eclipse, the history of which stOl inspires the 
Fijian with dread. Those who were then living were 
ignorant that their ancestors had seen similar sights, 
and regarded it as supernatural. 

Naulivou, sumamed "The Hot Stone," was a 
tyrant, and a plot was formed to assassinate him. 
He discovered it, and put to death some of the 
principal conspirators. The remainder immediately 
fled from Bau ; and were received with welcome by 
their national enemies, the Veratans. The insurgents 
were numerous; and their cause was espoused by 
many independent chiefs. Thus assisted, Verata 
speedily gained several advantages in the war with 
Bau, and seemed likely to become the principal place 
in Fiji. A number of towns abandoned the cause of 
Bau, and joined the enemy. Naulivou feared that 
his own attendants would kiU him to purchase safety 
for themselves. 

In 1809 an accident brought relief to the king by 
the arrival of " the notorious rascal," Charles Savage. 
The brig ** Eliza" was wrecked on a reef off 
Nairai. Savage and three companions armed them- 
selves, loaded their boat with a quantity of specie 
that was on board, and proceeded to the shore. 
They buried their treasure in various places, and 
made themselves at home among the natives. Soon 
afterwards one of the Bauan canoes arrived there. 



CHARLES SA VA GE. 27 

and Savage requested the fayonr of a passage to the 
city, which was wilKngly granted. 

The king soon saw that, with the arms of the new 
comers, he conld snbdne his foes, and secnre his 
personal safety. He made an attack on the enemy. 
Salvage killed a great number with his musket, and 
the rest surrendered. In addition to property, the 
conquered were required to present women to the 
king ; and at Savage's request, the ladies were handed 
over to him as his own share. 

In a short time, Naulivou had subdued the rebels, 
and compelled his enemies of Yerata to sue for peace. 
The white man and the musket soon raised Bau to 
the rule and fear of a large part of Fiji. Some towns 
vainly hung out mats to avert the musket-balls ! 

Charles Savage had one or two narrow escapes at 
first, but afterwards kept at a good distance from 
the enemy. A chiefbainess was given to him in 
marriage. Her children, however, were not allowed 
to live, for reasons of state-policy. Two or three 
years after his arrival he succeeded in persuading 
about twenty white men to leave their vessel at 
Sandalwood Bay, and join him at Bau. With Savage, 
these all lived in polygamy; but the majority seem to 
have strongly disapproved of cannibalism, and of the 
strangling of widows. These customs were con- 
sequently suppressed for a season. They also ridi- 
culed the deities of the country ; and made known 
that there was only one true God, intimating that 
Missionaries would probably come to instruct the 
people in His worship. But one, Peter, was tatooed 
by the native barbers, and is said to have been 
secretly addicted to cannibalism. 



28 INTRODUCTORT, 

September, 1813, found Charles Sayage and Ids 
company fighting on the Great Land. The enemy had 
gained the day. Only five of the whites if ere left on 
a rock ; and the ammunition was nearly expended. 
They were surrounded by thousands of inforiated 
savages, who were cooking their fallen comrades. 
Savage left his musket, and went down to the foe, 
hoping to secure terms of peace. The Fijians tried 
to persuade the remainder to descend from the 
rock, promising to spare their lives ; but the whites 
refused to make the venture. " The islanders," says 
Dillon, ''finding they could not prevail on me to 
place myself in their power, set up a scream that rent 
the air. At that moment, Charles Savage was seized 
by the legs, and held in that state by six men, with 
his head placed in a well of fresh water, until he was 
suffocated." The body was scarcely lifeless when it 
was cut up and put into an oven to be cooked for 
food. Sail-needles were made out of his bones. 

The Bauans lamented his loss, and subsequently 
revenged his death ; but they paid no other honour 
to his memory. None of his numerous wives were 
strangled on the occasion of his decease. He left 
only one child, a female, who is still living. 

Vessels now called at Bau itself. The captain of a 
Manilla vessel was murdered by his crew, probably in 
revenge for his compelling them to carry long logs of 
firewood from land to the edge of the reef near which 
the vessel was anchored. The men portioned out the 
cargo amongst themselves, and then settled at Bau. 
Eventually they murdered each other, leaving two or 
three survivors, who remain scattered over the islands. 

With increased commerce came additional vice. 



Ji RESURRECTION. 29 

The captains, officers, and crews of vessels were 
supplied with temporary wives at Ban. One woman 
is said to have visited Port Jackson in this way with 
a captain "Vulaono." The report of Sydney, and 
its yellow-clad convicts, lowered the English in the 
estimation of the Banans. Runaway sailors frequently 
resided at Ban, conforming to all the customs of the 
city, with the exception of cannibalism. They were 
not allowed to wear European clothes. For a length 
of time the Fijians appear to have been very lenient 
towards foreigners, until some convicts behaved so 
insolently to the Bau chiefs, that they clubbed several 
of them in their rage. 

A resurrection from the dead is said to have taken 
place during this reign. A woman, having died at 
Yanuaso, Gkiu, was buried in the usually hurried way. 
The spirit is supposed to linger four days near its 
terrestrial home, previous to making a permanent 
entrance into the world of shades. Four nights after 
her death, Banuvi, the late king, appeared to her, 
and ordered her to return to the earth. She objected, 
on the ground of her flesh being now putrid. The 
deified king insisting on her obedience, she dragged 
her body out of the grave, and told her tale to some 
people who came near her. For seven days she lived 
on the wild fig, and on the eighth she found she could 
swallow proper food. Her body was in a most offen- 
sive state ; but she recovered, and lived many years 
afterwards. Some are now living who knew her. 
Probably she had been buried prematurely, and told 
the tale about Banuvi to prevent a re-interment. 

In 1829 death released Naulivou firom the cares 
of government. He is said to have been killed by 



30 INTRODUCTORY. 

sorcery. Three of his wives were strangled to ac- 
company their lord to the other world. He was 
succeeded by his younger brother Tanoa, the fiither 
of Thakombau. 

Bau may be said to have almost attained the 
zenith of its ascendency during the reign of Naulivou. 
The supremacy of Verata was destroyed. Many 
districts and islands belonging to Verata, including 
the important island of Yiwa, were incorporated in 
the Bau dominions. The people of Yiwa afterwards 
greatly extended the name and influence of Bau. A 
close relationship existed between the royal &inilies 
of both Bau and B*ewa. The principal Bau chiefs were 
vasv, to B*ewa, whilst those of Bewa were vasu to Bau. 
Bewa, therefore, willingly helped Bau with large 
subsidies of men. The good feeling between the two 
kingdoms was increased by the presence, at both 
cities, of white men, who advocated united action, 
and who helped in the wars of the day. Kasavu, on 
the B*ewa river, was the town the capture of which 
first proved the dreaded power of the musket. It is 
said that Savage fired into the town until the water 
of the creek, issuing from the town, was tinged with 
blood. The army, on the sight of this spectacle, 
assaulted the town, and made a fearful massacre. Bau, 
supported by a large B*ewa army, prosecuted a war in 
Eastern Fiji, and collected tribute from the Wind- 
ward Islands up to Lakeba itself. Bewa conquered 
Kadavu, and many of the districts situated on the 
south-west coast of Great Fiji. The Bau Yunivalu 
and the Bewan king were called " the two Hot Stones," 
a designation intimating that they could cook whom 
they would. 



■ "^"^^w ■■ 










CHAPTER III. 



^trij^ arJir Srmmng. 




CHAPTER III. 



-^-s^- 






^^ a"5^^e^ ^- 



BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

Birth of Thakombau — Sewa — Hoko Tahavmalu — EdiLcation 
of Seru — RevoU and Death of JKbroitamana — Ffjian 
Poem — Ihte of a Royal Family — Description of Bau^^ 
VanL-hi'ldgi, a lyian Tale, 

<N the island of Ban, which had now ac- 
quired the title of the "God-land," and 
which was regarded with feelings of re- 
ligious veneration by multitudes of the super- 
stitious idolaters of Fiji, was bom to Tanoa, about 
1817, the young prince Thakombau. The court 
ladies congregated on the occasion, and remained a 
night with the happy mother. The officious attend- 
ants, in accordance with the custom of the country, 
prepared to nurse him in their arms for the space of 
ten days and nights, after which he was to be gently 
laid on a pretty little mat for the first time since 
his birth. 

So soon as the arrival of the little stranger was 




34 BIRTH AND TUAININO. 

generallj known, the cMefis assembled to drink lcaAi% 
over which a prayer was offered to the gods on behalf 
of the illnstrious babe, whose name, Sem, was then 
publiclj announced by one of the relatives. 

The ladies of rank, bringing fashionable presents, 
would visit the child a day or two after he was bom. 
The newly-married are precluded from the observance 
of this ceremony, lest they should cause the child to 
squint. 

The Yakatasaasna followed. These are games 
held in celebration of the birth of a child. They are 
practised on the birth of the first-bom in every 
family, but are kept up at the birth of every indi- 
vidual of rank. 

For ten successive nights the mother's house was 
to have been surrounded by the different clans and 
families who came to sing in honour of the new 
prince. The affair is conducted with the most perfect 
order, every individual attending on the night ap- 
pointed to him. But in the midst of these rejoicings, 
the fond mother was taken ill, and died. The father 
commanded his attendants to take his motherless babe 
to Rewa, there to be nursed and tended. Tanoa, being 
vflwt* to the place whither the child was conveyed, 
could there demand the same attentions, on behalf of 
his little son, as he was able to require in Ban itself. 

And now began a series of feasts; — ^the feast 
when the child was first washed in water brought 
from the sea; the feast when the babe first turned 
over of himself; the feast when he first crawled ; with 
several others. 

Tended by the queens of B*ewa, and nourished in 
the king's house, the child thrived; and, amidst 



nOKO TABAIWALU, 35 

the warmth, of the swampy city, visibly increased 
in size. 

Eewa was then in the zenith of its glory. With 
a king who was vasu (i,e.y of privileged relationship) 
to Ban, the rnler of which was in torn himself a vasu 
to Bewa, the city was in all its pride. With twenty 
large donble canoes, a whole host of Fijian carpenters, 
and large numbers of the mixed Tonga-Fiji* race, she 
was at once the wealthiest and the most coveted city 
of all the Fijis. 

Like his cousins, Naulivou and Tanoa of Ban, 
Boko Tabaiwalu, the king of Bewa, was a perfect 
tyrant. It might have been supposed that he was 
installed to act solely as a royal human butcher. 
With concentration of immense power, union with 
his despotic neighbours, and the rapport of the white 
man and his musket, he felt he was irresistible. 
Thereon he commenced such a constant slaughter of 
his subjects as is almost incredible. Not in war, nor 
in revenge, but for reasons known only to himself, or 
in sheer sport, he caused numbers to be killed in the 
course of every few days. The bodies were brought 
to Bewa and portioned out for food. On one occa- 
sion, it is said that he had ordered the Nakelo tribes 
to present yams at Natogadravu. Whilst so em- 
ployed, they were surrounded by the king's concealed 
warriors, and indiscriminately slaughtered. The 
number of the slain '' could not be counted." By a 
comparison of accounts it appears probable that one 
thousand eight hundred people were killed on this 
occasion ; and the bodies of almost all were afterwards 
eaten. Yet to all the crimes of this Fijian Nero the 

• AkaiTogflrViti. 

i>2 



36 BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

people passively submitted, resistance being considered 
perfectly useless.* 

As the child Seru grew, he was trained to be 
passionate, selfish, vicious, and tyrannical. He was a 
Bau chief of the first importance, ranking with the 
gods. Every desire was gratified, and at all hazards 
he must be pleased. Does he wish to take an airing ? 
A man must carry him on his shoulders. Is he in- 
clined for sleep? The women must fan him, and 
soothingly press his untired feet. Is he angry with 
his nurse? He may strike her. Does he quarrel 
with his playmate ? He may bite, strike, or maim 
with impuniiy. Does a slave accidentally interrupt 
his pleasure ? He may fearlessly draw his bow, and 
send an arrow at the intruder. 

The first time of his sailing in a canoe would be 
the occasion of the customary ceremony. Native 
cloth and other properly would be scattered £rom the 
vessel's mast-head on the return of the canoe to the 
wharf, and hundreds would scramble for a share of 
it. A great foot-race, for useful prizes, open to all 
competitors, would follow. 

When Seru was four or five years old, a fearful 
tragedy took place at Eewa. Amongst the many 
wives of Tabaiwalu, the king of Eewa, was one who, 
being a Bau princess with a large family of sons, was 
his favourite queen. He had formerly, however, been 
very fond of another of his wives, who was a lady 
&om £[adavu. The latter was the mother of a fine- 
looking young chief of the name of Koroitamana. 

The Kadavu lady was very jealous of her com- 

* For a translation of the vmUm narrating parts of the history, see 
Appendix VI. 



KOROITAMANA. 37 

peer from Ban, and not withont canse ; for she had 
been deprived of the affections of the king, and was 
kept in a state of comparative dependence and 
poverty. She did not conceal her feelings from her 
son ; but rather tanght him to be jealons of his half- 
brothers, and to hate their mother. If he asked for 
anything, she would, whilst informing him of her 
inability to supply his wants, remark, " You and I 
are pigs : we have nothing but what is thrown to us. 
Go to the Ban lady and her sons, and beg from them 
as though you were their slave." By this means, the 
mother constantly irritated her son. Once he did 
send a messenger to the Bau lady to ask for an article 
of Fijian drapery. The queen, in refusing to grant 
the request, remarked, " The drapery I have is all of 
the Bau pattern, and I shall treasure it up against 
the time when my numerous sons will be able to wear 
it. There is none here of the Kadavu pattern, or 
Koroitamana might have had it." 

The high-spirited youth at last rebelled against 
the authority of his father the king ; and, being pun- 
ished, fled to the coast south-west of Bewa. The king's 
forces followed, and he was compelled to flee from 
place to place to save his life. At last he was taken 
alive at Kadavu ; but, through the intercessions of his 
brother Macanawai, his life was spared. He was 
taken to Rewa, and there lived in a sort of disgrace, 
which is' extremely galling to a proud Fijian chieftain. 
Subsequently to this, the king resolved to convey an 
army to Kadavu for the purpose of executing vengeance 
on some part of that island. It was announced that 
in this expedition Koroitamana should take no part, 
and that he was to remain with those who stayed in 



38 bihth and training, 

charge of the city. This was more than the yotuig 
chief conld brook, and he resolved to commit parri- 
cide. Having prepared a club for the special purpose, 
he boldly proceeded to carry out his plan, during the 
presence, at Bewa, of the very army that the king 
had engaged for the proposed expedition. He first 
set fire to the king's canoe-shed that stood on Nuku- 
tavu, and hastened to give the alarm of fire. As he 
expected, the king rushed out of his house to give 
directions about the canoe that was in danger of being 
destroyed. The king at once received a fatal wound 
from his concealed son, who retreated as soon as he 
supposed that he had killed his father. The next 
day, Koroitamana remained in the town, and pre- 
sumed so far as to show himself openly. But 
some of the chiefs said to him, " Don't you know 
the king is dying ? You had better flee.*' He ac- 
cordingly took refuge at Tokatoka, where it was 
proposed to proclaim him king. But when it was 
reported that the king was expected to live, the 
Tokatoka chiefs, themselves fearing his anger, pro- 
ceeded to put Koroitamana to death. After being 
wounded, he succeeded in escaping as far as the banks 
of Nakelo, where he received a blow which termi- 
nated his career. 

The king of Bewa, however, died on the eighth day, 
when two of his wives were strangled to accompany 
his spirit. 

The principal parts of this history are preserved 
in a song, of which the following is a translation. 
Divested of its original language, it loses its beauty 
as a piece of composition. It is the most finished 
Fijian poem with which the writer has met, and the 



LA Y OF KOROITAMANA, 39 

original will therefore be placed for preservation in 
the Appendix.* 

LAY OF KOROITAMANA. 

Mbola weeps, and cries for a long time : 

" Chief 1 you died renownedly, 
Yoa died for your followers," 

After a time he spoke up, 
You, Meola, are the true thing ; 

Tabe was the mother of us two only ; 
You were the son so loved ; 

And I the son so clubbed ; 
The great chief trampled on me, 

And drove me away to Ra ; 
I remained there and was besieged, 

Then fled I down to Bega ; 
I remained there and was besieged ; 

Fled to Kadavu, there to be killed. 
But Macanawai wished to save life ! 

So took me to Bewa. 
Here am I a mere captive ; 

I endure the pain of not sailing for a long 
time; 
I endure, and endure, but cannot contain. 

An ironwood-tree at Eurukilagi 
Is cut down for my weapon, 

£oroivueta is then called : 
'^ Here, plane and finish off my club ; 

Do not plane it to be too slender : 
That I may stand at a distance and kiU with it." 

Seated then am I at Nukucagina, 
Polishing it in the upper room ; 

Lift it up towards the lower room ; 
And the women disperse in a fright : 

" The king to-day will perhaps fall.'* 
The canoe-shed is set on fire ; 

* S«e Aftpencyx II. 



»» 



It 



40 BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

The king gathers up his malo ; 
Goes calling oat in the square, 

"^ Koroitamana I onr canoe 
Preserre je, lest it be burnt ; 

This is a canoe for times of peace. 
The shed that is there is a thing easily bnilt. 

I fix my clnb, I crawl stealthily, 
I hold my breath, and panse ; 

Lift it np to the head of the chief ; 
Strike once, and strike twice. 

The king we serve is fallen. 



I wonnd, I wound ; reyives again ; 

I fly to Bnreke Bewa, 
And the Bewans consnlt against me : 

^ Koroitamana, go seek refage elsewhere. 
I ferry across to the banks of Na Sali, 

And enter the honse called Butxuaki ; 
The women disperse in a fright. 

Called " there I " to Bativuaka : 
" Perhaps there is a short length of yonr malo 

To be my dress to Tokatoka." 
Fastened with bnt one bow, I walk at leisure ; 

The foreign army raises a shout. 
Simultaneously shouting, "Like the moon 
just risen, 

And like a very cannibal god." 
Proceeding he passes out of sight ; 

He goes treading along the Tuaniqio, 
And has passed by Burebasoga ; 

Nasuekau appears in sight, 
Nukutolu is visible in front ; 

Secake inquires from his chamber, 
" Who tramples along in the road ? " 

(He does not know it is Koroitamana.) 
" Here we possess a chief for ourselves ; 

As for us, let us now erect fortifications." 
The chiefs of Bewa consult against me, 

" Let Mataitini be put to death. 



>» 



LA Y OF KOROITAMANA. 41 

I am clnbbed, but not fatally, at Tokatoka ; 

I f eny across to the banks of Sawani, 
To Eatikua I went to die ; 

I was killed as the tide was at its lowest ebb, 
I drifted here, I drifted there ; 

I drifted, sinking, and rising again to the 
surface. 

To-morrow I am to be conveyed to Rewa^ 

WUl be tide-washed against the founda- 
tion of the Rusa ; 
I go to be funereally attired in the Vunimoli. 

Yokili I loudly lament those in the house ; 
The land-unbroken ocean makes lamentation. 

My wife 1 you will die unwept for ; 
Nor have you now a home ; 

Nor do you possess the produce of your 
serfs; 
Nor hast thou now thy waiting-maid. 

The spirit dies, yet dies lingeringly, 
It dies, and passes on to Cakauyawa. 

Qei is loudly lamenting in the house, 
And the land-unbroken ocean makes lament- 
ation : 

" My child 1 my face so l}ke any other, 
The lips of the mouth as cowry-shells, 

The forehead a choice hair-band of scarlet, 
The heels of feet well made 1 " 

Tlie names, as still remembered, of the chief were, 
Knight-of-his-Father, Binder-of-the-Provinces, the 
Ten-messengered, Hnndred-feathered, the Daek-of- 
the-East, and Cure. 

Young Sem first heard the news of the regicidal 
act as he was sauntering amongst some yam-beds ; and 
was filled with fear lest the army, throngh which he 
had to pass on his way home, should kill him and his 
companions, to show their displeasure at the event. 



42 BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

Eortnnately, the party was allowed to return to Bewa 
.without molestafcion. 

The Bewa king, when on his death-bed, predicted 
nought but woe to his fine family, — a prophecy which, 
of itself probably helped forward the subsequent 
fratricides among his sons. "Why," said he, "have 
our tributaries of Tokatoka killed my son ? They 
should have waited my orders. O that they had 
not killed him ! I was to blame for always irritating 
him, and I only should have died. He ought, as my 
first-bom son, to have lived to have defended his 
young brothers. I foresee that our tributaries want 
to injure us, and they will lead my sons to murder 
each other. Alas ! that my sons should come to 
untimely ends ! " Probably the voice of conscience 
loudly upbraided him in his last moments, as he felt 
that he had sown the wind, and that his family would 
reap the whirlwind. 

Let the fate of some of his sons be recorded : — 

1. Koroitamana, the parricide, killed by the feu- 
dal soldiers. 

2. Macanawai, clubbed by his brother Tuisawau. 

3. Tuisawau, murdered by gun-shot by his brother 
Veidovi. 

4. Veidovi, given in retaliation by his brothers to 
Captain WUkes, and transported to meet an early 
death. 

5. Banuvi (the king) killed by the hands of his 
Bauan cousins, in war. 

6. Yakatawanavatu, killed in war. 

Two other brothers, besides these, were always at 
war, and seeking to assassinate each other. 

Soon afterwards, Seru's father ordered his son's 



BA U IK PROSPERITY. 43 

removal to Bau. Joining an expedition, the prince 
visited the Windward Islands, and embraed his hands 
with blood at an earlj date, as has already been 
narrated. 

The city of his fathers was in the zenith of its 
glory. The metropolis had already compelled, by 
judicious interference at times of civil war, the more 
distant kingdoms to pay the tribute of handsome 
women and large war-canoes. Hence could be seen 
at Bau the prettiest women and the most magnificent 
fleet in Fiji. More than twenty large war-canoes 
were retained by the chiefs resident, whilst many 
were scattered over the islands. The smaller canoes 
would perhaps be more than two hundred. Imagine all 
this shipping to be connected with an island not much 
more than a mile in circumference, and you will have 
some idea of the busy seaport. Realize, if you can, 
its sunny clime, and its crowded population — ^between 
three and four thousand. There are the turbaned 
heads, the flowing girdles, of the chiefs; the bare 
bodies of the multitude. The ladies, with a dress 
five inches wide ; and the men with rather less. The 
houses large and spacious, with no partitions, no 
upper rooms; built very irregularly and crowded 
together. There is no burial-place save the royal 
mausolexmi. The dead are buried under the earthen 
floors of the houses. Yonder are the three market- 
places, each answering the treble purpose of exchange, 
assembly-room, and human slaughter-house. There, 
towering over and above all other buildings, are the 
thirty heathen temples, beautifiiUy ornamented with 
the white cowry-shells. Ascending the hill called 
" the top of the town," you will be oflended by the 



44 BIRTH AND TRAINING, 

abundant filth, and will wonder that so many of the 
city fashionables are so fond of dancing there for so 
many honrs. 

Occnpying an elevated post of observation, you 
note the wood and water carriers, poor women who 
have to propel their canoes for a distance of more 
than a mile, fill their pitchers, gather wood, collect 
leaves for cooking purposes, return to the city, and 
carry their loads to their several homes. The vege- 
table dealers, — crowds of serfs, — heavily burdened 
with yams, dalo, bananas, sugar-cane, native bread, 
&c., coming to deposit their cargo with those who 
rarely pay, and scarcely thank them. It was thus 
that the royal families were supplied with daily food. 

And now the drums beat pat^ pat, pat, pat, pat. 
What is the signal ? It means that a man is about 
to be cut up, and prepared for food, as is a bullock 
in our own country. See the commotion ! The 
majority of the population, old and young, run to 
gaze upon the intended victim. He is stripped naked, 
struck down with the club, his body ignominiously 
dashed against a stone in fi-ont of a temple, and then 
cut up and divided amongst a chosen few, ere the 
vital spark is extinct.* Sometimes he is dashed 
into an oven whilst yet alive, and half cooked. The 
little children run off with the head, and play with 
it as with a ball. Some fond mother, anxious for 
the preservation of her child's health, begs for a 
morsel of the flesh to rub against the lips of her 
little one. 

Perhaps it is the same day that you notice a few 
people walking rather more hurriedly than usual 

* This has happened when the writer himself has been in Ban. 



SIGHTS OF BA U, 45 

towards a certain house. They carry oil, and paint, 
and dresses, and native calicoes, and mats. Entering 
the dwelling, they proceed to anoint two or three 
women, the wives of one man, whose recent decease 
has made them widows. The women have jnst re- 
turned from the baths ; their visitors dress them, 
kiss them, weep over them, bid them good-bye, and 
then strangle them by suffocation! Generally the 
women have no wish to live, having been taught that 
they must eventually join their first husbands ; that, 
should they Hve and marry again, yet at death they 
must rejoin their former partners, who would treat 
them harshly for having manifested so little affection 
for them as to remain on earth so long after their 
husband's death.* 

You pass on, and meet with an open grave. 
Waiting a moment, you ascertain that a sick man or 
woman has been partially suffocated previous to being 
buried alive. He was a burden to his friends, and so 
they strangled him. 

Down the next lane, a young chief is trying on, 
for the first time since he was bom, a narrow slip of 
native cloth, as an indication that he now thinks 
himself a man. He stands on the corpse of one who 
has been killed to make his stepping-stone for the 
ceremony of the day. 

Preparing to enter the house of a deceased chief, 
you may notice a startling decoration placed over the 
doorway; and, on examination, you discover that it 
consists of upwards of twenty fingers, displayed in a 
row, having been amputated from as many indivi- 
duals, who desire thus to express their sorrow for the 

* Widows who have not been strangled, frequently commit suicide. 



46 BIRTH AND TRAILING. 

departed, tn the dwelling itself, you meet with men 
who have shaved their beards and their hair, as tokens 
of respect for the dead. Others have burned their 
bodies in various places, and made themselves loath- 
some to the living, under the delusion that it is 
appreciated by the dead. 

But amidst such scenes, the signs of industrial 
occupations were not wanting. In the gardens might 
be found the cultivation of yams, dalo, and sugar- 
cane. Houses, suitable for the climate, were continu- 
ally in course of erection. Carpenters were busily 
engaged in building canoes, and in engraving spears 
and clubs. The manufacture of large earthen cook- 
ing and water pots was also carried on. The plaiting 
of the mats, and the " beating out " of the cloth, were 
the constant employment of the ladies. 

The youths of both sexes had their games, some- 
times associating together in singing and dancing; 
and, though without written novels, their imagination 
was gratified by professed romancers. A Fijian tale 
may not be out of place before more important 
subjects require attention. 

THE VASUKILAGI. 

(A FUIAN TALE J 

Once upon a time, a child was bom to the chief 
of Wainikeli. A goddess, resolving to adopt the 
child for her own, came in the night, and stole the 
chi]d when he was sleeping with his mother. 

When the mother awoke in the morning, she 
wondered what had become of her babe ; and, being 
greatly grieved, tried to think who had taken the 



VASTT'KI^LAOL 47 

child. Slie then told her husband that she supposed 
a goddess had stolen him. 

The goddess was styled the child's grandmother. 
She employed a woman as wet-nurse. The child 
turned ; crawled ; ran. Grandmother went to all the 
towns in Fiji, and took two men from each town, to 
live with the child, and to be his people. One of 
these was his messenger, and was called Tabu-tabu. 

The child arrived at manhood. He went to the 
goddess. ** Grandmother,'* said he, "what employ- 
ment engaged our forefathers in ancient times ? " 
Grandmother told him, "Your fathers sailed about; 
they veiUqa^d ; "* they went out shooting ; they vei- 
vanO'CorO'dravu^d,*** He remarked, " These shall all 
be given up, and we will only retain the vei-vana-coro- 
drcuvu" 

Grandmother went to a town, and brought two 
men to dress his hair. They spread it wide and long. 
Then the youth said, "Let us go to the land of my 
mother." To her town they went. 

All the people were away fishing, and the lad's 
sister was taking care of the house. The youth 
called her to come and part his hair, but she refiised ; 
for it is tabu to touch the head of v&iganeni (related 
as brother and sister). The girl, however, was vul- 
nerable, and presently spoke, saying, " I know we 
are veiganeni; but part you my hair." The boy 
went and parted her hair. A great rain fell in- 
stantly. The torrent washed their mother's towel 
to ihe sea. The parent, who was fishing, recognised 
her towel ; and, ordering her companions to leave off 
fishing, she ran to her home, and found the young 

* Namee of games at which they played. 



mmmim^mmmmmm 



48 BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

people parting each other's hair ! The mother swore 
at them, saying, " Ton are husband and wifel" The 
yonng man then fled to grandmother; because he 
was grieved at the accusation. 

Grandmother inquired why he cried. He could 
not reply for some time. At length he told all ; and 
asked the road to the sky. Grandmother told him 
that there were two paths : one in which the gods 
were crowded in heaps, and they would eat him if he 
followed it ; another way, in which he could journey 
with safety. He then bade his grandmother good- 
bye, and said farewell also to his father and mother. 
His sister, knowing that he would follow the path 
in which the gods were, ran after him, saying, 
she would accompany him, and, if needs be, die with 
him. 

The two went together. At night the woman 
slept, whilst the man kept watch. The gods came 
to eat them, first trying to frighten the mortals ; but 
they were unsuccess&l. The gods did this for 
several nights in succession. At length the two 
travellers approached a spot where two goddesses 
resided who were noted cannibals, excelling all who 
engaged in that business. The man then painted 
himself black (so as not to be known, and to show 
that he was prepared for war) ; and the two marched 
on, until they came to a fence, the pales of which 
consisted of captive men. They removed some of 
the men, and went inside. The man sat down on one 
log, and the woman on another. The two goddesses 
were intimidated, and went to prepare food for the 
strangers. Whilst they were making ready the oven 
(of stones), the man surprised and clubbed them. 



VA8U'KLLAGL 49 

He then unloosed all the men who were bound to- 
gether as a fence, and bade every one of them to 
return to his own town. 

The hero now said he would sleep as many nights 
as he had been awake. He slept, and slept long. 
When his sister tried to awaken him, she could 
not, and concluded that he was dead. Great was 
her grief. 

The female bit off one of her fingers, placed it 
in the bosom of him who she thought was deceased,* 
and then started for the sky. 

As she went, she kept pouring oil in the pathway, 
that the man might know, if he awoke, that she had 
preceded him. She continued her journey for several 
days, until she came to a bathing-place, on the banks 
of which grew a box-wood tree, the flowers of which 
were tabued for the sole use of the inhabitants of 
Back-of-the-sky and Root-of-the-sky, — people who 
ornamented themselves with the blossoms when they 
veitiqd'd. The woman climbed up into the tree. Some 
women from Back-of-the-sky came to bathe, and saw, 
in the water, the reflection of the traveller as she sat 
in the tree. They thought it was a goddess, and fled 
in haste. When they reported the occurrence in the 
town, the wife of the chief came near to the tree, and 
asked, "Who is this? god or man?" When she 
knew that the stranger was her grandchild, she 
rejoiced, crying for joy, and conducted her grand- 
daughter to the town.t 

* This aocords with the general oostom, Bignifioaxit of respect for 
the dead. 

t Then her grandmother had been remoTOd by death, not to Bulu 
(Hades) hut to Back-of-the-sky. 



50 BIRTH AND TRAINING. 

When the man had slept ten days and ten nights, 
he awoke, and found his sister's finger. He was 
greatly grieved, and wept. He got up to go to the 
sky, and knew, by the spilt oil, the direction his sister 
had taken. 

When he came near the town, and heard the weep- 
ing, he suspected that his sister had arrived. When 
he entered the town, his sister rejoiced exceedingly 
to see that he was alive. 

The chief of Back-of-the-sky sent some men to 
beat the drum for the town-folks to assemble. He 
then ordered food to be prepared for the strangers. 

The two abode there for several days. It was then 
announced that v&itiqa would be played. The man 
said to himself, " that grandmother were here, to 
make my tiqa* and give my kaukau \ "f Whilst thus 
meditating, he heard the voice of his grandmother, 
saying, " Here am I." He told her what he wanted. 
She went and prepared his uhitoayX and brought some 
dawas (plums), the stones of which she had ex- 
tracted and filled their vacant places with the little 
white cowry-shell. She presented these to him with 
a girdle-clothing dyed in liquid lightning. 

All the people from both Back- and Root- of-the- 
sky congregated in the assembly-ground. The two 
beautiful daughters of the chief of Back-of-the-sky 
were there as spectators. The v&itiqa was begun. 
To the astonishment of the inhabitants of Root-of- 
the-sky, the new comer's girdle emitted lightning. 

* The tiqva (pronounced Ung-ga) is a headed reed or dart, in the 
throwing of which this game consists. 

t The first tokens of royalty presented to any one in a<^3iowledgw 
xnent of his having become a <diief. 

t The wooden head of the Uqa, 



VASU^KLLAGL 51 

As he walked about, he threw dawai behind him, 
which were greedily eaten ; and great was the sur- 
prise when it was ascertained that the stones were 
cowries. When he threw his %a, it went further 
than that of anyone else. The two ladies greatly 
desired to make his acquaintance; but when they went 
to exchange civilities with him, he became enveloped 
in haze, and passed out of their sight. They re- 
turned home to tell their father that one of the 
players had quite stolen their hearts. The drum was 
again beaten, and the company were informed of the 
said fact. They 'were commanded to repeat the game, 
in order that the ladies might recognise the object of 
their affections. Each man went to re-dress his hair^ 
saying to himself, " Surely I only am the desired one." 
They then went to veitiqa ; but, as each passed in re- 
view, the ladies said, " This is not he." The game 
went on, but the favoured one was not to be found. 

At last the much-longed-for made his appearance ; 
and the two ladies, exclaiming simultaneously, " This 
is the one ! " ran to embrace him. Bat he was again 
mysteriously concealed from them. He hid himself 
for several days. At length they found him ; and he 
chose the elder to be his wife, and made great pre- 
sentations of property. All the wealth of the two 
(slain) goddesses was brought. It consisted of the 
valued cowry-shells, and native printed cloths. Men 
were weary of the loads they had to carry. A great 
feast was made, out of the provisions found on the 
lands of the two slain goddesses. 

After the marriage, the happy couple returned to 
grandmother's town, where a son was bom, "vcww 
to the sky." 

e2 



62 BIRTH AND TRAINING, 

During a war, the htLsband offered his services as 
a soldier to his friends. He was accepted; entered 
the army ; performed prodigious acts of valour ; and 
was honourably slain in battle. 

The sister, who had followed him in his long 
journey, was grieved when she found that he had 
more love for his wife than for her. 



Many of the terms and allusions in the above tale 
will be more fully explained in subsequent chapters. 
The tale itself may be taken as a fair type of 
numberless stories, which, however absurd, never 
fail in gaining ready and even greedy listeners. 




^fOr-^^ 




CHAPTER IV. 



S^aiunnk». 





CHAPTER IV. 



-.. ^ ^^ ^^ . 



THAKOMBAU. 

Tanoa''8 Reign and Exile — Tuiveikoso — Mara — Counterplot 
— JRestoration of Tanoa-^ Death of Mara -^ Memorial 
Songs» 

J HEN Sera was seven years old, his fether, 
Tanoa, succeeded to the kingdom. 
^ w?c ^^ those days the sin of Ban was " very 

grievous." The worst passions of mankind 
remained unchecked. An impure meaning was at- 
tached to ahnost every word that was uttered. Mur- 
der was sanctioned by religion. Cannibalism was 
practised in the cattle-eating style of Abyssinia ; the 
living animal furnishing meal after meal before its 
death, the remainder of the carcase being afterwards 
consumed. 

Nor were these growing evils restricted to Bau 
and the Fijian group merely. An enthusiastic writer 
on India, who so eloquently expatiates on the insignifi- 
cance of a Christian Mission to an island whose 
influence, in his opinion, is necessarily confined by 
the ocean to its own population, appears to forget 
that water is the high-road of savages, and that it 



^fi 



56 THAKOMBA U. 

unites countries as well as separates j^hem. In a 
considerable portion of Polynesia, the lives of women 
and children were spared in warfare, until Fiji in- 
troduced the cruel custom of slaying them. The bar- 
barous novelty spread from their country to the groups 
of Haapai, Vavau, Tonga, and Samoa. The temples 
were sacred places of refuge, and all those who 
succeeded in escaping to them, when in circumstances 
of danger, were entitled to their lives. The Fijians 
were the first to violate this right of sanctuary ; and 
the surrounding groups soon imitated their sad 
example. 

The monotony of Seru's life was disturbed in 
1832 by a political revolution, disastrous to the 
royal family. 

The conduct of Tanoa, his father, had become 
insufferably bad in killing and eating men without 
any provocation. On visiting a distant island, he 
used to send his warriors to kill a number of men, 
before he would allow the sail of the canoe to be 
lowered. On several occasions he caused men to be 
killed, and laid as they had been used to lay wood, 
to preserve the keel of the canoe, when she was 
going to be launched, that she might be dragged into 
the water over their bodies, which were afterwards 
eaten. 

For some time,, the king had been suspicious of 
certain chiefs ; rumours of various conspiracies against 
his life having reached his ears. But he seems to have 
thought himself secure. In the third year of his 
reign he visited the island of Ovalau; and, during 
his absence, the malcontents matured their plans. 
His family having secretly apprized him of his danger, 



REVOLVTION. hi 

the king fled to Koro. Namosimalna, the chief of 
Viwa, a shrewd politician and renowned hero, was 
sent in pursuit of the fugitive. But, on his arrival 
at the island at which Tanoa was, he privately nrged 
him to escape ; and the next morning, when the Ban 
party proceeded to the town in which the exiled 
king was known to be, it was found that he had 
again taken flight. The chief returned to the city, 
and informed his fellow-conspirators that Tanoa had 
succeeded in making his escape to Somosomo, and 
that a large fleet would now be necessary to compel 
Somosomo to surrender the refugee. The fleet was 
sent; but returned to Bau without having accom- 
plished the purpose for which it had been despatched. 
So well did he play his part, that none of the rebels 
suspected Namosimalua of treachery. 

It was the policy of the conspirators to maintain 
the government in its integrity. A pretender was 
inst£dled as Yunivalu, who was the mere tool of 
the more energetic chiefs. The usual death-like 
silence pervaded the metropolis whilst the royal 
draught was being prepared, and was followed by a 
simultaneous shout, throughout the whole city, so 
soon as Tuiveikoso had drunk the kama. 

The revolution having been eflected without the 
effusion of blood, and the rebel chiefs being desirous 
of establishing the popularity of their administration, 
the ruling powers restrained themselves from the 
customary cruel measure of putting to death the 
adherents of the weaker party. 

The sagacious Namosimalua was the only dis- 
sentient. He advised that Seru should be killed; 
expressing his feara lest the young prince should 



58 THAKOMBA U. 

secure a party in the city, and destroy the usurpers. 
The other conspirators replied, that he was a *' mere 
boy." 

Tanoa, the ex-monarch, secured the active and 
valuable alliance of Bewa; and war was declared 
between the respective kingdoms. The cause of 
Tanoa was also espoused by Somosomo, which fur- 
nished the means, whilst Bewa supplied the men, 
for war. But the energy of one man seems to have 
long upheld the supremacy of Ban. 

The soul of the conspiracy was a tall, powerful, 
intelligent, and persevering chief, of the name of 
Mara. He was a man before his age. He was an 
advocate for the liberty of the subject, for commerce 
amongst the states, and for peace with all nations 
and tribes. Yet he upheld the rights of his own 
class, carefully collected the accustomed tribute, and 
was as ferocious as a tiger in battle. 

He caused a bridge to be built, connecting the 
isle of Bau with the mainland. This was after- 
wards destroyed, on the occasion of the death of 
its architect. Probably it was his example which 
incited the chiefs of Bewa to make the canal near 
Nakelo; at once the largest and the most useful 
engineering work that is to be found in Fiji. It is 
pronounced to be about double the width of the 
famous Bridgewater canal in England. 

Mara was a man of undaunted courage. On one 
occasion, while leading a storming-party into a town, 
at the moment of their triumph he had three bullets 
lodged in his body by a Manilla man. He reftised 
to allow his people to carry him on a litt«r, and 
walked some miles to a town near his home. Mara 



MARA. 59 

is still renowned as the one chief who took towns by 
&ir and open assault; and no one has yet shown 
himself his equal in this respect. 

He made known his wish to change the national 
religion. Having heard of the introduction of Chris- 
tianity into the Friendly Islands, he proposed sending 
for some one to instruct him in its truths. He 
frequently expressed a desire to know the true God, 
saying : '' There is but one thing that can save and 
elevate Fiji, — ^the knowledge of a true God. But 
shall we ever hear concerning Him P " 

How unfortunate we know no more about the 
inner life of this interesting chief! Did he fear God 
and work righteousness ? Not his helpless ignorance ; 
nor the fataHty of his birth ; nor the thick moral 
gloom which overspread the face of his country ; but 
his sin, coupled with the fiebct of his knowing it to be 
sin, would condemn him. 

The exiled king was unremitting in his efforts 
to re-establish his influence in Bau. He hired an 
American vessel to bombard the city of his fathers. 
Her captain seems to have been willing to do 
anything so as to secure his cargo. He came un- 
expectedly to the Bau anchorage, took up a good 
^position, and fired a broadside. The Bauans had no 
idea that harm was intended, until the cannon-balls 
made their {Startling appearance amongst them. 
Some whites were resident at Bau at the time, and 
prepared to give a dignified response to the summons 
of their visitor. A large cannon was brought to 
bear on the ship. The second shot struck the jib- 
boom ; and the commander, fearing that he might be 
disabled, sHpped his anchor, and sailed out of the 



60 THAKOMBA U. 

channel. At Nasautabu, a boat was sent ashore to 
effect the burning of an empty temple ; after which 
glorious exploit, the ship returned to Somosomo. 

The reign of the usurper, Tuiveikoso, was sig- 
nalized by the capture of an European vessel. A 
French brig, at anchor off Viwa, was greatly desired 
by the Bau chiefs, and an order was issued for its 
capture. The Viwa chiefs, Namosimalua and Verani, 
objected at first to execute the Bauan command ; but 
afterwards yielded obedience to the orders of the 
government. Then was the disgraceful deed accom- 
plished for which M. D'Urville subsequently punished 
the inhabitants of Viwa. The ill-gotten brig brought 
little wealth to her new owners. On one occasion, 
when at sea, the chiefs on board of her discovered a 
ship in the distance ; and, alarmed by the accusing 
voice of conscience, prepared to abandon the vessel, 
and seek refuge on an island which was near. Just as 
they were getting into the boat, the ship exhibited 
the flag of the United States of America, and termi- 
nated their fears. The Bauans then bore down boldly 
to the stranger, and communicated the current news. 
The brig was subsequently wrecked. 

All this time young Seru remained at Bau. He 
seemed to take no interest in political life ; amusing 
himself with angling, swimming, gaming, eating, 
drinking, playing, and sleeping. 

But never were any statesmen more mistaken 
than those who had supposed that no lurking ambi- 
tion was harboured in the heart of the pleasure- 
loving Seru. Never was any government more sur- 
prised than that of Bau, when " the boy" Seru beat 
the drum of counter-revolution. 



COUP D'ETAT, 61 

Lasakau, the east end of the city, and the part 
inhabited by the fishermen, had been gained over to 
the canse of the exiled king, through the well-planned 
and secret schemes of the young chief, whose Mends 
at Bewa vaJcania^d (''fed'') the Lasakauans, and en- 
gaged to pay them well if they would desert or 
betray the Tuiveikoso government. Sem was thus 
supported by Bewa on account of his being a son of 
Tanoa their vasu. 

According to arrangement, several towns on 
the mainland simultaneously made their peace with 
Tanoa's party ; and whilst Tuiveikoso's faction were 
in consternation at this unexpected event, the Lasa- 
kauans commenced the erection of their own fortifica- 
tions, by building and completing, in one night, a war- 
fence, dividing their part of the town from that of 
the chiefs. The rulers called a council of war. Namo- 
simalua advised the arrest of Seru, and of his own 
nephew, Verani, whom he suspected of treachery. 
It was too late. The two boy-conspirators had taken 
refuge in Lasakau. 

A musket fired by Namosimalua, the contents of 
which were intended for his beloved nephew, was the 
signal of war. A severe contest ensued. The fisher- 
men had the advantage of being well prepared for 
active engagement. Fiery darts were shot at the 
chiefs' quarter, which was set on fire and soon re- 
duced to ashes. The Bauans indiscriminately fled 
for refuge to the mainland, leaving many of their 
number slain. 

Previous to this important movement, Tanoa had 
returned to Bewa, by direction of the heathen oracle 
at Somosomo. Here, acting in concert with his son. 



62 THAKOMBA U. 

lie prepared his people to give him a welcome return, 
by promising them farther liberty and great wealth. 
Bewa supported Tanoa, their vobsu^ with all the men 
and means it possessed. Several important towns 
were conquered for the Bau king by its armies. Seru 
begged of his allies to destroy Kaba and not to leave 
a man aHve. The Bewa king, however, re^ed to 
destroy the people. He conquered Kaba, and allowed 
the people to live. Seru complained of this clemency; 
but his august relative replied, ''You act in anger 
when you wish their death : when you have no people 
left to do your work, you will condemn yoursel£ I, 
therefore, must exercise judgment for you in the day 
of our success." 

As soon as Bau was in possession of his party, 
Tanoa was conveyed in state to the scene of conquest^ 
and triumphantly entered Bau towards the close of 
the year 1837. His power being re-established, 
Tanoa resolved to exterminate the enemies of his 
&mily. He encouraged his son to put to death all 
suspected parties. A price was set on the heads of 
the rebels ; and their Mends quickly surrendered them 
to the messengers of the young chie^ who sacrificed 
them to the . fnujmes of his ancestors, and permitted 
the Lasakauans, his butchers, to feed on their patri* 
cian flesh. 

It may be proper to record an illustration of this 
bloody period. A rebel having been captured and 
taken into the presence of young Seru, he commanded 
his guards to cut out the tongue of the offender; 
which he devoured raw, talking and joking at the 
same time with the mutilated chief, who begged in 
TaLn for the boon of a speedy death. Having been 



DEATH OF MARA. 63 

cjruelly tormented, the poor fellow was killed, cooked, 
and eaten. 

Nor were only those individuals killed the death 
of whom would gi-atify feelings of revenge. Many 
were put to death to satiate the morbid appetite of 
the populace for this horrid food. 

The notorious chiefs Mara and Namosimalna were 
still at large. Seru pursued Mara from town to town, 
until the royalists, if so they may be termed, were 
repulsed at Na-mata. At the head of a more numer- 
ous army, including the entire forces of Bau, Rewa, 
and Yerata, Seru again laid siege to Na-mata, but 
was driven off by a successful sortie. At length he 
secured his victim by treachery. The Na-mata chief 
engaged to assassinate his friend on certain terms. 
Early one morning the townspeople surrounded their 
courageous guest, and massacred him. When they 
were going to shoot at him, he stood undismayed, 
and filled them with terror. At last they attacked 
him with hatchets, clubs, muskets, and knives ; during 
which conflict he struck and bit them ; but eventually 
fell, and his body was taken to Seru. 

The whites then living at Ovalau consider that 
they rendered essential aid in the restoration of Tanoa. 
Mara himself was exceedingly popxdar with them; 
but they strongly disliked Namosimalua and other 
chiefs of the Tuiveikoso party, who were always 
advising Mara to put them to death. On these 
grounds, and not from personal dislike to Mara, they 
privately presented a large quantity of ammunition 
to Seru, who went by night to beg their assistance. 

Commemorative of his success, Seru received 
three names. The king's party styled him Cikinovu^ 



64 THAKOMBA U. 

" the Centipede," as it was considered by them that 
he had successfally imitated the movements of that 
creature, which crawls about, vrith apparent indiffer- 
ence, until secure of its prey, when it strikes in its 
teeth, and bites very severely. The defeated faction 
called him Gakohau, pronounced Tha^kom-'haUy literally 
"Ban is bad," referring to the distinction attending 
his coup'd*Stat, By this name he is generally known. 
The Ban chiefs generally denominated him the " Bi," 
a name given to any enclosure of water in which turtles 
are kept for the chiefs. It was in this instance an 
allusion to the number of human beings which were 
kOled to supply his unnatural appetite. Songs were 
composed in his praise, of which the following are 
specimens : — 

I. 

The gods of Baa are angry in their hearts : 

They confer at the Drekeiselesele : 

Cakobau strolls about as though careless. 

His plot is deep under the ground. 

They consult, and talk, and are silent. 

Komainayalecaou has done wrong, 

He has not killed Loaloadravu. 

Cakobau is repairing a canoe, 

He is re-lashing the Tui-na-yau, 

A raft to carry the Vunivalu's plot ; 

Its flags hang in ornament. 

Their conspiracy is agreed to at Lasakau ; 

The chiefs of the fishermen offer to fight ; 

Butako-i-yalu is supplied with kava; 

The prayer, " Let Oaucau die." 

II. 

Early in the morning the Bauans crowd together. 
To assemble in the DulukoYuya, 
And Kamosimalua speaks : — 
« The fishermen are of one mind. 



MEMORIAL 80NQ, 65 

Cakobau and TutekoYuya ; 

And they two tear asunder the land." 

Then roars the sound of the flames ; 

The doves flj away to the sea ; 

Congregating at Eubuna, 

The women bend their heads : 

Then he from the Ua says, 

" Here's the end of the first plot.' 



f» 



III. 

The head-dresses were spread, but not sewn ; 

The disturbers in Vuya are alarmed ; 

I spoke and spoke, and then said, 

" What treachery is there at Vuya ? 

Ton two persons are the originators." 

They fight, they strangle, they murder ; 

The ladies are swimming away, 

8wim and reach the town of Namara ; 

The club is uplifted that they may murder 

each other ; 
And Tuivunidawa (Caucau) is slain : 
Those who escape gain refuge in Na-mata. 

IV. 

Very early in the morning I hear a report, 

" The town of Waicoka is deserted." 

Saumaki then makes the exclamation, 

" The chiefs do tabu love." 

I cry, and weep, and am tired : 

I go and become composed at Vatoa. 

Qio comes along here, 

His plot is intricate and very branchy. 

And Ealovo resident at Tokatoka, 

He comes to abide with us. 

Qio is now in unknown water, 

Goes to Na-mata to get fast aground. 

V. 

Barly in the morning the Bewa chiefs crowd 
together ; 

7 



6S THAKOMBA U. 

They cause the flints to strike fire and explode, 

Its smoke ascends visibly. 

The Tai Kaba are divided into two parties ; 

The town. of Na-mata is besieged, 

The Verata army kills some, 

The town is attacked all day until night ; 

They are beaten off, they flee in confusion. 

The most powerful calls out aloud, 

" There sits Bau — it floats empty : 

There is only one who is its possessor : 

It is reduced beyond re-exaltation. 

Compose and chant the song of victory ; 

For the sun sets at noon-day."* 



* An intimation that Maia'a power waned prematuiefy. 





CHAPTER V. 



$xfjf^ aiitr §arKne98< 







p2 



CHAPTER V. 






LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

Arrival of Missionaries — Admittanee to Bau refused — Cb»- 
gress of Chiefs — Namosimalua professes Cliristianity — 
U.S. Exploring Expedition — War and Treachery. 

"^^ « S)^ MIDST these scenes of warfare and cruelty, 
|g % the great event which had been so eagerly 
^^^^ desired by the late Mara took place. 
^ /OV ^^® Christians of Great Britain sent 

missionaries to Fiji, to bring over its blood-thirsty 
population to a knowledge of that God who is the 
author of peace and lover of concord. Two worthy 
men, the Rev. David Cargill, M.A., a gentleman of 
education and considerable ability, and the Rev. 
William Cross, his good colleague, had arrived in 
the islands, as the vanguard of an invading mission- 
ary army, whose weapons, not carnal, were prayer 
and pains. These noble pioneers each felt that two 
points of attack on the strongholds of Satan would 
be preferable to one. Some may talk now of "the 
dangers of solitude," and of the necessity of " pre- 
serving our men ; " but so did not our veteran fathers. 
Had they not counted the cost, and were they un- 



?0 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

willing to pay the reckoning? To accomplish the 
end of their mission, they must separate. For our 
four- score inhabited islands are scattered wide, whilst 
Eastern and Western Fiji are also geographically 
distinct groups. Besides, the object of dread in 
Eastern Fiji was the principal western power. Ban ; 
and to neglect it was most impolitic. The last rem- 
nant of civilization was, therefore, cheerfnUy aban- 
doned; and these two men of faith surrendered 
the comforts of educated society, that they might 
effectually do the work to which God had called 
them. 

Bau being, with regard to rank and influence, at 
the head of the whole group, it was Mr. Crosses 
intention to commence a mission there, if possible ; 
but an interview with the young Seru convinced 
him that such a step would, for the present, be im- 
prudent. Ban was just recovering from the shock 
of a seven years' civil war, and the young chief was 
going on with the work of destruction when Mr. 
Cross arrived. In answer to his request for per- 
mission to take up his residence with him, he said, 
" It will be most agreeable to me, if you think well ; 
but I will not hide it from you, that I am now 
engaged in war, and cannot attend to your instruc- 
tions, or even assure you of safety." As there was 
no prospect either of security or success at Bau, Mr. 
Cross turned his attention to Hewa, the second place 
in Fiji in rank and influence.* 

Respecting this event the Rev. D. Cargill says : 
" The day on which that missionary visited the metro- 
polis of Tanoa's dominions, the bodies of two of the 

* Hunt's Memoirs of Cross. 



MISSIONARY'S ARRIVAL, 71 

rebels constituted a repast on which the cannibal con- 
querors glutted their ferocious appetites; and other 
two were being baked in native ovens, to furnish them 
with the materials of another gratification to their 
hyaena-like propensities. At the time of this visit, 
Tanoa had undertaken a voyage to a neighbouring 
island. His son Seru, though not the nominal king, 
had nevertheless the principal management of the 
affairs of Bau. After an interview with this high- 
spirited chief, and after making actual survey on the 
spot, Mr. Cross prudently resolved not to attempt the 
establishment of a mission at that place, until the 
political excitement and civil commotion had ceased 
to distract the attention, and inflame the minds, of 
the chiefs and people. 

" This was a wise decision. To commence mission- 
ary operations at Bau at such a critical juncture, when 
the attention and time of all parties were monopolized 
by revenge, war, and cannibalism, would have been 
detrimental to the prosperity of the Fiji mission, and 
hazardous to Mr. Cross and family." * 

The political crisis, however, was over ; whilst the 
action of the Rev. W. Cross was found subsequently 
to have given great offence to Thakombau. Yet the 
missionary's error was one of ignorance. Had he 
been longer in the country, and known the full pur- 
port of the chiefs reply, he would doubtless have 
taken up his residence at Bau. The permission which 
was granted to dwell in the city was, for Bau, a won- 
derful condescension ; and, be it remembered, that it 
was not renewed for fifteen years afterwards ! And 
even then, when license was once more accorded, 

* Memoirs of Mrs. CargUl, by her liusbaud. 



72 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

there was no promise to "attend to" instruction; 
and no assurance, indeed, of " safety," for the enemy 
was in the ascendant. Here we see the importance 
of prayer that missionaries in new countries may be 
Divinely directed, especially in their first movements. 
Grenerally a visit of inspection, for observation, and 
report, and discussion at head-quarters, is desirable, 
previous to the missionary occupation of a new 
country. 

" In the month of September, the king of Bewa 
presented thirty-nine, canoes to Tanoa, and attended 
a meeting convened by him for the consolidation of 
peace. As the meeting gives some idea of the manner 
in which such kind of business is transacted, an 
account of it, from Mr. Crosses papers, may be inter- 
esting. The following were the principal chiefs who 
constituted the meeting : — Tanoa, the ruling king of 
Ban ; Roko Tui Bau, the titled king ; Tuiveikoso, an 
elder brother of Tanoa, whom the rebels had made 
king while Tanoa was in exile ; Roko Tui Dreketi, 
the king of Rewa ; Namosimalua, chief of Viwa ; 
Tuiveikau, the principal chief of Namara, one of the 
leading free-towns of Bau, called * hatV Tanoa. was 
fully restored to his dignity when this meeting was 
convened. There was, however, a great deal of un- 
certainty as to the object of the meeting. Some 
thought it was the intention of Tanoa to punish those 
of the rebels who were still alive, among whom 
Namosimalua was considered the principal. The pre- 
parations, as is usual on such occasions, were on a 
large scale, consisting of baked pigs, yams, dalo, and 
yaqona. Roko Tui Bau opened the business of the 
day by presenting three whale's-teeth to Tanoa, as a 



CONFERENCE OF CHIEFS, 73 

peace-offering, assuring him that he knew nothing of 
the designs of his enemies, and entreated that he and 
his people might live. Tanoa received his offering, 
and sent him five whale's-teeth as a proof of his 
good- will ; after which he addressed Roko Tui Ban as 
follows : — * You and I are friends. Don't you know ? 
You know I have been driven from my land ; but my 
anger is now over, and my enemies are punished. 
They are dead ; but as to myself, I am not as a man, 
but as a god. Hence, though I have been driven 
hither and thither alone. I am now at home again. I 
wish we may now live in peace. You be kind to me, 
and I will be kind to you ; but remember, if any do 
ill, I shall have them killed.' Tui Dreketi then 
rose, and presented one whale's- tooth as an offering. 
He said, 'I present this that this meeting may be 
truly for the establishment of peace, and that we may 
cease to do evil. If Bau be at peace, we shall all be 
at peace, and all will be well : if Bau be at war, we 
shall be at war, and all will be ill.' 

" Tuiveikoso then addressed Tanoa. He said, * I 
only am one with you. You and I are two. I knew 
not the design of your enemies. They brought your 
title to mo ; but I desired it not, nor did I take any 
part against you : therefore be gracious to me, that I 
may live.' Tanoa rose and kissed him, and they 
wept together. Tanoa said to him, * Fear not. What 
should I do to you ? You can no longer do anything ; 
nor will I do anything to harm you. You are not as 
I am. I am yet strong, and able to go to other lands : 
you can do nothing. You are like a large pig, which 
has grown too fat to walk about : all you can do is, 
to sit, and sleep, and wake, and choose your food.' 



74 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

They both, laughed heartily, and sat down. Tuivei- 
koso is an old man, very corpulent, and lame in his 
feet. Part of the assembly then drank yaqona to- 
gether, and Namosimalna retired. While they were 
drinking yaqona, an inquiry was made respecting the 
person who was the originator of the late rebellion. 
All declared they did not know. Tanoa then said, 

* No ; the man who was the cause of it has retired : 
no doubt he has gone to contrive something else that 
is evil : we will adjourn the meeting till to-morrow, 
and then have him tried.* The person referred to 
was Namosimalua. Accordingly the next day he was 
brought before the assembly, and charged with having 
been the originator of the late rebellion: this he 
denied. He was then charged with having engaged 
to kill Tanoa. This he acknowledged, and stated that 
the rebels gave him six whale's-teeth, and a niece of 
Tanoa for his wife, as an inducement to accomplish 
this object. Tanoa, addressing Namosimalua, said, 

* Then you engaged to kill me for six whale's-teeth 
and a woman.' He answered, *Yes, sir.* Tanoa 
said, *That is good. I Hke you for speaking the 
truth : I wish to know it. You shall not die, though 
you have done evil to me.* Tuiveikau then ad- 
dressed Namosimalua, charging him with the whole 
of the late troubles ; adding, ' If the king wiU allow 
us, we will kill you at once.* A tumult ensued, 
which was put a stop to by the king of Rewa, who 
addressed the assembly in a conciliatory speech, and 
the meeting broke up. 

"All were astonished that Namosimalua was 
spared, as all considered him the worst of the rebels. 
They, however, only knew a part of the truth, or they 



SECOND Ml SSI OKA RT A TTEMPT. ^h 

would have been less surprised at the clemency 
shown him by Tanoa. The fact of the case was, 
that Namosimalna joined the rebels in appearance, 
and at the same time did what he could to preserve 
the life of the king, instead of killing him according 
to his engagement. By so doing, he secured the 
favour of both parties, which was all he desired. "* 

In Tanoa's exercise of clemency towards Namosi- 
malua Seru had no sympathy. He remembered, 
with strong feeling, that this man had constantly 
recommended the conspirators to kill him ; and he 
inwardly resolved to be revenged on his adversary as 
soon as it was practicable. 

Eighteen months having elapsed, a second attempt 
was made to plant a mission at Bau. The mis> 
sionaries were now seven in number; and at their 
Annual Meeting in July, 1839, it was determined that 
Mr. Gross should remove to Bau as soon as possible, 
and again perform the arduous work of pioneer, for 
which he was particularly adapted. This would have 
been a more difficult task than any he had yet under- 
taken. Tanoawas aware of this; and, being afraid to 
receive a missionary at present, because nis son and 
others were opposed to it, he attempted to frighten 
Mr. Cross by placing before him the difficulty of the 
undertaking. He observed, with much truth, " The 
island is small, the people foolish. I fear they will 
take your property from you. Water and fire-wood 
are difficult to obtain," — there being neither on the 
island. He might have added food too ; everything, 
except a little water to wash in, having to bo brought 
from the Large Land, more than a mile from Bau. Mr. 

* Hunt's Konoirs of Cross. 



76 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

Cross's answer was cbaracteristic. He said, " The 
smallness of the island, tlie distance of food and 
water, are not difficulties to me : as for the people, I do 
not fear them. I fear no one but God ; and if you 
will only give your consent, I will be in Bau in three 
days." The king was now obliged to speak out, and 
absolutely refused to have a missionary. But though 
Mr. Cross was courageous and even daring, he was 
judicious, and seldom offended a heathen. Ho did 
not expect much from them, and consequently was 
seldom disappointed or dissatisfied with the treatment 
he received : he never trifled with them. 

Being prevented from commencing a mission- 
station at Bau, he turned his attention to Yiwa, 
until the way should be opened to the metropolis. 
Yiwa is a small island about three miles in circum- 
ference, and at a distance of two from Bau. Though 
small, it has almost every variety of hill and dale in 
miniature. It is nearly covered with bread-fruit 
trees, and ivi, a kind of chestnut, the bloom of which 
has an odour so like a violet that the island some- 
times has the delicious fragrance of that flower. 

Mr. Cross's circumstances were now compara- 
tively comfortable. He was among his own spiritual 
children, who loved him, and who gladly listened to 
his ministry. Thakombau was, however, much op- 
posed to Christianity, and persuaded his uncle, who 
had abandoned heathenism while residing at Yiwa, to 
apostatize; and, as a proof of it, to dismiss the 
native teacher who had accompanied him to Bau. 
The teacher was unwilhng to go away, expressing his 
readiness " not only to suffer, but to die for the Lord 
Jesus." Mr. Cross faithftiUy reproved Thakombau 



OPPOSITION. ^7 

for Ms vices ; and plainly set before him the conse- 
quences of continuing a heathen, and an opposer of 
the truth. He declared, however, that he would 
always oppose it, and that none of his family should 
ever be Christians if he could prevent it. * 

The missionaries, however, frequently visited Bau, 
and Tanoa often promised to build a mission-house ; 
but Thakombau would not allow it. The king 
always yielded the point to his son, who was strangely 
delighted with the opportunity of revenging himself 
on the missionary body for the action of Mr. Cross 
at their first interview. But not on this account 
only did the young chief object : he had begun to 
comprehend the aim of the missionaries, and he 
opposed himself to the religion of love and peace. 
Hereafter we shall see him persecuting the church 
of Christ, and meditating the utter extermination 
of Christianity. Indeed on one occasion he said, 
" When you have grown dalo on yon bare rock, then 
will I become a Christian, and not before." 

Yet ^ther to annoy the Christian missionaries, 
Thakombau required Namosimalua, who had pro- 
fessed the new religion of love, to continue, in spite 
of his strong objections, as one of his active generals 
in the field. After many threats, Kamosimalua was 
induced to conduct an army to Mucuata, to punish 
the people of that kingdom for insults they had 
offered to the chiefs of Bau. He laid siege to 
Mucuata; but the inhabitants held out eight days. 
As they had no water in the fortification, they were 
reduced to the greatest distress. A messenger was 
then sent to Kamosimalua, begging him to have com- 

* Hunt's Memoin of Cxow. 



78 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

passion on them, and spare their lives, promising in 
the names of the chiefs and people to be subject to 
Ban. The poor man nrged his petition with the 
greatest vehemency and importunity, stating that 
they were famishing for want of water. Namosi- 
malua remembered the, word which says, ** If thine 
enemy hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink," 
and immediately ordered them to bring their vessels 
and fill them with water, though he had not yet 
accepted their conditions of peace. This had a most 
extraordinary effect. The people declared it was a 
new thing in Fiji, and were willing to come to any 
terms with their merciftd conqueror. But the chief 
of Ban was indignant at such a way of conducting a 
war. Namosimalua had returned without killing a 
single man. '* Nothing," said Thakombau, ''but the 
entire destruction of Mucuata will satisfy me. Why 
did you spare them ? I regard not their offers of 
peace ; yea^ I hate them. I am very angry because 
they live." 

He then requested Namosimalua to assist him in 
another fight : but, as the latter could, without any 
breach of Fijian loyalty, decline to visit that parti- 
cular seat of war, he refused ; and, to court favour 
with the missionaries, assigned as a reason that he 
feared God. Seru, in retaliation, exclaimed, " Won- 
derful is the new religion, is it not? But will it 
prevail ? Will it prevent our having men to eat ? 
Not it !" 

The visit of the United States' discovery-ships to 
Fiji furnished Thakombau with an opportunity of 
partially gratifying the natural curiosity of a rising 
young chief. Captain (now Admiral) Wilkes, of the 



WILKES'S VISIT. 79 

f 

" Trent" notoriety, says : " On the 19tli, Sera, the son 

of Tanoa, arrived from Ban, for the purpose of visiting 
me. I immediately sent him and his suite an invitation 
to meet me at the observatory on the following day, 
with which he complied. Seru is extremely good- 
looking, being tall, well made, and athletic. He 
exhibits much intelligence both in his expression of 
countenance and manners. His features and figure 
resemble those of a European, and he is graceful and 
easy in his carriage. The instruments at the obser- 
vatory excited his wonder and curiosity. He, in 
common with the other natives, believed that they 
were intended for the purpose of looking at the Great 
Spirit, and in consequence paid them the greatest 
respect and reverence. This opinion saved us much 
trouble; for they did not presume to approach the 
instruments ; and although some of them were always 
to be found without the boundary which had been 
traced to Hmit their approach, they never intruded 
within it. They always behaved civilly, and said 
they only came to aara^sara (* look on'). 

" I afterwards took Seru on board the * Vincennos ;' 
where, as his £%ther had recommended, I gave him 
plenty of good advice, to which he seemed to pay 
great attention. I had been told that he would 
probably exhibit hauteur and an arrogant bearing ; 
but he manifested nothing of the kind. He appeared 
rather, as I had been told by his father I would fiend 
him, * young and frisky.* He was received with 
the same attentions that had been paid to his fiither. 
The firing of the guns seemed to take his fancy much, 
and he was desirous that I should gratify him by 
continuing to fire them longer; but I was not in- 



80 LIGHT Am) DARKNESS. 

clined to make tlie Honours paid to him greater than 
those rendered to his father, knowing how observant 
they are of all forms. The whole party, himself in- 
cluded, showed more pleasure, and were much more 
liberal in their exclamations of ^VinaJca ! vinakaT 
(' Good ! good ! ') and * Whoo ! ' using them more ener- 
getically, than the king's party, as might naturally be 
expected from a younger set of natives. Seru is quite 
ingenious : he took the musket given to him to pieces 
as quickly, and used it with as much adroitness, as if 
he had been a gunsmith. His priest was with him, 
and the party all appeared greatly delighted with the 
ship. On the whole, I was much pleased with him 
during his visit. Shortly afterwards he, however, 
visited the ship during my absence, and displayed a 
very different bearing, so much so as to require to be 
checked. I learned a circumstance which would 
serve to prove that the reputation he bears is pretty 
well founded. He on one occasion sent word to one of 
the islands, (Koro, I believe,) for the chief to have a 
quantity of cocoa-nut oil ready for him by a certain 
time. Towards the expiration of the specified in- 
terval, Seru went to the island, and found it was not 
ready. The old chief of the island pleaded the im- 
possibility of compliance, from want of time ; and pro- 
mised to have it ready as soon as possible. Seru 
told him he was a great liar ; and, without frirther 
words, struck him on the head, and killed him on the 
spot. This is only one of many instances of the 
exercise of arbitrary power over their vassals." * 

Before Captain Wilkes left the group, he found 
that no rank exempts the Fijian from the disposition 

* Wilkes's Naxxfttive of United States' Exploring Expedition. 



WALNUL 81 

to steal. "Before I left Levnka," says he, "Sern, 
Tanoa's eldest son, paid as another visit, and brought 
some hogs and other provisions, as a present. On this 
occasion, his conduct towards Mr. Yanderford was 
not what it should have been; for he appropriated 
some of that officer's property to himself. I regret I 
did not learn this until some time afterwards, for I 
had no opportunity of speaking to Seru again ; but I 
sent him word that his conduct was not approved of, 
. and he must ^ot take such a Hberty again." 

In the year 1840 a war commenced on the island 
) of Taviuni between Somosomo, the metropolis of the 

^ Gakaudrovi kingdom, and Yuna, one of its subject 

towns. Ban carried out its usual policy of weakening 
rival kingdoms, and took the part of Yuna. It so 
happened that Thakombau's elder brother, Wai-niu, 
was ambitious to make himself sovereign of Bau; 
and, knowing the ill-feeling at Somosomo, fled there 
in virtue of its being the place to which his mother 
belonged. Eijians have two homes, — the home of 
their father, and the home of their mother. The latter 
is frequently their city of reftige. They are vasus to 
their mother's friends; an office which gives them 
the power to take what they please from their 
maternal relations. Wai-niu was thus vasu to the 
wealthy Somosomo. The king readily assisted him 
with means and men in his schemes against Bau. 
Through the influence of the property received from 
Somosomo, "Wai-niu induced a considerable party of 
the allies of Bau on Great Fiji, within twenty miles 
of the city, to espouse his cause. Among these, 
the principal was a powerftil town called Namena. 
Private messengers were sent to Yiwa from this 

Qt 



82 LIGHT AND DARKNESS, 

place to engage Yarani and Namosimalaa on tlie 
side of the rebels. Yarani received the messengers 
with kindness, and promised them his support, 
stating that all the people of Yiwa were of the 
same mind. He immediately communicated what 
he had done to Seru, and assured him that by 
this means he should place the Namena people at 
his entire disposal. Thakombau had attempted in 
vain to subdue the inhabitants of Namena, and 
was of course exceedingly glad that Yarani had 
undertaken to effect the object in another way. He 
sent Yarani a large present, promised him one of 
his daughters for a wife, and said, " My house and its 
riches are yours ; only effect the destruction of the 
people of Namena.'* 

Yarani, thus encouraged, began to think of the 
means by which his object should be accomplished. 
He endeavoured to make Namosimalua and the 
Yiwans dissatisfied with the authorities of Bau, 

But the missionary Cross's influence neutralised 
Yarani*s exertions, and the Yiwans refiised to declare 
war against Bau. Thakombau's accomplice was, how- 
ever, indefatigable. He circulated reports of plots 
that had been discovered against Namosimalua's life ; 
declared that the Bau people had collected yams to be 
eaten as soon as some Yiwa flesh was secured for 
meat ; and contributed to give rise to a rumour which 
reached Kamosimalua's ear, and pained his heart, to 
the effect that a young chief had committed adultery 
with Yatea, his wife, during her late absence at Bau. 
Namosimalua could hesitate no longer; and, as the 
war appeared to be strictly defensive, the Christians 
joined their townspeople in fortifying the town. 



THE NAMENA MASSACRE, 83 

Yarani sent for 9,ssistance from Namena ; and twelve 
canoes, with one hnndred and fortj able warriors, 
were sent to aid Viwa. 

The poor Macoi people were in the net, and the 
two chief conspirators formed the plan of secnring 
them as quickly as possible. It was arranged that 
the Ban chief should invade Viwa with a large force, 
which was to be divided into three companies. The 
strongest, with the chief at its head, was to land at a 
part of the island most distant from the town, and 
the others to be posted so as to cut off those who 
might attempt to escape. Thakombau then attacked 
Yiwa in accordance with previous arrangement. 
Varani had stationed the Viwa people by themselves ; 
and, as soon as the invading army approached, he 
divulged the secret. " Fire blank cartridge," said he, 
" at the Bau people ; but, as soon as they are suffici- 
ently near, admit them into the town, and join them 
in killing the Namena people." Varani was a popular 
leader ; but his stratagem received no applause this 
time. When the chief made his brief speech, a gene- 
ral murmur arose from the warriors. It was a new 
sort of treachery, and one which their late contact 
with Christianity rendered them trnfit to appreciate 
as formerly. But it was too late to murmur; and 
the Viwans, with sad hearts, admitted the Bauans, 
and joined them in the wholesale murder of their too- 
confiding guests. 

Seru had made a similar communication to the 
main body of his army, warning them not to kill any 
Viwans, nor to touch anything belonging to the 
missionary. During the firing, some of the Bau 
people pretended to be shot, and the news was imme- 

a 2 



84 LIGHT AND DARKNES8. 

diately taken to the town that an enemy bad fallen ; 
the Macoi people, who were to die in a few moments, 
clapped their hands and rattled their spears for joy. 
The drum was beaten to indicate success on the Viwan 
aide, and all was joy in the town, when Yarani and 
bis party rushed in with the Bauans close afker them, 
and fell on their Burprieed victims like so many 
wolves. In the space of a few minutes about one 
bundred of them were massacred. Their bodies were 
taken to Bau, and afberwards cooked and eaten. 

On the tidings of the catastrophe at Viwa reach- 
ing Namena, eighty women were strangled, to accom- 
pany the fallen warriors to the land of spirits. 

Two men who were unfortunately taken alive in 
this engagement at Viwa were removed from thence 
to £[aba to be killed. Seru told his brother Eaivalita 
tbe manner in which he intended them to be killed ; 
who said, in reply, " That will be very cruel," and that, 
if he would allow them to live, be would give him a 
canoe. Seru answered, " Keep your canoe : I want to 
eat men. ' ' Baivalita then lefb the town, that be might 
not witness tbe horrid sight. Tbe following cruel 
deed was then perpetrated: — Tbe men doomed to 
death were ordered to dig a bole in tbe earth for tbe 
purpose of making a native oven, and were required 
to cut fire- wood to roast their own bodies. They were 
then directed to go and wash, and afterwards to make 
a cup of tbe banana-leaf, which, from opening a vein 
in each person, was soon filled with blood. This 
blood was drunk in the presence of tbe sufferers by 
the £[aba people. Seru then bad their arms and legs 
cut off, cooked, and eaten, some of which were pre- 
sented to them. Seru then ordered a fish-hook to be 



VISIT OF REV. JOHN WATERHOUSE, 85 

put into their tongues, which were drawn out as far 
as possible, and then cut off: these were roasted and 
eaten, while they tauntingly said, "We are eating 
your tongues." As life was not extinct, an incision 
was made in the side, and the bowels taken out; 
which soon terminated their sufferings in this world.* 

Seru was visited about this time by the General 
Superintendent of Wesleyan Missions, the late Bicv. 
John Waterhouse, who says, (17th June, 1841,) "We 
had great difficulty in getting to the canoe, the tide 
being out, the wind strong, and much rain noaking it 
unpleasant wading through the mud: we were almost 
broiled by the vertical rays of the sun. Our canoe 
soon reached Bau; when we went to the house of 
Tanoa, to whom all Fiji pays respect. He is, in a 
certain sense. Prince of Kings, a venerable old man. 
His house surpasses, in magnitude and grandeur, 
anything I have seen in these seas. It is one hundred 
and thirty feet long, and forty-two feet wide, with 
massive columns in the centre, and strong, curious 
workmanship in every part. Tanoa received us very 
graciously ; and on my offering a present, he clapped 
hands, which was the highest mark of respect, and 
an acknowledgment that he was in the presence of a 
greater chief than himself. If the people had clapped 
hands at his instance, that would have shown respect; 
but doing it himself showed the greatest. He beck- 
oned me to sit on the mat by him. About a hundred 
persons were in the room with him. He put his 
hands frequently on my thigh, and various parts of 
my body, giving a smile of approbation. I told him 
it was my great wish that a missionary should live on 

* Missionary Notices. 



86 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

liis land at Baa, and teacli the people. He replied, * It 
is very good.' I said, * WiU you build him a house ? ' 
He said, * I am building that part of the city which 
was burnt down ; but it is in my mind to bmld you a 
house.' His principal wife, an interesting woman, 
expressed a wish that a missionary would go and live 
an^ong them. Having urged them to renounce Pa- 
ganism, embrace Christianity, and strive to enter the 
kingdom of heaven, we bade them farewell. 

" We then called on Seru, his son, whose life is 
characterized by war, cruelty, and bloodshed. He 
has thirty or forty wives : the principal one sat by 
him, while he was sleeping on his mat. On being 
iroused fix)m his slumber, he gave me with lordly 
indifference his hand, the savage being depicted in 
every feature of his countenance. Having told him 
what lands I had visited, and our object in visiting 
them, I added, * When will your wars cease in Fiji ? * 
He replied, * We will fight till we die ; we will teach 
our children to fight, and our children's children 
shall fight.' I said, ' It is a pity in so good a land 
for your people to be destroyed.' He answered, * It 
will be very good for them all to be dead.' While 
We were there, we were told they were going to eat a 
man, and that his body was in the oven. Our natives 
were sent to inquire more particularly into this mat- 
ter, and found it even so ; and that another man, who 
had been killed, was sent as a present to another town 
to be eaten. 

** After a war at Verata, Seru had the children of 
the slaughtered taken to Ban, and fastened to trees, 
that his own children might kiH them with the bow 
and arrow, and thus learn to be warriors ; it being the 



REV. JOHN WATERH0U8E. 87 

custom of Fiji to train their children for war in this 
way. 

" I asked Seru if he would let Mr. Cross live with 
them. He said : * Mr. Cross, you hate me : I would 
have let you come here, but you would not.* As he 
seemed disposed to talk of nothing but war, we left 
him." 

Thus did this wicked chieftain boldly accuse a 
self-denying missionary of hating him! He hated 
the man of God ; and, doubtless^ intended to embroil 
Mr. Cross with the General Superintendent, whom 
the Fijian chief would suppose to be a spiritual 
despot. Mr. Cross had, it must be remembered, been 
entreating the Bauan chief for more than three years 
to allow him to reside at Bau. The explanation of 
Seru's conduct may be given in few words : — " The 
carnal mind is enmity against God." 

A notice of the late Mr. Waterhouse may not be 
unacceptable to those who knew him in England. It 
is from the pen of the Rev. Thomas Williams, his 
fellow-passenger, now favourably known to the pubhc 
as the author of " Fiji and the Fijians." 

" He was on the list of those who suffered severely 
on shipboard, but with much patience. When able to 
leave his berth, he would go the round of those occu- 
pied by his brethren and their wives, to inquire, as he 
used to say, 'after his family,* and cheer them with 
the tones of sympathy and consolation. It was quite 
a treat to him, if, in rough weather, he could surprise 
the ladies by appearing among them the bearer of a 
dish of nicely-cooked potatoes, or enticing glasses of 
jam ; and no one ignorant of what they suffered can 



,-H . 



88 \ LIGHT AND DABKNESS. 

concjeiv© how welcome Ms timely kindness and benign 
emile were. Tkej shed light on the heart when all 
around was gloom ; they inspifed confideno© in the 
female bosom when the noise of raging elements 
tempted it to despair. At this &ay his companions 
recall those scenes, and bless his memory. 

" To his young brethren Mr. Waterhouse acted with 
paternal kindness. He bore with our foibles wonder- 
fully ; was a kind arbitrator in our discussions ; and 
set us an unvarying example of true liberaHty. He 
invited us to supply our want of experience from his 
own rich stores, and facilitated our endeavours so to 
do by reading us papers on Gonnexional subjects, and 
illustrating them with facts that had come under his 
own observation. His remarks on our sermons were 
ever made with great tenderness, and with so evident 
an aim at our improvement, that it became a privi- 
lege rather than a task to preach before him. He 
might perceive his own strength more clearly when 
brought in such close contact with our weakness ; but 
his nature was too noble to allow of his displaying it 
otherwise than for our help. I think all on board 
the 'Triton' felt as certain he was their friend, as 
that he was their superior. 

"Mr. Waterhouse* s wish to make his annual visits 
to the several districts under his care seasons of 
happiness to his Mends was so obvious, that the 
most obtuse remarked it. Naturally social, fond of 
conversation, and abounding in incident and senti- 
ment to sustain it, he hailed with joy the intervals 
which occurred between hours devoted to public 
business, as fit opportunities to unbend himself, and 
administer to the happiness of all around him. The 



9' 



4- 



REV. JOHN WATERHOUSK 89 

assurance that he lay on the bpsom of friends inspired 
confidence, and he allowed the tide of social feeling 
to flow unrestrained. Many deemed hinn unguarded 
on this point, and some phlegmatic men think griev- 
ously of those times. Perhaps it would have been 
well had he been more cautious than he was, for the 
' sake of others rather than for himself. But that 
. must be a cold heart which, with the motives by 
which he was actuated before it, can be severe in 
■■ censuring him. His principle was right, if he erred in 
its application. I have heard him speak on this topic 
more than once ; and once, when alone with him, he 
said to me, * I may not appear sufficiently grave ; but 
really the thought that I am visiting those who are 
shut out from the world, and the sweets of society, 
leads me to fchrow as much cheerfulness ebround me 
as I can. Doubtless you have enough of its reverses 
tmost of the year.' 

** When engaged in business, Mr.Waterhouse could 
oe serious enough ; but when financial or other secular 
business dragged, I have seen him effect, by an oppor- 
tune pleasantry, what too many at such times attempt 
l^ ill humour. 

' *' TTi> ministrations among us were always looked 
foiward to with pleasure, and attended with profit. 
At the table of the Lord, the prayer-meeting, and the 
claas, we participated with him in the communion of 
saints, and rejoiced together in God our Saviour. 

^ How laborious Mr. Waterhouse was in dis- 
charring the duties of his high office is known to all. 
He did his own work : absolute necessity alone forced 
him t^ resort to proxy. He saw the people on our 
stations with his own eyes, spoke to them with his 



1 



90 LIGHT AND DARKNESS. 

own tongue, and cheerfidly clasped their black bands 
in bis. He tbougbt for them, prayed for them, and 
felt for them as a father. Their salyation was what 
he intensely desired. The missionaries felt that 
when they were not successftil, be mourned over 
the painful fact with them ; and they felt that the 
joys of their success were his also. I never beard a 
whisper of his neglecting any duty. He was instant 
in season and out of season, seeking by the use of all 
right means to be useful. 

" Amongst the natives he was very popular. He 
often during a day would go where they were, attended 
by some one to speak for him or alone ; and, after 
preparing the way by inquiries about what they 
might be employed in, would preach to them Christ 
Jesus and Him crucified. 

" The interest with which he observed the process 
in native manufactures, native costume, and native 
customs, always pleased the people. Many recollect 
his strolling to the native kitchens, gratifying the 
cooks by tasting of their dishes and pronouncing 
them ^vinaka^ ('good*). 

" Some of the heathen call to mind his visiting 
alone their houses, and endeavouring to speak wifch 
them by signs. His one wife and ten children were 
made known by digital representatives, and their 
respective ages by pointing to the persons of those 
around him. By the help of a few little words he 
had picked up, he would recommend to them the 
' loini ;' whilst his often kind conduct on such occa- 
sions, left an impression that there was real excel- 
lency in the religion which had such an advocate. 

"Only a few days ago (1849), I overheard a 



REV. JOHN WATERHOUSE, 91 

diristian telling some of his companions of the time 
when he first saw Mr. Waterhouse, of his taking him 
by the hand, and hearing from his lips the native 
salutation, ^ Scdoloma^ ('Love'). It was a verdant 
spot in that poor Fijian's history, and I doubt not it 
often yields him recollections the most joyftd. 

" Sometimes he would go forth equipped with a 
native Hymn-Book, aud on finding a group of Chris- 
tians would induce them to sing, leading them him- 
self. Often, when his compagnon de voyage, have I 
helped him to sing, as we rowed up a river or visited 
the native villages. The plan is a good one, and in 
perfect keeping with Polynesian usage. 

" He was always happy in proposing measures for 
securing the health and happiness of mission families. 
He used to urge attention to this particular upon 
us all, although we all thought he was not sufficiently 
careful of his own health, and often prodigal of his 
strength. The truth is now too plain to be denied, — 
he was overwrought; he was expected to do more 
than a mortal could. He strained every nerve to do 
treble duty, and fell a sacrifice in the attempt. The 
vast reward of his excessive toils he is now reaping ; 
and their good effect is still being felt in this world, 
and will continue to be for coming ages." 




•V>''~*^~^ 




CHAPTER VI. 



^aliiktiaus of <(rnt%. 




CHAPTER VI 






HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

New Canoe — Military Stores — Massacre — Bra/very of TJia- 
kombau — Treacherous Retaliation — Qitarrel mith the 
Whites — Mev, Joh/n Sunt — Conversion of Varani — Plot 
of Baivalita — His Death — War voith Rewa — DestruC' 
tion of the Town — Persecuting Visit to Viwa — Deliver' 
ance of the Christians — The Natema War — Gavidi — 
Marriage Ceremony, 

v^^^^l'^ANOA being mfinn, Hs ambitious son Tha- 
kombau now usurped the chief authority, 
allowing the old man to retain the name 
and dignity, whilst he himself exercised the 
power, of Vunivalu, and secretly directed the actions 
of his father in all important business. "With crafty 
policy, he claimed all popular measures and renowned 
deeds as his own, while the opposite were artfully 
imputed to the parent chiefbain. 

About this time there was witnessed a sad illus- 
tration of Thakombau's steady adherence to the cruel 
customs of his country. When the Rev. Messrs. 
Hunt and Lyth were stationed at Somosomo, a new 
war-canoe was built for presentation to the Bauan 




it 



96 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

Vunivalu. When her keel was laid, some people 
were killed. When she was launched, it was proposed 
to murder some others; but the missionaries inter- 
fered and prevented it. It was also intended to de- 
stroy one person or more wherever she touched on her 
first sailing excursion; but this also was hindered. 
The missionaries rejoiced in seeing her go to Bau a 
bloodless bark, and hoped she would remain so ; but 
the chiefs of Bau were not so filling to give up 
their horrid practices as some of less rank. Soon 
after her arrival at the city, "preparations were 
made,'* says an eye-witness, "for lowering the Ba 
Ma/rouma^s mast, for the first time since it had been 
stepped in the place where it was built. Thakombau 
inquired if there had been any human sacrifices made 
to ensure and propitiate the god for the success, 
smart sailing, and durability of the canoe. They 
said, that during the seven years she was building, 
several people had been killed and eaten on the spot, 
but that no late sacrifices had been made. He said, 
he wondered at Lala ko Lovoni's scrupulousness in 
not hauling the canoe over the bodies of slaves as 
rollers ; but said that he did not wonder much, when 
he came to consider that he had been living under 
the influence of the English missionaries. 

'^In lowering the mast, the heel slipped, and 
caught one man and killed him, and two were slightly 
wounded; which accident Thakombau immediately 
attributed to the wrath of the gods, and despatched 
Gavidi off in secrecy for a canoe-load of victims. 
Ten dead bodies were then being cooked on shore in 
ovens opposite * JJhi ni Vuaka^* the name of a receiv- 
ing-house for visitors. It is a long house, with a 



WAR-STORES. 97 

square in front, situated in the middle of Bau. The 
ten dead bodies had been killed by Guvidi that morn- 
ing ; but, on account of the accident, Thakomban 
said there had not been sufficient sacrifices. Gavidi 
soon returned with eleven corpses of persons whom 
he had fallen in with in a canoe and killed them all ; 
making, in all, twenty-one human sacrifices.'* * 

Thakombau's great occupation was war. He 
never thought of buying clothing or stores fi^om the 
merchant-vessels. Cannon, muskets, balls, powder, 
and lead, with spirituous liquors, were the articles 
for which he inquired. He kept a large quantity of 
ammunition ; sometimes having in stock, it is said, a 
thousai^d kegs of powder. 

One who visited him about this time reports as 
follows : — " Thakombau having asked me to cast him 
a thousand balls of lead for his muskets, I agreed, and 
went to his house, where I was surprised to see 
upwards of twenty chests of different sorts, with a 
good many China trunks, forty or fifty pigs of lead, 
and upwards of two hundred kegs of powder. I 
asked where he got all these things from. He said 
he considered himself very badly off*, and wished some 
beche-de-mer vessels would soon come, so that he 
could make up his standing quantity of powder; 
which, he said, was six hundred kegs, with pigs of 
load in proportion. He also said he had five thou- 
sand muskets, but that he had distributed them all 
but a few amongst his people. He then gave me a 
bunch of keys, and told me to unlock the ehests, and 
I would find everything requisite for running the 
bullets. I found three or four large bullet-moulds, 

* Jackson's Namitiye in Erskme's " Islands of the Western Pacific." 

H 



98 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

all of American manu&ctnre, of brass, to nm a dozen 
balls at a time, together with pots, ladles, and every- 
thing else. I soon completed my task, and gave him 
great satisfaction. He asked me to stop in Ban with 
him, his father and brothers, and consider it my home; 
adding, that I conld go to almost any part of the 
Fijis I thought proper, and yet be nnder his pro- 
tection; and by-and-bye, when a vessel came, he 
should buy a cask of rum, and we should drink it 
together. He appeared to me at first to be a very 
good fellow, and, in fact, he was so to me ; but I was 
not long of discovering him to be a great tyrant to 
his people."* 

One night he started on a secret expedition, ac- 
companied by a chosen body of Bauans. At the ap- 
pearance of the morning star, the armed party had 
arrived before the town which their leader had named 
during their journey as the object of his vengeance. 
The warriors silently surrounded the slumbering 
town. At cock-crow the signal of attack was given, 
and the sleeping sentinels were quietly hurried into 
another world. The town was entered, and a fear^l 
slaughter ensued. The men awoke only to die. The 
women and children were taken captives, and the 
expedition returned laden with human flesh and 
prisoners. By this bloody deed, Thakombau covered 
himself with glory. 

At this period he doubtless was the most courage- 
ous and daring of his nation. One night, when laying 
siege to a town, he approached the fence, and en- 
deavoured to climb over it. But he was discovered, 
and compelled to fall back. In the morning there 

* JadkBon'g KanatiT« in EnJdne. 



JUMJB MA ONANIMITT. 99 

was no small siir amongst the besieged to see the 
footprints of the assailing party. What was their 
astonishment to find that their nocturnal visitor was 
the solitary chief himself! 

Bat there is one redeeming episode in Tha- 
komban's savage history, which, on account of its 
rarity, it is delightful to record. On one occasion 
his forces were compelled to beat a hurried retreat. 
The chief himself brought up the rear. His people 
fled in the usual disorder. By some accident one 
of the enemy succeeded in placing himself be- 
tween the beaten host and their leader. He lifted 
up his dub, and came on to kill the chief. Thakom- 
bau had fortunately retained his spear, and he 
hurled it with all his force against the approaching 
foe. The enemy, pierced and disabled, was in a 
moment at the mercy of the chief whose life he had 
so rudely threatened. He contrived to place him- 
self in a posture of humility, and to sue for life by a 
respectful clapping of the hands. Few Fijian chiefs 
so circumstanced would have been compassionate ; 
for it is tahu for a common man to lift a club against 
a noble, even in war. But Thakombau exercised 
clemency, and won golden opinions amongst his 
enemies. 

Yet no murder was too horrid to secure his 
sanction, or, if needs be, his personal assistance. 
Nine Kavula people had been killed by the Moturiki 
tribe, and the injured clan appealed to Thakombau 
through his friend Varani for " payment." By pay- 
ment is meant an equitable retaUation ; that is to say, 
life for life, and, in the case of a chief, chief for chief ; 
when they will kill as many as they can, until a chief 

H 2 



100 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

of equal rank to the slain is secured. Two whale's- 
teeth were presented to Thakombau as an equivalent, 
and he started, in company with Varani, to take pay- 
ment. His errand, however, was unknown to his 
followers. On their arrival at Moturiki, Thakombau 
ordered the different towns to come before him and 
pile yams. Every town sent a given number of its 
male inhabitants to the place of assembly. Each in- 
dividual brought one or two yams, to lay at the feet 
of the chief as they passed in review. Just before the 
commencement of the meeting, Thakombau told one 
of his orderlies that they had some work to perform 
that day ; that he wished to kill some of the people, 
and would "look up," as a signal, when the town 
passed before him which he would devote to destruc- 
tion. The attendant gave the hint to his comrades. 
The fatal hour arrived. The prince, surrounded by 
the Yiwa chiefs and some of their attendants, sat 
down to receive the tribute of the assembled towns. 
A party of Bauans remained in a body at a short 
distance, apparently as spectators. The procession 
passed in single file between this body of Bauans and 
the chiefs party. As it was drawing to a close, the 
prince gave the life-destroying " lookup ;" his hounds 
of war impetuously rushed on those who were passing 
at the moment, and nineteen able men were struck 
dead on the spot. The people were then ordered to 
take the yams on board, whilst the Bauans dragged 
the bodies to the canoes. The two vessels then 
returned in triumph to Bau. 

In the course of his wars Thakombau declared 
publicly that he was annoyed by the white man 
Pickering, who, forgetting his colour, took information 



PICKERING, 101 

to the chiefs foes, and became an active agent of the 
enemy during the war between Ban and Rewa. 
Pickering's schooner was wrecked at the Windward 
Islands, and a party was despatched by the prince to 
capture him ; but some of the white residents at 
Ovalau, hearing of the circumstances, preceded the 
Ban cruiser, and carried him oflf. It was said after- 
wards that these white men had driven a hard 
bargain with Pickering, stipulating for a high reward 
for his passage away, and thus saving his Ufe, which 
would certainly have been forfeited. Be that as it 
may, Thakombau, indignant at missing his revenge, 
ordered the whole settlement, whom he considered as 
leagued against him, to quit Ovalau. This he did in 
spite of the Rev. Mr. Hunt's intercessions. Three 
days' notice to quit was given ; and the whites were 
compelled to embark, in a very crowded state, on 
board the few boats that were fortunately at anchor, 
leaving behind them the hull of a fine schooner of 
eighty tons, and some other property. Five years 
afterwards they were permitted to return, after having 
buried fifteen or sixteen of their number at their new 
station within the last thirteen months of their stay 
at Solevu. 

Pickering still sought to retaliate injury for 
injury on the Ban chief. He resided at Rewa, and 
frequently fought on the side of his friends. In the 
year 1834, Hartwell, the captain of a merchant-brig, 
was persuaded by him to offer a studied insult to 
Ban. The prince with a fleet of thirty canoes set 
sail to avenge himself. When the hostile fleet made 
its appearance at Ba, Pickering climbed to the mast- 
head of the '^Gambia." Thakombau, having punished 



102 EABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

Ms enemies by destroying all their canoes, went on 
board the vessel, and said to Pickering, "Yon have now 
no shield from a leaden bnllet : you only live by my 
clemency." Hart well apologized; Thakombau said 
he would trouble the traders no more, and the expe- 
dition set sail for Ban. 

On their return-voyage, some of the smaller craft 
espied an unfortunate canoe, which they immediately 
attacked. They succeeded in killing the nine men 
who were on board. The reason why this was done 
was, that they might not return empty to Ban. This 
was in accordance with the custom of the Fijians, 
who, when out on a war-excursion, kill all those who 
may unhappily cross their path. When an army is 
about to commence a march, it is usual to send 
messengers to the friendly towns in the way, that all 
may keep in their homes. In this instance some of 
Varani's people (to whom he was much attached) 
were slain, and he begged Thakombau to prevent 
the eating of the bodies, which were then only 
burnt. 

All this time the Rev. John Hunt, who has appro- 
priately been called ** the Apostle of Fiji," was en- 
deavouring to enlighten the mind of Thakombau 
and to convert him to Christianity. One day the 
following conversation ensued : — 

The Ohief, — " If I am the first to become a Chris- 
tian among my people, I shall be first in heaven, shall 
I not ? " 

The Missionary, — " K you love Grod the most, and 
serve Kim the best, you may have a higher place in 
heaven." 

The Ohiqf. — "But Namosimalua has become a 



CONVERSATION ON CHRISTIANITY, lOS 

Cliristian. Have you given him glass windows for his 
new house, and English carpets for his floors, and have 
you sent to England for a vessel for him ? He gets 
no riches because he has renounced heathenism." 

The Missiona/iry. — " We do not come here to give 
riches to those who become Christians, but to tell yon 
about God and Jesus Christ, that you may love Him, 
and your souls be saved." 

The Ohief, — " Then I will not become a Christian. 
What will become of the bodies of those who have 
been eaten, and of those who have been buried ? Will 
they rise again from the dead ? " 

The Missionary, — " Tour body, the bodies of all 
those whom you have eaten, and the bodies of all 
who are in the graves, wHl rise again at the day of 
judgment ; and if you and they have not repented, 
you will aU be condemned and cast into hell-fire." 

The Chief, — ** Ah, well ! it is a fine thing to have 
a fire in cold weather.*' 

The Missiona/ry, — " I shall still pray for you with 
a good mind, although you treat the subject so 
Hghtly." 

The Ohief, -^'^ Go on with that." 

But though the prince " being often reproved " 
hardened himself, his friend and companion, Yarani, 
chief of Viwa, yielded. The conversion of this chief 
was evidently a work of God. Mr. Hunt's interest- 
ing account of this notable event is as follows : — "He 
had long been convinced of the truth of Christianity, 
but was prevented fi*om making a public profession 
of it by his connexion with Seru, the chief of Bau. 
He has long acted as the human butcher of this 
young chief, who is the Napoleon of Fiji. Yarani 



PPW 



/ 

104 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

learned to read dnring the early part of the year ; 
and, what was of still more importance, he began to 
pray. Often would he retire into the woods to en- 
treat God to have mercy on his soul. He was, in 
fact, so fully convinced of his need of a Saviour, that 
the name of Jesus became very precious to him. If 
he found, in the course of his reading, a passage 
which referred to the love of Christ to sinners, he 
would kiss the book for joy and thankfulness. Varani 
would talk about nothing but reUgion, either to 
heathens or Christians. He was obliged to go to war; 
but it was exceedingly against his will. The Lord 
protected him in a remarkable manner. On one 
occasion he was ordered to attempt to set fire to a 
town, and had to approach very near to effect his 
purpose. He was perceived by the enemy, and a 
musket-ball passed close to his head. He immedi- 
ately fell on his knees to thank God for his deliverance, 
not merely from death, but from hell, which he feared 
much more than death, and which he frilly believed 
would be his portion, if he died without making a 
public profession of Christianity. He felt that pray- 
ing, while he still remained a heathen, would not do ; 
but that he must take up his cross, and follow Christ, 
a8 His professed disciple, before he could hope for 
salvation. This conviction induced him, at length, 
to inform the chief of Bau that he must become a 
Christian. The chief, as might be expected, endea- 
voured to dissuade him from taking such a step, at 
any rate, at present. This, however, only led Varajii 
to exhort the chief to join him. Seru, the chief, 
knowing the firmness of the man, said no more ; and 
thus gave an unwilling assent to what he evidently 



J 



CONVERSION OF VARANl. 105 

disapproyed. All that remained was to take the im- 
portant step \ which is always done, if the person is 
able, by bowing the knee in the house of God at a 
public service. Providence, even as to the time of 
taking this step, evidently interposed. I had pub- 
lished, on the Sunday before Grood Friday, that we 
should observe that day as a ' sacred day,' in honour 
of the death of our Saviour. Yarani heard of this, 
and determined that this should be the day of his 
decision. He came early in the morning to inquire 
when this day would return. I informed hiio, of 
course, not till another year. * Then,' said he, * 1*11 
become a Christian to-day.' A short time after, the 
bell rang for the morning prayer-meeting, which 
Varani attended, and at which he publicly, to the 
great joy of many, bowed before Jehovah's awM 
throne. 

" I observed that the time of his embracing Chris- 
tianity was evidently an interposition of Providence. 
Had he been an hour later, the Ban chiefs would have 
suspected him of having embraced Christianity be- 
cause he was angry, and the whole affair would have 
had a political aspect, which it was very desirable to 
avoid. As soon as he returned from the chapel, a 
messenger came from Ban to inform him, that 
Komaibole, a chief of Lasakau, had been shot during 
the previous night. This chief, a man of great rank, 
had long lived under the protection of Varani, his 
own people being opposed to him. Finding it im- 
possible to kill him while he remained at Yiwa, they 
pretended to be reconciled to him, in order to per- 
suade him to return to his own town. He went on a 
visit to them first, intending to remove his family 



106 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

• 

after a while, belieying, in part at least, their pro- 
fessions of friendship. One night he was invited to 
drink yaqpna with some other chie&, and, it is said, 
was warned not to go. He, however, determined to 
go, as he had been invited. He had taken his bowl 
of yaqono^ and was sitting down to smoke a Fijian 
cigar, when a person from without, employed by the 
4;hief who had invited him to his house, shot him in 
the breast. He fell at once, and his wicked host rose 
up with a hatchet-club to finish the murder. The 
father of the faUen chief, though an old man, rose up to 
intercede for his son ; but the monster pushed the poor 
old man away, and, having dispatched his son, turned 
round and killed the father. It was aU done in a few 
moments. They insulted the unfortunate chief by 
cutting his body with knives ; after which he and his 
father were buried. This was a most cruel a£Eair, 
and a great insult to Varani. If he had heard of it 
before he had embraced Christianity, probably it 
might have put him off for some time ; at any rate, it 
would have been the occasion of much misrepre- 
sentation and wrong feeling. It was very affecting 
to see the anxiety manifested by the wives of the 
murdered chief to be strangled. One of them came 
to Yarani, while I was in his house, begging him to 
dispatch her. She, however, was too late. They 
were all spared ; and are now all professing Christians, 
and some of them are meeting in class. Varani bore 
the painful event like a Christian, and has never 
mentioned it in my hearing in any way that indicates 
a desire to be revenged on his enemies.'' 

Thakombau was not, however, going to lose his 
friend, his greatest warrior, without a struggle. 



ANGER OF THAKOMBA U, 107 

When told that Yarani liad embraced Christianity, he 
asked in an angry tone, " Have yon seen him pray P " 
"Yes," was the reply. "Tell him, then, to go to his 
Ood for his food : he shall have none from my lands. 
He has not hearkened to my speech ! I told him to 
wait a Httle, and then we wonld become Christians 
together. Tell him to stay at Yiwa. He is not to 
come to Ban any more, or receive riches from me.*' 
When the message was delivered to Varani, he re- 
plied, "I do not want riches. I want to go to heaven 
more than to receive riches, and go to hell. The 
lands are the Lord's. If He sees fit, I shall not want 
food. If I am hnngry, it will be bnt a little time 
before I shall die, and go to heaven; and I shall 
never be hnng^ there." 

The next day the chief sent to demand the riches 
which Yarani had obtained by his conversion. " They 
belong to ns. Why have yon become a Christian P 
What have we done, that yon have become angry 
with ns, and left ns P " Yarani sent back the follow- 
ing answer: — **Ton well know that I receive no 
riches by becoming a Christian. Yon ask. Why have I 
become a Christian P My reply is, To save my sonl. 
It is not becanse I am angry with yon ; but I was 
afraid to wait longer, lest I should die and lose my 
soul. Some time ago you wished me to build a 
temple. I did as you wished. After the temple was 
built, my child died. I cut the posts for another 
temple ; and another child died ; my intimate friend 
was killed also. I then began to think that the gods 
of Fiji were Ijring gods, and thought I would see 
what the books said about the white man's God. 
The teachers sent to me, and told me about the true 



' ^ 



108 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

God. I believed that He would not lie. I did not 
dare to wait for you ; and now I have promised to 
serve Him." 

One of the king Tanoa's wives having embraced 
Christianity, " to give efficiency to the English medi- 
cine" she was then taking, was compelled by Tha- 
kombau to return to heathenism as soon as she 
was recovered. ** You are only a Christian to save 
your neck from strangHng when my father dies," was 
the remark of the chief when he ordered her to 
apostatize. 

On the occasion of an American ship coming to 
arrange with the chief for a cargo, he inquired 
whether the captain would persuade or influence the 
people to change their religion. "K so," said he, 
^' the Fijians shall not trade with you, and I will bum 
your shore-establishments." "Your religion," con- 
tinued he, " is well enough for the white races ; but 
we Fijians are better as we are." 

The prince soon found that while he was thinking 
of killing others, there were not wanting those who 
desired to effect his own death, and that his own 
position required attention; for his own brother 
BaivaUta had originated a conspiracy to take away 
his life. This restless spirit, a voau to Bewa, had 
secured the secrefcly-pledged support of several chiefe, 
and returned from Somosomo, where he had been 
staying to allay auy suspicion that might have been 
attracted to his movements to carry into execution 
the plot for killing the young king. Before Bai- 
valita arrived, some of the conspirators had made the 
prince acquaiuted with his treachery; which being 
surmised, he was warned by some of his companions^ 



DEATH OF RAIVALITA. 109 

who advised him not to land, bnt to take immediate 
flight. Yet he persisted in coming ashore ; and after 
paying his respects to the Yuniyalu, he directed his 
steps towards his own residence. 

The inhumanity of his father, the Vunivalu, in this 
interview is an apt illustration of Fijian life. The 
state councillor announced the presence of Eaivalita. 
"Whence has he come?" inquired the king. The 
son is questioned, and the councillor again reports to 
the Vunivalu. After a time, the son says, " I go, sir." 
The councillor communicates the son's wish to the 
^Either, and the parent makes the usual assent by a 
nod of his head, although he knows his son goes 
forth as a sheep to the slaughter. The father sat 
xmmoved all this time ; not a kiss, not a tear, not a 
sigh for a son whose living face he knew he should 
see no more. The son then made his exit, accom- 
panied by a foreigner, both being armed with a brace 
of loaded pistols. As they turned round a comer, 
two chie& seized the arms of Eaivalita, and made 
him their prisoner. The foreigner drew his pistol, 
intending to fire, but was commanded by a wave 
of the officer's hand to leave the place. He hastened 
to the king's palace weeping. " What is it ?" says 
the councillor, "They are killing Raivalita," was 
the reply of his friend. The king is informed in 
the usual deliberate manner. " Let some one go and 
see," is the mandate issued. The councillor rushes 
out, and the streets are silent as the grave ; for the 
people know a tragedy is at hand. Turning the 
point, he sees the helpless victim on the ground, 
whilst Thakombau and another brother are clubbing 
him. He is indignant — ^not at the fratricide, but that 



iVi •■*• ' m •<mw- • x^ »»•! ^t^ « I ■■■■iMM^^^^^^^^^^^iP^^^^a^Ww^^K;:^^^-^^^ -^9;^*- 



110 KABTTATIOm OF CRUELTY, 

the deed is being executed near one of the town^ 
ovens ; and he thunders forth, " Why do you not 
choose a more appropriate spot?" The murderers 
retreat. The councillor carries the wounded man 
to a short distance, calls for mats on which to lay 
him, and then strangles him in the usual form. 

His body was buried at night near Thakombau's 
house, where his enclosed grave still stands as a 
beacon to any who may hereafter conspire against 
the powers that be. One of his companions was 
strangled the same evening. That was indeed a day 
of terrors. As the prince, with fierce countenance 
and warhke gait, passed the houses, every one closed 
his doors and windows, conscious that blood would 
soon be shed in the streets. And during the execu- 
tion of the £Bital deed, the stillness of death reigned ; 
for the royal brothers were engaged in deadly combat, 
and who could foretell the result P 

Ten days afterwards, Thakombau urged the 
councillor to destroy a third object of his vengeance, 
who had been a party to the plot. The minister gave 
instant orders to secure their prey ; but the victim 
succeeded in leading his pursuers a long chase 
before he surrendered. When taken into the pre- 
sence of the councillor, he was reproved for making 
such a fuss about being strangled, when he well knew 
that he was guilty of treason. He was forthwith 
suffocated. 

Towards the close of the year (1845), the capital 
of Bewa was destroyed by the Bauans. The war 
with Bewa originated in a quarrel between Tha- 
kombau and Batu Qara, one of the Rewa king's sons. 
When playing together as boys, they would fre- 



ORIGIN OF THE REWA WAR, 111 

qnently boast of what they intended to do when men. 
One wonld say, "We will then fight." The other 
would reply, "And I will destroy yonr fortress.'* 
The first would rejoin, " And I shall eat you." 

Batu Qara, when on a visit to Bau during the 
absence of the prince, became improperly intimate 
with Thakombau's wife. The prince retaliated on his 
return, and, in fact, caused the death of Batu Qara's 
wife. Such reciprocity in the sins of married life is 
an established usage in this land of vice. Ever since 
this occurrence, these two chiefs hated one another 
with a most perfect abhorrence. 

Boko Tui Dreketi himself (the Bewa king) 
had given offence to the Bau Vunivalu, by allowing 
some of his chiefs to associate with some of Tanoa's 
harem, who had absconded from Bau to Bewa ; and 
also by refusing to pardon an offending brother when 
requested to do so by Tanoa. 

Bewa also insulted Bau by attacking and destroy- 
ing a Bau town, during a time of peace. Other 
afironts were offered; and, after enduring repeated 
outrages, Bau declared war against Bewa. 

The sting of the insult consisted in a state false- 
hood. After having destroyed Suva, and having 
killed about fifty of its inhabitants, the messenger 
was sent to report to Bau, to state that Bewa, having 
maintained its dignity, would now leave Suva unmo- 
lested. When the messenger returned, he was sur- 
prised to find that he had been hoaxed, as the chiefs 
were off to hunt up the ftigitives who were seeking 
refuge in the forests. The spot of the last massacre 
is still covered with bones. The origin of the first 
attack on Suva was the refosal to give up a pig to 



112 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

Bewa, which had shown a very unusual forbear- 
ance ; many of the chiefs, including some members 
of the royal family, being strongly inclined to remain 
friendly with their neighbours. 

Both powers sent forth their feudal armies ; but 
they never met one another in the field. The Bauans 
would besiege a town, and endeavour to carry it by 
assault, or gain admission by treachery. Bewa acted 
in the same manner. The war was thus conducted 
in a very tedious way. Cannibal feasts were held 
every week in both towns. But the Bauans gained 
many advantages. Bewa also was not united. One 
of its three princes joined Thakombau, placing at his 
disposal a fortified town situated very near to the 
city of Bewa. Kidnapping was now carried out on 
a large scale. ** The Bau ovens were never cold," as 
tke natives say. 

Through the propitious circumstance of Coka- 
nauto (Phillips) joining Thakombau, several districts 
turned to the assistance of Bau. The feudal armies 
of Bewa were thus brought for the first time to fight 
against their own king in support of the Bauan 
Vunivalu. With a prince of Bewa at their head, 
and a Bauan leader who was himself the son of a 
va»a to Bewa, it was now regarded as a venial offence 
to fraternise with the enemy. 

The Bewa missionary* frimished an account of 
the war in his published journals, from which the 
foUowiQg extracts are given as illustrations : — 

" The attacks have been principally made from the 
Ban party : the Bewa people have therefore been en- 
gaged in the defensive, and driving back their enemies. 

* The BeT. Thomas J. Jaggar. 



WHITE ALLIES, 113 

Towns on both sides bave been destroyed, and many 
persons have been killed. Latterly, there has not 
been any regular attack; but people are now and 
then taken by surprise, through parties forming am- 
buscades, and thus taking their enemies as in a net. 
They are continually going out on such errands ; and 
sometimes they kill and bring home their prey, whilst 
at other times they return unsuccessful. 

" Several white men have been joining the Fijians 
in their wars here ; which circumstance has caused a 
bad feeling, and has tended more closely to block up 
our way to and from many parts of the group. One 
young man has entered so fully into the spirit of the 
Eijians as to throw off his clothes, blacken his body 
all over, and with a strip of native cloth twisted 
round his waist, according to the native fashion, to 
go day after day with the natives to the fight. It is 
to be regretted that there is not some restraint put 
on such characters, which would prevent them from 
placing other white people in perilous circumstances 
through their impropriety and wickedness. 

''It ia rather remarkable that many of the priests 
of the Eewa party have been cut off in the war. 
They have, in their fits of inspiration, declared certain 
success ; and the people have, at their instance, gone 
cheerfully to the attack ; but the priests have fre- 
quently Mien victima. 

" January 13th. — Several of the allies of Bewa 
were cut off to-day. The night before, the god said 
to the people of a certain town, ' Come, let us go to 
such a town, and bring my dead men away from 
thence.' They went, and lay in ambush ; and while 
yet in their concealment the enemy found them, out, 

I 



114 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

and killed thirty of them. Among the number was 
the said priest who had the previous night promised 
them success. 

" 22d. — This day the chiefs and people of Bewa, 
and their dependencies, went to prepare a town by 
throwing up mounds and building fences ; when a 
kingdom of some importance, which had heretofore 
sided with, and in a certain way been subject to, 
B*ewa, rose up against them as an enemy. Seventeen 
men were killed, and the others put to flight. The 
whole was done by treachery ; and the murderers thus 
declared that they had turned to the Bau party, and 
become hostile to the Bewa district. Our party 
burnt their town to ashes, but were obliged speedily 
to retreat. They appeared greatly disconcerted. 
One of their chief priests was shot whilst swimming 
across the river, and, together with his musket, sank 
to rise no more. Poor fellow ! I knew him well : 
he called on me two days before his death, to talk 
about some fowls he wished to sell me. He in- 
formed me that his temple had been just prepared, 
and meat-offerings and drink-offerings, <fec., had 
been presented to the sacred edifice, for success in 
the war. 

" From what I can learn, a plot was laid for some 
of the Bewa chiefs to be killed on this occasion ; but, 
from some cause or other, it did not succeed, though 
many of the native carpenters were clubbed. The 
Bewa people seem very much scared by their friends 
having been killed, and the towns turning from them 
to Bau. 

"February 2d. — The dead body of a man was 
brought here. 



INCIDENTS OF THE WAR. 115 

" 8th. — Since the last date, several of the enemy 
have been devoured at Rewa. This evening the 
chiefs ordered a suspected chief to leave the town ; 
and, when the sun was down, he was stepping into a 
canoe, in order to return to his own town, when a 
man from behind him unexpectedly knocked his 
brains out by order of the chiefs. 

" 15th. — The enemy made a powerful attack 
this day on a town two or three miles distant. The 
discharge of musketry was great. The enemy burnt 
more than one town, drove the Rewa people before 
them, and approached near to us, so that we could 
see the smoke of their muskets when fired ; and had 
the day been long, they would have certainly made 
some havoc. The king and a select few were at the 
time drinking hava at the gate of our premises : they 
were, however, soon dispersed, and great conftision 
followed ; for there is nothing like order amongst 
them on such occasions. Some were killed of each 
party. 

" May 1st. — This evening, by moonlight, some of 
the enemy from Nukui entered a small town near 
Rewa, and whilst those who were watching therein, 
or rather pretending so to do, were busy preparing 
ashes to daub their heads, suddenly rushed upon 
them, killed six men, wounded two others, put the 
remainder to flight, and carried off the whole prey. 

" 8th. — Twelve of the Bewa party were killed and 
carried off. 

" 13th. — Two boys went to-day to catch eels : they 
were discovered by the enemy, clubbed, and carried 
away. A foraging party also this morning killed a 
man belonging to the enemy. 

I 2 



J 



116 HABITATIONS OF CBVBLTy, 

" 26feh. — The Bewa people, with their fishermen 
from some other towns, lay in ambush on the coast, 
and on some uninhabited islands near Nukui, to see 
if they could intercept any of the enemy who may be 
travelling by land or by water. It unfortunately 
happened that some canoes were returning to N^ukui 
from one of the enemy's towns on the coast, whither 
they went yesterday for the purpose of procuring 
bread-fruit, Ac. They were ignorant of the plans of 
their opponents, and were entrapped. One canoe 
which was captured passed between two islands on 
which the foe lay concealed^ so that they were in the 
loidst of it, and ignorant of it until the enemy shouted 
over them as conquered : it was then impossible for 
them to make their escape. There were one woman 
and four men in the canoe. One man jumped over- 
board, and escaped by swimming to a great distance \ 
the other three were caught : of these, the female and 
two men were clubbed, and the remaining man taken 
alive and bound. He was with some difficulty 
brought here ; for he was a strong, well-made young 
man, six feet high, and perhaps thirty years of age. 
When brought ashore, he was placed bound on the 
ground, and forced to chew dried 'komn for Eijians 
who wished to drink it. He was quite naked, having 
been stripped even of the little native cloth the 
natives wear round their waist. In this state he 
remained several hours, exposed to all kinds of 
malice and ill-treatment of the people, who are 
greatly exasperated on account of those lately cut off 
at a town near Bewa, and belonging thereto. Men, 
women, and children assembled in hundreds ; and no 
one hindered them from torturing him according to 



TORTXTRE OF A PRISONER. 117 

their brutality and revenge. He was trolj a lament- 
aUe spectacle to every one but the heathen, who 
seemed in a state of general rejoicing. The others 
who were killed when he was taken were laid out 
just before his eyes, to aggravate as much as possible 
his circumstances, and to keep him every minute in 
remembrance of what his fate would be. Some stoned 
him, others speared him, others struck or bit him, some 
pulled his hair, others fired arrows into his body. 
Some menaced, jeered, and laughed at him ; others 
derided him with an assurance of being set at liberty. 
One of our lotu people made his way among the 
heathen, and oiled the poor fellow all over : he said 
that he longed for them to put him quickly out of his 
torture, for he was sure that he would be killed, and 
the sooner they did it the better. He seemed to envy 
the speedy removal of the other three. In the after- 
noon he was brought in triumph, with the three dead 
bodies, to be presented, as trophies of success in the 
war, to the chiefs of Rewa, by those who killed them. 
The canoes passed before our premises, and landed 
across the river just opposite our little town. I saw 
the poor fellow, truly in his enemy's power, and in 
the most painfdl and unenviable situation. My heart 
bled for him, and I felt assured that God Almighty 
would signally visit for such things. He walked into 
the middle of the kore^ and was made to sit down in 
the open area, where the chiefs and people assembled. 
After remaining there a certain time, he was taken to 
the bank of the river and clubbed. 

" Among the many hundreds assembled together 
on this occasion, he alone seemed dejected, and he 
alone seemed to feel the awful situation in which he 



J 



118 BABITATI0N8 OF CRUELTY, 

was placed. The captain of a little schooner, which 
was here at the time, offered to give two muskets, to 
which some white men were willing to add four large 
whales'-teeth, (which are most valuable in Fiji, and 
for which individuals and towns are often destroyed,) 
to the king of Bewa, if he would spare the life of the 
poor man : he also promised, if they wished it, to 
take him away in his vessel out of the country. But 
they would not spare him, they would not yield; 
their revenge had not been satiated on their victim, 
and for his blood they clamoured, for his flesh they 
lusted. It was considered by them giving up their 
enemy at too easy a rate. ' Implacable, unmerdful.' 
Much as they love property, yet in this instance, 
when they were called upon to^make such a sacrifice, 
they would not look at it. 

" The king said, in reply to the request of the white 
men, that the man had been wounded in the head, 
and that he would die if they bought him ; and that 
such a thing as that would be bad, so that he had 
much better be clubbed. Some of the Rewa chiefs 
were very angry because any foreigners interfered 
with them so as to intercede for the life of their 
enemy ; and said that it was the practice of Fiji to 
kill and eat their foes when they could catch them. 
The king's reply was merely an excuse. 

" The dead body of the female was a very horrid 
spectacle. Her skull had been cleft in two equal 
parts. The man who was taken alive had been 
living with Thokanauto, the kiag of Rewa's youngest 
brother ; and, when residing at Bewa, was frequently 
at our house with his chief. The tender mercies of 
the wicked are cruel \ but this treatment, horrifying as 



INCIDEKT8 OF THE WAR, 119 

it is to XLS, is most lenient in comparison with the 
means which are nsed on some occasions to torture 
men. I was, however, mnch affected when I wit- 
nessed the poor creature's situation, without haying 
it in my power to help him out of it. The lotu people 
who are residing in our little town were also greatly- 
moved by the scene. All else seemed elated with 
glee; and every little occurrence which added to 
the misery of the victim added in a proportionate 
degree, or to a greater extent, to their savage hilarity 
and barbarous merriment. Some of the heathen, as 
they passed by, spake of the poor fellow as being a 
fine turtle and a &t pig. Do not think that all the 
horrid evils of Fiji have been told you. 

" June 1st. — This day a town belonging to Rewa, 
but which has turned to Bau in this war, was burnt 
by some of our alHes, and thirty-six persons of the 
enemy and of this party killed. They had, however, 
to retreat with all speed, and were only able to obtain 
the body of a child of three years old, which they 
brought to Rewa to be cooked and eaten. 

'*I would here just mention, that some canoes, 
which were returning from Kiindavoo to Bewa, a short 
time since, and who knew not that the king's youngest 
brother had been driven to Nukui, were unexpectedly 
attacked by a Bau canoe, which had come from Bau 
to Nukui, and nearly thirty individuals were shot, or 
clubbed, or speared to death. Some of the bodies 
sunk ; but most of them were carried to Bau. Men, 
women, and children lost their lives on this occasion. 
Some of the Bau party were wounded, and one or 
two killed. Two or three escaped by swimming. 
One man got free in rather a curious way. When the 



120 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

two canoes struck, the mast of that firom ELandaya 
fell, and the poor fellows were entangled in the sail, 
and thus clubbed. When they were all dead, as was 
supposed, the party who had conquered threw the 
sail into the water, and having taken what things 
they more particularly wanted from the canoe, x^er- 
mitted it to drifb away to sea ; thinking, perhaps, that 
they had better escape as soon as possible, as the 
shades of evening were gathering around them. One 
man, however, managed to conceal himself in the sail, 
and when it was thrown overboard floated away with 
it. Some of the enemy again wished the sail to be 
secured, others opposed it. He heard them talking 
about it ; and knew, if they again obtained tiie sail, he 
would be discovered and be killed. They did not, 
however, take the sail. He said that he was almost 
dead with fright, but that he prayed to his little god, 
and he saved him. When the enemy were out of 
sight, he swam to the canoe, which was afloat, 
although flUed with water. He then called out with 
all his strength to know if any of his friends were yet 
alive by swimming ; after some time had elapsed, he 
saw two men making towards the canoe. When they 
reached it, they commenced baling the water out of 
the canoe by taking off their native dress, and soak- 
ing up the water and then squeezing it out ; and 
thus in time she was flt to be propelled. They then 
got ashore, climbed some nut-trees, and made a sail 
from some of the leaves, and thus were able to reach 
Bengga, an island about twenty miles from B«wa, 
and were thus saved. It was some time after this 
happened before it was known that any were saved. 
I have conversed with this young man since his return 



TREACHERY, 121 

to Bewa ; and reoeived the aboYe-mentioned account 
fit)m his own lips." 

March, 1845, the missionaiywrites:— r"A week or 
two ago an attempt was made, or rather preparation 
made, to take the lives of the king of Bewa and his 
brother. But a friend of the two chiefs privately made 
them acquainted with i^e design, and warned them 
against appearing in a particular part of the town, as 
a certain young chief was determined to shoot them. 
So the plot failed, and the young man was soon 
ordered away from Bewa. About the same time two 
men had agreed to club Phillips, (the brother who 
had joined the side of the enemy,) instigated, it is 
said, to the perpetration of the deed by a stratagem 
of the king of Bewa. It was to be effected in the 
following way : — The Bewa people were to make an 
attack on Nukui, a town where Phillips resides. 
Then, when the enemy had reached the fence of the 
town, these two men were to set the town on fire 
from within, and kill Phillips. They lived with him, 
and to despatch him was to be their work. This 
scheme was also discovered, and the two men obliged 
to run. They first took shelter in a town belonging 
to Bewa, which has turned to Ban during the present 
war : Tanoa heard of it, and ordered the chief of the 
town to kill them. It was thus settled; but on the 
chiefs arrival at his town, he found that the men had 
already escaped to Bewa. This chief had gone to 
Ban to report proceedings ; for he has had much to 
do with the present war. The Fijians are so treach- 
erous in their character, that they cannot trust each 
other for any length of time ; and this is assisted and 
strengthened by equally dangerous jealousy and 



122 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

revenge. Thakomban, who is in &ct the ruling chief 
of Ban, is determined not to rest until he destroys 
B>ewa, in consequence of the insulting language re- 
peatedly spoken by the chiefs of B«wa against him 
and his partisans. 

" The Bewa party feel more of the effects of the 
war than their enemies, in consequence of so many 
of their allies having deserted them, and declared 
themselves in &>vour of Ban : so that not only are 
they now fighting against their former friends, but 
very much of the food which the BfCwa party had 
planted in their respective towns the Uewa people 
altogether lose ; and, in addition to this, their enemies 
are so near them, that very Httle food is left, for they 
on certain occasions go out for the express purpose 
of destroying all the food they can find, cutting down, 
pulling up, and burning every kind of food which 
grows. The Rewa party have done the same where 
they have had the opportunity. 

" One evening six large Lasakan canoes started 
from Bau on a man-hunting expedition. They got 
down some distance to the leeward of Bewa, and the 
next morning got in close to the shore, pulled down 
their sails, and poled their canoes quietly along, to 
avoid aU suspicion of being strangers. They saw a 
party out at the reef catching fish, belonging to a 
town which had not taken any part whatever in the 
war. When they had them within their power, they 
hoisted sail, and took the unsuspecting people pri- 
soners without any skirmish ; for they were without 
defence, and exposed to their foes. They took twenty- 
eight persons, men and women, alive, with two chil- 
dren ; the latter of whom they hung to the mast-head : 



LA8AKA VANS. 123 

the remainder were killed at Baa. Some of the poor 
creatures were flung on the red-hot stones which 
were to roast them while yet alive. One poor fellow 
thus served sat up, told the people his name, also 
the name of his town, and begged them to save him ; 
but they so disregarded his earnest and feeling appeal, 
as to take up a club and despatch him by dashing his 
brains out. 

" The Lasakau people are very blood-thirsty and 
cruel, and are much 'fecu^^d on that account : tiie 
circumstance of their having plenty of canoes at their 
command, enables them more effectually to carry 
their schemes into practice. During the time of our 
being at Bewa to remove the property, we were one 
afbemoon, at about three o'clock, suddenly alarmed 
by a very heavy fire of musketry, seemingly proceed- 
ing from the centre of Bewa town. We were soon 
at the riyer-side, where the firing was being carried on 
with great spirit, and without any abatement. We 
were soon relieved on hearing that it was not any 
disturbance among themselves, but that it was oc- 
casioned by the passing of a great number of Lasakau 
canoes in front of Bewa town, on their return from 
the leeward, where they had killed three men belong-^ 
ing to Bewa, whom they found fishing on the ree^ 
This bold step of the enemy caused great confusion 
at Bewa. The enemy did not commence firing, but 
were only passing by, without once intending to 
make an attack. The king of Bewa was just at the 
time leaving his residence in a canoe, to go on board 
the ' Triton', then lying at anchor off Nukulau. He 
saw these canoes coming down the river, and for 
some time supposed them to be some of his allies 



124 * HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

and friends ; but, on tlieir nearing him, lie discovered 
them to be actually his enemies. The king jumped 
into the water, and made his way, as fast as his bulk 
would allow him, into the house of a white man on 
the bank, and just at hand. The Bewa people first 
fired ; and it was then continued very briskly, for 
perhaps half-an-hour, on both sides. The balls were 
whizzing over our heads at a little distance from our 
premises. This was a bold attempt on the part of 
the Lasakau men.'' 

Thakombau's skill in treachery gained the day. 
A large body of Rewa's militia, consisting of the 
Tokatoka tribe, which had charge of the northern 
bank of the Bewa river, yielded to bribery, and un- 
expectedly turned thdr muskets against their own 
feudal lords. A narrow river was now the only 
separation between the Bauan army and the city of 
Bewa. But the powerful chief of Nakelo remained 
firm, and was on the spot to annoy any Bauan army 
that might advance towards the threatened city. 
The prince secretly made friends with a party in 
Bewa, who engaged to betray the town on the first 
attack of the enemy. To make assurance doubly 
sure, Thakombau promptly oflfered his sister to the 
^ord of Kakelo, if he would desert the cause of his 
masters. The brilliant offer was a/ccepted ; and before 
the desertion was publicly known the drum beat to 
arms, and the savage hosts fraternised, and rushed 
towards the devoted city. The town was fired by its 
betrayers, who also commenced the massacre of their 
own kinspeople. Besistance was useless. The flames 
spread swiftly, and the traitors were supposed to be 
much more numerous than they really were. lu this 



DESTRUCTION OF REWA. 125 

bloody tragedy Thakombau sadly disgraced Hmself, 
by allowing the king of Bewa to be killed after he 
had snrrendered his club to his conqueror. This 
indeed was a violation of the established custom of 
the country ; and, to make the crime worse, the king 
of Eewa was brother-in-law to Thakombau, who re- 
fused to yield to the eloquent pleading of his sister 
that he would, on her account, venture to spare the 
life of her vanquished husband, the £a.ther of her 
children. Thakombau and his brother themselves 
clubbed the king. From four to five hundred lost 
their lives on this occasion. 

The late Eev. John Hunt gives the following 
account of the destruction of Hewa: — *' Rewa has no 
existence. The king is killed, his fiimily is in capti- 
vity ; his brother, who remained loyal, in exile ; and 
the town utterly destroyed, and by this time ahnost 
grown over with weeds. The chie:^ Phillips, who 
joined Bau against his brother, is residing at Nukui, 
a small town not &.r from Kewa ; but it is not certain 
how the affairs of Bewa will be finally settled. 

'* The taking of Biewa was a naost perfect Fijian 
tragedy. Some time before the event occurred, a 
chief of considerable importance in Bewa had been 
sent to negotiate a peace with the chiefs of Bau. 
This was a fatal step. Instead of negotiating peace, 
the Bau chiefs engaged the messenger to enter into a 
plan for the destruction of Bewa. It was this : — ^The 
Bau chiefs were to besiege Bewa with a large army, 
and at a fixed time the Bewa chief above mentioned 
was to set fire to the town, and he and his party to 
join the besiegers in destroying the inhabitants. The 
plan was completely successful. The Bau chiefs. 



126 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

placed their men in different positions round the town, 
the leading chiefe, with Thakomban at their head, 
placing themselves directly opposite the king's house, 
that they might be able to save the queen of Bewa, 
who is a Bau princess of great rank. A Bau chief 
called to the queen to come over the river in a small 
canoe to her friends, and to bring her children and 
Bau domestics with her. She immediately obeyed 
the summons ; and her husband, the king of Bewa, 
seeing her going, followed her to the river-side. No 
one knew for certainty what would be done, and all 
appeared to act on the impulse of the moment. One 
ran this way, and another that ; and, it beinjg early in 
the morning, many were asleep in their beds. The 
Bau chie& seeing the king of Bewa step into th^ 
canoe in which his family were embarked, called to 
him, to forbid him coming over. * Stay in your town,' 
said one, ' and make your town strong, that we may 
continue the contest.' The king said, ' No, I will 
accompany my &mily: you may do as you please 
with me.' Some one fired a musket at him as he 
was passing over the river ; but the ball missed him : 
another speared him as he was leaving the small canoe 
to get in the large one where the chiefs were stand- 
ing. Thakombau then ordered a Bau chief, called his 
brother, to kill him : but he re^ed, saying he was 
afraid. The king pleaded hard for life, and offered 
to do anything as its purchase: his requests were 
urged by the queen ; but to no purpose. Thakombau 
told him that his words had been so wicked against 
Bau, that he must die ; and, taking a club with the 
head of an axe made &st to the end of it, he clave his 
skull into several parts in the presence of his wife 



THE MA88A CRK 127 

and children. The town was by this time in flames, 
the warriors were all in it, and the work of destruction 
was going on at a fearftil rate. Three hundred were 
massacred in a very short time, and it is said one 
hundred of them were killed by the Rewa people 
themselves. Even some who had not previously 
joined the enemy, now became the murderers of their 
neighbours, through the hope of gaining their pro- 
perty, though they themselves would perhaps be 
plundered of their dishonest gains and murdered by 
some stronger neighbour the next minute. The king's 
brother and many other chiefs made their escape, as 
well as a great many of the male population. Several 
of the chiefs have been killed since, and it is not 
certain what has to follow before the thirst for blood 
is satiated. The king and his family were taken to 
Bau in the same canoe in which he was killed. The 
queen and her children have been residing at Yiwa 
lately, on account of her son, who is indisposed, and 
under my care. She appears to be treated with the 
respect due to her rank ; in which she has, I believe, 
no superior in Fiji. She was, before her troubles, 
one of the best-looking women in the group; she 
was much beloved by her husband, and has a very 
interesting family. The king was hmed of course, 
and a great many others who could not be eaten 
while eatable. It was with difficulty that anyone 
could recognise his relation, their bodies were so dis- 
figured with the hatchets and clubs of the furious 
and wanton warriors." 

The conqueror now resolved to punish Varani and 
the Viwa people for having embraced Christianity. 
With more than a hundred warriors he arrived at 



128 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY, 

Viwa, ftilly resolved to satisfy bis revenge on his old 
foe Namosixnalua, and to put a stop to the spread of 
Christianity. To a few poor Christians at Ovalau he 
had already sent a message, telling them that Viwa 
was to be destroyed, and that they must go to the 
doomed place and share its punishment. 

On arrival, the chief went to the house of the 
Biov. John Hunt, and sent a court-messenger for 
Namosimalua, who inmiediately obeyed the dreaded 
summons, entering the house, with submissive respect, 
on his hands and knees. '' As he crossed the room, the 
king said, * Split his head with an axe ! ' Just then 
Mr. Hunt's voice was heard, saying, £^ if all were 
well, *iSia hlomay sakai* (My love to you, sir!*) 
This made a diversion, and saved the Yiwan's head. 
Thakombau then declared that he had come to exe- 
cute his threats. Mr. Hunt begged him to ac^'oum 
to the stone house; and there the missionaries 
pleaded with him, for a long while, to be merciful. 

" The Christian natives were very firm. Two of 
them, meeting near the mission-house, shook hands 
warmly, and with a cheerM smile exclaimed, ^Heaven 
is very near ! ' They even prepared food to set before 
their enemies. They retired to the bush, their usual 
place for prayer ; and many a voice was heard there 
in exulting praise, and many praying for the salvation 
of their persecutors. 

*^ The heathens said^ ' O, if you missionaries would 
go away I It is your presence that prevents us killing 
them. K you would go away, you would not have 
reached Moturiki,' (an island close by,) 'before all 
these Viwa people would be in the ovens ! ' 

*' While the consultation was going on in the 



DELIVERANCE OF THE CHRISTIANS. 129 

stone house, Lydia Yatea, the converted Yiwan qneen, 
entered, and on her knees, with many tears, besought 
her kinsman Thakombau to join the lotu which he 
threatened to destroy. She told him how happy the 
religion of Jesus made her, and how it fortified her 
against all fear of death. The great chief wondered 
'at this strange religion, which enabled its disoiplea 
to be so happy in prospect of the ovens. 

'* All that day, the returning warriors, armed with 
clubs and muskets, were arriving in Yiwa, until the 
place was filled and surrounded with the forces of 
Ban, against whom the Christians were powerless. 
But they showed no wish to resist. They were Qod's 
people, and He, in whom they trusted, cared for them. 
In proportion as the heathens grew in number, so 
they seemed to waver in purpose, until they said, * We 
came to kill these people, and we cannot lift a hand.' 
Towards night they withdrew quietly, acknowledging 
that the Christians' Qod was too strong for them. As 
they passed through the bush to their canoes, many 
of the converted Yiwans, whom they had come to 
destroy, accompanied them, carrying for them the 
clubs which had been brought for the expected 
slaughter.** ♦ 

A son of Namosimalua threw off his profession of 
Christianity, and became a heathen again, at the 
instance of Thakombau, who gave him one hundred 
fathoms of native calico as an inducement. His first 
act afterwards was to steal a pig to present to his god. 

The great event of the next year was the Natewa 
war. In anticipation of this, the late Bev. John 

* Bowe'8 Life of John Hunt. 



130 HABITATIONS OF CMVFILTT. 

Hunt wrote as follows : — " It appears certain that tlie 
chiefs of Bau enoonrage the Natewa people to rebel 
against their chiefs, and are, in fact, using them to 
pay some of their old debts to the Somosomo chiefs. 
When they think they have done enough, they will 
go to Natewa with a large force, and pretend to con- 
quer it, and Somosomo will have to pay the price, 
and bow its neck a little more willingly to the yoke 
of Bau. Fijian politics are as mysterious as the 
black art itself, and indeed bear some resemblance to 
it : there is so much of the devil in all their move- 
ments, that he may well be called ' the god of ilm 
world.' It is almost impossible to know what their 
intentions are, especially with the Bau chiefe : only 
one thing is plain, namely, that they will, if possible, 
have the whole group under subjection to them." 

The war was undertaken by Thakombau with a 
view to conquer some provinces that had revolted from 
his allies and tributaries, the chiefs of Somosomo. An 
eye-witness, the Bev. Thomas Williams, shall give 
its history :— 

" The Somosomo people have long been wait- 
ing for the promised assistance from Bau against 
their enemies. About the I2th of June, the chief 
received certain intelHgence of the near approach of 
his Mends and allies, and the following preparations 
were made for them. Five of the best temples were 
first built, and then five strangers' houses were added 
to them, and several other large houses are to be 
vacated for their use. Thirty-eight thousand yams, 
besides large quantities of arrow-root, are inter- 
spersed among the buildings, and many thousands 
more of yams are in store for their use. Sixty large 



PUEPARATIOm FOR WAR, 131 

inrtles are secured, and fishers are continnaQy adding 
to them. On the opposite land, manj pigs are in 
reserve. 

" About forty huge bales of native cloth, and hun- 
dreds of head-dresses, are ready to excite the strangers 
to deeds of valonr, also a completely-equipped new 
canoe, a lot of hiva brought from Babi in five canoes, 
which, when piled, formed a wall thirty-five feet long 
and seven high. 

" June 12th. — It was reported that all the warriors 
had assembled at Yuna. On the 13th Tuikilakila, 
with forty of his chief men, joined the Ban party at 
Vuna to perform the ceremony, when the chiefs were 
presented with one large bale of native calico, forty 
dresses, and fifty large whales'-teeth. The Vuna 
people prepared food, danced, and presented a quan- 
tity of native cloth that excited the surprise of the 
# receivers. On Monday Thakombau arrived at the 
chief town with a fleet of sixty-six large double 
canoes, and sixteen single ones. 

'* The canoes had scarcely reached the shore, when 
a succession of shouts firom behind the settlement 
announced the arrival of hundreds who came inland 
from Yuna. The Lasakau people burned several 
towns on their way, and some natives were killed at 
the lowering of the masts of some of the Bau canoes. 
When the Bau chiefs had landed, the ceremony of 
swimming to the canoes was performed, when they 
received about one hundred dresses, twenty whales'- 
teeth, and a quantiiy of baked yams, taro, and pigs. 
On Monday night, the inhabitants of Somosomo, with 
those of many other towns, were employed in pre- 
paring food. On Tuesday two hundred people were 

k2 



132 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

emplojed till noon in piling food. The warriors 
passed tiieir time in shouting and in blacking them- 
selves. 

"The accnmnlated labours of l^e cooks were 
seen in the shape of one large heap of ground taro 
puddings, four heaps of baked taro, and yams covered 
with arrow-root puddings, and turtles. Seventy tur- 
tles were placed by themselves in another heap. 
These hills of food were flanked on the left with 
a wall of hwa^ thiriy-flve feet long and seven high. 
On the right was a fence cff xmcooked yams, number- 
ing thirty-eight thousand. 

" After the food was set in order, a large bale of 
cloth was brought and placed opposite, leaving a space 
of two hundred yards between. This was followed 
by twenty others laid side by side, which elicited 
from the warriors a shout truly deafening. After a 
space, a Somosomo chief came to the fence with a 
train of native printed calico, sixty yards in length. 
A stout man had brought a marked dress thus far 
for him, and then assisted in placing it upon his 
shoulders. After being thus equipped, the lad 
marched manftdly across the open space to the place 
where the Bau chiefs sat, when he tossed off his 
dress, and marched back again amid the shouts of 
the multitude. He repeated this ceremony five times, 
leaving a dress each time. After this the warriors 
retired to form themselves into a procession, which 
entered the western avenue to the arena. Two young 
chiefs, sons of Tuikilakila, came running from the 
town by different ways, raising their &ns on high, 
and kicking up a great dust with their trains of sixty 
yards in length* They were followed by their fiither. 



THE PARADE, 133 

whose train meastired one hundred fathoms. His 
sqnire came behind him, bearing an immense dress ; 
and was followed by two hundred men, each bearing 
a dress hanging in immense folds. Two men came 
next, with bamboos on their shoulders, from which 
were suspended four large dresses hanging in bunches. 
These were followed by one hundred men bearing 
bales of cloth, who took their seats on and about the 
cloth, and were joined by one hundred and fifty men, 
all bearing cloth. The sons of Tuikilakila com- 
menced running again, shortening their distance, 
however, each time as the procession of warriors 
approached the arena by the easterly entrance. They 
came in the following order : — 

'* Thakombau and Tuikilakila, bearing beautiful spears 

and clubs. 

One hundred men bearing spears and clubs. 

Five with two muskets each. 

Ten with one musket each. 

Five with one musket each. 

Ten with two muskets each. 

Sixty-eight with one musket each. 

Six with two muskets each. 
Fifty-one with one musket each. 

Two with two muskets each. 

Thirteen with one musket each. 

Two with two muskets each. 

Sixty with one musket each. 

Twenty carpenters with American axes. 

Sixty men with dubs and spears. 

One man with bow and arrow. 

Twenty-eight with muskets. 

Sixty with spears and arrows. 

One bearing bows and a large bundle of arrows. 

Thirty with clubs, spears, and hatchets. 

Sixty-one with muskets. 



^^m^m^m^^^m^^m j i jm^ twm > i jju i 



134 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

Forty with clubs, spears, and hatchets. 

Twenty with muskets. 

One hundred with clubs, spears, and battle-axes. 

Eighty-five with muskets. 

Twenty with spears and clubs. 

Six with two muskets each. 

Twenty-one with muskets. 

One old man with a large bundle of spears closed 

the procession. 

•* The warriors of Ban formed a line four deep in 
front of the provisions, the mnsket-bearers forming 
the right, and the club and spear men the left wings. 
These had scarcely formed in order, when our ears 
were saluted with the most frightful yells, with clank- 
ing of arms and axes. On looking in the direction 
from whence the sounds proceeded, might be observed 
a large company of the common fighting-men, who, 
after shaking their spears awhile, rushed en masse 
into the open space, some through it, and others over 
the fence. After these had run, capered, and shouted 
till they were tired, they retired to the sea-side, behind 
the Bau chiefs, waving a white banner whereon were 
painted several marvellous figures. The enormous 
bales of calico were then removed, and the shout- 
ing again commenced. TuikOakila took a hundred 
whales'-teeth upon his shoulders, (he is almost a 
giant in size, and quite one in strength,) and, ap- 
proaching Thakombau, stooped and made a speech. 
When he had finished, he arose and returned to his 
place, bearing the teeth with him. Thakombau then 
commenced the public challenge of the enemy, and 
was followed by many of the chiefs, singly, then by 
companies of eight and ten each. As the respect- 
ability of the company decreased, the numbers in- 



■•"^^^'•^■^''^•^^'•i^»«^F^^i'''^»i^rv"Tiw^'^^"'^*^'^""^^T^^^^^ 



ATTACK ON THE NATEWANS. 135 

creased ; all endeayourizig by their gestiires and 
words to evince their valour. A Ban chief mow took 
the whales'-teeth from Tnikilakila, and other Ban men 
took about twenty bundles of spears, and laid them 
at the feet of Thakombau. Several ceremonies con- 
nected with welcoming the Bau warriors to Somo- 
somo were then performed ; aft^r which the multitude 
dispersed with yells, and shouts, and firing of 
muskets. Thakombau is accompanied by one Tubou, 
a Tonga chief, and his tribe. It is said that the army 
of Thakombau numbers about three thousand, in- 
cluding the Tonguese. A new temple has been built 
to propitiate the god who has been invoked ; and he 
is so pleased with his new temple, that his godship 
has promised them entire success in the coming con- 
flict. Tanoa's little boy, who is 'oaxu, to Somosomo, 
has taken one double canoe and twenty-one single 
ones : this vasuing is a great aflair. It is said that 
it is mostly done while they are children, as, when 
the vasu becomes older, they are ashamed to help 
themselves in this way. 

" It appears that the Natewa people were deter- 
mined to give their enemies battle ; and some of their 
bravest men singled out Thakombau as their victim. 
The warriors approached so near the fighting-fence 
as to converse with each other. * Where is Thakom- 
bau ? ' asked some. * Here I am,' he replied : ' I have 
brought these warriors here.' The l^atewa people 
had sheltered themselves in a place diJQicult of access. 
The roads are represented as being less than three 
feet in width, with frightful precipices on either side. 
When our warriors had gained the small flat on 
which the town was built, they erected a fence to 



1B6 HABITATIONS OF CBUELTT, 

serve as a guard against the shot of the besieged. 
Then a brisk but slightly-effectiYe fire was kept np 
for some time. 

''The Somosomo people were desirons to assist 
in the skirmish ; but Thakomban told them not to 
interfere, for the war was his, and he shonld manage 
it. After some firing, the besieged made a sally, and 
a fine jonng man was killed. Thakomban shot a 
man who was in the act of darting a spear at him. 
This appears to have been the heat of the battle. The 
besieged retired into their town, which the warriors 
assailed, and sncceeded in making a small breach 
in the fence; when Thakomban stopped all fiirther 
proceedings for the day, saying, 'We will take the 
town to-morrow.' Whether he intended to give the 
inhabitants an opportnnity to escape, or whether he 
felt that they had achieved glory enongh for one day, 
is not known : probably the first, as there is reason 
to snppose that the Ban chie& had determined that 
Natewa shonld not be destroyed, and they engaged 
in the affair that they might gratify the old king of 
Somosomo, and increase their own powers, by bring- 
ing the Somosomo people nnder an obligation to 
them, and by bringing the Natewa people to snbmit 
to the dominion of Ban. Thns Somosomo has to 
bear all the expense of the war, while Ban gains all 
the glory and advantage. 

" To-morrow came, and the warriors entered the 
town, where they fonnd the honses standing and 
ready to be destroyed, the inmates having fled. The 
body of a Baa man, who had been killed the day 
before, was baking in an oven ; and the body of 
another was ont np, ready for cooking. Several towns , 



^•■•»»^w*«^^v"wp«^i*^^*w^^"~"»f*»"»«<«»" '^■■•* *-■■'■■ ^» mwm ' 



K0R0-NI'TA8ACA, 137 

whicli had been vacated dnring the night, were burned. 
The spoil collected consisted of fonr bars of soap, some 
fishing-nets, and a small quantity of sinnet. 

" The forces next moved to Koro-ni-Yasaca ; 
against which place Tuikilakila was very bitter. A 
fence was built, as before ; and a ceaseless fire was 
kept up for several hours, to the alarm of the women 
and children. Dnring the night a man stole from 
the town, and early in the morning was conducted 
to Thakombau. His business was to inform the chief 
that the inhabitants' wished to make atonement to 
Ban. He was told that it was good for them to do 
so. Soon persons appointed were seen approaching, 
bearing whales*-teeth and baskets of earth. The men 
approached Thakombau, as is their custom,, on their 
knees ; first presenting the teeth as their atonement, 
and then the baskets of earth to signify their full 
surrender of their lands to Bau. The atonement 
was accepted, and notice sent to Tuikilakila, who 
replied, ' K it is good to you, it is well.' After the 
atonement was accepted, the Somosomo people amused 
themselves by throwing stones, and even firing, at the 
Koro-ni-Yasaca fence ; which coming to the ears of 
Thakombau, caused him to send to know who it was 
that continued hostilities after he had said, ^ Let there 
be peace.' ^ The people have submitted to Bau ; and 
had they not done so, I should have finished them. 
I have said that they shall live. They shall live ! ' 

*' The Natewa people did not make atonement so 
readily, but fled from one fortress to another ; till at 
length a Bau chief, well known to them, was sent to 
inquire why they conducted themselves in this man- 
ner. They repUed, *' We mean to make atonement. 






138 HABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

Will you be of a good mind, and present onr atone- 
ment to Ban ? Not to Somosomo ; for they will be 
sore to kill us.' The Ban chiefs could not agree to 
their proposal, and the Natewa chie& were afraid to 
go themselves to offer their atonement. At length 
they concluded to send six youths with the teeth and 
earth, as representatives. The atonement was ac- 
cepted, peace was declared, and the war ended. 

** Tuikilakila with his company returned very 
quietly. A few days after, about fifty canoes returned 
with shouting, beating of drums, firing of muskets, 
blowing of conch-shells, &c. Several of the warriors 
lefb for Bau on the Cakaudrave side, where they 
amused themselves by destroying plantations, placing 
traps for the destruction of the unwary, <fec. 

''In the course of a few days the Somosomo 
people danced before the Bau people, and left large 
quantities of native cloth for Bau. Hundreds of 
mosquito-curtains and marked cloths have been pre- 
sented since the return of the warriors. The people 
complain that there is nothing left. 

'' The Bau people are complaining of their bill of 
fare since their return, having nothing to subsist upon 
but taro and land-crabs. They indulge in observa- 
tions like the following : — ' How many men are there 
in Somosomo, — a hundred or not?' 'Natewa has 
nothing to fear ! ' ' This is a land of pork ; but where 
are the pigs P ' ' This is a land of plenty,' said Thar 
kombau ; ' a plenty of water, and a plenty of impu- 
dence.' The Somosomo people make the following 
remarks : — ' This has been a bad war, a useless war. 
Bau hates us, and we will be revenged.' The Natewa 
people say, * We shall know Bau only. We have long 



OA VIBI. 139 

been tired of making atonement to a people that are 
never eatisfied. We do not wish to be always hear- 
ing of clubs and ovens. Why should they ever be 
baking our people ? * 

" Somosomo is just as much at enmity with 
Katewa as ever ; but their hands are tied : they can 
do nothing now unless they brave the displeasure of 
Bau, which they are not in a condition to do. The 
bodies of the slain were all presented to Tuikilakila, 
who, with his people, devoured them. A part of one 
was sent to Thakombau after it was cooked ; but he 
sent it away untouched. 

" Aug. 6th. — The warriors have departed, and quiet 
is again restored. Their time has been mostly spent, 
since their return, in teaching and learning dances." 

Thakombau now allied himself yet more closely 
to Lasakau by promising to give its chief, Gravidi, the 
sister whom he had previously betrothed to the chief 
of Nakelo, on the occasion of his treachery. By so 
doing he sowed the seeds of another war with Biewa. 
It was evidently his policy to destroy the political 
power of the latter. 

Some women belonging to Gavidi attempting to 
run away to Biewa were stopped, and taken back to 
their master. Now it often happens, that when a chief 
is conspiring against the life of his fellow, he will 
send some of his wives to carry messages to those 
with whom he wishes to hold correspondence. If 
they are missed, he will appear to be angry that they 
have run away. It therefore appeared necessary to 
Gavidi to prove by stem treatment of these women 
that he had no connexion with their eixand to Rewa. 



140 MABITATIONS OF CRUELTY. 

He therefore caused them to be stripped of their 
narrow fringe, and fastened to stakes ; where they 
remained as targets for all those who chose to fire at 
them, till death released them from their sufferings. 
One of the victims received twelve musket- shots in 
her body before she was wounded ^tally. On the 
missionary Hunt expostulating with Gavidi on the 
subject, the Lasakau chief replied, that if he had par- 
doned the women he would have given mortal offence 
to Thakombau, who would have suspected him of 
treacherous correspondence with Bewa. 

The princess in question was formally " taken" to 
Gkkvidi three weeks afterwards. A lady who was 
present on the occasion thus describes the ceremony: 
— " We went first to the house of the bride's father, 
where we saw the marriage-portion and the bride. 
The latter looked quite modest and rather bashful. 
We remained here but a few moments, and then 
passed on to the new house that had been prepared 
for the bride. We found the happy bridegroom seated 
on the door-sill, his face well besmeared with dirt, 
and his dress not remarkable for cleanliness. He 
desired us to walk into the house, and be seated near 
his mother. We observed in front of the building a 
wall of roasted fish, about ten fathoms in length and 
five feet in height. We did not see the vegetables, 
as they were in some other place, with pigs and turtles. 
The fioor of the house was spread with four or five 
layers of the best of Fijian mats : these had been 
provided by the Lasakau tribe. In one comer of the 
house, a basket, ten feet long, four wide, and three 
deep, was suspended from the rafters, filled with green 
leaves, and on these were placed pigs and turtles. 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 141 

'' The Lasakan matrons (no maidens are allowed 
to take any part in the marriages) were seated in the 
centre of the house, leaving a broad space unoccupied 
near the door. On the right hand of the principal 
entrance, the mother of Ghiyidi was seated with her 
foreign guests. The Lasakau ladies all wore old 
dresses ; and their persons were oiled with cocoa-nut 
oil, scented with sandal- wood. Each one, the mother 
excepted, wore a garland of flowers thrown over one 
shoulder. The garlands were made of sweet-scented 
flowers. One was oflered me, and I threw it over 
my neck ; which seemed to please the company ex- 
ceedingly. Gtividi was ordering the arrangement of 
the food ; and when all was completed, one old man 
said to the chief, ' The food is. now ready. We hope 
that the god will be. pleased with your marriage, and 
that you will live long and happily with your young 
wife.' The speech ended with clapping of hands. 
The bridegroom then took seven whales'-teeth, and 
sent them by four old men to Tanoa, with a compli- 
mentary message, and a request that the king would 
send his daughter to the house where his people were 
waiting to receive her. Gtividi then departed, and 
was seen no more for the day in that vicinity. 

*' After this, two old Lasakau men and one old 
Bau man came in, and seated themselves near the 
central door on the left. In a few moments the 
grand procession appeared, consisting of the bride 
and the married ladies of her tribe. Her mother was 
not present. The procession came singly, and moved 
very slowly. About one hundred preceded the bride, 
and then the lady herself appeared. She wore a band 
of small white cowry-shells around her head, and 



142 EASlTATlOm OF CRUELTY. 

bracelets of the same on her arms, a necklaee of 
small whales^'-teeth on her neck, and in her hands 
she carried Wo large whales^-teeth. She was 
arrayed in a new, handsome dress, with a bale of 
marked native cloth attached to it, and a train of 
some forty yards in length : the latter trailed on the 
ground, and the former was borne by two women. 
Oil was dripping from her person. As she entered 
the honse, she laid the two large teeth at the feet of 
the old men ; then turned, and seated herself by the 
mother of Gavidi. The rest of them now followed, 
and all were seated in the unoccupied part of 
the house. The Bau ladies were dressed in new, 
handsome dresses, and wore flowers in their hair. 
After all were seated, the old Bau messenger pre- 
sented whales'-teeth to the Lasakau messengers, 
accompanied with a long speech, enumerating the 
names and titles of the king, his greatness and good- 
ness, and love for Gavidi, which he had now shown by 
the gift of his daughter, who was of high rank, being 
his daughter by the queen, who was a woman of the 
highest rank in Somosomo. At the conclusion of 
the speech, the Ban ladies clapped their hands. The 
Lasakaus then took the teeth, and promised for their 
chief that the young princess should ever be treated 
kindly ; that they hoped wars would cease, in order 
that he might not be separated from her ; that the 
winds might be favourable ; that she might have a 
plenty of fish to eat, and that yams and all their food 
might ever be plentiful in their lands ; and ended by 
complimenting the king upon his greatness and good- 
ness, and pronouncing him a god whom his enemies 
could never kill. At the conclusion of this eloquent 



MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 148 

BpeecH, the Lasakau ladies clapped their hands, and 
the men departed. I inquired if the men were 
priests ; and was answered that they were not, and 
that the priests had nothing to do with marriages. 

'* After the departure of the men, the bridegroom's 
mother, and two other aged matrons, proceeded to 
divest the bride of her ornaments. The oil was wiped 
from her person ; her handsome dress was exchanged 
for an old one, and taken, with all the other orna- 
ments, by the mother-in-law of the bride. The 
Lasakau ladies had been chanting continoally, from 
the time of their assembling till the present, only 
stopping while the old men made their speeches. 
The Ban tribe now commenced, and chanted for the 
space of an hour or more, when they concluded 
their music. The Lasakau ladies now proceeded to 
exchange their dresses with the Bau ladies, and 
began to chat and &olic as though the minister had 
departed. The garlands were also presented to the 
Bau party. 

'* Aflber some little time, quiet was again restored, 
and the singing recommenced. We inquired if the 
ceremonies were ended ; and were informed that the 
parties would remain and sing a little longer, and 
then retire. 

'' The Bau party were to take with them all the 
mats from the house, and bring the bride's portion in 
return. Tanoa had given his daughter ten servants, 
and Gavidi had provided five to commence house- 
keeping with. 

" Samanunu (Thakombau's wife) now came to 
chat with us ; and from her we learned that the bride- 
groom would not visit at the house of the bride till 



lU 



MABIXATIONS OF CRUELTY, 



the next day, or perhaps for a week, or a month. 
The feast is prepared for the Ban tribe alone ; and is 
divided into portions according to the rank of the 
family, and sent to them. When the marriage is 
fnlly consummated, the Ban people are again feasted, 
and some of the elderly ladies of the tribe proceed to 
the house of the young married lady, and cut off the 
woolly tresses from her head: these had hitherto 
remained uncut from childhood. 

** We now prepared to depart, when the mother 
of the chief desired us to go to a house belonging to 
him, where another of his four wives resided, and 
partake of some refreshments; observing that she 
had some of my fevronrite puddings in store for me. 
We complied with her request, and then departed."* 



• « 



Life in Fiji, by a liady" (Mrs. Wallis, of America). 




wmmmwm^m 



nWEHHPBMHV 



^HMnnH 




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. • 



CHAPTER VII. 



litnctntct 8n)> dmiai&m. 




CHAPTER VII. 




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RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

The NakeU War — Ratu Qara — ViHt of Bev. Walter LoKry 
— Work and Character of Rev. John Hunt — Rev, R. B. 
I/yth-^Vuit of Captain JErskine — Extracts from his 
Journal — Rev, J, Calvert — Visit of Captain Ihnshanve 
— Vvtit of Lieut, Pollard — Death of Gavidi — Hopeful 
Signs — JIfr, Lawry^s Icut Visit, 

S Thakombau had broken his engagement 
with the Nakelo chief by withholding the 
r/'oLi^^ sister whom he had promised as a reward 
'^^ for his treachery, the aggrieved chieftain 
tendered his support to Batn Qara, who was then 
in very reduced circnmstances. The Bauans imme- 
diately attacked Nakelo, and destroyed it, the in- 
habitants haying fled on their approach. The enemy, 
however, succeeded in rebuilding Rewa^ and drove 
off those forces which endeavoured to hinder their 
operations. 

Once a party of Bauans approached Bewa, and, 
finding the town so silent, supposed that it was 
vacated. Advancing with joy to set fire to the houses, 
they encountered a sharp fire from the defenders, 

l2 




148 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

wliick killed twenty, and caused an immediate re- 
treat. 

It must not be forgotten that women were always 
strangled on the occasion of the death of the men. 
In the case of one who was made a widow during 
the attack on Brcwa, the king gave orders that she 
was to live to take care of her infant child. But she 
insisted on being killed, that she might rejoin her 
beloved husband. 

This second war is called the Nakelo war, as it 
arose out of Thakombau*s breach of promise to the 
chief of Nakelo. The coveted lady herself wafi taken 
ill after her marriage with Gavidi, and her husband 
presented large offerings to his god for her recovery. 
These failing, he applied to the Bev. Bichard B. Lyth 
for English medicines, as he supposed the gods were 
angry with the alteration made in the appropriation 
of the lady. She recovered, and is still living. 

The Nakelo chief was quietly put out of the way 
by a successfal plot. A Bau town was instructed to 
send messengers to him, offering to turn to Batu 
Qara. So plausible was the tale of Thakombau's 
agents, that the Nakelo chief, on behalf of his maste^^ 
appointed a time and place for meeting ; cm attending 
which he was barbarously murdered by those who 
had made the overtures to him. It had been hoped 
that Batu Qara himself would have been secured on 
the occasion. 

Simultaneously with this assassination, Thakom- 
bau attacked the Kuku towns, at the head of a very 
large force. These towns profess nominal subjection 
to Nakelo, but belong, in reality, to an independent 
tribe &om the interior^ forced towards the sea-board 



jRUWA A GAIN DEaTROTED, 149 

through intertribal wars. The Nakelo people, thirst- 
ing to avenge the late murder, rushed to the defence 
of Kuku, and compelled the Bau army to retreat. 
The Nakelo people then returned home.. This was 
the very thing Thakombau wished. Before the Bau 
people themselves knew of the plan, the whole dis- 
trict of Kuku was destroyed, and the inhabitants 
compelled to seek refuge with their Nakelo Mends. 
By night a fresh force of eight hundred men had 
been secretly conveyed to the spot, and, having sur- 
prised and destroyed one of the enemy's towns, 
proceeded to set village after village in flames. 

On September 1st, 1847, Bewa was again de- 
stroyed by Thakombau. The night previous to this, 
whilst the army was quartered at Tokatoka, Thakom- 
bau sent a message to Batu Qara, who was in the 
city, to the following effect : — ** I am angry with 
Nakelo only. As Nakelo rebuilt your town, you 
must allow me to bum Bewa again. In the mean- 
time, do you remove to the island of Nukulau, and 
let me kill the common Bewans. When I have once 
more burnt Bewa, I will give up fighting, and you 
may all collect, and occupy the sites of your fathers' 
houses.'* AnxiouB to bring the war to a close, Batu 
Qara informed the Bewa chiefs of the message, and 
ordered the town to be abandoned. Next morning 
Thakombau found it empty, and it was consumed by 
fire. One Bewa chief was found and killed. Batu 
Qara prudently retired, not to Nukulau, but to a hill 
on the mainland, whence he could view all that took 
place, and secure fiight into the interior. From this 
elevation he saw the Bau canoes proceeding to sur- 
round Nukulau, to cut off his retreat. With a Fijian 



150 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

exclamation ("De ni vitaka*') he said to his followers, 
" Does Thakomban take me for a fool then ? Do not 
I know his treacherous character ? " 

In the mountains he waited in vain for the 
messenger authorizing the rebuilding of Rewa. His 
life was still sought for. Presents of turtles and of 
valuable property were repeatedly sent to the mount- 
aineers, with the request that they woxdd give up 
Batu Qara. But they refased to betray their fiiend. 
They ate the turtles, however, and kept the property. 
Yet more was sent to induce compliance with Tha- 
kombau's wish. The chief probably hoped to weary 
them into yielding. But Batu Qara had secured the 
personal respect of those from whom he received 
shelter. He openly talked of times yet coming when 
he would eat his opponent ; and the exhibition of his 
revengeftil feelings led to his receiving the name of 
" The Hungry Woman," by which he was afterwards 
called. " Remember," he would say, " my gifts are 
a sort that generate increase, and will frequently be 
repeated ; whilst Thakombau's presents are once for 
all. Give me up to him, and the supply is stopped. 
Receive his gifts; but do not comply with his re- 
quest. Thus you will have his property, and mine 
also. My presents will cease only with my life." 

Amongst other plots may be named one which is 
pronounced by the natives themselves as being 
superlatively bad. 

. -A* Bau tributary (Naitasiri) was secretly commis- 
yioned to join Ratu Qara's party, and endeavour to 
kill: him. When a suitable . time had elapsed after 
his change of sides, Naitasiri wished to "present 
yams " to Ratu Qara. A day was fixed for the pur* 



NAITASIRI PLOT. 161 

pose, and a great quantity of food was prepared 
wherewith to feast the Naitasiri people on their 
arrival at the town of Lokia, near Kewa, which was 
then the head-quarters of the patriotic party. But 
the guests made not their appearance till after dark. 
This delay was caused by their wish to conceal any 
agitation that the inexperienced members of the 
party might betray. The formal "greeting" was 
postponed till daylight. Both the guests and the 
hosts retired to rest. Just before cock-crow the 
Naitasiri men began simultaneously to massacre their 
respective hosts ; and so complete was the surprise, 
that upwards of one hundred, including several indi- 
viduals of rank and influence, were massacred on the 
spot. B»atu Qara, however, was not secured, as he 
was absent. 

Thakombau's imperious bearing towards foreign 
creditors at this period of his career is seen in his 
treatment of Captain Bowles. Bowles had paid the 
price of a cargo of oil, and was afraid that Thakombau 
would not deliver the cargo. This annoyed the 
prince, and he exclaimed, " Why did you come here ? 
I did not send for you. However, white men make 
good eating: they are like ripe bananas." He then 
ordered the captain to leave his house. But with the 
foreigners generally he acted honourably. Those who 
paid in advance, however, had frequently to wait until 
it was perfectly convenient for the chief to settle 
their accounts. What else could they expect? 

The Rev. Walter Lawry, during his visit to Fiji 
in 1847, makes mention of the prince as follows : — 

** Sept. 24th. — I received a visit from Thakombau, 
who is about thirty-flve years old, above the middle 



162 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION 

«ize, of a very dark complexion, but rather comely. 
He has many wives, and knows no restraint: two 
were kiUed in his house lately, because a house of his 
had been burnt, and they might have done it I He is 
an absolute ruler : whom he will he kills, and whom 
he will he keeps alive. Upon the whole, he is rather 
fbtvourable to our mission here, but does not htu. 
He professes great dislike to the introduction of 
Popery. War is his delight, and feasting on the 
bodies of the slain. He is sitting by my side while I 
write, and is urging me to persuade Governor Grey 
to visit him in a war-steamer, in order that they may 
be allied friends. He reposes confidence in England, 
but not in France ; for the barefaced outrage of j^o- 
tecting Tahiti is known to him, and heartily denounced. 
He and his chiefs Bay that they shall one day lotu^ and 
that the Gospel will triumph in Viti (so they pro- 
nounce the word Fiji). They seem to think that 
they shall be overcome and submit to it, rather than 
seek unto the Lord that they may be saved. Their 
two great obstacles are, — casting off their many 
wives, and wearing decent clothes to hide their shame. 
But for these formidable difficulties, many of them 
would openly avow what they now secretly whisper, — 
their belief in Christianity. 

" This pagan king has very little majesty, having 
little cultivation ; but he has a feeling of pride or 
consciousness of power, which oozes out at all points. 
He has ceased to blaspheme our holy faith, as was his 
custom formerly. His hair is neatly dressed, and he 
has a small bandage round his loins, with a string of 
blue beads round each arm and round his neck, to 
which is suspended a circular boar's tooth. These 



VISIT OF MR. LAWBT. 153 

are all bis dothes and ornaments, except a strong 
black beard projecting abont eight inches from his 
chin, and an aban<lance of oil besmearing his sable 
skin. His attendants, smoking about the mission- 
house, are few, and not over dignified; but the 
court-ladies are still more offensive than the men. 

"It is, however, due to this people to say, that 
first impressions concerning them are generally the 
worst ; for, while their character and customs are fiill 
of contradictions, they unquestionably possess many 
fine qualities. 

" October 2d. — I went over to the imperial city of 
Bau, with Mr. Hunt and several missionaries. Here 
we saw the 6lite of Fiji, The king says, that the 
lotu is near, but that he has a few more towns to bum 
before he and his warriors lotu. The houses are far 
superior to anything else I have seen in the South 
Sea Islands. The large double canoe of the king 
will carry from two to three hundred men ; and they 
are just now preparing to start on some warlike expe- 
dition. Their spirit-houses are finely ornamented. 

^^The men paint themselves, and both they and 
their many wives go nearly naked. We have preach- 
ing at Bau ; and shall, by God's blessing, soon have a 
missionary there. Bau is the lion of Fiji ; and dark 
are the deeds of which it is guilty. It sends out its 
little war-parties, who fall upon men, women, and 
children, as the case may be, and the carnage is all 
their own, I do not find that Fijians are at all cele- 
brated for courage ; but quite the contrary : their way 
is to fall upon the defenceless, and to overcome by 
numbers, rather than by personal bravery. It is, 
however, very encouraging to observe a gradual 



154 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

melting down of this icy mountain, and a breaking- 
up of their iron system of cruel tyranny. The light 
is breaking in upon them, and the power of the truth 
is felt by many." 

Soon after this, a woman who had apostatized 
from Christianity, and who was living in the king's 
house, offered in mockery to preach a sermon, and 
forthwith began ; but the king, who was till lately 
very strongly opposed to Christianity, said to her, 
"You shall not ridicule the lotu here. Religion is 
true, and a weighty matter, not to be trifled with." 
And he did not stop there, but proceeded to punish 
the scoffer in a way rather novel even in Fiji. There 
was a huge heche-de-mer pot in the house, which he 
directed to be turned over upon the woman. She 
remained whelmed and coiled up under it all night. 
The iron pot would probably measure four feet in 
diameter. From under it she dared not stir till 
orders were given to that effect by Thakombau.* 

The Bauans now rebuilt Brcwa ; and Thakombau 
appointed one of the Bau chiefs to act as governor, as 
Phillips, the ally of Thakombau, had not the courage 
to reside there, on account of Batu Qara, who re- 
mained in the mountains. 

Thakombau commenced the erection of a stone 
palace ; but his mason, having received some pay in 
advance, absconded to America, and it was never 
finished. 

In 1848 Fiji was visited by H. B. M. ship of war, 
the " Calypso," Captain Worth, who destroyed a town 
belonging to a chief who had murdered two white 
men. The proud bearing of Thakombau excited the 

* Lawxy's Journal. 



LBATS OF HUNT. 155 

just indignation of Captain Worth, who also strongly 
suspected him of meditating an organized plan of 
resistance. But for the earnest importunity of the 
Rev. John Hunt, the city of Bau would then have 
been destroyed. 

Mr. Hunt had striven hard to be the instrument 
of the prince's conversion to Christianity; but the 
appointed time had now come for that diligent 
missionary to rest £rom his abundant labours, and to 
receive from his Master the crown of glory. On 
October 4th, 1848, his spirit departed to eternal 
blessedness. His dying message to Thakombau was 
as follows : — *' Tell the king that I love him. I 
entreat him not to forget his oft-repeated promise to 
me, that he would become a Christian. Tell him that 
religion is profitable." 

Let us here pause a moment in memory of this 
good man. Looking at the question after the ex- 
perience of twenty-five years, it is impossible to 
allow that the appointment of the Rev. W. Cross as 
the missionary to Bau was most judicious. Thakom- 
bau most certainly considered him as his personal 
enemy; and had he remained at Bau up to the 
present time, the probability is that the chief would 
still have refused to embrace Christianity. True, it 
may be said that personal contact might succeed in 
disarming the opposition of the chief, and give him 
an opportunity of ascertaining that Mr. Cross was 
his fi*iend. And it cannot be denied that the faithful 
reproofs of that missionary were well calculated to 
influence the chief. It may also be conceded that on 
many grounds he was well fitted for his station, as 
'* he always kept clear of Fijian politics and parties." 



156 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

Yet it was well known that the king personally dis- 
liked Mr. Cross; and this was snrely a sufficient 
reason why some one else should have been appointed. 
If Mr. Cross was so successful, in spite of the chief 
being prejudiced against him, how much more pro- 
bable that another would have had yet greater suc- 
cess. And as for politics, a Methodist minister 
meddling with politics is a rare sight anywhere. 

Thakombau's first call on Mr. Cross lasted four 
hours, which were spent in religious disputations ; the 
chief declaring that he would never become a Chris- 
tian. Mr. Cross said, "But your children will." 
" They shall not," was the reply ; ** for I will on my 
death-bed enjoin on them not to change their re- 
ligion." Such an injunction is considered binding. 

The chiefs care of Mr. Cross during the Viwa 
war was, according to Fijian notions, a humiliation 
of the missionary for formerly doubting Thakom- 
bau's power to protect him. It said, "I did not 
promise protection if you would live at Ban. But 
you see I can defend you from harm even in a town 
not my own." Had Mr. Cross been a Fijian, he 
would have been greatly annoyed, at the weight of 
obligation under which he was placed. The Somo- 
somo chief thus perplexed Thakombau himself in 
after-years, when the latter was in distress. Indeed, 
it is even whispered and believed in certain quarters, 
that Thakombau consented to the murder of his 
Somosomo friend and ally on this very ground. . 

The mission of the Eev. J. Hunt, however, was 
a glorious success. There was no prejudice against 
him ; whilst his personal appearance, particularly his 
height of stature, was prepossessing, — a point, at that 



m^fmm 



CONCJESSIOIfS. 157 

time, of some moment amongst the heathen. But 
his amiable character and his self-sacrificing spirit 
rendered him peculiarly adapted to make an impres- 
sion on the chiefs at Baa. 

The resnlt of this change soon showed itself. 
The missionary Cross had been permitted to preach 
occasionally at Ban to the ex-nsurper, or to the Ton- 
gans. Mr. Calvert, when on a visit, had preached 
in Fijian to the Tongans visiting Ban, when some of 
Tanoa's sons and other chiefs came to hear. Bnt 
Mr. Hunt received permission to hold regular divine 
service in the city of Ban on the Sabbath. Tha*- 
kombau also allowed one of his own children, who 
was ill, to embrace Christianity, and receive instruc- 
tion &om Mr. Hunt. The king's opposition was 
greatly modified. "We are at war," said he, to 
the good missionary Hunt, " and cannot attend to 
Christianity at present.'* On another occasion he 
remarked, " You can go to suiy part of our domin- 
ions ; but we at *Bau shall not become Christians at 
present.'* 

Mr. Hunt was highly favoured in his colleague, 
the Bev. Richard Burdsall Lyth, to whose qualifi- 
cations of missionary zeal, gentlemanly courtesy, and 
ministerial fidelity, was added a knowledge of medi- 
cine, in the professional study of which he had been 
brought up. Mr. Lyth ooxdd retain the infinence 
which Mr. Hunt had secured ; and no minister was 
ever more &ithful and pointed with Thakombau than 
he. It was to the united infltlence of these two 
devoted missionaries that the change in the prince 
at this period must be attributed. 

The memory of the late Mr. Hunt has been 



*-f 



158 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

Bomewliat harshly dealt with, as regards his lavish 
generosity towards the chiefs. But all the early 
missionaries were equally to blame, though not in 
the same degree. To their credit be this said; for 
no righted-hearted man would have acted otherwise. 
But when the time, arrived for modification, the 
necessary change was accepted and adopted by all, 
even by Mr. Hunt himself, who, on his death-bed, 
requested the people " not to beg so much from his 
successor." 

But the invariable unselfishness of Mr. Hunt was 
such a contrast to the opposite trait in the chief's 
character, that a deep impression was made on the 
latter. "Mr. Hunt," said he, on one occasion, "is 
ready to give when he can ill spare the article we 
beg. He is a loving man." Hence the secret of his 
influence, — the chief felt that Mr, Hunt loved him,\ 

It may be said, that there was want of considera- 
tion for his family on the part of the missionary. 
But in all other respects his conduct was unim- 
peachable. What he gave was either his own, or 
was presented to him for the particular purpose by 
his English friends. 

Mr. Hunt's influence over the chief was most 
undoubted. The promise to become a Christian was 
a direct contradiction to his former assertions to 
Mr. Cross. But the time was not yet. It is "in 
the day of trouble " that this proud chieftain will call 
on the name of the Lord. 

In 1849 H.B.M. ship "Havannah" visited the 
Islands. Captain Ersldne, in his " Joum al of a Cruise, 
etc.," has given the following account: — "Hitherto 
the chief of Bau has not admitted a missionary into 



^mmmi^^mmmmm^ 



CAPTAIN ERSKINE'S VISIT. 159 

liis city; but Mr. Calvert, who has great 'influence 
over him, has obtained the promise of a site for a 
house, and is contemplating putting one up shortly. 
This remarkable chief, whose name is Seru, took that 
of Thakombau, by which he is generally known, some 
years since, from his having raised an insurrection in 
Bau, which consohdated his father's authority ; and he 
has more lately assumed the title of Tui Viti, or chief 
of Fiji, by which it is said he had been addressed by 
General Miller, the British consul-general for the 
islands of the Pacific. He is about thirty-five years 
of age ; and his father Tanoa is still alive, who, accord- 
ing to Fijian custom, has ceded the sovereign rule to 
his son, although he still takes an occasional part in 
politics, and has great influence. 

** The town or city of Bau seems to consist of 
three divisions: viz., Soso, Bau, and Lasakau; the 
latter meaning the fishermen, of whom Gavidi is 
chief, being next in importance to Thakombau, and 
his great friend. Other tribes are also considered as 
actually belonging to Bau, — the sailors, (or Butoni,) 
for instance, who, from the redundancy of the popula- 
tion at home, are permitted to hire out their services 
to other chiefs, under the obligation of returning to 
the capital at intervals of several years, to pay tribute 
to their own sovereign. 

" The last great visit of one of these tribes had 
taken place but a few weeks previously, when four 
hundred men, women, and children of the sailors, 
spoken of above as the * Butoni,' had arrived in nine 
large canoes, and were still remaining at Bau. An 
account of the mode of their reception and entertain- 
ment, as given to me by our hosts, (whose wives 



^-^ ^^ * -Iw , 



— _v_ 



160 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

played a'oonspicnous part on the occasion,) and cor- 
roborated by the testiinony of many of the whites 
resident here, affords snch an illustration of the 
manners of Fiji, that I insert it in fhll, particularly as 
I shall have to refer to it occasionally in relating my 
interview with Thakombau, and as it necessarily 
influenced our opinions and treatment of these people 
during our stay among them. 

" This visit then, being the first paid by the Butoni 
for six or seven years, and the quantity of tribute 
being very large, it was considered proper to give 
them a handsome reception. A large house, called 
the * Ulu-ni-vuaka,' or * pig's-head,* was prepared for 
the accommodation of themselves aud their families, 
and food collected from all directions for their enter- 
tainment. According to custom, a family called the 
' Yusaradave' was called upon to furnish meat for the 
first breakfast ; and, as it concerned their pride that 
this should be of the best, steps were taken to pro- 
vide one or two human bodies. As Bau was not 
actually at war with any of the neighbouring tribes, 
and no enemies were to be had, some little manage- 
ment was necessary to secure this supply ; but at last, 
through the co-operation of a tributary town on Viti 
Levu, called Nadavio, and, it was said, by the assist- 
ance of two Tahitians, or Malayo-Polynesians, residing 
at Bau, two poor wretches were entrapped on a small 
island called Yanuoa, and brought to the capital, 
where they were slaughtered and eaten. The mission- 
aries, who are disposed to think well of Thakombau's 
intentions, suppose that, had the example not been 
set by the Yusaradave, he would have been satisfied 
with supplying his ^ests with pigs. It now, how- 



-w-^ ^ ^ ■— <» W^ 



VICTIMS FOB THE FEAST. 161 

ever, became a point of hononr with him, his turn 
for supplying the breakfast having arrived, not to 
be excelled in mnnificenoe by his inferiors ; and the 
chiefs of Nasilai, a city of Rewa, which had been 
lately subjugated, were ordered to forward the re- 
quired provision to Ban. One man only was obtained 
from this source, when Gravidi, the * Turaga ni Lasa- 
kau,* or chief of the fishermen, whose duty it is 
more pari;iculariy to procure human flesh, and who 
might have taken offence at the presumption of the 
Vusaradave in preceding him, was ordered to per- 
form his horrible office. Taking with him accordingly 
the priest, he started with several canoes from Nakelo, 
a town situated on a river or branch of the sea con- 
necting Kewa with the coast of the mainland opposite 
to Ban. An ambush laid here having failed, it became 
doubtM whether it would not be necessary to have 
recourse to their own resources ; that is, to slaughter 
some of their own slaves to furnish the Butoni ban- 
quet, — a sacrifice, of course, to be avoided if possible. 
The priest's aid was accordingly invoked ; Guvidi 
hinting, at the same time, that, should they continue 
unsuccessftd, he (the priest) would probably be one 
of the victims himself. The oracle having been con- 
sulted, a hundred bodies are promised by the gods, 
and the party continued their course, skirting along 
under the overhanging mangroves to the village of 
Noco. Here they lay concealed till low water, when 
the women are accustomed to come to the coast to 
pick sheU-fish for food, and, sallying out at the proper 
time, secured fourteen of these defenceless and un- 
suspecting beings, one or two being clubbed to death, 
as a rush was made to escape. One man attempting 



162 MESISTANCJB AND CONVICTION. 

to save either his wife or daughter shared her fate ; 
but, with this exception, all were of the softer sex ; 
and they were immediately conducted in triumph 
to Bau. 

" On Sunday, the 29fch of July, the hollow sound 
of the awful * lali,' or sacred drum, bore across the 
water to Viwa the intelligence that a cargo of human 
victims had arrived in Bau \ and a native Christian 
chief, (I believe "Kamosimalua,) who had quitted the 
capital to bring the information to the mission, related 
to the shuddering ladies, whose husbands were absent 
at Bua, or Sandal-wood Bay in Vanua Levu, on their 
usual annual meeting, the whole of the circumstances 
of the capture. In the course of the day, different 
reports as to the intentions of the authorities were 
brought over; but in the evening came a definitive 
one, that all were to be slaughtered on the morrow. 

"And then was enacted a scene which ought to be 
ever memorable in the history of this mission. 

"On the Monday morning Mrs. Lyth and Mrs. 
Calvert, accompanied only by the Christian chief above 
mentioned, embarked in a canoe for Bau, to make an 
effort to save the lives of the doomed victims. Each 
carried a whale's-tooth decorated with ribbons, a 
necessary offering on preferring a petition to a chief; 
for even in this exciting moment these admirable 
women did not neglect the ordinary means of suc- 
ceeding in their benevolent object. As they landed 
at the wharf, not far from the house of old Tanoa, the 
father of Thakombau, and in this instance the person 
to whom they were to address themselves, the shrieks 
of two women then being slaughtered for the day's 
entertainment chilled their blood, but did not daunt 



CHRISTIAN HER OISH. 163 

their resolntion. They were yet in time to save a 
remnant of the sacrifice. Ten had been killed and 
eaten, one had died of her wounds, the life of one 
girl had been begged by Thakomban's principal wife, 
to whom she was delivered as a slave, and three only 
remained. Regardless of the sanctity of the place, it 
being * tdbv^ ' to women, they forced themselves 
into old Tanoa's chamber, who demanded, with aston- 
ishment at their temerity, what these women did 
there ? The Christian chief, who well maintained his 
lately-adopted character, answered for them, that they 
came to solicit the lives of the surviving prisoners ; 
presenting at the same time the two whale's-teeth. 
Tanoa, apparently still foW. of wonder, took up one of 
these, and turning to a messenger, desired him to 
carry it immediately to Ghividi, and ask * if it were 
good.' A few minutes were passed in anxious sus- 
pense. The messenger returned, and ' It is good ' 
was Ghbvidi's answer. The women's cause was gained, 
and old Tanoa thus pronounced his judgment : 'Those 
who are dead are dead; those who are ahve shall 
live.' With their three rescued fellow-creatures these 
heroic women retired, and abeady had the satisfaction 
of experiencing that their daring efforts had pro- 
duced a more than hoped for effect. A year or two 
ago no voice but that of derision would have been 
raised towards them ; but now, on returning to their 
canoe, they were followed by numbers of their own 
sex, blessing them for their exertions, and urging 
them to persevere. 

"Any further remarks on the conduct of our 
countrywomen on this occasion would be superfluous. 
If anything could have increased our admiration of 

m2 



INTBR VIJSW WITH THAKOMBA U. 165 

interview with the ladies of the mission. The low 
door admitted but one person at a time, and the 
chamber was small and dark, contaiiiing only a bed 
of mats elevated a few feet above' the floor, on which 
lay an enormons clnb, while a few muskets and other 
arms were suspended from the rafters. The chiefs 
women invited us to enter the adjoining house, their 
residence ; which, except in its larger dimensions, — 
being sixty feet long by thirty feet wide, with a very 
high roof, — differed little from that of Tui Nayau, at 
Lakeba. It was full of all kinds of valuable mer- 
chandise, such as rolls of native cloth and cocoa-nut 
fibre cordage, with large quantities of bowls and 
cooking-utensils, of crockery of native manufacture. 
As in other houses, a fire being kept constantly 
burning, and there being no chimney, the smoke was 
very oppressive, and had tinged the rafters and every 
part of the roof a deep and not unpicturesque brown 
colour. 

" We arrived at last at the residence of Thakom- 
bau himself, and here we were received with much 
ceremony. An entrance having been cleared for us 
through bundles of native cloth, immense coils of 
cordage, and other articles, the produce of the late 
Butoni tribute, the chief himself — the most powerful, 
perhaps, of any in the Pacific, and certainly the most 
energetic in character — ^was seen seated in the atti- 
tude of respect to receive us. He rose, however, as 
we entered, seeing that it was expected, unfolding, 
as he did so, an immense train of white native cloth, 
eight or ten yards long, from his waist, and invited 
me to occupy the one chair he possessed, the others 
taking their seats on rolls of cloth, or, like the na- 



166 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

tiyes, sitting cross-legged on the floor. It was im- 
possible not to admire the appearance of the chief. 
Of large, almost gigantic, size, his limbs were beanti- 
frdly formed and proportioned ; his countenance, with 
far less of the negro cast than among the lower 
orders, agreeable and intelligent ; while his immense 
head of hair, covered and concealed with gauze, 
smoke-dried and slightly tinged with brown, gave 
him altogether the appearance of an eastern sultan. 
No garments confined his magnificent chest and 
neck, or concealed the natural colour of the skin, a 
clear but decided black ; and, in spite of this paucity 
of attire, — the evident wealth which surrounded him 
showing that it was a matter of choice and not of 
necessity, — ^he looked * every inch a king.' The mis- 
sionaries said that he was a little agitated with the 
prospect of our interview; but I confess I did not 
discover it. Not fiso* from him sat his favourite and 
principal wife, a stout, good-looking woman, with a 
smiling expression, and her son, Thakombau*s heir, a 
fine boy of eight or nine ; and he was surrounded at a 
respectful distance by a crowd of crouching courtiers. 
This crouching posture must be adopted not merely 
when sitting, but when moving about in his presence ; 
and I have even seen Gavidi assume it when passing 
before him. He saluted Messrs. Lyth and Calvert 
with kindness, and, saying a few words of courtesy to 
me, resumed his seat, and awaited the opening of 
our proceedings. This I soon did by requesting Mr. 
Calvert to translate an address to the chief. The 
speech, carefiilly and deliberately translated by Mr. 
Calvert, was Hstened to with great attention, and, 
except on one occasion, when the language in repro- 



INTER VIE W WITH THAKOMBA U, 167 

bation of cannibalism appeared somewhat too strong, 
in perfect silence. At the time alluded to, Thakom- 
ban's feelings got the better of his natural politeness, 
and he said, in a hurried tone, a few words, of which 
I could only catch the expression ' hula'-ma-hau.'* 
He recovered himself, however, immediately, evi- 
dently ashamed of the impoliteness of the interrup- 
tion, and, when Mr. Calvert had finished, made me a 
very civil reply. With every protestation of a desire 
to live well with the w:hite men, and especially to 
protect the missionaries, in which I believe he was 
perfectly sincere, he touched hghtly on the subject of 
cannibalism, giving a kind of conventional denial to 
its habitual exercise, and saying it had been the 
custom of their &thers, but was now giving way to 
better habits. He ended by inviting us to eat with 
him, — ^a piece of attention which Mr. Calvert said he 
had never yet shown to any European; which we 
accepted, promising to return at the dinner-hour 
after strolling through the town. On retiring, I 
asked Mr. Calvert the meaning of the chiefs inter* 
ruption to his translation of my speech, and was told 
that, at the moment of expressing our horror at the 
practice of eating their fellow-men, he broke out, 
' that it was all very well for us who had plenty of 
beef (hvlor-mii-'haAi) to remonstrate, but they had no 
beef but men.' Mr. Calvert added, that a look of 
satisfaction with the terms of my speech from his 
wife, to whose opinion he pays great deference, and 
who has lately adopted the missionaries' notions 
on this subject, had excited him to a very unusual 
outbreak on so formal an occasion; for which he 
was heartily ashamed, as a reflection on his good- 



mfmmmmimmmmmmmmtmmmmmmmmfmBmm 



168 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

breeding, — a point the chiefs pique themselves on 
extremely. 

" After leaving Thakombau's house, we came at 
last upon an irregular square, on which stood a build- 
ing, probably one hundred feet long, the * strangers' 
house,' still occupied by the Butoni, and we entered 
it by a door in the centre. The interior struck me 
at first as resembling the lower deck of a ship of 
war, there being a passage down the centre, and the 
families living in separate messes on either side, 
divided, however, from each other, in some cases, 
by partitions of coloured native cloth. We met the 
usual welcome from the people who happened to be 
there ; and several of them followed our party out, 
through an opposite door to that by which we had 
entered, to a small level space between the back of 
the house and the hill, which rises somewhat abruptly 
behind. The first objects of interest to which our 
attention was called by these strangers, as if to vaunt 
the goodness of their reception in the capital, were 
four or five ovens, loosely filled in with stones, which 
had served to cook the human bodies presented to 
them after the payment of their tribute. They cer- 
tainly did not understand the expressions of disgust 
which rose to our lips ; for, leading us to a neighbour- 
ing tree, they pointed to where, suspended from the 
branches, hung some scraps of flesh, the remains of 
the wretched creatures slaughtered to satisfy the 
monstrous appetite of their fellows, who had not even 
the miserable excuse of enmity or hunger to plead 
for their fiendish banquet. 

" The temple itself contained few objects of in- 
terest. A oloth screen covered the sanctuary, and 



TOKENS OF CRUELTY, 169 

on the ground lay a few neck-pillows, and an ele- 
phant's tusk, which had been presented many years 
ago to Tanoa by the supercargo of a trader, and by 
him dedicated to the god. As whales'-teeth are 
much yalued, and constitute, in fact, a species of 
currency of indeterminate value, such a specimen of 
ivory was doubtless considered as beyond all price. 
The building stood on a raised platform, and was 
surrounded by a few trees of graceful foHage, under 
one of which lay the large *lali,' or sacred drum, 
beaten at festivals and sacrifices ; and overshadowed 
by another was the place where the bodies of victims 
are dedicated to the ' Kalou,* or evil spirit, previous 
to their being handed over to those who are to cook 
them for the banquet. The lower branches of this 
tree had evidently been lately cut away to the height 
of eight or ten feet from the ground ; and we were 
told that this had been done after the reduction of 
Kewa, a few months before, when a mound of no 
fewer than eighty corpses, slain in battle, was heaped 
upon the spot. 

" Evidence of the extraordinary blood-thirsty 
character of this people's institutions met us at every 
step. Having pointed out to Mr. Calvert, when on 
the hill, two blocks of stone which had been hewn 
into rude pillars by apparently an European work- 
man, nearly overgrown with grass, he besought me 
earnestly to take no notice of them ; adding after- 
wards, that they were intended for a monument or 
mausoleum to the memory of Tanoa' s father; but 
that their erection, if ever it should take place, would 
most certainly be accompanied by the sacrifice of at 
least two human victims, it being considered neces- 



170 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

sary that in works of such a nature, or even in the 
construction of the house of a ruling chief, a man 
should be buried alive at the foot of each post, to 
ensure the stability of the edifice." 

Captain Erskine having offered to convey Thar 
kombau to the "Havannah," they embarked together 
in the ship's boat for Ovalau. 

" 15th August. — There being very little wind, our 
row up to the ship at Levuka, upwards of twenty 
miles, was a tedious one, owing in great measure to 
the boat being encumbered with spears, clubs, pottery, 
and different curiosities. Thakombau looked very 
dignified, seated in the stern- sheets, his head de- 
corated with a new turban of smoke-coloured gauze, 
beneath which projected a long pin of tortoiseshell 
resembling a netting-needle, — ^a necessary instrument 
for scratching the head, which no finger-nails could 
be long enough to reach. 

*' On one occasion the conversation took a curious 
turn. Thakombau, whose manners are extremely 
polite when in good humour, seeing probably that he 
engrossed too much of the conversation, asked Mr. 
Calvert, if we, the strangers, understood what passed 
between them. The opportuidty for readrug him a 
lecture was not lost by the latter, who replied that it 
could not be expected that we, who had lately come 
to Fiji for the first time, should understand their 
language ; but, he was sorry to say, the Captain had 
learned sufficient to comprehend the meaning of that 
unseemly interruption to his speech yesterday, in 
which the chief had endeavoured to excuse, on the 
plea of absence of other animal food, the disgusting 
practice of eating their fellow-men. The chief was 



Tl^-T »»■■» ' J -'^ •« 



TIBrJ? CSjTEF ^iV BOARD, 171 

for a moment in great conftision, but soon recovered 
himself, and begged Mr. Calvert to explain to me that 
such was not the purport of his interruption, which 
had been misunderstood ; but he had intended to say, 
that although the custom of eating men instead of 
beef was that of their fathers, they, who now knew 
better, had determined wholly to renounce it. 

" This ready appreciation of our horror of canni- 
balism, and the evidently increasing influence of the 
mission, affords, it is to be hoped, a confident expecta- 
tion that a habit so unnatural, and a bar, as long as 
it prevails, to all improvement, will pass away &om 
among this people as rapidly and completely as it has 
already done in New-Zealand. 

" 16th August. — Captain Jenner, who slept in one 
of the side-cabins, was awoke this morning by the 
awful-looking visage of Thakombau, who had begun 
early to gratify his curiosity by exploring all the 
corners of the ship, gazing intently upon him as he 
lay in his cot. Some of the officers' pea-jackets, which 
had been inadvertently landed from the barge into 
my cabin, had aflPorded him and Gavidi the opportu- 
nity of appearing in what they evidently considered 
full dress, although the heat of the morning caused 
them to look very uncomfoi*table, and soon after 
breakfast to lay their adopted clothing aside.* 

" In the forenoon we went to quarters, having pre- 
viously laid out a target (a hammock, with the figure 
of a man painted on it) against the face of a conspicu- 
ous rock on the beach, at a distance from the ship 
of eight hundred yards. Thakombau was evidently 

* According to Fijian notions, this circumstance would be a proof 
of the chiefs' friendly feelingpB towards their yisitors. 



^pP^MOT^P^pV^««^VV^Vn«^W«l^91HP^^«HB«H9I^M' 



172 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION, 

in great anxiety until the firing began, although he 
tried to conceal it ; and when he saw the smallness 
of the target, expressed some incrednlitj as to the 
possibility of our striking such a mark. I ftimished 
him with a spy-glass, and placed him on the bow- 
sprit, where he was not incommoded by the smoke ; 
Gavidi, Tui Levuka, and one or two of the latter's 
followers, being also present. Either the first or 
second shot struck the figure on the head ; and, our 
men being in beautiful practice, scarcely one missed 
the mark, and a very few rounds were sufficient to 
knock the target to pieces, which was replaced by 
one or two others in quick succession. Even the short 
time necessary for this was too much for Thakom- 
bau's impatience, who had now worked himself up 
into a state of high excitement; and he begged us 
not to wait, pointing out, first, a man on the beach, 
and afterwards a canoe with several persons in her, 
as more worthy our expenditare of ammunition than 
the inanimate objects we had chosen ; evidently con- 
sidering that his permission would be quite sufficient 
to satisfy our consciences, and surprised at our 
scruples. One or two shells, which burst with great 
precision, concluded the exhibition, which had greatly 
astonished all the chiefs. Thakombau, approaching 
Mr. Calvert, said, ' This indeed makes me tremble : 
I feel no longer secure. Should I offend these people, 
they have but to bring their ship to Bau, when, having 
found me out with their long spy-glasses, my head 
would fall at the first shot.' Notwithstanding these 
professed fears, he was most pressing in his entreaties 
that I would take the ship to Bau ; being desirous 
doubtless of exhibiting his powerful allies to his for- 



THE CHIEF ON BOARD. 173 

midable neighbours of Yiti Levu ; and often repeating, 
as he had done to Captain Wilkes, that Ban was the 
place for gentlemen, the people of Ovalaa being all 
* kaisiSf^ or slaves. Whether he intended to inclnde 
onr friend Tui Leynka in this condemnation, I cannot 
say ; but I was a good deal amused by the condescend- 
ing manner of his accosting him. The latter, who 
had not met Thakombau for some time, and was 
apparently very anxious to be noticed by him, stood 
for at least half an hour close to his superior, who 
did not by word or gesture exhibit the slightest 
sign of recognition. At last, some better shot than 
usual called forth, apparently addressed to Tui Le- 
vuka, an exclamation of ' Vmaka^ vmaka / ' (' Grood, 
good ! ') when, the conversation being begun, it was 
taken up by the other, the two chiefs seeming to be 
afterwards the most cordial of friends. 

"17th August. — Our warlike display was con- 
tinued this morning (the opportunity being favourable 
for exercising our men) by the landing of all our 
small-arm men and the field-pieces, (which drew a great 
concourse of people,) and the firing of a twenty-four- 
pounder shell-rocket from the beach over an adjacent 
hill into the forest. As might be expected, the latter, 
from its great length of flight, and the simplicity of 
the apparatus, appeared to the chiefs the most power- 
frQ and astonishing of all our arms ; and Thakombau 
was very desirous that I should try another, in the 
direction of his enemies the Lavoni, to prove to them 
that they were within our reach, — a demonstration 
which I, of course, declined to make. 

" The chief, who, with Gravidi, had accompanied 
me on shore in the gig, was received on his landing 



^^a^^r^WSf^^r^- *^ .?=>>: 



174 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

by several crouchmg natives, bringing him offerings 
of fish and other articles of food. 

"I had another long and earnest conversation 
with Thakomban and Gavidi on the snbject of the 
approaching visit of the Somosomo people to Ban, 
and of the disgnsting habit of cannibalism generally. 
Ko denial of the practice was attempted in this 
instance, and Thakomban concluded by making me a 
promise (which it will be afterwards seen he per- 
formed) that when the anticipated visit shonld take 
place, no hnman bodies shonld be sought for, nor 
sacrifices made at Ban. It seemed to me then, and I 
have since had reason to believe correctly, that for the 
first time the chief began to suspect that the horror 
shown by the missionaries to their barbarous customs 
was not a mere reHgious fancy on their part, but a 
feeling entertained by the best class of white men, even 
when, like ourselves, employed in warlike pursuits."* 

About this time Bau was engaged in war with 
Verata, and succeeded in taking the principal town, 
which had hitherto been considered impregnable. On 
the intercession of Varani and the B«v. James Calvert, 
then resident at Viwa, and who, like his predecessors, 
was most assiduous in his efibrts to convert the prince, 
Thakomban gave permission for some of the people 
to be taken to Viwa, where all embraced the pro- 
fession of that religion which had instrumentally 
saved their lives. 

In October, 1849, H. B. M. ship " Daphne" visited 
Fiji. Captain Fanshawe, R.N., and the Rev. J. Calvert 

* Journal of a Oroise among the Islands of the Western PaoiflCi in Her 
Majesty's Ship *' Havaxmah," by Gapt. John Elphinstone Ergkine, B.K. 



CAPTAIN FAKSHA WBS LETTJEK 1 75 

endeavoured to bring abont a reconciliation between 
the king of Bewa and his alienated brother Ratu 
Qara. Thakombau accompanied them. These three 
chiefs met on board the " Daphne." Ratu Qara stipu- 
lated that Buretu, a Ban town, which had aided him, 
should receive a full pardon for the part it had taken ; 
Thakombau refused, and the negotiations ended. 

Captain Fanshawe afterwards addressed the fol- 
lowing letter to Thakombau : — 

" Beikg now about to leave the Fiji islands, I am 
led, by an earnest desire for their welfare, and also 
by a sincere esteem for yourself, to address a few 
words to you in the language of friendship. 

"These beautiful islands have been, until now, 
the scene of the grossest impostures, and the most 
degrading superstitions, that have ever disgraced 
mankind, leading in their results to practices in which 
treachery and murder are the stepping-stones to the 
vilest passions and appetites. 

" No people ever did, nor ever will, become great 
and honourable whilst sunk in so profound a depth of 
ignorance and crime ; and it is because I know you 
to be far too intelligent to be deceived by the flimsy 
superstitions which surround you, that I would 
entreat you, for the good of your country, to use your 
powerful influence in stopping those abominable cruel- 
ties which disgrace it, and which cannot be thought 
of without disgust by any enlightened mind, I am 
confident that you cannot contemplate the kidnapping 
of unofiending women and children to supply a can- 
nibal feast, nor the murder of a wife on the death of 
her husband, without shame for the cowardice of the 



176 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

former, and for the folly of the latter, as well as for 
the cruelty of both. 

" Depend npon it, such practices cannot last ; and 
great will be the honour acquired by that chief who 
has the courage to oppose them. There is one man, 
and only one man, who can effectually do this ; and 
that man is yourself. I would say to you, therefore, 
Do not leave for another the opportunity which has 
fallen to your lot of conferring so great a blessing upon 
your country. Let it be seen that cowardice and 
cruelty are no longer to be forced upon your people 
by a gross and ridiculous superstition. They are an 
industrious and intelligent people ; let them be pro- 
tected and encouraged, and they will become great 
and prosperous ; — how much greater will be the ruler 
of such a people ! 

" These few words have been written in the spirit 
of Mendship : they are intended to promote the real 
welfare of your county, and your own true dignity 
and honour. I therefore trust that you will give them 
your serious attention. 

** I will conclude with a request, which I make 
because I think it wiU in a very great degree forward 
those objects : — 

" We must expect that in a short time your father 
will be numbered with the dead. According to a 
terrible practice to which I have alluded, many 
women of his household would be murdered in cold 
blood on this melancholy occasion. Let me ask, as a 
personal favour, that you will interpose your author- 
ity to save these poor women from becoming the 
victims of such atrocious superstition. I beg their 
lives at your hands ; and I earnestly hope that your 



< )iiuipin > i ^^sy^^^^-'^**' ■ ' ' I ■' ' ' I ■ 



LIEVTENANT POLLARD, 177 

compliance with my request will be one step towards 
the happiness of Fiji, 

'' That Fiji may be blessed, and that yon may be 
truly great, is the sincere wish of your tme friend, 
(Signed) « B. G. Fakshawe, Captain." 

lieut. Pollard, of H.B.M. schooner "Bramble," 
visited Fiji in 1850. The following is extracted from 
his account :— 

"29th Jnne.— I visited Thakomban, or Txd Viti, 
soon after anchoring, and found him at dinner by 
himself, but with several chie& sitting or crouching 
near him, which is the native posture of respect. 
I was struck with the remarkable cleanliness ob- 
served in serving his food : the boards on which it 
was served, like small butchers'-trays, were very 
clean, and covered with banana-leaves, and the food 
rolled up in small balls and also covered with green 
leaves. He had several different dishes, each in its 
own tray, and each removed when finished by a little 
boy, who crawled up to it, and crawled back again. 
Lastly, he had water brought to him to wash his 
hands and mouth ; and when he had finished, there 
was a general clapping of hands by 9SII present. He 
invited me to join him, but I declined. 

" Mr. Calvert accompanied me as interpreter, and^ 
afber a few compliments, I made Thakombau a speech ; 
saying how glad I was to visit him again, and to be 
present at such an acknowledgment of his power as 
that of the paying tribute by the Somosomo chie& ; 
but begg^g that, as a mark of Mendship towards the 
Queen of Great Britain, he would not only prevent 
any human bodies from being killed to feast these 



^'^^^^ry^^'^^^mnm^immmmwmmmKWK^ 



178 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

people, but more, if any bodies were sent as presents, 
he would cause them to be buried, — a step which, I had 
been told, he had lately taken with several corpses 
which Thakonauto had presented him with. The first 
part of mj request he complied with ; but his answer 
to the second was, that ' the bellies of the Somosomo 
people must be the graves of all human bodies sent 
as presents.' 

" I had to content myself with this answer ; the 
former part of it alone being a great boon, and the 
first of the sort that had ever been granted, even at 
a minor feast ; to say nothing of the present being the 
greatest held among these islands, and one dreaded 
by the missionaries on account of the cannibalism 
likely to take place. 

'' I also took advantage of a late occurrence to 
dissuade the chief from continuing the practice of 
strangling the principal wives of a chief on his death. 

"Two of the bodies of Tui Levuka's enemies, 
which he had sent as presents to Ban, probably 
arrived there on the afternoon of Thursday, after I 
had sailed. The canoes containing these bodies had, 
when within a few nules of Bau, been driven back by 
a strong breeze to Moturiki, where one body was 
eaten, and the other two cooked or baked to preserve 
them." * 

The Lasakau chief, Gavidi, was killed in the 
course of the war with Yerata. It is supposed that 
he received his death- wound from the foe; though 
there are not wanting those who assert that he was 

* lieatenant Pollard's Journal, in Ersldne's ".Cruise among the 
Idands of the Wastem Padfio." 



DEATH OF OAVIDI. 179 

shot by Ills own Mends, and that the attack in which 
he lost his life was got up for the express purpose 
of securing the death of Gavidi, whose presumptuous 
bearing of late had given great offence to the prin- 
cipal Bau chiefs. Two things are quite certain : first, 
that Thakombau was unusually anxious duidng the 
attack, and his mind seemed to be occupied with 
something else rather than with the battle ; and, 
second, that as soon as Guvidi was killed, the signal 
was given for general retreat, after which the attack 
was not repeated. 

When the death of Gtividi was reported at Viwa, 
the missionary Calvert hastened to Bau, hoping to 
avert the strangling of some of the widows. But, 
on his arrival, he saw, to his sorrow, the bodies of 
three females, whose lives had ab*eady been sacrificed 
to accompany the spirit of the departed chiefbain. 
Mr. Calvert then proceeded to visit the prince, who 
had returned home after having personally assisted 
in the strangling of one of the deceased ladies. On 
arriving at the dwelling, he found, to his amaze- 
ment, that the prince, whose hands had so lately 
clutched the death-cord of Guvidi's mother, was &st 
asleep. Presently the great man awoke, and started 
up on beholding the missionary, exclaiming, ''How 
now ?" " I came," replied the missionary, " hoping 
to be in time to entreat you to spare the lives of those 
just strangled ; but I find that, though you knew the 
action was wrong, yet you have kept up, in this 
instance, a wicked custom for the abolishment of 
which we are continually entreating." " O ! " said 
Thakombau : '' you see you are too late ; besides, it is 
a sacred duty with us to strangle some females on 

K 2 



^^^msmammfmP^^^^^rKm^mm/vmmmmf^mmtmmmm 



180 RESISTANCE AND CONVICTION. 

the deaili of a chief. Bnt what/' contiBned he, '^have 
you got in your bag ?" "I brought whales'-teeth," 
said the misBionary ; '' in the purchase of which we 
willingly exhausted our property, under the hope that 
by our prayers and by our gifts we may save human 
lives." "You may leave the bag," said Thakombau. 
" Thank yon, sir : I will take it home again," was the 
rejoinder. 

The missionary returned to Yiwa, thankful that 
he had possessed the opportunity of once more bear-^ 
ing his testimony against this murderous institution. 
In a day or two he was greatly encouraged by inform-^ 
ation which came like a gleam of hope to his almost 
desponding soul. It seems that, after Mr. Calvert's 
departure on the above occasion, the chief spoke in 
extravagant terms to those who surrounded him of 
the nobleness of the exertions made to save life by the 
missionaries ; and concluded by expressing his regret 
that the Fijians, as a people, adhered to those cus« 
toms of their country which required the constant 
slaughter of each other. 

Four days afterwards, the missionary again visited 
Ban. Thakombau eagerly inquired of him, " Where 
is now the soul of Gtkvidi ?" '* It is not in the pro- 
vince of man to make assertions on the subject," 
replied the missionary ; " but the word of God says, 
' The wicked shaU be turned into heU/ " " Then 
Gktvidi has been four days in hell," soliloquized the 
prince* 

The Rev. Walter Lawry visited Fiji, for the second 
and last time, during 1850, and makes the following 
entry in his published journal : — 






MB. LAWBTS SECOND VI8I1. 181 

'* Angast 27ih. — I had a Tlsit to-day from Tba- 
komban, sometimes called, but incorrectly, the' king 
of Fiji. He is naturally black enongh ; but he had 
besmeared his &<3e with black colonring-matter, and 
looked liked what he was, — a cruel, murderous 
savage, who kills and eats men, women, and children. 
Mr. Calvert, who never misses an opportunity of 
letting in light upon him, communicated his own 
views and mine upon the lotu;* and the black chief 
evaded what was said with considerable cunning ; but 
he contrived to get his head into every room, and his 
hand into every dish. He has no charms for me, 
after a visit to the superior chiefs of Tonga, who, 
compared with this naked and cannibal warrior, are 
high in the scale of civilization. It may, however, 
be set down to his credit, that he lately fed Tuikilakila 
with pigs instead of men, as was the custom afore- 
time. His becoming a Christian is the only way 
open to him to escape the dark in&my which lies 
before him." 

* The Chxirtiaa reUgion. 




jvmjL^jju 



y • ■ » ^ WW!,"' ■' -^ 



I ^ " « ■ 



"J ■" 




CHAPTER VIII 



dfitn |iqi»fob. 




'm^^mrmm' 



CHAPTER VIM. 



'^"^^^ "^^^^ srjr^^^ 



OFTEN REPROVED. 

The Writer* 9 Iwtroduotion to Tkakomba/u — Mara and La- 
hemba-^Open Pereeeuti<m—'Sie§e of Boma — The Tonga/M 
involved — Warnings — Ajiparent Suooe$s — JHtappoint' 
ment — Continued War with Ratu Qtura-^ Steadfast 
Christians at Koro — The JDiffloulty with Mr, Williams 
— Captain Magruder — Jtatu Qara heads the Hewans 
against Bau — Arri/€al and Bisappointment qfa Momish 
Bishop — I^esh Perplewities — Sir J, M Borne -^Beath of 
Tanoa — Funeral Horrors — Crvmes — Political Reverses — 
Bau burnt — Revolt at Kdba — Rev, /, Wattford^—In' 
auguration of the Mng — W, Owen, Esq, — Affairs at 
OvalaUf and Booth of Varani — Mara^s Being s, 

T was in 1850 that the writer became per- 
sonallj acquainted with Thakombau. At the 
very first interview, I said, in Fijian, "Let 
me live at B^rU, sir." An emphatic " No," in 
English, was the instant reply of the chief. On that 
oocasion h0 conld well have been compared to Lucifer 
for pride. He was almost naked, which added to the 
appearance of great stature ; his &oe was painted up 
to the eyes ; his massive head of hair covered with a 




186 OFTEN REPRO VED. 

white gauze tnrban ; his beard, of great length, bore 
evident marks of having been care^lly dressed ; his 
eyes looked blood-thirsty. A score of armed men, 
who all looked like professional cut-throats, followed 
closely at his heels. 

A few days afterwards, the chief made arrange- 
ments to attack a district on Great Fiji. ''First 
divide, then conqner," was his maxim. Having se- 
cured, as he supposed, the help of certain of the 
enemy, he sent over to his Mends to make the neces- 
sary arrangements. The chief's messengers returned 
to the metropolis, and reported thus : — " The people 
say, * Gro and tell your chiefs to come over and destroy 
their enemies, for we will help you.* " Thakombau 
accordingly went with fifty canoes to his allies. As 
his canoes arrived at their destination, the people 
disembarked and proceeded unhesitatingly to the 
Mendly tribe, without waiting to go all together in a 
body. On nearing the town, to their astonishment, 
their allies fired on them, and wounded several. A 
precipitate flight was the only result of this warlike 
demonstration. 

Thakombau had frequently been urged by Mara, 
his half-brother, to proclaim war against Lakemba, 
ostensibly on account of irregularity in the payment 
of the tribute, but really because he wished to make 
forcibly a welcome addition to his harem. He se- 
cured the ear of the prince by declaring repeatedly 
that Christianity alone had made Lakemba indigent 
and rebellious ; and then he asked permission to be 
empowered to lay waste the windward islands of 
Eastern Fiji. The chief gave his consent to the 
scheme, but reftised to Aimish the means. Mara, 



OPPOSITION TO CHRISTIANITY, 187 

however, soon raised a force, sufficient indeed to 
arouse the suspicions of the said islanders, but, when 
compared with the work he had contemplated, truly- 
contemptible. After a signal failure, he returned to 
Bau, when he was surprised and pleased to find the 
chief prepared to heartily support him in his long- 
cherished purpose. 

It had ever seemed strange to the Bau court 
that the young king so often wavered in his treat- 
ment of the Christians. Now he tolerated and then 
savagely persecuted them. One day he honoured 
them; the next, treated them with indignity and 
contempt. 

The truth was, he was greatly annoyed with the 
Christians. He could not forget that he was the 
greatest chief that Fiji had seen;' and that, after 
death, he would be deified. He may have thought 
himself to be already a god. But the Christians 
regarded him as a mere man; and some of them 
whispered that he was a had man. Some of them 
encouraged their persecuted friends by reminding 
them that the prince could not hurt the soul. 

To this jealousy of his honour as a god incarnate 
may be added a keen sense of the injury done to his 
pride as the head of his nation. A few *^ dresses,'' as 
the religious were reproachftdly termed, on account 
of their wearing a decent amount of clothing, refused 
to assist the prince in his aggressive wars. This 
vexed him exceedingly. Sometimes parties suspected 
of treason would craftily assume the sacred name 
of Christian, and take up their residence in the 
missionary townships. These were so many cities of 
refuge, the inhabitants of which boasted of their self- 



^« 



188 OFTEN REPB YEB. 

constitnted exeinption fi*om war. Scnne murderers, 
who were punishable even by Fijian law, fled for 
protection to mission-stations, and hypocriticallj 
professed an anxiety for Christiaaa instruction. 

It became evident that there was a party in the 
nation over whom the prinoe exercised but slight 
authority. It was equally manifest that numbers of 
this party were not merely apostates from the faith 
of their fathers, but were secretly disaffected towards 
the government. The prince, unconscious that he 
was following a royal example, resolved to have a 
St. Bartholomew's eve of his own. 

The extirpation of the Christians was planned^ 
The missionaries and their &milies were to be xmin- 
jured, so that there should be no excuse for foreign 
intervention; but the native disciples were to be 
exterminated. The missionary Hunt had predicted, 
that unless Thakombau professed Christianity, he 
would become a persecutor ; and the prediction was 
now on the eve of ^filment. 

A hint from Bau soon assembled thousands of 
heathen on Great Land, who invaded the two mission- 
districts. Thakombau himself visited Yiwa, and 
required that the Botumah servants should sleep on 
the mission-premises. 

Dama, a town near Bua, was besieged by a large 
force. Yarani, the Yiwa chief, was compelled by his 
convictions to side with his fellow-Christians against 
his former companion in arms, and placed himself at 
the head of the oppressed. Bemaining himself in 
charge of his ^wn town, for the protection of which 
he employed a night-guard from the mainland, he 
despatched Namosimalua, his supmor in rank, to 



INTERFERENCE OF THE TONGANS, 189 

throw himself into the beseiged town of Daana, with 
some hundreds of warriors and a large quantity of 
ammanition. 

The white residents, who had been permitted to 
return to Ovalau, now felt the importance of the 
movement, and suppKed both ammunition and vessels 
where needed. The native Christians at that date 
were, as a body, tmstwortiij and true in their com* 
mercial dealings. Besides, the whites felt that they 
would not be murdered by the " dresses," whilst they 
had sad experience that the heathens' feet were swift 
to shed blood. 

The Viwa missionaries vainly endeavoured to 
persuade the young king to stop the war. He treated 
both them and Yarani with marked contempt. 

The missionaries now appealed to a Tongan chief, 
who was then at Ban with three hundred men. With 
all their &ults, the Tongans invariably rally round 
the missionary in the hour of danger. After some 
hesitation, arising from a desire not to offend Tha- 
kombau, the Tongans told the prince that, as the 
missionary was in danger, they must send a canoe to 
his relief, or their negligence would expose them to 
the wrath of their own king. The canoe arrived at its 
destination ; and, owing to the imprudence of some 
of the young men, some of their number were killed. 
The Tongans were now involved in the war, and 
Thakombau saw that he would soon have them in 
arms against himself unless peace was established. 
A messenger was at once sent to raise the siege of 
Dama, and peace was again proclaimed. Cursing 
the Tongans, the whites, and Varani, the prince 
comforted himself with the reflection that he would 



_ _ ^^> 



190 OFTEN REPROVBD. 

carry out his bloody purposes at a more conyenient 
season.* 

In MarcH, 1851, 1 went to Ban to preach. Dnring 
the sermon, I was greatly alarmed by the house being 
shaken under a shower of stones. I quite expected 
it would bury me. Most of the people fled ; but a 
few remained. For a time I was considerably con- 
fused, but felt quite resigned to meet death while 
preaching Jesus to the poor idolaters of Bau. The 

* The two oldest xnissionaries wrote aa follows. The Bev. B. B. 
Lyth, nth March, 1851 :— " That which characterizes the present dis- 
txirbances is, that it is a war against Christianity, and a war encouraged 
by Bau, the ruling i>ower in Fiji : it is, in feust, a persecution of the un- 
offending Christians. Among the outrages committed by the infuriated 
heathen, is their deliberate and treacherous murder of George, the 
Christian chief of Dama; and a young man, a teacher, called Shadrach. 
These weife Idlled on the spot. Elijah Yaraui, of Yiwa, who was with 
them, had a narrow escape with his life. Being unarmed in the midst 
of their enemies, they were too tempting a prey for blood-thirsty 
heathens to resist, and but for a special providence must all have Mien 
into their hands. Before this unhappy event, which took place on the 
13th of December last, there had been much opposition manifested on 
the part of the heathens against their Christian neighbours, which had 
been in part overruled by the timely interference of Mir. Williams, 
whose mediation resulted in the turning of ninety heathens in one d^ 
to Christianity. So unexpected a result had irritated the remaining 
heathens, when the second pacific interference, that had so disastrous 
a termination, was determined upon. The death of the chief of Dama 
was the signal for the heathen party carrying out their opposition with 
gn^eater vigour. They enlisted on tilieir side all the heathen towns fiaf 

and near for a long extent of coast Our king Tninayau, of 

Lakemba, feels anything but comfortable on hearing of the real and 
threatened doings of persecution." 

The Bev. J. Calvert, 29th March, 1851, writes :— " War waa declared 
all on that coast, an extent of fifty miles, I suppose. It was said to be 
heathens against the Zoto. A canoe came to Bau tcom. the heathens of 
Yanua-Levu, and permission was obtained from Bau to fight the latn, 
people. The news spread. Yiwa was in great fearl Lakemba was 
startled I A general war in Fiji, heathens against Christians, was ex- 
pected. The accounts from Yanua-Levu were alarming. It was said 
that the heathens were assembled near Dama. When they destroyed 
our lotu-towns, which they hoped to do with ease, our mission-premises 
at Nandi were to be destroyed, and then Baa to be attacked." 



CONCESSIOirS. 191 

stones were thrown by the order of the prince. A 
chief of rank, who was present, was very indignant. 
" Am I a pig," said he, " that I shonld be stoned ? " 

A few days afterwards, Thakomban visited the 
mission-house at. Yiwa. I dealt fidthftilly with him, 
telling him that if he did not refrain from injuring 
the work of God, he would most certainly be hum- 
bled by the strong arm of the Lord. He was so 
surprised at this, that he denied having given the 
order for the late outrage. Mr. Calvert, who was 
present at the interview, wrote to a friend, that he 
" trembled" for me that day. But I myself had no 
such fear. I thought the time was come to take a 
firm stand in the maintenance of right against this 
Nebuchadnezzar, and boldly proposed, if concessions 
were refused, to divert my labours from Bau, and 
direct them to those other parts of Fiji where the 
people wished to embrace Christianity. The king 
listened with astonishment. I then requested bim to 
give a proof of the sincerity of his friendly profes- 
sions towards the civilized world, — 1st. By receiving 
a missionary: 2d. By allowing public worship at 
Bau on the Sabbath : 3d. By declaring freedom of 
conscience in matters of religion. Thakombau was 
thunderstruck, and I immovable. At last he yielded, 
and the day was apparently gained. 

A site for the mission-house was chosen, and the 
jungle cleared away preparatory to its erection. 
Divine service was also held every Sabbath at. Bau. 
But four weeks afterwards, when I waited on the 
king at the conclusion of the Sabbath-morning ser- 
vice, I was told that the heathen priests had petitioned 
that a mission-house should not be built, and that 



192 OFTJBll^ BMPnorEB, 

their request had been complied with. I fonnd the 
high-priest sitting at the right hand of Thakomban, 
whilst the priests' offering of a very large root of 
Itwoa lay at the royal feet. For two hoars I expostu- 
lated with the prince ; but in vain. When, in con* 
elusion, I reminded him that we three, the king, the 
priest, and the missionary, would meet together once 
more before the judgment-seat of God, he said, in 
derision, " ! I suppose a vessel from the other world 
has arrived in England. You seem to be well up in 
information from the day of judgment." 

War was still carried on between Thakombau and 
Eatu Qara, notwithstanding the death of the brother 
of the latter. As another campaign was opening, it 
is probable that Thakombau feared lest his gods 
should withhold success from his arms if he built a 
mission-house. Notwithstanding all this, he received 
a defeat, the enemy compelling him to raise the siegd 
of a town which he had expected would surrender. 

Determined to propitiate the Bauan Mars, the 
prince now ordered some Christian Tonga-Fijians to 
erect a palisade around the great temple. He thought 
they would refrise, and then he would kill them. 
They applied to me for advice ; and I acquiesced in 
their refrisal to enclose the temple; but suggested 
that they should offer to fence in l^e whole of 
the city instead^ if Required. Their firmness saved 
them. 

Soon after this, I visitod the island of Koro, where 
a number of people then embraced Christianity. I 
promised to send them a native teacher. But, when 
the news reached Bau^ the prince sent an armed force 



THE AMERICAN CONSVL. 193 



to command the new converts to apostatize, and to 
\ demand four females as hostages for their loyalty. 

The chief of the clan said to the messengers, " Take 
our wives, if yon donbt our loyalty ; but tell the 
prince, we must obey God rather than man in the 
concerns of the soul." 

The prince's troubles with Mr. Consul Williams, 
late of New-Zealand, now commenced. When the 
claims were investigated on board TJ.S.S. "Fal- 
mouth," and U.S.S. "St. Mary's," (1851,) they could 
not be substantiated. Captain Magruder, of the 
latter vessel, reported to his government, " that he 
was sorry to find a bad state of feeling existing be- 
tween the American agent and the king. They had 
had business-transactions together, in some of which 
he thought Mr. Williams in the wrong." 

Captain Magruder made a powerful appeal to 
Thakombau on the subject of the anticipated strang- 
ling at his father's death. He reminded the chief 
that the responsibility of the transaction would rest 
entirely on himself, since only he possessed the power 
to prevent the custom. The reply was, that Tanoa 
was too great a chief to die alone. 

A request made to the captain of this ship of 
war will illustrate the feeling of Thakombau at this 
period. It was to the efiect, that he would feel him- 
self greatly obliged to the American government, if 
Captain Magruder would at once deport from Fiji 
the consul, and all the whites, with the single excep- 
tion of the missionaries. The gallant commander 
succeeded in persuading the king that his request 
was unworthy of a^ ruler who wished to elevate his 
country. 





194 OFTEN REPB YEB, 

When Cokanauto (Phillips), the installed chief 
of Rewa, and the Ban ally, died of dysentery, at the 
fortress of Nukui, where he resided for safety, the 
Bewa chiefs immediately resolved to throw off the 
Bauan influence, which had proved so antagonistic 
to their independence ; and sent to Bata Qara, re- 
questing him to forgive the past, and to assume the 
royal office, now doubly his by the death of the rival 
brother. He consented. 

To the surprise, then, of Thakombau, Bewa was 
fortified during one siagle night, and independence was 
once more claimed. The Bewa chiefs wished the new 
king to remain in the mountains until after the 
attack, then expected from Ban, was over. But Batu 
Qara said he would join them in the risk of battle, 
and at once came to Bewa. Thakombau soon led on 
a large army; but the attack proved unsuccessful. 
The Bewans only possessed seven or eight muskets 
at the time ; but they were united among themselves, 
and foughf so bravely as to cause the more than 
two thousand men to beat a retreat. It is said that, 
during the whole of the war, Thakombau never took 
a town, except through treachery or by surprise. This 
speaks volumes on the question of Fijian bravery. 

The Bauan governor and seven of his followers 
were killed and eaten just previous to the entrance 
ijito Bewa of Batu Qara. The governor's lady, re- 
siding at Bau, was saved from strangling at the 
intercession of the missionary, who happened to be 
in the city when the news arrived. " But," said the 
prince, " I deny that it is sinfiil to strangle new-made 
widows. I grant your request, however, in this 
instance." Had the point mooted been disputed by 



POPERY, 195 

the missionary, the widow woxdd probably have been 
strangled, to prove that the custom was not sin^l. 
Happily, the applicant was more anxious for the life 
involved, than for the pleasure of argument. 

The capture of a Bicwa cruiser, ^mishing a feast 
of thirty-three dead bodies, which took place soon 
afterwards, was a slight compensation for the late 
loss. The reply of the Bauan commander, who 
boarded the enemy, made to some of his leading men, 
who objected to the venture, is worth recording. 
TTiH people represented the weakness of their vessel, 
and that the shock sustained in boarding would pro- 
bably shatter it, and cause it to sink. The undaunted 
captain answered, *' I know my canoe will be lost ; 
but it is mine, and I devote it to destruction : the 
enemy's vessel is good and strong, and we will return 
home in it." The signal was then given, and the 
combatants joined battle. The issue was as pre- 
dicted by the officer. 

To consular difficulties, and the Bewa revolution, 
was now added another subject of trouble. A Popish 
bishop, of Polynesian renown, visited Thakombau, 
and endeavoured to cajole him into the receiving of 
a French missionary, and the adoption of the Popish 
&ith. The successor of the apostles of peace pre- 
sented the king with two muskets ; and the prince 
said that a priest might land at Yiwa or Ovalau, but 
not at Bau. Yarani prevented the landing at Yiwa, 
and the holy father eventually took up his abode at 
Ovalau. The bishop asked the king " if he knew 
how it was that the English missionaries had not 
obtained access to Bau." On receiving a reply in the 
negative, his lordship informed Thakombau, that 

o2 



196 OFTEN REPROVED. 

'* the Virgin Mary was keeping Ban for tlie Catholics ; 
and that, when he became a Catholic, he wonld have 
to order the Protestants to change their &ith." 
Whereon the king told the bishop to leave him and 
his city to the care of the Virgin, and to come again 
when the Virgin had converted them. 

In the meantime, the prince was deeply perplexed 
in arranging for the payment of two schooners, whicb 
he had ordered, to be nsed as gunboats, each of sixty 
tons. The '' Thakomban," built in America, was the 
first to arrive. Thousands of natives were employed 
to dive for the heche^de-mer. Being a new tribute, 
many reftised, from the very first, to pay it. Others, 
indeed, did not object to take the sacks; but they 
allowed them to rot in their houses, before they made 
any attempt to fill them. In some places they were 
unceremoniously burnt. 

In January, 1852, the prince started on a hiche-de' 
mer expedition to Mucuata, hoping to raise, by his 
own exertions, the requisite balance. A thousand 
fishers, in eighty canoes, accompanied him. But his 
people were much dissatisfied, and worked grum- 
blingly and negligently. They were, in fact, doing 
work which they considered their inferiors ought to 
have performed. After several weeks' toil, Thakom- 
ban was compelled to return home, without having 
accomplished his purpose. He was the last man, 
however, to give up the work, and set a noble example 
of daily labour. He brought to Ban eight women 
who had sought refiige in his fleet from Bitova's 
cruelties. Two others were drowned in efiecting their 
escape. 

To increase his difficulty, the other vessel had 



COMMERCIAL DIFFICULTIES, 197 

arrived from Sydney, and the agent snoceeded in 
securing a considerable quantity of "fish," as tlie 
hiche-de-mer is called ; which he felt himself justified 
in reckoning as part payment of the expenses incurred 
in bringing the schooner, and another vessel, which 
was intended to convey from. Fiji the purchase- 
produce of the gunboat. 

Nothing daunted, the chief made an arrangement 
with the owner of the American gun-boat to convey 
some Fijions to New- Caledonia ; where ''fish" was 
gathered and put on board in a sufficient quantity to 
induce Captain Wallis to hand over the "Thakombau" 
to her owner. The purchase of this schooner was 
the most unpopular measure that the king ever 
adopted, and indeed almost accomplished his ruin. 

The prince had exasperated the country by im- 
posing the heche-de-mer tax : he now excited the anger 
of God in the commission of "the greatest crime 
which he, or probably any Fijian, dead or living, ever 
committed; because so Mly warned, enlightened, 
and convinced." * 

For years the missionaries had earnestly besought 
him to abolish, on the death of his father, which was 
supposed to be near at hand, the ancient but cruel 
custom of strangling some of the widows to accom- 
pany the soul of the departed to hades. Many of 
them had made the request a matter of personal 
£aiVOur ; and had entreated the chief to indulge them 
in this petition, if he denied all others. Captains in 
the Broyal Navy, and the U.S. Navy, had also urged 
the same solicitation. Captain Sir J. Everard Home, 
of H.M.S. "Calliope," had delayed his departure 

* Ber. James Calvert. 



198 OFTEN REPBO VJSD. 

from the group for several weeks, Hoping that the 
death might take place dnring his visit, and Aimish 
him. with an opportunity of being on the spot at the 
very moment when interference would be of use. On 
leaving the islands, the baronet addressed a powerfril 
letter to the chief, from which the following is an ex- 
tract : — " Having done aU that I can, I shall leave you 
to carry on the works of darkness, which you have 
for so long a time been doing, as the devil's agents 
upon earth; which is the more detestable, as you 
have the Hght of Christianity before your eyes, and 
are able to see and understand the great advantages 
of it in this world, at aU events, if not in the next." 

After urging him to become a Christian, Captain 
Sir Everard adds, " If you declare the change to have 
taken place, all Fiji will very shortly follow your 
example ; and you will be happy to see the good that 
you have done. The murdei*s of the women and of 
the chiefs will cease ; and they will live to bear chil- 
dren, to be good subjects to you, each having one 
wife only ; the brutal and disgusting habit of eating 
one another will also cease, — customs which make 
Fiji the scorn of all the world. 

''Be carefrd, when it shall please God to take 
your father from this world, not to add to the sins 
with which he is already overloaded, by taking the 
life of any one whatever ; for he will partly answer 
for it ; and you will add to your own burden, because 
you know that it is wrong, much more than he 
does." * 

* Sir Everard Home also visited Satn Qara, of Bewa, and entered a 
powerfal protest against the evils of F^i. Saoh was the foroe of his 
reasoning/ that the Bewa chi^ wept, in his presence, like a ehild. 
Writing to the anthor, (23d Sept., 1852,) Six Everard remarks, " What ia 



SIR EVEBARD HOME. 199 

In the visit of Sir J. Everard Home, the prince 
might have discovered a closing visitation of mercy. 
Bat he seemed utterly blinded. The thrilling pre- 
dictions, and the earnest snpplications, of the baronet 
might have excited his iSsars, and moved his com- 
passion. His honour, as a great chief, might have 
been saved, by the announcement that the vile custom 
•was abolished out of courtesy to Her Britannic 
Majesty. But, if he yielded, he would lose his pres- 
tige as the Prince of the CrueL By such an act he 
would admit that there was some being on earth for 
whom he entertained the respect of fear. Come 
what might, he resolved to act the Fijian ; and, in the 
bloody execution of his hellish deed, he compelled 
Heaven itself to set itself in array against him. 

Captain Sir Everard Home treated him in a 
manner very different from any other commander. 
Indeed, it was time to make a change in his regimen. 
The observance of ordinary courtesy had fiittened his 
pride, and it was necessary to remind him that he 
was a disgrace to humanity. Sir Everard would not 
shake hands with him, heGomse he was a Gamnibal; 
would not allow him to defile the deck of Her 
Majesty^s vessel with the footsteps of a cannibal. 
NotMng but a moral madness would have dimmed 
the perception of the intelligent chief. 

'wanted to'be required at Ban, in uaj opinion, is peaee irith Bewa; that 
the two cMeft immediately embrace Ohiistiaaitj ; and Ifliat murder and 
jaan-eating be for ever forbid in Fiji, nnder pain of death. It is as well 
to demand plenty.** Again, (October 2d,) "I am told that I haT« 
given Toi Viti more than he has had hefbre. I was an honr-and-half at 
him yesterday. I propose that, instead of siaraagling Ave women npon 
the death of his ikther, which can do no good, he should dedicate 
ten to the Queen of England, and send tiiem to Viwa to be made Chris- 
iaaiuL This seems reasonableu" 



200 OFTEN RJSPRO VED. 

On tHe 8th of December, 1852, king Tanoa, haym^ 
faintly inquired how many would be strangled to 
accompany his spirit, was gathered to his Others. 
The Rev. John Watsford happened to be the only 
missionary within reach of Ban at the time. On 
going to the royal residence, he found that the king 
was dead, and that the prince had already given 
orders for the performance of the usual sanguinary 
custom. The principal widow was a lifeless corpse, 
with the strangling-drapery still round her neck. A 
second was in the midst of death, her strangulation 
being effected by the prince himself and his com- 
panions. Two or three were [pulling the cord on 
either side, whilst a lady of rank, forgetting her 
Christianity in her desire to honour her royal re- 
lative, pressed down the covered head. Just as the 
third was making her appearance, Thakombau re- 
cognised the missionary; a sight which caused con- 
siderable agitation- "How now?" exclaimed the 
prince. "Refrain, sir," said Mr. Watsford, with 
tears in his eyes, and compassion beaming from his 
whole countenance. "Two are already strangled; 
let them suffice ; spare the remainder. I love them." 
" We also love them. But there are only a few — 
only five. But for you missionaries many more 
would have been strangled." The third lady then 
bade farewell to her relatives, and knelt down. The 
cord was then adjusted, the covering thrown over 
her, and she died without a sound or struggle. Two 
others followed. All this W6W3 effected without the 
slightest noise, hurry, or confusion. A slaranger 
might have supposed it to have been a wedding of 
the living, rather than of the dead. 



y :• wm'-rr' ' . 
Tliaiv:.!'! ■ 'H '•' 
abom T>he ('-'•.. 

the c.iTr.n^ svorld, 

^lliJ^^•umarie3,'* mauy i- • 

five, hf efiocted the f:. 

tiiaii 1 ^'i ever heeu . . 

si >n5:. in iJaii ! It js 'i.. '. j ' •' • 

lif'o ". M spared on tho sua >•• .<..•. 

TLiukombau Livd lon;^ luri. ; • - .^^'.• • 
of tJK« king: he now becaii p • '.t 'j«a t«j 
IUh frtquent contact with ci\ii' • '. . ti(\'i- ; 
hov. ovlt, induce him uj bfcomo, Jis :■ ^ ^- ^^'^n: 
iciTor +0 evildoers.*' i '»rly in l^"-'^ . :♦?• hi 
fl I )h) occurrences, ilUi SI" . ./•••t this, took • 
the iriiriiedintye c'^^'-r-^. • *' be vit- • 

then siiiLioued ar O • 
.-ftiai*'^ sot sail for « 
passuf^e. The crew 
vessel, which drift* d ». • 
destiiiation. They even . • 
uubapp'h', to use tho nativo 
wate'- in their faces.'' Tit v lari . 
they >vouId liave hean welcome* i, * 
accident happened to th»'m on the vu; 
as thi y reached tho beaoh, !^.»»y wen 
cool ( d, and eaten. 

The Ovalau native.^ picke'l x.\\. .i « 
"^e story of which is Iftmentablo ir- • -k 






V 






'- 



♦ 



■ t 



\' 



.^^• 









« * . 






/•r 






■<« ( 






THE WIDOW'MURDER. 201 

Yet the voice of conscience made itself heard. 
For several days subsequent to this sad event, 
Thakombau was fireqaentlj engaged in talking 
abont the departed women, and expressing his 
wonder whether mankind will know each other in 
the eternal world. 

The jonng king had gratified his pride; and, 
notwithstanding his assertion that, ''bnt for the 
missionaries," many more would have followed the 
five, he effected the strangling of a greater number 
than had ever been put to death, on similar occa- 
sions, in Bau ! It is difficult to believe that a single 
life was spared on the sad occasion. 

Thakombau had long been possessed of the power 
of the king : he now became entitled to the name. 
His frequent contact with civilized nations did not, 
however, induce him to become, as a magistrate, '* a 
terror to evil doers." Early in 1853, three lament- 
able occurrences, illustrative of this, took place under 
the immediate observation of the writer, who was 
then stationed at Ovalau. A canoe belonging to that 
island set sail for Gau, but was capsized on the 
passage. The crew continued to keep hold of the 
vessel, which drifted towards the island of their 
destination. They even arrived there in safety ; but, 
unhappily, to use the native phrase, " they had salt 
water iu their faces." They landed at a spot where 
they woxQd have been welcomed, had not the sad 
accident happened to them on the voyage. As soon 
as they reached the beach, they were all clubbed, 
cooked, and eaten. 

The Ovalau natives picked up a double canoe, 
the story of which is lamentable in the extreme. I^ 



202 OFTEN REPROVED. 

had been capsized ; but sixteen of tbe crew reached 
an island, about ten miles distant from the writer's 
house. They were all cooked and eaten. Parts of 
bodies which drifted to Ovalau, though tainted, were 
consumed in the usual way by the natives. 

A Manilla Spaniard had been trading at an island, 
and, during his stay in the harbour, had insulted the 
resident natives, who took summary vengeance by 
killing him and the boat's crew, dividing amongst 
themselves the property of those whom they put to 
death. It betrays no want of charity to surmise 
that the unfortunate creatures were eaten. 

Although these shocking acts were perpetrated 
in dominions under the more immediate jurisdiction 
of the king, yet he instituted no inquisition respect- 
ing them, and did not ever threaten to punish the 
offenders. 

Tbe king's political reverses date from this period. 
Batu Qara in the city of Bewa was a &r more for- 
midable enemy than Batu Qara in the mountains. 
He was able to purchase largely from vessels, and to 
raise a considerable tribute from amongst his sub- 
jects. He soon essayed to corrupt from their fide- 
lity the"* Bau feudal towns, and in several instances 
succeeded. At the head of a large force, the king 
invested the revolted town of Nahga. But some 
companies were in secret communication with the 
besieged, and the plan of the campaign was con- 
tinually divulged. After devastating the surround- 
ing country, the king was reluctantly compelled to 
raise the siege. An unlucky soldier belonging to 
the fortress was, however, captured alive, and was 
made the subject of the savage amusement of the 



HORRIBLE VENGEANCE, 203 

retreating forces. He was made to roll down several 
precipices ; but it seemed as though he could not be 
killed by this cruel usage. He Hved to further 
gratify the warriors. As they approached the city, 
they stripped him quite naked, and slung him across 
a pole, in the manner in which dead bodies for eating 
are usually carried. Then the multitude danced 
round him, brandishing their weapons, and chanting 
the cannibal song. On their arrival at the square, 
the body was forcibly thrown on the ground, and 
left. After some time, it was announced that the 
oven was ready, and the victim was released &om 
his lashings. He stood up, and prayed for mercy. 
His action was pronounced highly entertaining. At 
length an executioner approached, and felled him to 
the ground with a stroke of his club. Whilst he 
lay senseless, but long before life was extinct, the 
body was dexterously cut up, and laid in the oven. 
As usual, the head and entrails were left to be 
devoured by the pigs. 

This poor man was a native of Kuku, a town 
which had revolted from Ban, on account of the 
tyranny of the governor of Nal-mata. This governor 
had ordered a large quantity of food, which was 
taken to him in due course. Yams, pigs, and pud- 
dings were heaped in the front of his dwelling. This 
was effected in an evil moment, when the governor 
was regretting that he had no "men " to take for the 
repast of his Bauan lords. His wicked heart sug- 
gested a plan, which met the case: — two of the 
bearers of the Kuku provisions might be killed ! The 
governor rose, and immediately ordered his house- 
hold to massacre two of the finest of the strangers4 



204 OFTEN BEPRO VED, 

This was done. The goyemor saved his credit at 
Baa ; bat Kaka placed itself aadet Bewa. 

News arrived of the indignation felt amongst 
the king's English Mends on accoant of the late 
strangling. Wrote Sir J. E. Home : ** I have been 
mach disappointed in not being able to repeat my visit 
to Fiji. £[ad I visited Fiji, I should not have gone to 
Baa, nor wonld I have seen Tni Yiti. The thought 
of him is enoagh to tarn one sick." When this was 
read to the king, he was speechless. He evidently 
foresaw a storm. 

The next stroke of panishment inflicted on the 
unrepentant king was the burning of his city; 
which was accidentally destroyed by fire at mid- 
night. Gagawalu's great temple had then only re- 
cently been rebuilt ; and it- was considered to be the 
best piece of architecture in Fiji. The king had 
made an immense offering of riches to his Mars, 
which filled the temple. The Fijian value of this 
offering would be enormous. The greater part of 
this was the property of the high-priest. But the 
fire destroyed a large portion of it ; and the remain- 
der was stolen by the fishermen, during the confusion 
that prevailed. 

A greater disaster was soon announced to the 
king. The miniature isthmus of Eaba was peopled 
by five hundred of his household servants. To their 
care was committed a large war-canoe, the sails and 
ship-stores of the gun-boat '' Tl^akombau," and a 
magazine of ammunition. One night, to the surprise 
of every one, and, in particular, to the amazement of 
the king, the Eabans beat the drum of rebellion, and 
seized upon all the king's property. 



MJSV. J. WATSFOED. 205 

Nor was their revolt bloodless. Some unsuspect- 
ing neighbours, to the number of eighty, wiBre mas- 
sacred hj the Kiabans, as their note of introduction 
to the king of Bewa. 

Six months afterwards, a deputation from the 
missionaries, consisting of the Chairman of the Dis- 
trict (the Rev. R. B. Lyth), the Rev. John Watsford, 
and mjself, waited on the king, to know if he still 
declined to receive a missionary. It was hoped that 
his late reverses would have exerted a softening 
influence on him; but it proved to be otherwise. 
He refused to allow any missionary to reside at 
Bau, though his habitation were merely an empty 
oil-cask. 

On the occasion of the ndssionary Watsford's 
preaching his farewell sermon at Bau, he was treated 
very rudely, and it was supposed that the king was 
the instigator. Mr. Watsford had resided at Yiwa 
for twelve months, and frequently came into contact 
with the king and chiefs of Bau. To possession of 
the idiom of the native tongue, and of a voice com- 
manding immediate sympathy amongst his hearers, 
Mr. Watsford united the unabated fire of youthful 
zeal, and a forcible manner of manifesting his loving 
indignation at the crimes and sins of the cannibal 
community amongst whom he laboured. Many a 
time did his aristocratic auditors secretly tremble 
under his fierce denunciations. The times were 
favourable for the labours of such a man ; and a deep 
impression was made at Bau by the uncompro- 
mising and warm-hearted efforts of the Reverend 
John Watsford. 

The king was formally inaugurated as Vu-ni-valu 



206 OFTEN REPROVED, 

on 26tli of July, 1863. The bodies of eighteen per- 
sons had been secnred as a feast on the occasion. Five 
only were living by the time the Rev. James Calvert 
was on the spot, to endeavour to prevent the recnr- 
rence of the barbarous custom. But the king refused 
to entertain the application of the missionary ; and 
said he would be quite prepared to explain his con- 
duct on board the next ship of war. 

" As the missionary approached Gagawalu's temple, 
a dead stillness rested upon Bau, which was suddenly 
broken by a loud shout, proclaiming that Thakombau 
had just drunk the yaqona of the Vunivalu, during 
the preparation of which none were allowed to move 
about. Another shout from the Lasakau quarter 
made known that the bodies were being dragged; 
and soon the horrible procession came up, — the dead 
and the dying, dragged along by their hands, naked, 
with their heads rattling and grating over the rough 
ground. As each approached the temple, the head 
was violently dashed against a great stone, which 
became stained with blood. The usual ceremonies in 
honour of the young men who had taken the victims, 
and in the presentation of the bodies, now took 
place, amidst the glee of all assembled.'' * 

It was on this occasion that an Australian mer- 
chant signalized himself. William Owen, Esq., of 
Adelaide, told the Somosomo chief^ who was then on 
a visit to Bau, that unless the cooked human flesh 
was given up for burial, he would, at once, close his 
business-transactions with him. Tui Gakau could 
not forego his man of business; and therefore he 
delivered up to Mr. Owen eighty-four cooked por- 

* Fiji and the Fjjians, toL ii., p. 327. 



MURDER OF VARANI, 207 

tions of men's bodies, which were conveyed by 
that gentleman to Yiwa, and there deposited in the 
ground. 

In Angast the king made an nnsuccessM attack 
on Kaba, which was now well fortified, and crowded 
with troops from Rewa. The town would have been 
taken, but for the treachery of some of the assailants, 
who succeeded in alarming their comrades, and then 
fled, leaving some of the Ban chiefs unsupported. 
The king's cousin, Yagodamu, was wounded by a 
musket-ball in the leg, but was carried off on the 
shoulders of a friend. Some chiefs were shot dead, 
but their bodies were not lefb in the hands of the 
enemy. 

By this repulse Ban lost its prestige in the war, 
and other towns thought they might now venture 
with impunity to rebel. 

The next reverse was almost overwhelming. 
Yarani, the king's former companion in arms, and 
most constant friend, who was again anxious to help 
his royal master, was murdered in his own town of 
Ovalau. 

Ovalau had long been ripe for rebellion. The 
chief of Levuka, its principal town, had secured the 
affection of Thakombau, when quite a youth, and, by 
the aid of Ban, had murdered his elder brother, 
in order to become the heir-apparent. It is even 
suspected that he was cognisant of the subse- 
quent murder of his father, by the mountaineers 
of that island. The notice which Thakombau took 
of him had confirmed him in the idea that he was 
a man of considerable importance. He became 
proud and haughty. The Bau chiefs would have 



208 OFTEN REPROVED. 

qnickly laid him low ; bat he was most obsequious 
to the young king, and received protection at head- 
quarters. He had thrice given unmistakable evidence 
of his secret design to revolt, but found that the 
leading whites would not support him in a war with 

Bau, and had pacified his liege lord by humbly asking 
pardon. 

The foreigners themselves had many grievances. 
They had been cruelly driven away from their home 
with scarcely any warning. Thakombau himself had 
made dishonourable proposals to the Samoan wife of 
one of the shipwrights. His son, nicknamed " Scissors' ' 
on account of his shearing propensities, had lately 
threatened to bum the house of another, unless a 
musket was given to him, as satisfiiotion for a trifling 
but unintentional insult. The king's son-in-law elect 
had threatened to beat an honest carpenter, who re- 
spectfully requested the payment of a claim of three 
years' standing. These are mere illustrations of the 
cause of their opposition to Bau. Nor must it be 
forgotten that they were aware of the king's request, 
made to Captaiu Magruder of IJ. S. S. '^ St. Mary's," 
for their deportation. 

The natives vrete tired of oppression. They had 
nothing they could call their own; and could not 
help contrasting the position of the whites with 
theirs. One petty chief had bought a work-box. 
Before it had been in his house five minutes, it was 
seized by a Bau chief, who had followed the owner in 
pursuit of the treasure. Another, when on his way 
home, was stripped of some clothing that he had 
bought, ostensibly because he had accidentally fright- 
ened some wild ducks at which a Bauan boy, yet in 



THE MALAKI O UTRA GE. 209 

bifl teens, was taking aim. A third was gratnitously 
eased of a canoe-load of provisions, which he was 
conveying to the foreigners' market for sale. 

At length a train of circumstances &tvoured Tui 
Levoka's ambitious schemes. The cutter "Wave** 
was seized bj the natives of Malaki, an island subject 
to Bau through Viwa. Part of the white crew were 
made prisoners, and the cargo appropriated hj the 
assailants. By the aid of a native catechist, who 
resided within twenty miles of the spot, the remain- 
der of the crew reached Levuka in two days. All 
the whites (except the missionaries) were assembled 
to determine respecting the release of the prisoners. 
It was felt that there must now be action taken in 
self-defence ; and it was resolved to liberate the cap- 
tives by force, and to punish the natives, if they had 
killed the unfortunate men. 

In spite of my remonstrance, Tui Levuka^ the chief, 
was permitted to accompany the expedition with forty 
of his warriors. Two hot-headed individuals, one lust- 
ing for notoriety, and the other thirsting for an oppor- 
tunity of injuring the king in person, or in state, in 
revenge for conceived injustice, adroitly assumed the 
command of the party. When the boats arrived at 
Malaki, they found that their comrades had escaped 
from the island. A council of war was held, when 
moderate views prevailed. But it was easy for the two 
unprincipled leaders to make an arrangement more in 
accordance with their own personal views; and, to 
the amazement of the whites, the Levuka natives 
commenced a massacre amongst the Malaki people, 
whilst the latter were in the very act of Tnaking 
restitution. Some, who exclaimed against the murder, 

p 



^^1 



210 OFTEN BEPBO VBD. 

were told by the leaders, that the Malakians them- 
selves had commenced the affray, and had wounded 
some of their yisitors. Several of the whites im- 
mediately joined the Levnka bloodhonnds in conse- 
quence of this statement. Fourteen of the islanders 
were killed on the spot,* the town was pillaged and 
bamt, and thirteen female prisoners were taken to 
Levuka by the whites. 

On their return to Ovalau, Tui Levuka sent his 
ambassador to Ban, to give an account of his pro- 
ceedings, and to beg pardon for having taken so 
hostile a step without the sanction of the authorities. 
The gift of atonement was accepted ; but the king 
expressed his disapprobation of Tui Levuka's pro- 
ceedings, by saying, "What have you to do with 
these foreigners ? Why did you not leave them to 
settle their own differences ? " Had the king himself 
inquired into the outrage, instead of leaving the 
foreigners to the mercy of his savage people, he 
would have secured the good-will and gratitude of 
the whites. 

The settlers were further exasperated by an in- 
judicious letter, written at the request of the Viwa 
chief, Varani. Instead of expressing sympathy with 
the sufferers, and comforting himself with the reflec- 
tion that his people had merited their unhappy fate, 
he sent a communication to Mr. Whippy, the Ameri- 
can vice-consul, prohibiting the whites from trading 
in all those parts of Fiji which were under the Bau 
and Yiwa influence. Months and years after this, 
the unwelcome obedience to this order, on the part 

* The two leaden in this ezpedition, on whom the onns of the 
slaughter rests, sabsequently met with premature deaths. One com- 
mitted stdcide; and the other was lost at sea. 



BUBNINa OF LEVUKA, 211 

of the whites, was deeply regretted hj Thakombau 
and his people. 

On the 22d of December, about 10 f.m., Levnka 
was bnmt hj an incendiary ; and hereby the whites 
lost nearly all their property, amounting to ^eyeral 
thousand dollars' worth. It was supposed to have 
been effected by the order of Yarani. On the 22d the 
king arrived to express his sympathy with the whites, 
and to assure them that he had not consented to the 
deed. It was a visit terrible to the once^formidable 
t^hief. As he passed the foreigners, they indeed 
grounded their loaded muskets, but not a soul spoke 
to him. He courted a friendly recognition; but it 
was withheld, and the king then marched past the 
corps with all the dignity and pride of a conquering 
general. The Levuka chief would not consent to see 
him ; and a mountaineer, had he not been prevented 
by the whites, would have killed him. 

On the 25th the mountaineers sealed their alle- 
giance to Tui Levuka in' the murder of ten persons. 
Two of the slain bodies, and the part of a third, were 
brought to Levuka to be eaten ; but were given up 
for burial, at the earnest solicitatioiis of the writer. 
The populace vainly attempted to intimidate me in 
the discharge of this trying duty. 

The next day another victim was offered to the 
god of Levuka. A clan came to swear fealty to Tui 
Levuka, and killed one of their company, as a sacrifice, 
previous to entering the town. Poor fellow ! how 
unsuspectingly had he left his pleasant home that 
morning ! With what glee had he united in the can- 
nibal dance while on the journey ! How surprised 
when he found his friends and relatives were deter- 

f2 



212 OFTEN REPROVED, 

mined to offer him as a sacrifice ! His corpse, still 
warm and quivering, was presented to the deity of 
the spirit-house, and then handed over to me for 
burial. But the whites were alarmed at the ex- 
citement amongst the natives, caused by this bold 
innovation on the fiendish but popular custom of can- 
nibalism, and, to a man, refased to render that aid, 
in the removal of thp corpse, which they had ten- 
dered on the previous occasion. With the help of 
two or three Christian natives, whom I hired for the 
purpose, I succeeded in placing out of reach the 
remains of the victim, by casting it from a boat into 
the deep ocean, after tying weights to the body. 
" After all our trouble to get this, the best of food, 
the missionary is to throw it away," was heard in 
several quarters. The rage of the populace at the 
loss of their " food," as they called it, was sufficient 
to account for the fears of the whites. 

But Varani, the Viwa chief, was not at all dis- 
posed to lose his influence over the Ovalau mount- 
aineers without an effort to retain it. He had long 
been aware of the secret dissatisfaction amongst that 
tribe, who complained of the king's insufficient pay 
for warlike services. Koroicava had sent a very sig- 
nificant message to Yarani, and begged him to send 
them two muskets. The chief communicated this 
request to the king, who, in a most irritating manner, 
reftised to comply, and taunted hiTn with unfriendly 
feelings. The aggrieved Varani sent one of his own 
muskets to Koroicava, with an explanation of the 
circumstances under which it was sent. Soon after 
this the revolution broke out, and Yarani sent his 
brother to try and prevent the Lovoni people frdm 



>» ' ^mw* '-'^^r^fi^^f^^i^r''^imts:mmf^ ^ ' jnMM.j^s ^'W'Ssr^Bami^ss .»r.'^A..iV.^,.^.^ ' 



VARANT8 self-sacrifice. 213 

joining Tui Levnka. The mountaineers forbade lum 
to land, and, in the manner that is regarded as highly 
honourable, told him that they were going to follow 
their relative of Levuka for a season, and that Viwa 
must stand aloof. In a short time, however, their 
chiefs might visit them, and they could then arrange 
a return to Yarani. Instead of regarding this intima- 
tion, in accordance with the usage of the country, 
Yarani resolved to attempt in person the recovery of 
their allegiance. He was the more decided on this 
measure in consequence of the king's ill-timed remark 
respecting himself. He would give himself up to 
death for his master, who would then know whether 
he was a friend in need or not. 

In accordance with this fatal resolution, he pro- 
ceeded to Ovalau, after taking a solemn farewell of 
his family, and of the missionary. The king accom- 
panied him part of the way, and then parted with 
him, with the conviction that the errand was one of 
extraordinary danger, but of great importance. With 
two of his brothers, and four of their people, Yarani 
landed by night at an uninhabited part of the island, 
and proceeded to Lovoni^ The sole survivor says, 
that Yarani engaged in prayer with them several 
times during the land-journey. On entering the town, 
Yarani presented five necklaces of whales'-teeth to 
Naduva, the principal chief in charge, who accepted 
the property, and ordered a notification of its receipt 
to be made public by the usual beating of the drum. 
Messengers were then sent to Levuka to inform the 
Lovoni chiefs that their suzerain had arrived, and was 
in the town. Tui Levuka felt that either he or Yarani 
must die. In self-defence, he levied an immediate 



214 OFTEN BSPRO VEJ). 

tax on both natives and whites, and presented the 
property to his monntaineer relatives, promising also 
to give his sister to them if they would bring him the 
body of his enemy. Koroicava, though of inferior 
rank, engaged to fulfil Tni Levnka's wishes. Starting 
for Lovoni, he at once made arrangements for the 
destruction of the entire party. His superiors wished 
to allow their suzerain to escape ; but eventually, by 
his energy and threats, he secured their consent to 
his plan. The next morning, after prayer, Yarani 
and his party went — ^unarmed, of course — to bathe. 
As they returned to their lodging-house, they were 
surrounded by more than a hundred men, who 
closed in upon them, and put them all to death, with 
the exception of Taba, who escaped into the bush, 
and was fruitlessly pursued. It is said that after 
Yarani was wounded, a man came up to club him, 
but the renowned chief wrested the club from him. 
'^ Are we to be killed ? " he demanded. *' The moon 
sets to-day," was the reply. Yarani's assailant 
was at the mercy of his chief. But the wounded 
warrior threw away the weapon he had seized. Just 
then he was fatally wounded by a musket-ball, and, 
&lling on the ground, received the clubs of his enemies 
on his skull. The bodies of Yarani, and pf some of 
his companions, were conveyed to Levuka ; and, after 
being presented to the god of the spirit-house, were 
handed to me. By the assistance of Mr. Whippy, 
the American vice-consul, and other whites, I was 
enabled to give them honourable and Christian se- 
pulture in the same grave. Thus died the once- 
dreaded Yarani, a martyr to his king. 

Taba suooeeded in reaching the mission-hoase one 



yARBOW ESCAPE. 215 

night about midnight. Here he stopped, until an 
opportunity presented itself for his removal by sea. 
The people looked upon that establishment as a sacred 
place of reftige. His chief came to see him, and was 
most indignant that he fled when his superior was 
killed. " You are a mean slave," said he. " When 
Varani was sacrificed, who, of his company, would 
wish to live ? You were unworthy of so noble a fate ! 
You live to be a disgrace, and to be the object of 
general contempt. But you are with the missionary, 
and therefore safe." Afterwards the chief told the 
missionary that Taba might be employed as a servant. 
''Do not keep him in-doors, lest his health suffer. 
You have nothing to fear from us. Having once been 
received by you, we will not molest him." By this 
speech he hoped to decoy the poor fellow, and to lead 
him to stroU out of doors. But, after his departure, 
the chief's wife came, and told the missionary that 
her husband had lied unto him. And so it was ; for 
scores of musketeers kept watch around the house, 
so long as Taba remained there. 

Whilst the grave was being prepared for the four 
bodies, Varani's small schooner, the "Glyde," hove 
in sight, and entered the harbour. Leaving Mr. John 
Binner, my missionary colleague, to read the burial 
service, I hastened to warn those on board of their 
danger. Hundreds of armed natives lined the beach, 
prepared to kill all who landed ; but the warning was 
given before the boat anchored. The " Glyde " im- 
mediately stood out to sea, and those on board were 
saved from unmerited death. The sad news she 
conveyed to Ban and Yiwa filled many houses with 
lamentation. 



• 



.• 



216 OF^EN BEPBO VED. 

*; For tlie third time Varani's wife waa a n^dow; 

and, singular to relate, hex three husbands had all 
been killed when separated fi*om her, so that she had 
ndt the moonifal satisfaction, in any one case, of see- 
i^g tine corpse of her deceased husband. It was 
when she was a widow for the second time that 
Yarani forcibly caitied her off, and made her his own 
wife, having met her searching for shell-fish on the 
edge of the reef. 

Soon after this, the brig " Spec," from Australia, 
arrived at Levuka, with one of Thakomban's mes- 
sengers, as passenger, who had been to Sydney on 
the king's business. Gannon and ammunition were 
also on board to the king's order. Pickering was 
consignee, and refused to forward these articles to 
their destination, the whites having resolved to 
strictly adhere to Varani's unfortunate letter, fore- 
seeing that the measure would reduce Bau to extre< 
mity. 

The royal messenger wished to stay at Ovalau, 
until he could proceed to his master. Tui Levuka, 
on being consulted by the missionary, unhesitatingly 
consented to his remaining for this sole purpose at 
the mission-house. But after the " Spec's " departure, 
he treacherously withdrew his permission, and coolly 
told the writer to send Peter away lest he be killed. 
Fortunately a small boat was ready for sea, and he 
was sent off during the dark of the night. , Tlie neict 
morning, the mountaineers came to drag him from 
his asylum, the sanctity of which they refused to 
recognise any longer. 

With the Ovalau revolt the hopes of Mara II. re- 
vived. This chief had absconded fr^m Bau at the 



!«n«p;9n«c 



4 

time of Thakombeila's hSche-^mej fishing expedition. 
He first visited Ovalau, and presented whales'-teetb 
to some of the monntaineer chiefs ; and than hastened 
to BewEi where he was received- with welcome by 
Bata Qara. But he soon fonnd that he did not pos- 
sess his ally's confidence. With the thonght^hiess 
characteristic of the Fijian politician, the Bewa 
monarch suspected Mara of being the secret agent of 
Thakomban, either to act as spy or as something 
worse. He also remembered that, supposing this 
view of the case to be wrong, he could not rely for a 
day on the exile's fidelity. For, after all Mara had 
done, he was still a Bauan, and might be moved by 
patriotism to desert the Bewa standard, should his 
mother-country be reduced to extremity. 

Mara had had one narrow escape already; and 
that was fi?om treacherous hands at Ovalau. Soon 
after the E[aba rebellion he prepared to steal a visit to 
Tui Levuka, in accordance with previous arrangement. 
But Tui Levuka only intended to entrap him. Mara 
received warning from a trustworthy source, and was 
saved from making the fatal experiment. 

When Tui Levuka renounced his allegiance to 
Bau, he sheltered himself under the name of Bewa. 
But the king of Bewa was too cautious to venture so 
far from home as Ovalau, and it soon became neces- 
sary to seek some one of rank, whom all Ovalau 
would obey. The whites, and Tui Levuka himself, 
were afraid of civil war. The mountaineers, it was well 
known, were wavering and unsteady in their attach- 
ment to their Levuka relative. The Bau coast-towns 
had never, in the memory of man, defied their masters. 
The district of Bureta had seldom remained on. 



218 OFTEN REPMO FEZ). 

friendly terms with the Lovoni ' moimtaineers for 
many months together. Tui Levuka could not even 
depend on his own portion of the island. The towns 
tributary to him might request the Bauan king to 
' remain friendly with them. 

At that time Tui Levuka, as a compliment to the 
civilized residents, professed to dislike the shedding 
of human blood ; but he saw that it would be good 
policy to lead all these parties to the commission of 
those deeds which would render them, respectively, 
the irreconcilable enemies of the king of Ban. This 
is the key to the secret of those murders, and warlike 
movements, which took place at Ovalau during the 
first few months of the revolution. This, also, is 
the reason why Tui Levuka assumed the title of 
Vunivalu. 

Tui Levuka saw that if these measures failed, he 
muEt inevitably lose his own head. Could he not 
employ Mara as his tool P K the game were lost, 
Mara must himself pay the stakes, and he might 
escape. K success awaited them, he could easily 
make himself Mara's master. 

To gain his end, Tui Levuka addressed the whites, 
urging them to send for Mara, to strengthen his rule 
on Ovalau. They had far less confidence in Tui 
Levuka's power on Ovalau than he himself had ; and 
therefore they willingly consented. 

A schooner-boat was despatched afber Mara. He 
was then at Lakeba, seriously thinking of returning 
to his friends at Ban. But when the message from 
Ovalau reached him, he again saw a vision of future 
greatness. Yet he remembered Tui Levnka's former 
duplicity. Can he trust him again? He goes to 



MARA AT OVALAU. 219 

the missionaiy, the Rev, Bichard B. Lyth. "Mr. 
Lyth, will you guarantee my safety at Ovalan?" 
The missionary asks what he has to do with politics 
and revolutions. " The white men have sent for me, 
and I am wilHng to depend on them ; but I cannot 
trust Tui Levuka." The missionary says it is quite 
foreign to his department to make any remark ; and 
urges Mara to be as anxious to become a good man 
as he is to be a great man. Eventually a letter 
was written by Mara's amanuensis, to inform the 
foreigners that Mara would accept the Ovalau 
invitation, trusting his personal safety in the hands 
of his friends, the whites. 

For two or three days after his arrival at Ovalau, 
Mara was evidently ill at ease, a loaded revolver being 
always in his hand. He then became more uncon- 
cerned; and, as soon as he had disposed of his 
anxiety, abandoned himself for a season to his 
habitual gluttony and bestiality. He at last received 
a check, in the communication from certain of the 
whites, that they could not allow him to insult 
their wives. 




^^^l»i 



«^^«»^^w« 



i^w^i*^r-w^»» 



mp«HBmiPP^B9V""v«'^ p *■ I ^^■^^»^^ir"*^r^»'""^F^»-^ 




*-fe- 



CHAPTER IX. 



||D|[t&I ^t0ns* 




4 



CHAPTER IX. 






HOPEFUL SIQNS. 

The MUtionary at Ban — Vint of Sing Oeorge Tubou — Rev, 
Robert Toung — A Victim rescued — Mission-house built 
^-Burning of Ban — Xoroiravulo^s Treason — Defeat at 
Kaha — Consultation of the Oods — Second Defeat — 
Nagalu's Vengeance — JSing George's Letter — Mr, Consul 
Williams, 

^R. CALVERT, perceiving that it was the 
time to make a breach in the citadel of 




"^ heathenism, nrged the king to receiye a 
missionary. After some demnr, he con- 
sented. Whereon Mr. Calvert took charge of Ovalan, 
and the writer proceeded to commence the mission 
to Ban. 

On Sunday, 80th October, 1853, after landing 
Mrs. Waterhonse and child at Yiwa, I hastened to the 
city, and presented myself in the presence of the 
vacillating monarch, having resolved either to strike 
a decisive blow, or to retnm immediately to the scene 
of snccessftd labours at Ovalau. The following con- 
versation took place at the interview : — 

Missionary. — "As you, sir, are now willing to build 



I 
k 



224 HOPEFUL SIQITS, 

a mission-lioiise, and have sent for me to reside at 
Ban, I have come to report my arrival." 

King. — " 'Twaa Mr. Calrert's mind, not mine." 
Missionary, — "Do not triflis with me, sir. Mr. 
Calvert bronght your message to me, in consequence 
of *wliich I have come." 

King. — " No, no : not my message,, but bis own." 
Missionary, — "Impossible ! But what am I to do ?" 
King, — " Do ? Go and live at Viwa for the present." 
Missionary, — " Chief, listen to me for a few mo- 
ments. Ton have frequently befooled the missionaries. 
For years we have listened to you, and have kept a 
missionary uselessly waiting until you would build 
him a house at Bau. We can be played with no 
longer. I myself have left an island where your 
countrymen, though heathens and cannibals like your- 
self, love and respect me as a missionary ; the dead 
have been given to me for burial, and the lives of many 
have been spared at my intercession. I know that 
you will not be very ready to follow their example ; for 
you told my father that you would destroy and kill 
as long as your life lasted. But if you will build me a 
house, though I may labour without success, yet I will 
reside with you, and endeavour to do you good." 

King, — "Very well: don't be angry. GotoYiwa; 
and when we are at leisure, we will build your house." 
Missiona/ry, — " Angry I am not, as the king well 
knows. But I reprove you publicly on the present 
occasion, as private expostulation has failed. Please 
oblige me with a house in which to deposit my books, 
furniture, &c." 

King, — " Bau is quite full : we have no room. 
Go to Viwa." 



THE MISSIONARY AT BAU, 225 

Missionary. — " I mnst now Utopeotfully but firmly 
inform the king, that he must be pleased to ftimish 
me with a shed for my goods, and also to send a 
canoe to the vessel for the said goods, or I shall be 
compelled to return to Ovalau to-morrow. The king 
cannot have forgotten that the goods belonging to the 
missionary Watsford were brought to Ban, with the 
long's full consent, who then refused to allow of the 
landing of the same. To guard against a similar 
mishap, the king must be pleased, in this instance, to 
despatch his own men to the vessel ; more especially 
as the brig is six. miles distant." 

King (inwardly agitated^ hut endea/votmng to mam^ 
tain am, outward composure), — " Don't talk like that. 
Perhaps the Manilla man would lend his stone hut 
to you." 

The result was that the e£Fects of the missionary 
were landed at the city by the king's own people. 
They were stowed away in the stone hut, room only 
being lefb for a bed for the stranger. A site for a 
house was chosen on the Bauan summit, but the 
king gave no orders for building. 

This removal was not effected without a serious 
loss to missionary influence on Ovalau. The wisdom 
of making the exchange still remains questionable ; 
for no one seems now capable of curbing the ambition 
and the passions of Tui Levuka. The foreigners, 
the mountaineers, the coasters, ail sent respective 
deputations, urging that their own missionary should 
not leave. But his successor was inexorable, and 
iron necessity compelled me to tear myself away from 
a most promising field of labour. A few days after 
my departure, the American vice-consul prevented^ 



226 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

with diffiemltj-, the enraged heathen mountaineer- 
chief &om bnming the mission-hoosey in revenge for 
the loss of their " father." * 

Within a few days, Tui Lvfuka, liaring killed 
»nd eaten all the king's cattle then grazing (m an 
island adjoining Ovalan, sent a message by his mis^ 
sionary, the Rev. James Calvert, inquiring if tbe 
king would forgive him. The reply was favourable ; 
the king adding, ''You can also tell him, that I 
sympathize with him in his difficulties ; and that be 
may keep this treaty secret until he feels desirous 
of punishing the mountaineers, when I will be ready 
to help him." 

* The other cdda of the question ia fwcibly stated in a letter dated 

February, 1854: "Mr. and Mr. , with myself, think that 

Proyidence has opened Bau. . . . Why, we cannot say : perhaps, because 
its salvation is near; or, perhaps, that before the day of visitation 
closes, the light may ahine more brightly. We think, too, that no one 
of our band is so fitted for that place as you. You will be the foremost 
in the battle; your trials will exceed ours. But, if Bau repents like 
Kineveh, or perishes like Sodom, you will do the will of €k>d, if you 
are firm and fEiithfal ; and, hereafter, you wUl know that the * reward ' 
is according to the work. 

'* My conviction is deepened that we must not be disheartened by the 
apparent unfruitfulness of our labours. Grod appoints the harvest-time. 
I think much of our influence is imperceptible, but powerfbl, and 
giradnally deepening. Future generations may reap great and lasting 
benefit from what now appears useless. Barren soil may become 
froitftil by frequent turning. We sympathize with you, and pray for 
you ; and we remember the Lord of Hosts is with us. 

** But why be disheartened ? Is it nothing that the chief should send 
for Mara through your exertions ? Is it nothing that that youth should 
be saved ? Every blow we give weakens the chain of evil ; every life 
we save makes future sucoessftQ interference easier. Who can expeet 
heUism to be destroyed by a single blow ? Who can anticipate that 
these heathen, aoonstomed from their youth to evil, will embrace the 
good instantaneously ?" 

Another missionary, under date of 5th January, writes : " Bau is cer- 
tainly a vwy important pla^e, the stronghold of sin in Fiji ; and if yon 
can make your wiqr ^A«re, it will make a great impression on all Fiji. 
But you may expect plenty of trials and disappointments ; and all your 
grace, Mth, and patience will be called into exeroiBe/' 



^ 



tm^^m mmm^^^rj^mm i in n^u 



Xlira GEOROE TXTSOTT. 227 

In Noretaber the king was agreeably surprised 
by an unexpected interview with the sovereign of 
the adjacent gronps of Hapai, Vavan, and Tonga, 
known under the collective name of Friendly Islands. 
King Gteorge Tubon was then on his way to visit 
Australia, to make a personal inspection of civilized 
society. The arrangements for his voyage having 
been made somewhat hurriedly, and the intercourse 
between Fiji and the Friendly Islands being then ex- 
ceedingly rare, the Tongan king was unable to send 
the usual messenger in advance to prepare his way. 

As soon as it was reported that King George was 
on board the vessel that had just anchored. King Tha- 
kombau hastened on board, and gave him a hearty 
welcome to his country. George presented the cus- 
tomary gift of introduction, — ^in this instance one of 
great value ; and Thakombau invited the traveller to 
visit the metropolis, — an invitation which was heartily 
accepted. 

The Rev, Robert Young, King Gteorge's travelling 
companion on this occasion, gives the following ac- 
count of the visit : — " The town, with a population of 
not more than 1500, 1 found furnished with upwards 
of twenty temples. We entered one of them, and 
saw the priest and several persons apparently enjoy- 
ing themselves. Some were smoking, and others 
eating fish, near to the sacred cloth behind which the 
god of the temple is said to descend when he comes 
to inspire the priests, and make known his mind to 
the people. Several beautifully-camred clubs were 
hung up near the spot. Leaving this temple, we 
went to another ; and on asking why a neat new fence 
had been put around it, a woman replied that it was 

Q 2 



228 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

to inflnence tlie god to change the wind ; that he had 
accepted the offering, changed the wind accordingly, 
and the absent canoes had returned. 

"We next proceeded to pay onr respects to 
Thakomban, and found him and his principal wife 
waiting to receive the king of the Friendly Isles. 
They were both seated on the matted floor, with their 
hair elaborately dressed, bnt without any coyering, 
save the very scanty supply of native cloth around 
the loins which the custom of Fiji prescribes. I 
spoke to the great chief on the subject of rehgion ; 
and I also informed him that it afforded me pleasure 
to hear that he had consented for one of our mission- 
aries to reside at Ban, and hoped he would aid and 
protect him. He appeared to receive my statements 
with pleasure. 

"King George soon made his appearance, and, 
having taken his seat near Thakombau, a large bunch 
of kava-root was laid at his feet. The palace, if it 
may be so designated, was now well filled with chiefs 
and other persons of distinction. The kava-ring 
being formed, preparations for making the kava yrece 
commenced, and soon the popular beverage was ready 
for use. We remained until the first bowl of kava 
had been drunk ; and then retired, lest axir presence 
should be a restraint upon the conversation of the 
two great chiefbains. 

" The house of Thakombau was well stored with 
bales of native doth, whales'-teeth, and a variety of 
European artLdeSy which the chief had received as 
presents." * 

* Tbe Soathem Woxld : Jommal of Deputation, Ao., bj the Ber. 
Sobert Tonng. 



, .*' • • «J m^i^^m^ I ■ IIP m\m^^^W^9^mm 



BEOINNINQ OF HOPK 229 

In tlie course of the interview, King Thakombau 
feelingly referred to his present reduced position. 
Qeorge expressed his sympathy, making a graceful 
allusion to the death of Varani, the Christian hero, of 
whom they had &.yourably heard at Tonga. Amidst 
the general compliments, Thakombau presented 
George with a large double canoe, expressing the 
wish that kingly help might be afforded. George 
said, " The rebel fortress seems to me to be anything 
but impregnable." It was evident that each king under- 
stood the other. The canoe, '^ ila Marama," measured 
as follows : — ^length, 102 feet; breadth, 18 feet; height 
of holds, 6 feet ; breadth of large hold, 5 feet. 

In the meanwhile I was waiting patiently for 
the fulfilment of the king's promise. On the 28th of 
December I was favoured with some slight degree of 
success. Some of the enemy had been captured, and 
killed on their arrival at Bau. A young man, who 
had been spared for the purpose, was being interro- 
gated by the king respecting the plans of his foes, 
whilst the ovens were being prepared into which he 
would soon be thrown, with the bodies of his late 
comrades. I hastened to do what I could towards 
the saving of life. With heaving bosom I wandered 
along the lanes of the guilty city on that inauspicious 
day. No man said, '' God speed thee ! " The black- 
est looks were directed towards me. I requested a 
Tongan chief to aid me ; but he said, " I pray thee, 
have me excused." He, however, sent one of his 
men to protect me. Away we went; frequently 
compelled to turn aside, and conceal from our sight 
the operations of the human butchers. At length I 
entered the presence of the gmlty monarch, whose 



230 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

bearing seemed to say, " Hast thou found me, O my 
enemy ? " I spoke ; but he interrupted me. With 
a hellish look, he exclaimed, *^ The man CAifiroT 
live ! " I made no reply, but prayed in silence unto 
Him who can soften the hardest heart. The myste- 
rious power of the Eternal Being touched the stony 
heart of this prince of cannibals, and he seemed to 
relent. Again did I, in meekness, plead the cause of 
my captive fellow-man, and the king listened rather 
more respect^illy. He eventually promised to spare 
the young man. The youth was then informed of 
the pleasing change in his destiny, and ordered 
by the king to go and bathe. During his absence, a 
Fijian approached the king very respectfally, and 
begged his majesty to give him the young man to 
kill and eat that very day. With diabolical eloquence 
did he urge his suit, notwithstanding my presence. 
But the king adhered to his promise. The hing had 
never yielded m such a case hefore ; and I was encour- 
aged to labour more incessantly. One of the bodies 
was left within three yards of the door of the mission- 
hut for several hours. 

This success was the forerunner of another ad- 
vantage. The queen had for some time listened 
attentively to the exhortations ef the missionary ; and 
at length she promised to use her influence with her 
husband for the erection of the house. Through her 
intercessions, the dwelling was at last commenced; 
and on the 23d of February Mrs. Waterhouse joined 
me at Bau. On landing, she was received by the in- 
habitants with boisterous acclamations ; whilst indi- 
viduals of all ranks pressed round her, to see the lady 
that had landed as the first foreign female resident 



B URNING OF BA V. 231 

Ckmongst tkem. A little rudeness was pardonable on 
the occasion. Adi Samanunn, the qneen, presented 
the niissionary's wife with a beantifully- wrought mat, 
seventy feet in length by twenty-five in breadth. 
Divine service was thenceforward conducted twice 
every Lord's day in the mission-house. 

The fickle Tui Levuka now displayed the traitor's 
feather. Some Kaba men were on a visit to Ovalau ; 
and Tui Levuka sent word to the king, informing him 
of the day appointed for their departure, and sug- 
gesting a plan for their capture. The canoe-ambush 
was laid ; but the E^abans fortunately escaped, owing 
to a sudden change in the wind. The whites had 
proof of Tui Levuka's guilt, in his own confession, 
when accused ; but they apparently reconciled them- 
selves to his inconsistent and wavering conduct. 

On the 4th of March the city of Bau was 
destroyed by fire. It was feared that some con- 
spirators designed to effect the death of the king. 
Thakombau, suspicious of treachery, remained in his 
own house, and many of his people congregated 
around his dwelling to keep guard. The queen was 
obliged to go herself to superintend the launching of 
a large canoe which had been hauled ashore for 
repair, and which was in danger of being burnt. 
The incendiary proved to be one of the principal 
priests ; and the populace cursed him publicly in their 
rage, loudly demanding his death; and some even 
called out that they would become Christians. He 
presented an atonement to the king, who pardoned 
him, as the fire was apparently accidental. At night 
the missionary, at the instance of the king, kept 
watch, lest his house should also be burnt ; it being 



;^^^E53aiBPBiiiCK5i^ii 



232 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

the cnstom to fire those houses which had escaped the 
flames, that thus all might '' share and share alike/' 

This misfortune did not delay the commencement 
of the second campaign against Kaba. The enemy 
had recently received a valuable accession in the 
person of Koroiravulo, a fine manly chief^ of in- 
dustrious habits, great energy, renowned corporal 
strength, and considerable ambition. He had already 
secured a lady of rank for his wife, by whom he had 
a family. But he had lately taken Yatea, ''the 
princess," to his own house, and installed her as 
chief mistress. This bold step nearly cost him his 
head. "Who was Koroiravulo," asked the jealous 
chiefs, "that he should have hioo titled ladies?" 
This matrimonial feat having been accomplished in 
an informal manner, Ezekiel, the Yiwa chief, (suc- 
cessor of the late I^amosimalua and Yarani,) took 
satisfaction, by seizing a peopled estate on Ovalau, 
the property of Koroiravulo*s tribe. The king con- 
nived at the ambitious alHance ; but soon seized the 
Cantata clan and their gardens, (which belonged also 
to the same tribe,) as part payment. The loving 
husband was willing to give way to the king, but 
was not so ready to yield to Ezekiel. A dispute 
arose ; but the Yunivalu recognised the right of the 
new claimant, and confirmed the intruder in his 
possession. The now irritated chief resolved to aid 
Tui Levuka in his ambitious schemes, and engaged to 
join him if he would revolt. 

Koroiravulo had witnessed with secret pleasure the 
Ovalau revolt ; and early in the year, having privately 
made all the various necessary arrangements with 
his friends at Ban, he exiled himself firom the land 



KOBOIRAVULO. 233 

of .Ids birth, accompamed by Vatea and her attend- 
ants, and took np his residence at Sawakasa, on 
the mainland. The hanghty-spirited Thakombau 
treated this movement very lightly, merely remark- 
ing that the runaway was a chief possessed of no 
influence. Had the proud chieftain sent a firiendly 
message to Koroiravulo, a reconcihation might, 
perhaps, have been effected ; but Thakombau's pride 
has ever been his humiliation, and so it proved in 
the present instance. 

Lydia Vatea wished- her husband to remain quietly 
at Sawakasa ; but he knew that the step which he 
had abeady taken was sufficient to secure capital 
punishment, and he resolved to join the enemies of 
his chief. He knew that the opposition party was 
becoming very powerful, and he entertained hopes 
of ultimate success. At that time Thakombau was 
collecting his forces to invade the isthmus of Kaba, 
and lay siege to the town which had revolted 
from him, and which had routed his forces on a 
former occasion. Koroiravulo knew that if E^aba 
were taken, Sawakasa would soon be invested by 
the king's feudal army. He therefore privately pur- 
chased the alliance of five hundred men, stipulating 
that they should remain at home, instead of marching 
to the rendezvous at Bau. 

On Sunday, March 12th, a body of six hundred 
warriors, under the leadership of Nagalu, of Namena, 
entered the city. Koroiravulo's politic act was not 
known to the king until his forces were already 
assembhng; when he was alarmed at the serious 
defection, which had not merelv lessened the main 
strength of the army, but had also prevented many 



284 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

of his warriors from joining at head-quarters, by the 
fear that their own towns might be attacked during 
their absence. 

On the 15th the king reviewed a body of fifbeen 
hundred troops. If the nnmber had been fifteen 
thousand, more ceremony conld not have been em- 
ployed. On the day previous, a great quantity of 
food, of the best description, was prepared. At the 
hour previously appointed, the different companies 
took up their allotted quarters. The king and his 
retinue of chiefs and followers then entered the 
assembly-ground. Young chiefs, of high rank, en- 
cumbered with trains of native prints twenty feet 
in length, ran hither and thither, with large 6un-&iis 
in their hands, calling to the respective divisions to 
" come to the help of Bau." Others followed, beckon- 
ing to the approaching warriors, and urging them 
to "make haste." The troops, however, waited 
patiently a sufl&cient time to weary the chiefs, and 
to raise expectation on the part of strangers. At 
last one company entered the square, in single file, 
with arms in their hands, paint on their bodies, 
turbans on their heads, and defiance on their tongues. 
The first division having got into position, the heralds 
were sent after the next. At length all were duly 
marshalled, and the review commenced. A chief 
held some whales'-teeth in his hand, and called on a 
certain division to accept of the earnest of their pay 
as soldiers. The company indicated then sent forth 
some of its chosen braves. These rushed into the 
presence of the king and court, each man with club 
uplifted, as though he were about to slay an enemy, 
and struck the ground with his weapon at the dis* 



BATTLE. 235 

tance of two or three yards from the feet of the ruler, 
uttering an exclamation, as follows : — " Hear, sir, 
how the earth groans under mj club ; and I am going 
to fight for you." Another would say, " This, sir, is 
the club which will feed you." A third, ^'I am 
going to fight, sir ; and to-morrow you will be sick 
with eating dead men." A fourth, " My club sounds 
best on the skulls of men." A fifth, " Why, sir, did 
you not send for me before ? then your enemy would 
have been exterminated." An impudent fellow, fix- 
ing his eye on the missionary, shouted, '^I kill white 
men ;" at which the three thousand spectators roared 
with laughter. The whales'-teeth were now sur- 
rendered to their leader, a few new spears were 
given, and the commander pledged the fidelity of his 
followers amidst their deafening shouts of defiance. 
Another chief, with a fresh lot of whales'-teeth, then 
called by name on a different company, who acted as 
the one before it had done ; and the same routine was 
observed. At the conclusion the warriors received 
their feast. The troops were nearly naked. 

Two days afterwards, a hurricane exhausted its 
fury on Ban, and on several parts of the group. The 
Kaba (enemy's) war-fences were levelled to the 
ground, and the fortress would certainly have been 
taken had a vigorous attack been made. But the 
king strangely allowed the precious opportunity to 
pass unimproved. One of the enemy's towns on the 
mainland was attacked, under these circumstances, 
by a Bauan force, and destroyed. But no bodies 
could be taken to the city, on account of the hostile 
districts that intervened. The victory was therefore 
considered a drawn game. 



236 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

On the 22d the Banan Mars was formallj con- 
siilted, with the usual state. 

The high-priest seated himself at the front of 
the temple, surrounded by his brethren in the myste- 
ries of heathenism. All the Bau chiefs advanced 
towards them, and sat down respectftdly. Boko Tui 
Bau, the chief who holds an office assimilating to a 
combination of perpetual lord mayor and high sheriff, 
stood up, carrying a few fruits of the earth. Ere he 
could speak, the priests began to tremble, the high- 
priest to shake and foam. The congregated chiefs 
simultaneously removed their turbans, and gave the 
shout of respect ; for the priests were now inspired, 
and reverence must be tendered to the gods dwelling 
with the men. How that shout thrilled through the 
heart of the missionary spectator ! Chiefs, who never 
saluted their fellow-men, were now unduly honouring 
their inferiors, and doing homage to mere slaves 
because they were regarded as inspired ! The sacred 
king then spoke: "Take knowledge, O ye gods! of 
thy servants' wishes. Our slaves rebel, and we go 
to destroy them. Ghrant us success, O ye gods ! " 
The high-priest's bosom was copiously bedewed 
from both eyes and nose, his frame quivered, he 
wept. The god responds : " What do I see ? The 
mighty chief of Bau supplicating my aid? Aha! 
ye have not served me faithftdly. Ye place not 
credence in that in which ye formerly bestowed your 
confidence. But to-morrow* your unbelief ceases. 
Ye shall destroy Kaba! Kabans were formed to 
plant food for my table. They rebel ; they are ambi- 
tious. I will punish them ! Go, hasten to destroy 

* FignzatiTe language indicaidTe only of an early date. 



T^ ~.JUP*" 



THE ORACLE, 237 

them. Do not I give them up to your pleasure ? " 
After proceeding in this strain, the god intimated his 
intention to depart, and the closing scene was enacted. 
Six jonng chiefs, of high rank, leisurely advanced, 
stoopingly, and in single file, each carrying a banana- 
leaf containing lc(wa. The god drank ; the remainder 
was poured out as a Hbation; the deity exclaimed, 
"Good bye! I am going;" and the wretched per- 
formance was at an end. 

Some of the inferior priests, still shaking, were 
conducted to their respective temples, and there 
supplied with h(wa. 

On a previous occasion, the king had requested 
the Bev. James Calvert to be present for the purpose 
of embarrassing the sacerdotal fraternity. When 
Mr. Calvert reached the foot of the steps of the 
temple, the high-priest came down, having many 
folds of native cloth wrapped round him, and accosted 
him very pompously, saying, " Why have yov, come ? 
Do you think I shall refrain from making promises 
because you are here?" The missionary gave the 
priest's hand a shake, and spoke in friendly terms to 
hinL ; whereupon he returned, and seated himself in 
the centre of the row of priests. Mr. Calvert sat in 
an elevated position, where every eye was upon him, 
as aU knew for what purpose he had come.* 

The king had invited me to make my appear- 
ance, on the present occasion, for a similar purpose. 
"Come," said he, "and make a fool of the priest. 
We had rare fun through what Mr. Calvert did ; and 
you will manage yet better." To the king's astonish- 
ment, I refused ; saying, " I will go, sir, if you 

* CalTert'B Ifiwdon Bistoiy. 



^v. 



238 SOPEFTTL SIGNS. 

wish me : but I will tell yon beforeliand that it will 
be to ' make a fool ' of yov, ; for the priest is a mere 
agent, onlj awaiting jonr mandate. If there is no 
heathen kingy there will be no heathen priest,*^ The 
effect produced by this reply showed that a diversity 
of treatment is sometimes beneficial. 

Within one honr the sea was eoTered with a 
hundred canoes, conveying the Banans to Cantata, 
which was to be the next rendezvous. A reinforce- 
ment of five hundred men having joined the main 
body, the king again reviewed the troops ; and the 
next day the whole army was successfully landed on 
the isthmus of Kaba. 

Two or three days were spent in preparing and 
clearing paths to the line of fortifications, which con- 
sisted of inner and outer. In this instance, there was 
such an unusual space between the two as to lead the 
common people to make the assertion, that the place 
would be taken with ease. The paths which were 
being cleared so patiently were made for the purpose 
of securing a rapid retreat ; for, in attacking a town 
by assault, the first thing the Fijian does is to make a 
way for ready flight. The king, as generalissimo, 
then planned the attack. On the 27th of March the 
assault was made. Out of a body of two thousand 
men, scarcely three hundred were engaged in actual 
combat, when a panic seized the army, and a hurried 
retreat ensued. Now was found the utility of the 
paths they had previously made. Very few were 
kiUed. A body of six hundred men, whose motions 
were watched, may be taken as a specimen of Fijian 
warfare. As they approached the fence, about thirty 
of them concealed themselves behind the trees, and 



DEFEAT. 239 

fired at sncli of the enemy as showed themselves. 
The remaining five hundred and seventy waited 
patiently, out of reach of musket-shot. By-and-by 
the advanced guard was relieved by others, who in 
their turn gave way to others. When they were 
rather tired, a body of twenty or thirty of the be- 
sieged came outside the fortifications, and drove off 
that division of the army. Those who sallied out 
would shout, " You cannot take the town ; so return 
home again." A small force was about to scale the 
fence in another direction, with every prospect of 
success, when some of their number noticed that the 
main division, which had charge of the heights, was 
flying in discomfort. Afraid of being behind-hand, 
they then immediately commenced^ to rush back to 
their canoes. Woe to the last in a Fijian retreat! 
In such an emergency a slave has been known to kill 
his own chief, so as to get before him ; and this when 
the defenders of the town numbered but a tenth of 
the attacking army. The hired soldiers were received 
with maledictions at Bau. Thakombau's "second 
queen," Adi-mai-Naikasakasa, said publicly to one of 
them, " Shame on you, to return without even one 
man for me to eat." 

But faint as this attack was, the fortress would 
doubtless have been taken, but for the presence, and 
active assistance, of some of the whites and half* 
castes, who wished to protect Kaba in order to pre- 
serve Ovalau. 

Thakombau had scrupulously observed every 
propitiation which could ensure the favour and help 
of his gods in this campaign. The evening previous 
to the assault he had sent his brothers to Bau, to 



240 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

present a sin-offering to the shade of his father. 
The youths proceeded to the grave, and, in the dark- 
ness of night, besought their deceased parent to for- 
give their past offences, and to help them in the war. 
The priests themselves had promised the conquest 
of Elaba. I was the only one. to presage evil, as I 
shook hands with them as if I should see them 
return no more. I was requested to utter a pre- 
diction ; but declined to appear in the character of 
prophet. Speaking as a mere man, I told my Mends 
that I thought it probable they would meet with a 
repulse on account of their own numerous sins, and 
also by reason of the energy of the foe who was fight- 
ing against tyranny and oppression. 

Nagalu, the chief of Namena, near Sawakasa, now 
informed the king that he thought by treachery he 
could succeed in entrapping the troublesome Koroi- 
ravulo, whose late act had greatly esiasperated the 
authorities. The king consented to his scheme. 
Nagalu accordingly sent to Sawakasa, to inform the 
enemy that he was willing to become Mendly with 
them, and join in active hostilities against Ban. It 
was necessary to hold a personal conference with 
Kagalu; and Koroiravulo, remaining himself at 
home, lest treachery should be intended, sent the 
chief of Sawakasa in his stead. His substitute, 
accompanied by an ambassador and an assistant, 
proceeded to Kagalu's town, with property, as the 
earnest of a promised subsidy. They were received 
with welcome, escorted to the strangers' house, and 
made their report in due form. The Namena states- 
men complimented their visitors on their auspicious 
arrival ; prayed to the gods for success on the allied 



NAQALIP8 TREACHERY. 241 

arms ; and tlien, with a genfiral clapping of hands, 
thej made a sinmltaneons exclamation of "Very 
good ! very good ! " So fei* all seemed very promis- 
ing. But Nagala himself now began to speak, and 
the deputation listened with breathless attention. 
He began the enumeration of the property that was 
promised ; referred to that now brought ; and then 
said, " But, chief of Sawakasa, do you suppose that 
it was for the sake of this paltry stuff that I sent 
for you ? No ! . I sent to entrap you, that I might 
Idll the brother of my father's murderer ! Chief of 
Sawakasa, prepare, sir, to die ! Guards, kill these 
my enemies ! " Thus ended Koroiravulo's negotia- 
tions with Nagalu. 

The bodies of these three fine-looking men were 
taken to Bau in canoes. As the vessels approached 
the city, the sails were furled, the death-drum rolled, 
and the crews, standing on deck, danced to the can- 
nibal song. The citizens assembled on the beach ; 
scarcely any one remained in their houses, but the 
town poured forth its mixed population,--chiefs and 
slaves, strong and diseased, old and young, male and 
female, — to gaze, with eager curiosity and satisfaxstion, 
on the perfectly naked, and shockingly disfigured 
and mangled bodies, which were cast on the beach 
in the most ignominious manner. The king himself 
was there; and the only disappointment, to some» 
was that Koroiravulo was not amongst the dead* 
The bodies were prepared to be cooked and eaten as 
usual. 

But the missionary's warm remonstrances^ o& 
the subject of cannibalism, were now authoritative. 
My words were those of a citizen. In some degree, 



242 HOPEFUL siGira. 

at least, I was one of themselves. I asked whether 
the city of the chie& was to contmue a custom whicli 
the slaves of Oralati had renotmced at my request. I 
reminded them of the fact that Ban was losing her 
inflnence, through her obstinate attachment to these 
rerolting practices. The yonng men crowded round 
me, and applauded my sentiments. They begged of 
me to lifb up my voice, and to appeal to the chiefs for 
the abandonment of cannibalism. The king himself 
heard of the commotion ; and, when I waited on him, 
solemnly promised me that no more human flesh 
should be eaten in Bau. 

I returned to my house with a glad heart, think- 
ing that cannibalism, at any rate, had disappeared. 
But what did I see fastened in front of the windows 
and doors of my house as I approached ? Fragments 
of the cooked bodies. Some of the more inveterate 
had come to tease me. They asked me to join them 
in their meal, whilst they partook of the human flesh 
in my presence. 

Still, the repast was at a discount. The remain- 
ing portions wete diligently collected by the titular 
king, whose peculiar province it is to see that the 
bodies are consumed. To make the hashed meat 
more palatable, he caused it to be made up with 
cocoa-nut into vakaXolo (puddings). 

Koroiravulo was not allowed to rest very long. 
Three days after the death of his flnends, and whOst 
he and his companions were still in ignorance of 
their &to, the town in which he dwelt was suddenly 
attacked by sea' and land ; the beating of the death- 
dniin announcing to the people in the town the death 
of thttir chief. Koroiravulo sounded the alarm ; but 



KING GSOB OB'S LETTER, 243 

the people were thiinderstmck at tlie complete 
inyestmeiit of their town, and the intelligence that 
their chief and his attendants were killed and eaten. 
Koroiravnlo inspirited the people by nrging them to 
revenge the disgraceful death of their comrades : 
they flew to arms, and stood to their posts so well 
as to compel the king to retreat. By accident, 
I met the returning fleet. The crew of one canoe, 
annoyed that the missionary should witness their 
want of success, stripped a man naked, and laid 
him on deck at full length. They then danced the 
death-song oyer the unfortunate fellow, brandishing 
their clubs, spears, <&c. ; hoping thereby to deceive 
me into supposing that they were bringing home the 
corpise of a slain foe. 

It was on the 24th of April that the fleet returned 
to Bau from Sawakasa. The mind of the king was 
strangely agitated. All seemed lost. It seemed that 
his enemies must soon conquer him, and that the 
missionaries were his only friends. On entering his 
house he found the following letter : — 

" NvkmLofa, Feb. 28^^, 1854. 
" To Thajeombatj, — I write to make known my 
love to you and the Bauan friends. When I arrived 
in Sydney, I received a letter which concerns you 
and the people of Bau. The letter is the writing of 
the consul at Rewa ; and I hear that a letter has 
been sent to Great Britain, and another to America ; 
and I am not certain whether Fiji will be in danger, 
01^ whether it will escape ; for the consul's letter is a 
bad one. He says, you commanded the property of 
the white people to be burnt. 

B 2 



244 HOPEFUL SIGNS. 

" I expect to yisit yon with the Tongan friends to 
bring away my canoe ; and when we have finished 
planting, we shall come to yon. It is good, Tha- 
komban, that yon should consider the thing which 
concerns the white people ; and when the Fiji friends 
wish to do their minds, do not be guided by them. 
It is good yon should be humble ; it will be well for 
you and your land. I wish, Thakombau, you would 
lotfu. When I visit you, we will talk about it ; for I 
desire that Bau and the Fiji friends may stand well. 
But it will be well for you, Thakombau, to think 
wisely in these days. This is the end of my writing.* 

I, Gbobgb Tubotj." 

■ 

The king of Tonga, having visited the colony of 
Kew South Wales, had returned to his dominions 
deeply impressed with the necessity of accelerating 
the civilization of Tonga and Fiji ; and despatched a 
canoe with the above letter to the Bauan king. 

Thakombaa's hope revived. A former king had 
saved his head and his state by the opportune intro- 
duction of Charles Savage and his musket. He 
would try King George and the Tongans. But no 
thanks to his gods. They abandoned Naulivou as 
they had abandoned him. Some unknown god must 
have sent the English and the Tongan deliverers. 
What if the Christian religion be true ? 

Accompanying the letter was a Sydney news- 
paper, in which Mr. Consul John B. Williams appealed 
to '^ the difiEerent nations '^ to destroy Bau. The ease 
with which this could be done, '^ while one is smoking 
a cigar," was one of the consul's arguments. When 

• Xmdlj traadated bj the Ber. Walter J. Davia, of Tonga. 



MR. CONSUL WILLIAMS. 245 

lie wrote this letter, he must have forgotten the 
poser which a commander in U.S. navy gave him, in 
reply to a similar request : " It is easy enough, Mr. 
Williams ; but how could we justify ourselves before 
the world, since there is no clear reason why we 
should attack Bau ? " Commercial interests did not 
require it ; and the oflGicer declined to forcibly abolish 
cannibalism and strangling, without orders from his 
goyemment. 

Mr. Williams, unfortunately, did not confine him* 
self to the truth in this communication ; so that all 
the foreigners in Fiji could testify to its falsehoods. 
One example will suffice : when narrating the seizure 
of the " Wave," he adds — ^perhaps for the purpose of 
efPect — ^that one of the crew "was made &st, and 
fires made to roast him on, when he wrenched off the 
thongs, and made his escape !'' This is utterly false. 

The following are extracts from the consul's 
letter : — 

"No inquiries having been made about the very many 
murders, plunder and spoliation of property, and other out- 
rages and depredations committed on foreigners, has only 
emboldened the Fijians to greater acts of yiolence — to this 
dreadful and serious outrage. For a ship of war to visit Fiji, 
and harangue and caution these natives, is only a waste of 
time ; they merely laugh the mat1«r to scorn. Say to a Fijian 
what you intend to do, and fulfil your promise to the letter. 
One murder has succeeded another ; pillage after pillage of 
property ; depredations after depredations have now brought 
the people to an awful crisis, requiring immediate action. 

" Bau ought to be destroyed, and the people swept from 
the face of the earth. Then, and not until then, will com- 
merce move uninterrupted in this archipelago, where the 
merchants can carry on so lucrative a business, and where 
they can find exports numerous. 



246 EOPJSFUL SIONS, 

" It IB time the respectiye nations were ajr cnued from their 
slumber, and ylsited this group of islands, and punished the 
knowing and wilful cannibals for their concealed attempts at 
murder, and the yery many outrages inflicted on them, and 
ayenge the wrongs oi their people. Their treatment to the 
natiyes has been kind in the extreme ; but this is one of the 
traits in a Fijian's character, to return eyil for good. I now 
fear, tiiirough deceit, treachery, stratagem, and stealth, unless 
a ship of war shortly makes her appearance, and chastises the 
natiyes— (for they are not ignorant of the punishment for 
murder, crimes, plunder and spoliation of property. Why then 
should they go unnoticed ?>— that all the missionaries, white 
men, and all foreigners, without the slightest warning oi pro- 
yocation, will be unsuspectingly massacred, and ships cut offt, 

" Let ships of war delay the punishment a little longer, 
and there will be cause for yery deep repentance. I can only 
impute the existing difficulties to the leniency of the English 
ships of war, who spoil the natiyes by kindness, giying no true 
experience of the force of Foreign Goyernments. They are 
aware of our wealth, and consider us a prize because they 
know but little of our force and justice. To treat with Fijians 
as you would treat with ciyilized America or ciyilized Europe 
is positiyely absurd. The natiye must be taught by experience, 
and not by words. 

" Finally, if the Fijian will not dispense with the horrible 
practice of eating human flesh, the cannibal ought to be 
stopped by coerciye measures. 

*' A ship of war could lay off Ban, knock down and destroy 
that town, while one is smoking a cigar. If you suppose me 
to be seyere in my remarks, I ask any man to remain here six 
weeks and follow the people step by step, and see the butcher- 
inhabitants of Bau — ^the human slaughter-house — ^a cookery 
of cannibals ; and that obsenrer will perfectly coincide with 
me in my remarks and obseryations herein specified. The 
yery atmosphere we breathe is filled with the fumes of roasted 
human flesh : it is quite enough to fill one with disgust. The 
pirates that infested the Isle of Pines, in the West Indies, in 
its worst days, were nothing compared to this Bau : the most 
yiyid imagination cannot describe this hell upon earth." 



UNINTENDED HELP. 247 

Mr. Williams probably neyer meant to become a 
Methodist missionary, but this letter was worth a 
hundred sermons in the king's present excited state. 
Though he denied that he had done the commercial 
wrongs that the consul imputed to him, yet he could 
not deny that he was the great mainstay of Fijian 
cannibalism and cruelty. 

So anxious was Mr. Williams to " destroy " Ban, 
that he forgot his position, and dishonoured his 
uniform, by allowing a Tahitian to wear his clothes 
as a disguise, on the occasion of the Tahitian's visit- 
ing, in behalf of Batu Qara, a Bau town which was 
supposed to be vulnerable to the arms of mammon. 
In addition to the loan of his consular garments, Mr. 
Williams secured a passage for the messenger in one 
of Captain Craudeirs whale-boats. From this time, 
both consul and king took little pains to conceal 
their mutual hatred. 

The Tongan canoe did not remain long at Bau. 
The king allowed it to return, without any reference 
to his royal friend's pressing request, that he would 
become a Christian. 





CHAPTER X. 



Cfft €tm. 




CHAPTER X. 






THE CRISIS. 

Causes of Change — Mwrder of Tui Cakau — Chad Offices of the 
Queen — The Xifig yields at last — Announcement to the 
Chiefs — ffeathenism renotmced — First Christian Sabbath 
at Bau — Important Changes — Schools — Fijian Opinions 
of the Change — Comfnotion of Priests — Threatenitvg 
Predictions — The Prophets cured — Fv/rther Revolts — 
Naulivou — Bau in Banger — Victory at Koro — Bjatu 
Qara again at War — Prayer and Fighting — The Mng 
in Peril — Proposed Political Reform — Good Influence of 
Captain Benham — The King^s Illness — The League — 
Constant Alarms — Efforts to save Life — A Tale of 
Treachery — TJie Weeping Bah — Beath of Ratu Qara — 
^otes on his Life and Character — Important Help of the 
Tongans — End of the Rebellion, 

fHE work of Providence is "as it were a 
wheel in the middle of a wheel." In 1854 
the movements of these wheels became more 
intelligible to those in Fiji who anxiously 
watched the signs of the times; and the historian 
marks this year as the commencement of a new 
epoch. 




262 THE CRISIS. 

The preyailing opinion was, that Fiji conld not be 
worse. All thonght that a crisis was at hand. Manj 
imagined that the impenitent rnler would harden 
his heart, and meet with an nntimelj fate. A few, 
indeed, did venture to contemplate the possibility of 
the opposition party advocating municipal reform, 
and a change in the national reUgion. All. around 
was darkness, black as night, a night of storm and 
earthquake, before the mom of better days dawned 
on Mji. Those missionaries who encountered the full 
unbroken Airy of the political, social, and religious 
upheavings of this period, may justly place a deep 
black mark against this eventful year. 

The lamented death of the faiths Elijah Yarani 
was one of the proximate causes of this great change. 
Though he had recently been very ill-used by his royal 
friend, Thakombau, yet he sealed with his death a 
life of devotion to his master. His early grave be- 
tokened the fidelity of a meek Christian to a heathen 
tyrant. 

In Elijah Yarani's death the king had not merely 
lost a trusty counsellor and mighty warrior. When 
he allowed the Yiwa chief to retain his connexion 
with the new religion, he had made, as he considered, 
an investment in Christianity. That investment he 
had now lost. His conscience wa^ therefore discon- 
tented : for hitherto, when entreated to become him- 
self a Christian, he had refased ; Batisfying himself 
by the reflection that he had made a sufficient sacri- 
fice in the gift of his friend. "A noqv/l tarn ho 
Va/rimi" ("Yarani is the share I supply,") could no 
longer be urged on the missionaries in defence of 
his procrastination. 



DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCEa. 253 

Another instnunent was the indefatigable Rev. 
James Calvert. Combined with special anxiety for 
the spiritual salvation of Rata Thakomban, he pos- 
sessed a thorough acquaintance with the political 
perplexities of the chief, and a &.miliarity with the 
idiom of the language, which rendered his appeals 
in conversation almost irresistible. Perceiving the 
breach in the walls of the citadel, he advanced with 
steady determination to the assault. 

Nor must the opposition of the white residents, 
and the hostility of Mr. Consul Williams, to the Ban 
king, be forgotten; for it was a blessing. These 
(with only a very few honourable exceptions) had 
successfiilly opposed the introduction into Ban of a 
missionary. So late as 1852, the consul had sent to 
inform the king, that if he permitted the erection in 
the city of a mission-house, he would find that by so 
doing he had broken his pitcher, and would lose the 
gain of years. All these were now encouraging the 
king's enemies, and could no longer exert their bane- 
ful influence over the mind of the chief. 

But the Bauan ruler was most alarmed at the 
assassination of the king of Somosomo, a principality 
within the king's suzerainty. Tui Cakau had not 
been pleased with Thakombau's proceedings during 
the Natewa war ; and his generous assistance to his 
suzerain, artftilly granted in a time of need, had 
placed the Bauan king under an irksome obligation. 

The politicians of Fiji were anxiously observing 
the state of Somosomo. They had noticed that in 
the case of B>ewa, soon after the withdrawal of the 
missionaries, that city had been destroyed. They 
attributed its destruction to its refusal to embrace 



254 THE CRISIS. 

Christianity, and the subsequent departure of the 
religious teachers. They had heard with alarm from 
the native converts that the Sacred Book contained 
the following sentence respecting the rejection of the 
Divine religion : — " Whosoever shall not receive you, 
nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house 
or city, shake off the dust of your feet. Verily I say 
unto you, It shall be more tolerable for the land of 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than 
for that city." (Matthew x. 14, 15.) Somosomo was 
their difficulty. Missionaries had laboured in that 
region for eight dreary years, but the opposition of 
the chiefs had compelled the half worn out brethren 
to direct their labours to other channels, where suc- 
cess soon crowned their work of &dth and labour of 
love. Six years had elapsed, and no adversity had 
befallen the forsaken city. The king had secured the 
Mendship of a merchant, William Owen, Esq., whose 
noble and praiseworthy conduct has immortalized his 
name in the history of the Fijian mission. This 
gentleman, an old South Australian colonist, had 
commenced trading operations in that locality after a 
long dearth of vessels, and the people were thus 
enriched with their much-prized English muskets 
and British manu&ctures of all sorts. Proud of this 
change in their circumstances, the title of '' Deliverer 
or Exalter of Somosomo " was bestowed on Mr. Owen 
by the chiefs. There was more in this circumstance 
than a stranger would suppose ; for the okd heathen 
king meant to declare by it his defiance of that God 
whose messengers he had despised. The cily politi- 
cians, and Thakombau himself, began to think that 
Somosomo had rejected Christianity, without any 



MURDER OF TUI CAKA XT, 255 

degree of pxLnishm«it being visibly attacbed to tbe 
present generation. This was tbe point tbat tbej 
were concerned to know. 

Tbe commencement of 1854 solved this problem. 
One midnigbt tbree conspirators stealtbily entered 
Tui Cakau's bouse. One of tbem gently lifbed np 
tbe mosquito^cnrtain, wben tbe bonse-lamp revealed 
tbe position of tbe unsuspecting victim. Tbe otber 
two rufBians clubbed tbe sleeping cbief. It is said 
tbat be awoke, and inquired, "Will you kill me? " 
Tbe reply was, " Sir, tbe moon sets to-nigbt." A well- 
directed blow witb a battle-axe tben finisbed bis 
unfortunate career. His deatb was tbe signal of a 
sanguinary civil war. 

Tbe politicians were alarmed. Tbe fourteentb 
and £fbeentb verses of tbe tentb of Mattbew were 
a^ain quoted. It was no mitigation tbat a missionary 
was now actually living at Bau, and could abandon 
tbem if tbey reused to bearken to bis instruction. 
Doubtless tbis consideration weigbed beavily witb tbe 
king of Bau. He was tbe first to communicate tbe 
intelligence to tbe missionary. Tbis be did witb 
mucb solemnity. For a day be kept uttering, " Tui 
Ci^aa is dead ! " 

^be actual presence of tbe missionary in tbe beart 
of tbe camp was unquestionably of incalculable 
service at tbis critical period. During bis last visit 
to Bau, Tui Cakau bad opposed tbe building of a 
mission-bouse. All tbe beatben priests were united 
in tbe same course ; boldly affirming tbat tbeir gods 
would kill tbe missionary, wbom tbey designated 
'^ tbe bird tbat bas roosted on tbe bill." But, in spite 
of all tbis, a site bad been granted, and a bouse built. 



256 THE CRISIS. 

Neyer before liad tlie king been so constantlj and fnHlj 
warned and instrncted. It was the time to cry alond 
and spare not, and Providence supplied the yoice. 

The panic dnring the late attack on Eiaba also 
made a deep impression on the mind of the king. 
The gods had been propitiated, and had promised him 
success. Yet he had never sustained a defeat so 
unaccountable. What if the words of his missionary 
be true ? What if his former success has been the 
result of the wisdom of his own plots, and the valour 
of his own followers P Then his past victories were 
not "of the gods," and he has been believing a lie. 
Why should he not embrace the truth, and become a 
Christian ? 

Then fell that well-directed shell which was 
thrown by him who so ably rules the Tonga group. 

KiQg George's letter arrived at the right moment. 
It presented to the king an opportunity of altering 
the national religion with credit to himself and 
abundance of excuses to his followers. His own 
heart told him that the time for repentance and re- 
formation had come. But the carnal mind is enmity 
against Ood ; and he delayed. 

His principal queen, Adi Samanunu, now urged 
decision. Her efforts were ridiculed by the majority 
of the regal harem. "The queen wants to escape 
the strangling which will take place on the death of 
her lord," said some. Others asserted that "the 
queen knew that such was her influence over the 
king, that she would become his married wife ; and 
that was the sole reason why she wished him to 
become a Christian." Amidst these galling remarks, 
the queen continued to side with the missionary^ 



THE DECISION, 267 

On the 27th of April the missionary had an unnsu- 
ally long interview in private with the king, entreat- 
ing him to take up his cross and renounce heathenism. 
As his past life was brought vividly before him, he 
wept silently before his faithful reprover. " Will not 
God cast me off, if I call upon His name whom I 
have so ill-treated ? " was his inquiry. At length he 
resolved to make the venture; and briefly, in a 
spirit of meekness altogether novel to his character, 
announced his decision to the missionary, who bade 
&rewell to the king with a heart excited with thank- 
fulness and joy, striving to repress the misgivings he 
could not but feel, that, after all, this good promise 
might not be Mfilled. 

The day following the king held a ^11 meeting 
of the chiefs, and governors from the adjacent towns 
on the mainland. Smothering his new-born feelings, 
he appeared in their midst as an acute man of the 
world. Having referred to the contrast between his 
own country and that of Tonga, and having expressed 
a wish to make some beneficial changes, he requested 
the missionary to state the purport of King George's 
despatch, and to translate the consul's letter. This 
was done. The missionary added a few remarks on 
the importance of the human soul. A long conver- 
sation ensued. Some endeavoured to cause the king 
to procrastinate, but he remained firm. 

On Saturday Thakombau assembled his male 
relatives and the principal chiefs of the city. The 
poHtical aspect of the question was fiodly discussed. 
A near relative of the king ventured to remind Tha- 
kombau, that he himself was the only man troubling 
Fiji ; and that if he resolved to become a Christian, 

8 



"^^mm^m 



258 THE CRISIS. 

the whole conntry would rejoice. It was eventualty 
resolved that the king and S>ata Mna should 
wait on the missionaiy, as a deputation, to make 
certain inquiries. The result of this interview was 
deemed satisfactory, and the deputation returned to 
the meeting, and made its report. It was then 
resolved that the rehgion of Christ should be sub- 
stituted for the vain traditions received from their 
fathers. 

Immediately there was no small stir, it being the 
great day of preparation. Bales of native calicoes 
were opened, divided, and distributed amongst those 
who wished to clothe themselves. Several tons of 
taro were brought for the Sunday's consumption; 
and the provision was shared out amongst those who 
intended to renounce heathenism. The missionary 
was a partaker of the regal bounty. 

As a just tribute to the labours of the worthy 
missionary Calvert, I invited him to preach on the 
memorable occasion. The king, still anxious as to 
the policy of the movement, consulted Mr. Jones, 
a respectable Welshman, then at work in the city, 
as to the correctness of the movement. " It is the 
best act you ever performed," was the reply; a 
statement which was directly the opposite of those 
which the king had so frequently heard from other 
white men. 

On the 30th the sun dawned propitiously on the 
eventfcd Sabbath. It was one of Fiji's loveliest 
cloudless days. Early in the morning, the mission 
families arrived from Yiwa, including Mr. and Mrs. 
Calvert and their children, and Mr. E. P. Martin, 
whose hearty and praiseworthy labours in the print- 



FIRST CHRISTIAN WORSHIP, 259 

ing department have greatly enriched all Fiji. The 
word was passed to "beat the drum." The sound 
thrilled the hearts of all. The two great wooden 
drums of Fiji — known to the natives by the name 
of " The Publisher of War " — ^had never before been 
used but to congregate warriors and cannibals. Their 
sounds had often betokened death to the living cap- 
tives who awaited the strong arm of their human 
butchers to relieve them from their awfal suspense ; 
their piercing pat-pat-pat had resounded when two 
hundred victims were piled in a heap, and had rolled 
as an accompaniment at all the bloody orgies of Bau. 
These drums were now beaten to assemble those who 
were willing to enrol themselves under the banner of 
the Prince of Peace. 

The place set apart for the pubKo service was the 
large dwelling (one hundred and twenty feet by thirty 
feet) known as the Strangers* House. In front is 
the Bau assembly-ground, in which the reviews are 
generally held. At the back are a number of ovens 
for cooking human flesh, now filled up, it is hoped, 
for ever. Near these is a large tree, on which are 
notched the number of those who have been cooked 
and eaten: it is covered from top to bottom with 
these mementoes of Fijian disgrace. Close by are 
the evergreen shrubs where certain portions of the 
eaten parties were hung as ornaments, and were now 
removed for the first time. This was the spot where 
the message of love to God and to man was now 
pubUcly proclaimed. 

The king, preceded by his grey-headed, long- 
bearded family-priest^ first entered the dwelling. 
About three hundred chie&, women, attendants, and 

8 2 



TBE CRISIS. 



childreD, foHowed the ruler. Hjb own children, sat in 
the &ont ; his wives and sisters, the other women of 
rank, and all the females, on the right hand : tiie king 
and all of his sez occupied the left, The change in 
the people was very striking. All had clean faces, 
and were snitablj clad. Tme, the long beards of 
the men, and the welt-dreased heads of hair of both 
men and women, remained ; but the congr^ation 
was orderly, serious, and attentive. Previons to the 
commencement of worship, the chie& respectfully 
removed their snow-white turbans. 

The morning preacher was the Bev. James Cal- 
vert, the missionary who was the longest resident in 
the islands. The pleasing sight, the blessed reality, 



H1H II II ■ ii^iji ■ mil II » I in I I " i*:»y^^^L J -_ '1" ' - T 



THE CHANGE. 261 

half niiiierved his powerful tongue. At the conclu- 
sion of the service, crowds came to the mission-house 
for alphabets, and groups assembled in various houses 
to learn to read. 

I conducted Divine worship in the afternoon, and 
preached a sermon on the sin, repentance, and pardon 
of Manasseh. "And when he was in affliction, he 
besought the Lord his Ood, and humbled himself 
greatly before the God of his Withers, and prayed 
unto Him : and He was entreated of him, and heard 
his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem 
into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the 
Lord He was God." (2 Chron. xxxiii. 12, 13.) 

On Monday the missionary, assisted by some 
pious natives, commenced family-prayer in the various 
dwellings, going from house to house. These de- 
votional exercises were regularly conducted, until 
some of the people, in each house, began themselves 
to read the Scriptures and engage in prayer. 

The following Sabbath three hundred more em- 
braced Christianity. 

Next day the temples were spoiled of their orna- 
ments. Prayer was invariably offered to God in each 
temple before the act was done. Many of the new con- 
verts trembled whilst performing the deed. One of 
the deities, Lauga, the god of rain and of fine weather, 
was carried in triumph to the mission-house. 

. An attack was also made upon a sacred forest in 
the vicinity. The carpenters were conveyed by water 
to the spot. Solemnly bowing before the great 
Creator, one of the teachers prayed aloud, and be- 
sought Him to prevent any evil from coming to them 
while they attacked "Satan's forest." They then 



262 THE CRISIS. 

felled some of the monster iron-wood trees, wbicb. 
have been considered sacred for ages. Some of the 
poor carpenters trembled rery much, lest an evil 
spirit should Idll them. They were tanght by tra- 
dition that their forefathers felled some of these trees 
on one occasion, and then retired to rest for the 
night. The next day, on repairing to the spot in 
order to square the logs, they were surprised to find 
that the trees were again in their proper position, and 
still growing ! 

Messengers were now sent to several islands, 
authorizing the inhabitants to renounce idolatry. 

Public day-schools, for teaching reading and 
writing, were immediately commenced in Bau. The 
children's was held in the morning, and the adults' in 
the afternoon. Some of the young men learnt to 
read well in three days. These were immediately 
employed to help their fellows. The most marked 
attention was paid to the rehgious services. One 
day the king repeated to the missionary nearly the 
whole of the sermon he had heard on the previous 
afternoon. 

On the 28th one hundred and fifty more Bauans 
entered the strangers' house, and joined themselves to 
the congregation of Christians. On the 1st of June it 
appeared that upwards of a thousand had renounced 
heathenism and placed themselves under the religious 
instruction of the missionary. 

Let us pause for a moment to listen to the opinion 
of the country on this important reformation. 

"His new religion shall not save Thakombau," 
exclaimed some. " It is only a fresh scheme to gain 
time; and when he recovers his position, he will throw 



OPPOSITION. 263 

off his dress," said others. ** His new Ood. is a tpvrit^ 
and cannot save his hody^ which we shall now easily 
kill," was the language of many. *' He has forsaken 
the gods of his fathers, and is even now our prey," 
said a fourth parfcy. 

The enterprising Mara, who had himself long 
since professed to be a worshipper of the true Qt>d, 
was greatly conftised when he heard the intelligence. 
He had hoped to secure the support of- aU the Chris- 
tian parts of Fiji on account of his being himself of 
the new faith. The profession of Christianity by the 
king destroyed this hope, and Mara unintentionally 
discovered all his latent ambition. '' So JThakombau 
is a Christian! Then we must fight for something 
different to religion. So long as he has a child, or a 
grandchild, in power, I will fight with him or with 
his descendants. I must myself be king." 

Very different was the sentiment of the Lakemba 
people : '* There is an oven in which all the Fijians are 
being cooked to be afterwards eaten ; that oven is at 
Ban; and that oven is now closed. A remnant of 
our race will yet live, to cultivate the soil, and to 
occupy the country God has given us." 

It was not to be expected that this national reli- 
gious change would take place without great com- 
motion amongst devils and priests. 

What the Society of Jesus has been to Roman 
Catholicism, that has Baku been to Bauan heathenism. 
When idolatry has been on the decline, new life has 
been infiised into the system by the sacerdotal clan of 
Daku. The town is indeed known by the title of 
" The Reviver of God- Worship." * 

* See chapter on MyChology : BcM m Jmf rua. 



264 TffE CniSIS. 

One moming, a few weeks after the memorable 

30th of April, there was a great stir in Dakn. '* Sa 

radnrcd na KcUou ! " (" The god appears ! ") is shouted 

from house to house. A strange child has been bom 

which is, according to Fijian ideas, a god; but in 

English parlance a monster. The child has a large 

head, and five deep imprints in his forehead, like the 

marks of so many thorns. He sits up unaided, and 

laughs inmioderately : he must be ridiculing the new 

religion ! On the fourth day he prepares to speak. 

Surely he will now demonstrate the truth of the 

ancient worship. A crowd congregates. The child 

assumes an, erect position ; begins to chatter ; falls • 

back, and expires ! How unfortimate that no one 

could understand and explain the oracle ! 

Daku was then, notwithstanding its close con- 
nexion with Bau, wholly heathen. After this incident 
no Dakuan embraced Christianity for the space of two 
years and a half. Thirty thousand of their country- 
men changed their religion before a single inhabitant 
of Daku ventured to do the same. 

In the city of Bau itself there was considerable 
excitement. Commoners were seized with fits, which 
they alleged were the works of the renounced 
deities ; nor would anything quiet and relieve such, 
but prayer offered to the true God on their behalf. 
The sceptical missionary resorted to various means, 
but all &.iled except prayer. The priestly converts 
became involuntarily inspired amidst the performance 
of their daily avocations, and announced in tones of 
deprecation that " the gods were going to leave Bau." 
One priest went in a great fright to the missionary. 
''Sir," saidhe, "Degei's son has clubbed me." On 



CURE OF TBE PRIESTS. 265 

inquiry, it appeared that the poor man had spasms, 
and cordials were administered; but he refused to 
leave the house until special prayer had been made 
for protection from Degei's son. 

At last a pseudo-priest is inspired, and tidings of 
woe are announced in consequence of the late pro- 
fession of Christianity. Then another, late the high- 
priest, becomes the shrine of the great and much- 
feared god, Gagawalu, and declares that the king and 
his chiefs are to be punished in a signal manner for 
their presumption in imputing fi:«,ilty to the Fijian 
deities. Yagodamu, the king's cousin, who was to 
be, according to the country custom, the king's 
assassinator, summoned the high-priest to give an 
account of himself. " Why do you predict evil to 
Thakombau ?" said he : " Everybody expects he will 
be killed in revenge for past deeds. But let your 
god tell something about me, who have no enemies ; 
and if the event follows, we will again credit you." 
The king was vastly pleased when he heard this loyal 
and sagacious speech of his now trusty cousin, and 
•felt himself to be at liberty to harangue the dreaded 
priest. He consulted a Tongan as to what was to 
be done. "Please, sir," replied he, "king George 
whipped the devil out of his priests." " And so will 
I," exclaimed the king. The priests therefore were 
all sent for on the 6th day of June. They came, and 
sat in a ring around the king. Thakombau made a 
set speech on the general subject, and concluded by 
asking the two principal priests whether the gods 
had lately been making revelations to them. The 
reply was in the affirmative. "But as the pre- 
dictions were not favourable to me, why did you not 



266 THE CRISm 

conceal them ? " inquired the king. " Sir," simnltane- 
ously replied the two, " we feared the gods." Tha- 
kombau rose, called to his Tongan attendant to bring 
the whip, and began to severely beat them. " You 
fear the gods whom you have never seen ; and are not 
a&aid of me, yoxu: chief, whom you have seen." The 
men roared with pain. " Which will you fear most 
in future?" inquired Thakombau: "the devil or 
me ?" " You, sir ! " was the answer. The castiga- 
tion ceased. All the other priests were then asked 
whether the gods had been troubling them; but the 
whole conclave denied being guilty. The king's drub- 
bing was evidently more real than Degei's. This 
public action gave evidence that Thakombau no longer 
feared the gods of Bau. The populace were amazed ; 
and were soon alarmed as well. 

Rumours of evil and dissatisfaction came in from. 
all the provinces. The island of Koro received the 
state enemies, and the whole of that important place 
was on the verge of being lost. Then three towns, 
within two or three miles of the city, revolted. A 
number of influential chie&, including two of the- 
king's younger brothers, absconded in a large canoe, 
and joined the enemy ; whilst it was publicly stated 
that they had arranged with Yagodamu to assassinate 
Thakombau, as soon as they could bring an army 
within sight of Bau. Koroiravulo had long since 
arranged with the three towns that they should join 
his party. Thakombau had well treated these people 
ever since he had usurped entire authority over them ; 
but they remained faithfal to him no longer than their 
legitimate owner permitted. At his signal, the drum 
of rebellion was beaten ; a suspected man, who lived 



NAVLIVOU. 267 

in the town, was killed and eaten, to show that the 
movement was no feint ; and the town itself was 
occupied as the enemy's extreme outpost. The two 
parties were now within musket-shot of each other, 
and daily skirmishes took place under the eye-sight 
of the writer. Thakombau now saw that he had 
miscalculated the energies of his more youthful 
opponent. 

The leader of the runaways was Naulivou. Young 
as he was in years, he was no stranger to the sweets 
of despotism. When about sixteen years of age, he 
called at the island of Susui, near Yanua Balavu, 
where he fell in love with a pretty girl. He knew 
that he could not gain the lady by fair means ; so he 
instantly resolved to employ violence. When the 
people were in the assembly-ground, presenting the 
customary cooked provisions, he immediately seized 
the two local chie& as prisoners, and conveyed them 
to his canoe. The inhabitants endeavoured in vain 
to propitiate their guest, and to secure the release of 
the captives. " There was only one thing that could 
cut the cord," was the suggestive reply. The girl 
must be gfiven up. O ! what weeping ! Her com- 
panions distracted, her parents overwhelmed, her 
lover raving, she was led to the Bauan canoe, and 
exchanged for the prisoners. 

A few days after this, Naulivou seized a canoe 
which he met at sea, and sent the prize as a present 
to his Ban Mends. 

Sympathy with the oppressed was, therefore, far 
from being the motive of Naulivou's desertion. He 
was probably influenced by the opposition of the 
whites ; for he readily perceived the superiority of 



268 THE CRISIS. 

ciyilization oyer barbarism, and perhaps supposed 
that in this instance the foreigners were in the right. 
Yet it mxLst be adniitted that his situation was peen- 
liarly distressing. He had recently been sent to a 
Nakelo town, where he spent a week of misery, 
arising from the trying circumstances that invariably 
accompany the treacherous " turning " of a Fijian 
town, or rather the changing of its masters. When 
Serudakuwaqa designed his revolt from Bewa, he 
first communicated with Bau. Ascertaining that the 
intended movement would be acceptable to the 
Yunivalu, he then requested the Bau king to send 
some chiefs to protect him, whilst he beat the drum 
of rebelHon. Naulivou was sent for this purpose, 
accompanied by a force of fifty able men. This, of 
course, was only moral force ; intimating the firm 
concord that had been caused to exist between 
the Nakelo Seru and the Bau government. The 
change was then effected. But however composed 
Naulivou might be externally, he had a host of in- 
ward fears. What if he and his followers are only 
entrapped? He eats; but he is marvellously and 
rapidly satiated. He sleeps ; but he keeps one eye 
open. In a few days he is satisfied that the move- 
ment is genuine, and is relieyed from his unpleasant 
fears ; yet he returns home as soon as etiquette allows 
him to leave the new ally. 

And now Bau was hemmed in ; and, unless the 
missionary's influence prevented an outbreak in the 
city, the king must soon fall before his numerous 
enemies. A letter was sent to me, in the names of 
the king of Bewa and his Bauan allies, warning me 
to leave the city, as it would soon be burnt, and they 



A STRANGE SERVICE. 269 

feared that they would be unable to protect me from 
the mffian warriors. 

Appearances and romonrs were very alarming. 
Eaba, the bead-quarters of the enemy, swarmed witb 
hostile forces, the bills being covered witb men, as seen 
tbrongb tbe telescope at Ban. A fleet was conveying 
tbese troops to Cantata, whence they wonld be able to 
march without hindrance to the city. This was seen ; 
but other thoughts engrossed the attention. It was 
whispered that ibere was to be a simultaneous action 
between the besiegers and a traitorons party in the 
town itself. Yagodamu, the king's cousin, was to 
massacre Thakombau in the chapel, or on the way to 
it, in revenge for the murder of his father, when the 
son was a beardless boy. Having removed my &»mily 
to Viwa, with the wives of the teachers, I remained, 
awaiting, in a state of the most anxious suspense, the 
dawning of the Lord's day. With the death of the 
king, there would probably be a relapse into hea- 
thenism, and certainly a fearful slaughter in the town. 
I waited on Yagodamu, acknowledged Thakombau's 
guilt, but implored him to exercise mercy, lest the 
cause of Christianity be inj ured. The chief consented ; 
but I knew too well the native character to trust in 
any such promise. I laid the matter before my Master 
in heaven, and ordered the church-bell to be rung. But 
the demon of fear stalked in every street and lane, and 
no one appeared. Afber a time, a few men approached 
slowly ; but they were armed, and sat down outside 
the chapel. Presently the king arrived, accompanied 
by an armed guard ; and then his cousin, at the head 
of a similar force, entered the bxdlding. The service 
was commenced ; but every man eyed his neighboar, 



270 THE CRISIS. 

none the preacher. I prayed. A man belonging to 
the king remained standing as sentry, with a loaded 
mnsket. The service was short, the congregation 
was dismissed, and so far, thanks to an ever-present 
God, the crisis was over. Bnt the disembarkation of 
the hostile army was continued at Cantata. Tha- 
komban, with twenty picked canoes, sailed thither, 
and was completely snccessftd in scattering the 
enemy's fleet, and separating his forces. The enemy 
was amazed. Instead of treacherous co-operation, 
he received a bold attack at sea. 

As the two fleets met, there occurred an incident 
which is historically parallel to that which took place 
at the battle of Fontenoy.* After the Kaba and 
Lasakau men had saluted each other, the latter 
said, ^' Chiefs of Kaba, Are ! " The Kabans replied, 
"Chiefs of Lasakau, we do not fire first : fire your- 
selves." The Lasakauans then began to discharge 
their muskets. 

Whole districts soon joined the enemy, and Bau 
itself, for the first time since the bloody revolution 
of 1837, was placed in a state of defence. In the 
meantime the king gave way to despondency. Only 
two men in the city openly showed themselves to 
be Mendly to him; the missionary and a fidthfiil 
Tongan. Yagodamu's house was crowded; and a 
long array of orphans, whose fathers had been killed 
by Thakombau, followed his train wherever he went« 
The king himself and the missionary both thought 

* The reader wiU remember that the English offloen saluted the 
Frenoh bypuUing off their hats. The officers of the Frenoh guard re* 
turned them the salute. Lord Hay, captain of the English guards, cried* 
" Gentlemen of the French guards. Are ! " The Count d'Anterodie re- 
plied in a loud voice, '* Gentlemen, we never fire first : fire yourselves t " 
The English then gave them a running fire. 



TAQODAMU. 271 

the hour of vengeance had arrived. I endeavoured 
to lead the man of blood to repent of his past mis- 
deeds. He spent his days privately with me, no 
longer concealing his compunction of conscience. It 
was at length necessary to urge him to attend to the 
affairs of the state. A friend suggested to Tha- 
kombau that Yagodamu would be better employed 
in reducing the Koro rebels to subjection than in 
causing fear in Bau by his presence. The cousin 
was therefore despatched on this warlike errand. 

Yagodamu did his work leisurely, but well. The 
rebels had obtained possession of one half of the 
island at the time of his arrival. But he said that 
was no matter, they must pray the more ; to encourage 
them, he could tell them that he had heard the mis- 
sionary say in a sermon, that '* with God all things 
are possible." He frightened the enemy as much 
with his prayers, which he caused to be said before 
every attack, as by his cannon. He collected heathen 
troops &om Gau and Nairai, and told them to ^' fight 
as well as the Christians." In short, he restored con- 
fidence to the royal party. The rebels were at last 
driven into a town, well fortified with a stone wall 
and cannon. Yagodamu surrounded the fortress, 
but acted more like Joshua at Jericho than like a 
Bau chief. Prayer, prayer, prayer, all day long. 
The heathen portion of his army began to admire 
the devotion and the apparent faith of the new 
religionists. Suddenly, when the besieged thought 
there would be more prayer than battle, the chief 
ordered an immediate assault, and the place was 
taken by surprise. All the rebels were spared, 
although some of the besiegers were clamorous for 



272 THE CRISIS. 

their extermination. Several hnndreds oh botb.' sides 
renounced heathenism, as the sequel of this expedi- 
tion; and peace was established at Koro. Three 
months were thus occupied in its subjugation. 

In the neighbourhood of Bau, Batu Qara was 
re-opening hostilities. He had successfuUj defended 
many towns irom Thakombau; but it remained to be 
seen whether his army would be as invincible in 
aggression as in defence. He selected the town of 
Dravo as the object of attack. If that town yielded, 
the army could at once march into Ban, mingling 
with the fogitives. Dravo sent to Bau, demanding 
help. It could ill be spared ; for a body of the enemy, 
stationed at Cantata, annoyed the city daily, and 
skirmishing was constantly going on. But the pre- 
servation of Dravo was essential to the safety of Bau, 
and as many as could be spared were sent to help in 
its defence. Most fortunately for Ban, Captain Dunn 
had just arrived from America with a large quantity 
of arms and ammunition. He refused to rcfcognise the 
compact between the whites, by means of which they 
hoped to see Bau destroyed, but at once sailed to Bau. 
His visit was most opportune. Muskets, powder, and 
lead were purchased greedily, and Bau was saved. 

The conduct of the Dravo defence was entrusted 
to Thakombau's eldest brother, who had been a very 
staunch heathen. It seemed strange to him to com- 
mence warlike operations without any reference to 
the temples. When the approach of the enemy was 
reported, he laid a strong ambush outside the town, 
at the head of which he remained. As the vast army 
rolled on, burning to avenge the wrongs received at 
the hands of the great king, whose power was now 



THE KING BUMBLED. 27S 

on its wane, the chief, alarmed at bis sitiiation, 
commanded his . misn to chant the Lord's prayer on 
their knees. On came the enemy whilst the Bauan 
party were thns engaged. The ambush was dis- 
covered, bnt the enemy was disconcerted at finding 
their foes on their knees. The assailants paused ; the 
chanting ceased ; the stentorian voice of the Bauan 
leader exclaimed, " Fight away ! '' and the men of 
prayer charged the enemy with an impetuosity that 
bore all before it. Portions of the ambush closed in 
on some of the leaders of the enemy, and killed them. 
Nine or ten fell, and the grand army was seized with 
a panic, and fled. This engagement was regarded by 
the populace as a trial between the gods of Fiji and 
Jehovah ; and afforded them more proof of the truth 
of the new religion than all the works ever written 
on the " Evidences " would have supplied. 

The king's enemies still used every means within 
their reach to humble or annoy Thakombau. His 
own party were worn out. " There is only one man 
to be killed," said they ; ^^ aud then we shall have 
peace." The king seemed likely to reap as he had 
sown. He had ill-used every friend, and turned the 
hearts of all men against him. The populace, long 
favourably inclined towards the new religion, but 
prevented by Bauan opposition and persecution from 
embracing its profession, now hated Christianity, 
hecause it was the religion of Thakombom, His death 
WSU3 sought, not because he was a Christian, but 
because of his former ambition, pride, cmelty, and 
ingratitude to tried fdends. 

Thakombau felt that he deserved death, and be- 
came more humble and teachable. But, for a long 



274 TBE CRISIS. 

while, lie would not allow himself to entertain a 
forgiving spirit towards his enemies. 

After a time, the chiefs assembled in council, and 
decided upon seizing, by a c(mp de main, the canoes 
belonging to the rebel chiefs. But, in consequence of 
the king being advised to forbear a little longer, the 
order was countermanded. Although this step origi- 
nated \vith the king, yet the common people, secretly 
encouraged by mischievous chiefs, blamed the mis- 
sionary for the measure, which, as they thought, 
deprived them of very considerable plunder. The 
chief of the Lasakauans asked why the mission-house 
should not be burnt for this act of interference, as he 
termed it. This was sufficient encouragement to 
stimulate his men to annoy us ; which they did in their 
own effectual way. They spoke openly of stoning 
me, and robbed my premises almost hourly. A 
constant discharge of stones was kept up for several 
evenings. At night my sheep were killed ; and two 
attempts were made to enter our house, but were 
frustrated. The king entreated the missionary, with 
tears in his eyes, to endure this harassing persecu- 
tion, protection being out of his power. " You are 
suffering," said he, "because you uphold my authority. 
Those who ill-treat you are traitors, and desire to 
deliver me into the hands of my enemies." 

The king of Rewa and his allies again sent to me, 
urging my departure from Ban, or they would not be 
answerable for the consequences. I still believe that 
if I had taken that step, — a step to which also some 
of my brethren directed my attention, — the conflict 
would have been ended, within twenty-four hours of 
my departure, by the death of the king. But, by the 



OFFERS OF PEA CE REFUSED. 275 

grace of God, I resolved to remain at Bau at all 
hazards. I saw distinctly the great change that was 
taking place in Thakomban, and in the people 
generally ; and I could not forsake them, although 
they had ill-used me. When the king was informed 
that I was unmoved by the message from Rewa, he 
was deeply affected, and said to me, " When the vessel 
is sinking, every one is anxious to provide for his own 
safety, as many of my own relatives are now doing ; 
but you, whom I have reviled, remain to perish 
with me !'* I replied, " Only be faithful to God, and 
follow the guidance of His word, and I will remain 
with you until your death, should it be permitted to 
come to pass during the present agitation." 

Thakombau now made offers of peace to his old 
adversary, Batu Qara, the king of Rewa. This chief 
had negotiated for peace no less than fourteen times^ 
when he was in adversity ; but Thakombau had 
refused to become friendly with him. He was now 
gaining ground, and there was but a step between 
Thakombau and death. The Bewa chief looked like 
a man being consumed with a desire for revenge. 
He remembered, with great feeling, that he had 
humbled himself fourteen times in vain; that, in 
spite of the entreaties of his sister-in-law, Thakom- 
bau had killed his brother with his own hand ; and 
that, when B*ewa was destroyed, his three sons and 
heirs, who were far too young to fight, were bar- 
barously murdered. Still it was hoped that a 
message from Thakombau to his irritated kinsman 
would be sufficient to pacify him. 

For the first time, under the influence, not of fear, 
(for he would have placed his head under the club 

T 2 



276 THE CRISIS. 

sooner tihan acknowledge his error, or bis political 
weakness,) but of a clemency, originating in bis 
maturing belief in onr boly, " pure, and nndefiled 
rebgion/' Tbakombau made an advance towards re- 
conciliation witb tbe man wbom be bad so repeatedly 
injured. Tbe friendly proposal was instantly rejected 
witb scorn, and witb defiance of Heaven itself " We 
sball see," said be of B*ewa, " wbetber Jebovab, wbo is 
a sprite can save tbe hody of Tbakombau." Turning 
to Mr. Moore, be rejoined, " Had a Fijian brougbt 
tbat message, I would bave killed and eaten bim." 

Simultaneously witb tbis, one of Koroiravulo's 
spies was taken in tbe act of bribing a Bau town. 
Instead of being clubbed and eaten, as be would bave 
been a few months previonBly, he was presented 
witb food and clotbing, recommended to become a 
Gbristian, and tben escorted in safety to bis own 
town. His friends, supposing tbat be bad been 
killed as a matter of course, bad strangled a woman, 
to pay respect to bis memory. 

I now urged tbe king to occupy tbe attention of 
tbe people by some scbeme of political reform. By 
request, I drew up tbe following simple plan, wbicb 
received tbe royal consideration : — 

(paOPOSED OCTOBEE, 1854.) 

" HAVTNa embraced Cbristianity, and being 
desirous of elevating our country, we, tbe King and 
Cbiefs of Bau, do bereby agree : — 

'^ 1. To take no revenge for past offences amongst 
ourselves or kindred. 

" 2. To forbid witbin our dominions strangling, 
cannibalism, and internal war. 



PROPOSED REFORM. 277 

^^ 3. To engage in no war wiiihout the consent of 
the majority of the Chiefs in council assembled. We 
will endure all the insnlts that the enemy can devise 
against as by mischievous talking and boasting ; and 
will no longer engage in war on account of a woman. 

"4. To condemn, by our example, the practice of 
polygamy, which is so injurious to our land. 

"5. To tolerate every religion within our do- 
minions so long as our just laws are respected by its 
professors; and we will not allow any Protestant, 
Roman Catholic, or Heathen to be persecuted on 
account of his faith. 

" 6. To abolish the title and rank of Vunivalu, 
and substitute that of King, to commemorate the 
establishment of this improved order of government. 
The King shall be aided in the government by the 
Chiefs, who shall meet monthly for the purposes of 
deliberation, and whose conference may be continued 
day after day, until prorogued by the King. 

" 7. To allow every accused Chief belonging to 
the said assembly a trial before his assembled peers : 
those of inferior rank to be tried by the King, or by 
his deputy-judge. 

" 8. To allow every Chief of this assembly to be a 
magistrate ex-offido, to dispose of minor offences. 

"9. To allow to every town and district the 
right of appeal to this assembly, in the event of 
an improper or extortionate tribute having been 
imposed upon it; and the assembly shall judge 
righteously in all such cases.'' 

The king acknowledged the force of many of these 
suggestions ; but his mind was not yet prepared for a 



278 THE CRISIS, 

constittLtional goyerDment, and he rejected the whole^ 
with the characteristic remark, " I was bom a chief, 
and I will die a chief." 

On the 8th of November the king had a confer- 
ence with his rebellious brother Mara, on board the 
" Dragon." Captain Dunn brought the two chiefs to- 
gether onexpectedly, with the hope of making peace. 
When the king found out the arrangement, he at first 
re^ed to see Mara, and hid himself in the forecastle. 
But he afterwards relented, and a long and interest- 
ing interview was the result. Mara appeared to 
sofben, and the king forgave him. But there was no 
sati8fiw3tory result. 

The next day Thakombau accepted the invitation 
of Captain H. M. Denhara, R.N., and went on board 
n.B.M. surveying-ship " Herald," lying at anchor 
in the port of Ovalau; where he offered to meet 
all those who had exiled themselves from Bau, 
hear their grievances, redress their wrongs, and 
pardon their crimes. But none of the rebel party 
went near. 

The king also wished on this occasion to set him- 
self right with the whites as a community. He had 
sent complaints to the Sydney government ; and he 
had also teased his missionary into writing to Captain 
Denham, stating that he had "very grave charges 
against " certain '* British subjects." The king also 
wished to prove his innocence of the burning of 
Levuka. Under these circumstances, Capt. Denham 
held the court on board H.M.S. " Herald." But the 
whites refused to attend, with the exception of Mr. 
D. Whippy, the U.S. vice-consul, and Mr. Hambers ; 
who were received as the representatives of the British 



CONFERENCE. 279 

and Americans. The following are some of the 
questions which suggested themselves, and answers 
ensued as annexed : — 

The President — " Of what grievances do the white 
residents complain ? " 

Mr. Humhers. — " Levuka was burnt fourteen 
months ago ; and it is quite evident it could not be 
burnt without the consent of Thakombau." 

Pre8id^7it. — "Of what does that evidence consist? '* 

Mr. Humhers. — " He being king of the Fijis, or so 
styled, the act must have been done under his know- 
ledge, as a matter of course ; until he fixes it upon 
somebody else." 

President, to the King. — " You are accused by Mr. 
Humbers of having burnt Levuka. What have you 
to allege to the contrary ? " 

The King. — " Three days after the Malaki affair a 
messenger came from Levuka, to appease me for what 
they had done. I said, ' What business have you to 
help the white men P If anything happens to them, 
leave them alone to themselves ; for they are from 
another country.' I know nothing of the burning of 
Levuka." 

President, to the King. — "As a Christian man, 
having the honour of a king, did you know then, or 
have you heard since, at whose instance the act was 
perpetrated ? " 

The King. — "No one reported to me they were 
going to burn the town. If any one had done so, I 
would now reveal it." 

The President. — " Have you any other gprievance, 
or act of oppression, to accuse Tui Yiti of, subsequent 
to the burning of Levuka P " 



280 * THE CRISIS. 

Mr* Hnmbere, — "None; except our being re- 
stricted from trading wifcH certain places. This 
restriction was issued by Varani, chief of Viwa." 

President^ to the Kmg. — " Did you approve of the 
act of Varani which restricted the trade of the white 
men ? " 

The Ki/ng, — " Varani reported it to me, and I told 
him to please himself about it. This was after he, a» 
chief of Viwa, had sent a letter to that effect." 

The Preeident. — " Have you, the whites, anything 
else to accuse Tui Viti of ? " 

Mr, Hmnhers. — " He has not had the power to do 
anything else ; his power being on the decline." 

President, to the King. — " Ha.ve you any complaints 
to make against the white residents at Levuka ? " 
The King.—'' None." 

President, to the King. — "Are you ready and willing 
to protect them and their trade iu your dominions P" 
The Kmg.—'' Yea.'' 

During this conference Thakombau officially stated 
the extent of his dominions ; the smallness of which, 
as compared with the country at large, caused much 
amusement to those who had been styling him " King 
of Fiji." On his explaining his position with reference 
to Somosomo, Lakemba, &c.. Captain Denham ex- 
claimed, "Why, he is more than a king; he is an 
emperor ! " But when asked what portion of Fiji 
constituted the kingdom in which he would protect 
the whites, he gave the answer as recorded in the 
minuted matter. The title " King of Fiji " is entirely 
of English origin. Thakombau has never been in- 
stalled or recognised as such by the Fijian princes 
generally. It is questionable whether its adoption 



''KING OF FIJI:' 281 

has been of any real nse, as it has caused very great 
jealousy. " He the king of Fiji ! " said Tui Cakau in 
1851 : " Why, he cannot pay for one only of the two 
vessels that have come for him ; whilst I could pay 
for both. But what do the foreigners know as to 
who is king ? " " The king of Fiji ! " exclaimed some 
saucy independent tribes : " Who is he ? We have 
heard of Namosimalua ; but who can the king of Fiji 
be P " Still, he is unquestionably the greatest Fijian 
king; and, in the event of confederation, he would 
undoubtedly be chosen as the leader. 

It was, however, in vain that the king professed 
that he had no complaints against the whites, under 
the hope that they would thus become friendly. They 
continued to distrust him, and to assist those who 
were opposed to him. Nor was he more cordial 
towards them. His conduct on board the " Herald," 
in exonerating those against whom he had said he 
had " very grave charges," is a forcible comment on 
the words of inspiration, " Put not your trust in 
princes." 

Batu Qara, of Eewa, had offered to end the strife 
by fighting a duel. " 'Tis a shame," said he, " that so 
many are being kiUed : let you or me die." Thakom- 
bau repHed, " Are we dogs, then, that we must fight 
it out ourselves ? We are both chiefs ; and let us 
fight like chiefs, employing our own men." 

In addition to the extremity to which Bau had 
been reduced by the league,* the king was in a very 

* The leagae consisted of the Icing of Bewa, and his oolleagae, Mr. 
Consul Williams, Mara and Companj, Tui Levuka, and the Ovalau 
whites. The purpose of this league was thus stated in a letter dated 
November, 1853, addressed by Pickering to the consul, and afterwards 
made public :— " We are all united on this islandj both black and white. 



282 THE CRISIS. 

enfeebled state of health. He was greatly afflicted 
with sores ; and some of the rebels feared lest death 
should prove a swifter messenger than the clnb. 
Some knowing ones said the illness was all a sham, 
and that he would be well quickly enough should his 
party begin to gain any success. There were not 
wanting those, however, who attributed the illness 
of the king to the anxiety of the missionary to lead 
him to repentance. These supposed that drugs were 
administered to make the king ill, and that when he 
had become spiritually healed, medicine would be 
given which would restore him to his wonted state of 
energy ! On one occasion, some hostile chiefs re- 
quested me to administer poison instead of medicine, 
and thus reheve them of their great foe ! 

Of course, in these distressing circumstances, 
desertions from Bau were frequent. In the morning, 
the first question asked in the city was, " Has any 
one else run away last night ? " Some of the king's 
menials occasionally absented themselves. 

In the tdead of night an alarm of danger was 
frequently given. Spies were sometimes discovered, 
but escaped ; and it was supposed that they had 
come to fire the town. There is no doubt whatever 
as to the enemy sometimes coming to reconnoitre the 
mission-house by night. A call to arms at midnight 

The agreement is to stop all ships of going to Bau. I hope you will help 
US in a just, cause. I send you some pens and ink by Macomber. 
Should you want anything at any time, don't be backward in sending 
for it. If you are short of small stores, or anything, send for it. If 
you don't, I shall think hard of it. The first ship of war comes, I shall 
send you on a boat directly, as now we are, as America is, saucy and 
independent." — The consul afterwards used Pickeringr's "pens and ink" 
pretty freely. Subsequently he visited America, and secuf ed a terrible 
visit from a man-of-war. The '* small stores" would be very acceptable, 
as Mr. Williams was in very reduced circumstances at the time. 



BA U IN DANGER, 283 

was by no means rare. Sometimes the Sabbath ser- 
vice was abruptly concluded, as the men were called 
to battle. 

The most alarming reports were carried to the 
distant mission-stations : such as, '* The king is killed 
and eaten ; *' " The mission-house has been burned ; " 
** The city is destroyed ; " " The mission-family has 
had to flee from. Bau at a moment's notice," <&c. 

There were also traitors in the city ; and their 
signals, made with lighted reeds by night, were some- 
times visible to the townsfolk. Watches were set ; 
and once, but once only, the daring signal-man had a 
very narrow escape from capture. 

For nine long dreary months Bau was thus almost 
besieged. The people were often without food till 
late in the afternoon. The mission-party were suf- 
ferers with the others. They knew not what a day 
might bring forth. The cannibal death-drum was 
heard almost every night, and sometimes in three 
or four different directions. More than once did the 
missionary famUy see, from its own residence, some 
poor creature, sometimes a member of the congrega- 
tion, killed and carried off to be cooked and eaten. 
If I went from home for a mile or two, I frequently 
heard a bullet whizzing over my head. For months 
we had reason to apprehend injury by night from the 
hand of the incendiary, and at all hours were we 
aroused with tidings of impending danger. 

At those places on the adjacent coast of Great Fiji 
where preaching was kept up, the people came armed 
to the service, ready at a moment's notice to engage 
with the foe. On such occasions there was more 
reason to be afraid of the loaded flre-arms in a 



284 THE CRISIS. 

crowded bouse tlian of the enemy that were hourly 
expected. 

This pressure from without aided the cause of the 
missionary. A public prayer-meeting was held every 
night and morning, which was well attended. The 
spiritual leaders of the people endeavoured to impress 
upon them that they should be as much alarmed for 
their souls' welfare as they evidently were for that 
of their bodies. 

The saving of the lives of war-prisoners was 
now introduced by the Bauan king. All who were 
taken ahve were spared ; and it was announced to be 
Thakombau's wish that prisoners should be captured 
alive, if possible. This was not in accordance with 
popular feeling; but a little money soon removed 
the difficulty. It was made known that the mission- 
ary would present property for every prisoner whose 
life was saved. This gave efficiency to the new regu- 
lations ; and I was repeatedly, and with much satis- 
&ction, called to redeem my pledge. 

To maintain my neutrality, I made the same 
offer to the enemy. ^' Let the odium of killing the 
prisoners remain with your king," I said. "If you 
save life, you will receive recompense from me ; and 
the Eewa king, your master, will pay you just the 
same, whether you deliver your captives dead or 
alive." To this, assent was apparently given. But 
it was sweeter for them to kill than to save: or 
perhaps they received a hint from Bewa that no 
living Bauan would be welcome. A few mornings 
afler their interview with me, the enemy killed four 
men whom they could have captured alive with the 
greatest ease. 



TALE OF TREA CSER F. 286 

The case of one of the recipients of this mercy 
illastrates the deceitfxdness of the people. A certain 
man, having quarrelled with his wife, resolved to join 
the Baa side. Leaving his own town, he proceeded 
towards the hostile town of Naisausan, the inhabit- 
ants of which were then waiting in ambush. The 
unlucky individual walked into their net, and was 
instantly captured. In vain did he give his captors 
to understand that he had approached them for the 
purpose of joining their side. His tale was treated 
as an idle excuse, and he himself pronounced a fair 
prize. Some were for killing him ; but the majority 
desired to secure the garden-tools which were offered 
by the missionary as a reward for saving life. The 
captive was then stripped naked, and led with 
triumph, first to Namata, and then to Bau. The 
cannibal song was sung over him. At Bau he was 
re-clothed and fed ; and the next morning was sent 
home to his friends. He had had enough of joining 
the Bau side, and resolved to retaliate on the Namata 
people for having insulted him by dancing the 
death-song over him. 

Some time after this, the chief of Namata was 
surprised one night with a stolen visit from the same 
young man. ^' Sir," said he, addressing the chief, '' I 
come to engage to betray Kananu, as a token of gra- 
titude for your saving my life." The hearer rejoiced ; 
for here was a prospect of renown. A conspiracy 
was formed. The young man said that the. Nananu 
people were going to steal an attack on the Bauan 
town of Dravuni ; but that he would find an excuse 
for remaining at home ; that the Namata chief should 
lead his forces to Nananu at the appointed time, and 



286 TSE CRISIS. 

he himself would betray the place into the chiers 
hands by setting the town on fire. The conspirators 
parted. 

The day previous to that named by the traitor 
witnessed the entrance into Dravuniof a strong 
reinforcement of Bauans. 

Next day Roko Tui Namata marched in fuU force 
against Nananu. The gates were closed, and all was 
silent, as was expected; for all egress is forbidden 
after the departure of the fighting-men. The man 
who preceded the army as a sort of spy now made 
the concerted signal, by burning a few dry leaves. 
The reply was given from the town in a solo, sung by 
the traitor. The warriors drew nigh. They were to 
attack the town in three several places, and at the 
same instant the incendiary was to perform his work. 
But an old man ventured to entertain doubts, and 
climbed up a high tree. Within the town appeared 
a forest of spears, clubs, and guns ! " Treachery ! 
Double treachery ! " is the cry. The advancing di- 
visions halt. The town pours forth its hosts, — ^an 
army congregated from miles around, — and the 
Bauans retreat. Narrow had been the escape. Indeed, 
if the enemy had taken the precaution to station a 
force in one*<Jf the woods to cut ofi^ the retreat, there 
would have been a fearful slaughter. As it was, the 
casualties were few. 

Early in the new year (1855) a strange rumour 
reached Bau. A certain vegetable (dalo) had bemi 
cooked at Bewa, and served up on a wooden tray, to 
supply one of E/atu Qara's wives with a repast. 
Suddenly it became evident that the taro was weep- 



BEATS OF THE KING OF REWA, 287 

ing. Her curiosity being excited, Adi Civo inquired 
why it cried. Was Rewa about to be destroyed? 
A note of dissent issued from the dalo. Was her 
own father near his death ? Was Thakombau ? The 
names of some scores of chiefs were mentioned ; but 
dissent was still expressed by the taro. At last the 
alarmed lady inquired, "Is my lord, the king of 
Rewa, about to die ? " The sign of assent was given, 
and the crying ceased. 

The report caused universal excitement ; for super- 
stition exercises a powerful sway. Suddenly the 
beating of certain drums ceased. A chilling report 
paralysed the drummers. The king of Rewa, Ratu 
Qara, ** the Hungry Woman," " the Long Fellow," is 
dead ! The whole country seemed hushed in dismay ; 
for a mighty man, Thakombau' s only formidable rival, 
had fallen. At any rate, it now seemed certain that 
the Christian religion would be established. 

Thakombau's elder brother was restrained with 
difficulty &om beating the cannibal tune at midnight, 
on account of the great news. 

Ratu Qara was a firm and consistent believer in 
the faith of his fathers. When a refugee, he was 
officially advised to become a Christian. *' What ! " 
said he, " become Christian ? Why, we could not then 
avenge our wrongs ! " " 0," said his minister of 
state, " let us change our religion, and still carry on 
our plan for revenge." "No, that will never do," 
was the reply of the chief: " we cannot worship a God 
of love, and seek to murder our fellow-creatures." 

His intercourse with the civilized world did not 
abate his faith in the traditions received from his 
ancestors. A few months previous to his death, he 



288 THE ORJmSn 

offered to go into the river, whenever sharks were 
discovered, to prove to the missionary Hoorey that his 
person was peculiarly sacred. . 

Though originally a persecutor, yet he subse** 
quently became the friend of the missionaries. The 
Rev. William Moore re-occupied Bewa in 1854, nine 
years after the town had been vacated by his prede- 
cessors. He found Batu Qara personally as kind to 
him as he had been to them. But he would not allow 
Mr. Moore to plant in the missioji-garden during tdlm 
months, nor to make any noise by means of the 
wooden dram. The missionary was most zealous in- 
endeavouring to induce the chief to renounce heathen- 
ism ; but his efforts were, on the whole, unsucoessfuL* 
Yet it was evident that an impression was made on 
the mind of the chief; and, but for the advice of some 
of the foreigners, he would probably have become 
reconciled to his personal adversary, Eang Thakombau. 
On one occasion he relented so £Eir as to give up a 
slaiu body to Mr. Moore. For hours had the mission- 
ary pleaded with him, and begged to be allowed to 
bury the corpse, which had beeu brought for the 
oven. Batu Qara replied that human flesh was all he 
received from, his warriors in return for the costly 
subsidies with which he constantly supplied his troops, 

* The "Rev. William Moore, -ander date of the 13th of December, 1854, 
writes : " The chief is dcdxig all he can to make sure work of Ban. No 
stone is being left unturned. The two very nice temples are finished. 
The chief has sent a yery polite messa^re to me, saying we must not con- 
tinue the raligious services at Na Tunise, [the sacred part of the town,] 
lest the god be angry at the noise. He wishes ns to have the worship 
at our own end of the town for the present. This led to a very pleasant 
conyersation about the g^>ds, in which he said he was not paying any 
intentional disrespect to Jehovah ; but was putting his own gods on 
their final trial, and of course must not offend the priests." Of course 
this gentle mandate was obeyed. 



THE STOLEN BODY. 289 

and therefore hs oonld not throw it away in the man- 
ner proposed. At length — and it was paat midnight 
— the miaaionary gained his point. The corpse was 
deposited in a secure place for the night ; and Mr. 
Moore, gratefa! for the first gleam of success, retTimed 
home to rest his weary limbs. Early in the morning 
bs fffose to superintend the burial of the hody, bat 
waa astonished to find that it had been stolen during 
the night ! The secret had oozed out, and the can- 
nibals, after all, secared their meal. 



Rata Qara waa buried with somewhat less than 
the nsoal state. The missionary Moore entreated the 
chiefs not to strangle any of the widows ; and they so 
far yielded to his prayers as to be satisfied with the 



290 THE CRISIS. 

death of one only. Tlie chief was then buried at 
Mnanidele ; and his flag, musket, powder-horn, chest, 
mats, native drapery, canoe, &c., were placed over the 
vicinity of the grave. 

The partial prevention of the cnstomary widow- 
strangling was the resnlt of missionary Moore's 
presence on the spot. He was exceedingly anxious 
to gain the point, as it would form a precedent in the 
case of men of less rank. To ensure success, he first 
sought the co-operation of the Roman Catholic mis- 
sionary, the Rev. Mr. Matthew. But Mr. Matthew 
politely declined to make united effort against the 
strangling ; stating that " it was contrary to his 
instructions to interfere with the customs of the 
country." A strange excuse ! Why, his very errand 
as a missionary was antagonistic to the ^* customs " 
of Fiji. Idolatry and religious acts of cruelty are 
" customs," which must disappear in proportion to his 
success as a missionary, and which his mere presence 
should condemn.* 

* The following extracts of letters from the Ber. WiDiam Moore 
giye particulars of Batu Qara's death : — ^ 

(23dof January, 1855.) " Tui Dreketi is very ill with dysentery. He 
has been near death's door during the last week ; and Bewa has been 
filled with alarm. He would not allow his priests to come near Vi^tw for 
some time. Hie priests, and chiefis, and all say that they are only 
waiting for the word of the diief to embrace Christianity. I have had 
a good deal of talk with the chief; who does not promise to lohi, but 
says he will see, if he gets well. He still keeps firm as to having 
Thakombau killed." 

(29th of January.) **Boko Tui Dreketi died on Friday morning, 
about daylight. We have been in a g^reat deal of excitement ever since. 
It is only through the mercy of God that some of us have not been 
killed. I have not feared much as to myself, although some of them 
have charged me with killing the chief. But I have feared most for the 
Tongans, or lest our house should be burned by some of the Bati [king's 
paid followers]. But, thank God, things are settling down a little. I 
have been placed in unpleasant droumstances from the way in which 



TONGAN HELP. 291 

Most remarkable it is, that Thakombau's enemy 
died so far deprived of the faculty of speech, that he 
was unable to bequeath the war as a legacy to his 
followers ; a bequest which would have compelled 
them either to conquer, or be utterly vanquished 
before they surrendered. 

A treaty of peace was soon made between Bau 
and Eewa ; but the Bau rebels still held out against 
the king. 

In March, Thakombau had the pleasure of wel- 
coming his former guest, King George of Tonga. The 
Tongan monarch was accompanied by about forty 
large canoes. After endeavouring in vain to act as 
mediator between all parties, in the course of which 
one of his chiefs was killed, the Tongan court unani- 
mously resolved to help the king in the subjection of 
his rebellious people. 

The expected interference of the foreigners secured 
to the rebel party the aJliance of many tribes, who 

the chief treated the state-ministers and the priests. They went several 
times to him to soro [express regret], and he sent them away. They 
blamed me for the whole ; and said, I was maMng the chief weaik and ill 
as you did Thakombau, in order that he might become a Christian ; and 
lots of other impleasant things. I took but little notice, as I thought 
the chief was getting better ; but on Thursday he had a relapse, which 
terminated in death. They have strangled but one lady. She was ill, and, 
they said, ' was of no use to live.' The Noco lady was not strangled : I 
do not know the reason why. Of course I did all I could to prevent the 
expected strangulations ; and Mrs. Moore also went, and presented her 
request for the lives. The Bau ladies waited for Eoroiravulo and the 
Bau chiefs of his party, who came, and refused to strangle any ; for which 
the Bewa i>eople are very angry. 

** The chief is buried in the best new temple, which has just been buUt, 
Muanidele. We feel his loss very much, as he has been very kind to us. 

*' How thankfixl we feel that no more lives have been sacrificed \ Some 
were talking of strangling Adi Sau, Adi Tubekoro, and two old ladies. 
Has ever a chief of such a rank in Fiji been buried with only one com- 
panion ? 8ee what the Qospel is doing, directly and indirectly." 

V 2 



292 TME CRISIS. 

forgot their minor differences in their anxiety to 
hamble the Tongan invader. The entire heathen 
party, who felt that their crafb was in danger, joined 
the enemy. All who had anything, real or supposed, 
to fear from Ban, exerted their influence to strengthen 
the Kabans, and prevent the ascendency of legitimate 
authority. The gods appeared to men. The oracles 
spoke. The priests were inspired. It was predicted 
that most of the Tonga-Bau fleet would be left at 
Kaba, for want of hands to work the canoes when 
the battle was over. It was foretold that the faith of 
untold generations was to be re-estabHshed in the 
destruction of the aUies. 

The allied fleet sailed, and waited near Kaba for 
three days ; but no friendly message came. The 
enemy's fort was crowded with volunteers, who went 
to collect the muskets which, the gods had declared, 
would be thrown away by the Tongans in their hasty 
flight. 

On the 7th of April the infatuated rebels dis- 
covered the Tongan canoes bearing down on the 
southern town. The sails were lowered, and a land- 
ing eflected at once. To the astonishment of the 
Fijians, the Tongans left their wounded and dead to 
the care of their women, and pressed on to the attack. 
The simultaneous and rapid discharge of musketry 
also surprised them, contrasting greatly with their 
own lame mode of fighting. 

Eang George Tubou had decided to invest the 
town, build fortifications, and starve the besieged 
into capitulation. But the Yavau division pressed on, 
and took the town by assault. At an official inquiry 
into this act of insubordination, held after Uie war, 



FINAL VICTORY, 293 

the Yayan men ezcnsed themBelves by statmg that 
they were looldiig for the K[aba-town war-fences ; that 
thej had no idea that thej had taken possession of 
more than ontworks when they entered the town ; that 
the "fortifications " were nnworthy of the name, &c. 

The Tongans suffered a loss of fourteen killed and 
thirty wounded, of whom about six died afterwards. 
The Bauans escaped almost free. Upwards of two 
hundred of the enemy were destroyed ; the greater 
portion being killed by the heathen Fijians on the 
royal side. Two hundred prisoners were taken. 

Thus was the authoriiy of King Thakombau re- 
established. All the rebel provinces submitted, and 
twenty thousand of the Fijians attested their deter- 
mination to live at peace with each other, by fol- 
lowing the example of the king, and adopting the 
profession of Christianity. 

Of the numerous rebels, there was one, Koroi- 
ravnlo, whom the king wished to put to death. The 
influence of King George and of the missionary 
living at Bau were combined to avert this; and 
Thakombau was saved from disgracing himself in 
the hour of victory. 

Here, for a season, let us part with the king 
of Fiji. Human society is essentially forgiving. 
Let Thakombau, now by profession a Christian, 
henceforth lead a life of purity and chastity, of 
forbearance and benevolence, of honour and up- 
rightness, of peace and civilized activity, and the 
degrading parts of his past history will thereby be 
obliterated. 

Be it known, that naturally bad as Thaikombau 



294 THE CRISIS. 

mskj appear io be, yet he is ixifinitely better than his 
contemporaries. 

As a sequel to this volnme, a history of the first 
decade of the Christian Era is being prepared, and 
will be committed to the press. It embraces the 
political, social, and religious history; records the 
American difficulty; narrates the proceedings re- 
specting the proposed cession of Fiji to Her Majesty 
the Queen ; discusses various important missionary 
questions ; glances at the natiye church of the &ture; 
and remarks suggestively on the climate and capa- 
bilities of the country as a field for English settlers. 








CHAPTER XI. 



%hant % "^tajfki 




im 'm •« ■ 



II.IW I] \im>\~*s^y^mfm^^^mmm^^m^mmfmmf^^wr^mm9m&mmmr^^iew 



<i 



CHAPTER XI. 







ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

Courtesy — ^iVi^ — Duplieity — Shrewdness and Cunning — 
Heasoning ^^Ifeokanieal Skill — Husbandry — Knowledge 
of Nature — Business — Home — Moral Charaoter — Eduoa- 
tion — Betrothal and Marriage — Strangling of Widows 
— Polygamy — Cannibalism — War — Wa^^ Songs — IHplo- 
m^ioy — Self -Sacrifice and Suicide — Destruction of the Sick 
— Burial — Funeral Observances — Infanticide — Witch* 
craft — Punishments — Thefts — Murder of Wrecked Persons 
— Proverbs — Preservation of Food — Tobacco — The Tarna 
— Variotis Characteristics — Taqona — Atonement — Tra- 
ditions — Superstitions -^Ijangtuige, 

f^O the stranger, wHeii once lie has overcome 
$ his repugnance, arising principally from the 
% nudity of the people, the Fijian is pre- 
^possessing in his manners. He is courteous, 
though inquisitive ; ostentatioUBy to make you believe 
he is of rank or of importance, though the next 
moment he may be compelled to assume the position 
of a serf; hospitable to the extreme, though he may 
regret your presence, or may have already resolved 
to murder you during the night. Thus, King 



298 ABOUT THJE PEOPLE. 

Thakombau himself complains of a certain captain in 
the U.S. Navy, not on account of the threat to hang 
him on the yard-arm, but because he was not, in 
the meantime, supplied with a dinner. 

The Fijian is pre-eminently proud of his customs, 
his pedigree, his language, and his person. Hence 
he will listen attentively to the most wearisome 
repetition of any statement which feeds his vanity. 
He Tvill delight to surprise you with an attention 
which he tells you, with a parade of modesty, is the 
"country fashion;" he will recount his influential 
connexions, and boast of the family-standing in days 
of yore ; he will draw you out on the subject of his 
mother-tongue, whilst his eyes glisten with joy as you 
remark on its force and its beauty ; and he will not 
hesitate to scrape his bare legs, or dress his hair, 
whilst he is in your presence. He measures his 
visitors with his own gauge, and will dose you with 
his own ideas of your wealth, your rank, your scholar- 
ship, or your personal appearance. You are ** richer 
than a king;" "the son of a chief;" "speak like a 
native ;" or are " a handsome man." On one occasion, 
when a missionary was endeavouring to do a work for 
which he was evidently too short, the teacher's wife 
intimated that "perhaps her hujsband could accomplish 
it, as he was taller." You should have seen the look 
of her Kege. " Susanna ! the chief not taU P how 
could you say that ? " 

And he is very susceptible of personal affiront. 
A sarcastic remark, or a taunt of inability, nettles 
his heart ; and he will either give you proof positive 
to the contrary, or resolve quietly to bide his time 
for revenge. Amongst themselves, the chiefs often 



CHARACTERISTICS. 299 

go to war for a great variety of reasons, when in 
truth war had been declared in the heart on the very 
day of the conceived insult, and the real cause was 
concealed from all others. 

Yet the Fijian acts prudently. He counts the 
cost. So long as anything is likely to be gained, either 
in the shape of property, or of protection from an 
enemy, he will not appear to be offended. Once let 
it be apparent that there is nothing more to gain, 
and he opposes you with all the strength of his nature. 
Once let it seem that the influence of a man is on the 
wane, and a whole host arise to join his enemies. 
Thousands will war against a " sinking " chief who 
scarcely knew him in his day of prosperity. And in 
the town there is no lack of witnesses against a 
courtly favourite who is threatened with disgrace or 
death. To kick a man when he is down, is quite the 
country fashion. 

He is thoroughly two-fiioed. Thus, one took a 
message from a missionary, urging a certain tribe to 
embrace Christianity. He faithfully fulfilled his task; 
but, at the conclusion, added, " And now, having, told 
you what the teacher says, I will give you my advice : 
do not become Christians." A chief will consent 
to your request with reference to his people ; but his 
messenger, when he gives the order, tells them to find 
an excuse for non-compliance : or he will send two 
messengers ; one public, whom you may afterwards 
question, and whose testimony will prove the fidelity 
of the chief in h^s engagement ; and another private, 
giving the order for that which is to be, and whose 
visit you can only suspect. Or the man will start on 
his journey, and for some plausible reason return with 



300 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

Ms errand nnaccompliislied ; and he is never re-sent. 
Direct refdsal is rare; but the accomplishment of 
your wishes is cleverly frustrated. Thakombau sent 
a message to an infuriated people, and the mes- 
senger returned, giving a suitable reply ; when, in 
fact, he had never communicated with them. When 
you remember that fidelity in this case might have 
ended in the messenger being cooked and eaten, you 
will make some allowance. An improper proposal was 
made to a professedly Christian chief, who repHed, 
"You must yourself arrange matters with the woman, 
as I don't want to be known in the affair, lest the 
missionary should find it out." 

But you must not &Isely accuse him of crime ; as 
it is usual, in such cases, for the person to go and do 
the very thing laid to his charge, on account of the 
improper accusation. Thus theft, treacherous cor- 
respondence with the enemy, and adultery, are fre- 
quently committed. A chief was once &dthfully dealt 
with by his superior, who enumerated various impro- 
prieties of which he had been guilty. The man 
returned home ; not to amend his ways, but to medi- 
tate on the twentieth accusation, which was fdse. 
'^ Who was the author of that ? " was his diligent 
inquiry for many days. 

He will let you have your own way with him, 
that you may be under the obligation of complying 
with his wishes in a more important matter. Nothing 
is more usual than for a tribe to join a chief in his 
war, for the purpose of afterwards requesting him to 
do something, in the very moment of success, which 
will frustrate the great end of his appeal to arms, and 
accomplish their own sinister purposes. The party 



CHABACTEBI8TIC8. 301 

under obligation feela bound to return the compli- 
ment. Hence the issue of war is often far from 
satisfactory. 

He is naturally shrewd. Divine service was to 
be held on board an American ship, and certain 
women were sent out of sight as the missionary came 
on board. A heathen chief who was present in- 
quired of the captain, "Will your rehgion fill your 
ship with its cargo, that you have service ? " A 
minister of religion was recommending his fellow- 
townsmen to destroy, for the sake of health, the 
offensive weeds that abounded within the precincts of 
the city, and his audience seemed disposed to ac- 
quiesce. One of them, however, instantly remarked, 
" Yes, the weeds are unfit for your goats ; the grass 
will be better." The effect was electrical. There 
was no weeding, as it was believed to be self-interested 
advice. A late English settler was much amused 
with this trait in the native character. Their cun- 
ningness in avoiding work was frequently the subject 
of his conversation. " Why, sir," said he, one day, 
"only imagine one of them sitting down for. two 
hours to think how he can cheat me out of five 
minutes' work." Once he had bargained with a man 
to clear a small square piece of ground, the said plot 
of ground being defined by some small shrubs. The 
labourer went in due course to announce the com- 
pletion of his contract. The settler went out with 
him to inspect the work. Yes, it was finished. Yet it 
looked smaller. But there were the small trees which 
had been fixed upon as boundaries. It was strange he 
could have made such an error in his calculation of the 
extent. He began to walk round the plot \ when, be- 



802 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

hold ! he foand his clever workman had cat down the 
small trees, and grafted them to the trunks of other 
shrubs, which were in the middle of the plot. 

The Fijian soon knows his man. Some he will 
not tempt: they are men of "one mind." Others 
are tried ; " for they give in after a few refdsals." 
The report brought by one is pronounced to be ex- 
aggerated : ** he makes much out of little." A letter 
from a white man was read to a chief, who quietly 
remarked, " Had any other foreigner written that, I 
should have believed it ; but this correspondent's sole 
property is pen, ink, and paper." So when Her 
Majesty's commissioner, Col. Smythe, landed at Ban, 
the king said, " Ah ! an inquiry : then the cession ques- 
tion will end in state papers ! " The event showed 
that he was not far out. 

He is a lover of discord, evidently acting on the 
idea, that when rogues Ml out, honest men secure 
their own. Chief is set against his rival; settler 
against settler; visitor against visitor; and, if he 
could, he would set missionary against missionary. 
He will partake of your hospitality, or of your gene- 
rosity, and then at once proceed to your neighbour 
and supposed rival, and draw comparison between 
your friend and yourself which shall be anything but 
favourable to you. 

The Fijian is logical, in his way : he does not 
believe without proof. Proof positive is tendered by 
ocular demonstration. Some natural object is gene- 
rally pointed out as the evidence of alleged facts. 
The traditions of the country are ftdl of this, as may 
be noticed in the course of this volume. A chief had 
a peculiar colour in a tuft of his hair. "It was the 



FIJIAN LOGIC, 303 

spot," said he, "where his father had placed the 
feather of a sacred fowl, which had been sacrilegi- 
ously killed when he was a boy." The superiority 
of the Christian religion was thus demonstrated 
among themselves : — 

Everything EngHsh is better than Fijian : — ^their 
axe superior to our stone axes ; their musket to our 
bow and arrow ; their knife to our coclde-shell : The 
English have a God : Therefore the God of the 
English must be superior to ours. 

So with the immediate worshippers of Degei, who, 
when first they heard of the Christian religion, said 
that it was from the " Sacred Mountain." Their 
argument was as follows : — 

Degei is the true God : 

Jehovah is the true God : 

Therefore Jehovah is Degei. 

On the removal of a missionary, some of the 
natives questioned the right of his successor to the 
use of certain church-lands, and placed the case 
thus : — The said land is Mr. M.'s personal property : 
Mr. M. gave us the charge of all his effects : There- 
fore the land is under our control. 

In his manufactures the Fijian, as far as variety 
of personal skill is concerned, contrasts favourably 
with the European. The latter divides his work into 
many departments, and one minute branch only is 
generally appointed to each department. But the 
Fijian begins and completes every part until the 
whole is finished. The European procures his mate- 
rials ready prepared for use ; the Fijian makes use of 
the unprepared gifts of nature. The division is that 
of labour, rather than of parts. 



304 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

By inclinajdon and habit ke is a ctdtiyator of iJie 
soil ; though he could contriye to live on the znere 
produce of his forests, were he so inclined. He loves 
to watch the growth of his vegetables, and seems to 
venerate the earth for its yield of increase. In the 
yain-planting months, he allows no other engage- 
ment to interfere with the business of the season, 
and, though he is not actually pressed for time, he 
indulges himself in the pleasing fiction that he is. 
He understands the art of planting simultaneously 
two or three crops of various kinds, to arrive 
severally at maturity during successive periods. He 
will willingly plaat any seed with wHch you may 
supply him. He it was who showed the white settler 
how to save his cotton crops, by gathering the mature 
buds, and housing them, previous to the heavy rains. 
He it was who brought the recently-introduced 
Chinese banana into the market almost as soon as 
the fruit of the parent stock was ripe ; thanks to the 
promptitude with which he had stolen the young 
plants. 

With the botany and natural history of his 
country he is well acquainted. He has named every 
herb, shrub, and tree; and for most of them he 
assigns a use. From one he extracts his glue ; from 
another, his poison. From others he gets his medi- 
cine, his lotions, and his dyes. With a creeper he 
stupefies and catches his fish ; whilst he relieves his 
head-ache by wrapping his temples with a mint. He 
shows you a leaf which will preserve the colour and 
beauty of the cowry, if used as its wrapper ; and will 
bring the bark of a tree, the use of which will accele- 
rate the ripening of a bunch of bananas. The barren 



KNOWLEDGE OF NATURE. 305 

Wiftoa aad the Mse kava-plant he cheerMlj awards 
to the mamtenance of the merry imps, with which he 
regards the forest to be infested. The flowers of the 
forest are his almanack, ajid direct him when to plant ; 
whilst he readily extracts therefrom the scents with 
which he perfumes his oil. Every sort of insect, 
of bird, of fish, and of shells has its name, and with 
the habits of most he is very familiar. Nor is he 
ashamed to learn of them ; for he has borrowed the 
model and the material of his water-pot from the 
nest of the insect which he calls the " mother " of 
his crockery. His eyes and his ears are ever open, 
learning of natnre. In the densest bush he is never 
lost ; whilst those who follow can readily find him. 
Should he have occasion to retrace his steps, he places 
a reed in the abandoned track, tJie position of which 
points out the true course to his pursuer. 

He is fond of commerce, and likes to make a 
good bargain. But he will hawk about his wares 
until he is compelled to take less than he has already 
reftused. A property-compensation &om a white 
man, for an injury inflicted accidentally, is generally 
satisfactory; and a few tomahawks will heal the 
wound of your duck- shot. He will purchase from 
his fellows the right of knighthood. On the fidl of 
an enemy, he only can be knighted who strikes the 
victim with a club. But as the injured man is con- 
sidered the property of him who inflicted the wound, 
the young soldier may secure the right of clubbing 
by purchase, and thus secure knighthood. 

The Fijian has an excellent idea of domestic com- 
fort. He is not migratory, but loves a settled home, 
though fond of occasional travelling. Should he be 



306 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

driyen from his house by war, he retums as soon as 
possible. 

In his house may be seen a good fire-place, 
well supplied with cooking-materials, drinking-cnps, 
wooden trays on which to serve np food, and the 
women at their posts, cooking for the family. Meals 
are served np with great cleanliness, and at the pro- 
per time, hot and well dressed. The man, however, 
eats first ; and the woman or women must be content 
with what is left. His social character is decidedly 
better than his moral character. It is customary to 
invite any Mend who is passing by the house at the 
time of meals to *' come and eat." In his hospitality, 
he will share what he has with his visitors; and 
very often he and his household will themselves 
fest, to be able fco provide more sumptuously for 
others. 

But such a thing as conscientious morality is 
scarcely to be found. If an advantage is to be gained, 
the Fijian will speak the truth, be honest, or be as 
gentle as a lamb ; but if not, he will lie, or steal, or be 
as ferocious as a tiger. His virtue consists in the study 
of self-interest. Such an idea as disinterestedness 
is too elevated for his conception. Thakombau once 
said at the close of a private interview, "You mis- 
sionaries maybe able to practise it; but never, never, 
never shall we Fijians be able or willing to do so." 

The Fijian is suspicious, and stoical. Even when 
good advice is tendered, he suspects that some latent 
self-benefit is the end aimed at. Amongst his coun- 
trymen he easily detects the signs which betoken 
an act of treachery, and never feels safe amongst 
strangers. When fiite seems to declare against him, 



TREATMENT OF CHILDREN, 307 

he can be as stoical as a Tnrk. If intended mischief 
is once frustrated, he will cease to entertain the idea 
of repeating the attempt. A house is set on fire ; 
but the flames are extinguished in time. The incen- 
diary submits to his defeat, and makes no frirther 
effort of that description. A murder is prevented : 
the agents consider it to have been so decreed. An 
unfortunate captive is taken : he makes no attempt to 
save himself. His only wish is to secure a speedy 
termination of his sufferings. 

Though certain classes, principally the commercial, 
are industrious, yet, as a people, the Fijian race 
must be considered indolent. Occasionally they make 
great exertions; but such efforts generally arise either 
from war, tribal levies of property, or the mandate 
of the chief. 

The education of the children commences at an 
early age. They are taught by being employed to 
help their parents in their work, either by looking on, 
or by rendering as much assistance as they like. 
When tired, they leave off, and no inducement wUl 
cause them again to assist at that time. As an in- 
ducement to imitate their parents in all things, the 
old people relate to them, during periods of rest, 
various traditions, which are always of the marvellous 
kind ; illustrative of the doings of their ancestors, or 
the blessings received by attention to the duties of 
religion. Scarcely ever is punishment inflicted be- 
yond that of angry looks and words. Generally, 
when the children make themselves vile, the parents 
restrain them not, but tacitly approve. 

The in&ut girl is early betrothed to one of the 
same age as herself, or to one who is already grown 

X 2 



308 ABOXrr THE PEOPLE, 

up. The bridegroom elect will wait till she is sixteen 
years of age, when she is taken to him with due 
state. In the meantime she is considered as his wife ; 
and it is her duty to be strangled on the occasion of 
his death, unless a senior, wife, or other female relation, 
supplies the necessary demand. In several instances 
the young betrothed girls have evidently longed for 
life ; but their parents and friends insisted on their 
being strangled. Just entering on life, the poor un- 
fortunates have been forced, by this cruel custom, to 
part with aU they love. 

When married, the woman dwells with strife and 
jealousy, arising from her connexion with a polygamist. 
If she has a family, she may love her children, for 
she knows their affections are all her own ; but her 
husband is not wholly hers. But her boys, alas ! soon 
learn to despise their neglected mother. 

The Fijians are as strongly attached to their off- 
spring a£ parents in other lands. On the arrival of the 
first-bom, the wife takes the name of '^ mother," and 
is called the " mother of the warrior," or of whatever 
else the child may be called. Sons are more warmly 
welcomed into the world than daughters. Should 
their &thers be murdered, they are called *' the chil- 
dren-of-the-dead ;" which designation is attached to 
them until they have avenged the parent's blood. 

The widow who is not strangled with her husband 
lives to re-marry, or to return to her home. But she 
is more or less the subject of insult, shame, and 
misery ; and, however chaste, is spoken of as a licen- 
tious character. She who dies at the death of her 
husband considers the doom an honour. But if the 
widow has recently become, or is likely soon to be, a 



POLYGAMY. 309 

mother, she is lawfully and honourably excused from 
the strangling-cord. 

No origin of the practice of strangling can be dis* 
covered, except that their religion teaches the Fijians 
that the wife must rejoin her first husband in another 
world, and will there be again under his power. By 
this act of conjugal affection, she rises from obscurity, 
in the view of all, to the eminence of a heroine. It is 
accomplished amidst the excitement of the moment. 
The husband is dead — perhaps killed in war. His 
wife is taken by surprise. There is no time for reflec- 
tion. Within an hour or two the point is settled, and 
her earthly career is over. 

It is not in accordance with etiquette for the 
betrothed wife to mention the name of her husband. 
She will either speak of him as " the chief," or will 
use the personal pronoun "he." In several places 
this custom is also kept up after marriage. 

B^iik descends chiefly through the females : an 
arrangement which, on account of the Hcentiousness 
of the people, was probably originated in order to 
escape the difficulty of deciding the parentage on the 
other side. 

The Fijians are slaves to custom. Indeed religion, 
custom, or fear may be said fco account for all their 
actions. Though they may condenm a thing in 
itself, yet, if it is "the custom," they abide by it. 
Custom decides the most trifling observances. A few 
of the principal national institutions may be named. 

PoLTGAMT. — This is frequently a source of honour, 
and invariably of wealth. Amongst the lowest classes, 
the additional labour which the wife supplies is of 
itself of considerable value. In the higher classes, 



310 ABOXTT THE PEOPLE. 

the wife's friends are constantly taking property to 
ber; and her children, as vasua^ have the right to 
seize any article they like, that is possessed by their 
maternal relatives. There is due subordination in a 
honse containing several wives. The first of ihem is 
the mistress of the family. The others, whom she is 
expected to treat as younger sisters, are called by a 
name answering to that of auxiliary wives. A re- 
spectable female in becoming a secondary wife is 
entitled, however, to an establishment of her own. 
Thakombau had three queens in 1853, and was asso- 
ciating with a fourth, whose dwelling was not,however, 
erected. ^Still there is frequent jealousy ; and some of 
the ladies have practised indescribable cruelties on 
those of the auxiliaries who have been the favourites 
of their husbands. 

Polygamy is a source of much evil. Of course it 
leaves many of the men without wives. Some of 
these will court favour with a chief, to secure the loan 
of a wife ; in compensation for which, the man so 
obliged becomes the wilHng instrument of viUanous 
deeds, at the instigation of his wife's master. Others 
eagerly engage in the promotion and continuance of 
war, under the hope of terminating their forced celi- 
bacy by secunng a female prize. In any treacherous 
dealings with any of the enemy, the promise of a 
woman generally turns the scale. To encourage 
warriors to fight, two or three women are sometimes 
given to the army. 

The STSAN&LiNa of the Wedow ob otheb 
Femaxe Bslatiok. — In the case of the widow, besides 
the reasons already alleged for her destruction, it has 
sometimes arisen from the jealousy of her dying 



CANNIBALISM, 311 

husband, who wished no obher man to possess his wife. 
A Bewa king once gave one of his young wives, for 
whom he did not much care, to his son, who refused 
to have her for a season ; but afterwards they lived 
together, and became very much attached to each 
other. Several months afterwards, the king happened 
to see his son's wife, who had much improved in per- 
sonal appearance, and was now esteemed beautiful. 
Irritated and jealous at his loss, he loaded his pistol, 
—the only fire-arm then in the kingdom,— and sent 
for her. On her approach, he fired the pistol, which 
wounded her fiitally, and she fell dead into the river. 

A chief, still living, once proposed to his own 
daughter, who is described as having been perfectly 
beautiful, that she should become his wife. On her re- 
fusal, because it was tahu, he immediately killed her, 
making the remark, "Then no one else shall have you." 

The surviving relatives may also have seen the 
policy of securing the death of such important females 
as many of the respectable women are, lest the honour 
and wealth accompanying them should pass into other 
hands. King Solomon himself resented Adonijah's 
request for a widow of importance. (1 Kings ii.) 

GankibaIiISM. — ^Perhaps the most strikingly bar- 
barous and repulsive feature, in the character of the 
Fiji people, is their frequent indulgence in the disgust- 
ing practice of cannibalism, in which they exceed all 
other known races. 

The Bev. Dr. Lang attributes the origin of canni- 
balism amongrst the Polynesians to the necessity of 
feeding on the bodies of some of their number, on the 
occasion of their first migratory voyages. 

In opposition to this may be placed the traditional 



812 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

fact, bliat certain districts in the Fijian group are de* 
signated as places in which the custom originated. 
All tradition agrees in the statement that the practice 
began spontaneously. It maj therefore be inferred 
that there was a time in the history of these people 
when cannibalism was not known. Its great increase 
is stated to have been the growth of the last centnry. 
One tradition notifies that the human body was at first 
offered to the gods, in consideration of its being the 
best sacrifice that could be found. As all other offer- 
ings of food are afterwards eaten, the same observance 
might have been eventually extended to this, and so 
not improbably cannibalism had a beginning. 

But however curious may be the speculations as 
to the origin of this custom, there is no difficulty in 
assigning the reasons of its perpetuation. The can- 
nibalism of the present day is practised on the grounds 
of revenge, religion, pride, and appetite. 

Many savage nations have occasionally gratified 
their revenge by feasting on the bodies of particular 
enemies. The Fijian is no exception. In the district 
of Nadroga, the liver and hands are preserved by 
smoke for the gratification of this passion. When 
the possessor of one of these portions is seized with 
regret for the death of any who were killed by the 
person, parts of whose body he has thus preserved, 
he will unroll his bundle, and cook and eat a portion 
of it. In this way he gratifies his revenge for one 
or two years, till all is consumed. 

But cannibalism is not the highest flight of Fijian 
revenge. The acme of revenge is to cook the body, 
and leave it in the oven, as not fit to eat. In the 
course of gardening at Baa» I dug up one of these 



CAimiBALISM, 318 

ovens, whicli was immediatelj pronounced by the 
chiefs to be of this order. 

The Fijian religion requires cannibalism. When 
the priest promises the applicants that thej shall be 
successful in war by slaying some of the enemy, the 
bodies are given by the gods not to be killed merely, 
but to be eaten also. Now it is tahu for an inferior 
to reject food supplied by a superior. Such an action 
would be a grave offence. Thus, if a slave cannot 
eat a cooked yam, which may be given him by a chief, 
he carefully covers it up and carries it home for a 
ftiture repast. Should he throw it away, it is done se- 
cretly, and he is very particular in observing that no 
one sees it. And so with the slain body : it must be 
eaten. Thus, in 1853, the king of Somosomo said, " We 
mtbst eat the bodies, if Thakombau gives them to us." 

Many eat the flesh through pride. Cannibalism 
is considered manly. Chiefs and tribes will boast of 
their fondness for it, to instil fear into their neigh- 
bours. Captain Erskine, R.N., speaks of the "point 
of honour " in the supply, by the chiefs, of human 
bodies for a feast. In the sense of " fame," this is 
doubtless correct. 

It cannot, however, be denied that many are can- 
nibals from actual liking. However repulsive this 
food may be at the first, taste is soon created, and the 
appetite henceforth craves after it. I have myself 
seen and conversed with a monster who killed and 
ate his own wife. There have been several instances 
in which professing Christians have actually returned 
to this horrible diet. On one occasion the people of 
a town, under my own ministerial charge, who had 
only recently abandoned heathenism, could not resist 



314 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

tlie temptation to eat tihe body of a woman, wliom 
they bad killed at the request of her husband; 

Women are not generally allowed to partake of 
human flesh. Notwithstanding this, certain Ban 
ladies, I have good reason to know, ai*e reformed can- 
nibals. One lady, who was ill of dysentery, and was 
receiving En^sh medicine for that complaint, was 
found to be secretly indulging herself in this diet, and 
was not cured until she abstained from it. 

There have been no instances of cannibalism in 
consequence of scarceness of food. 

The teeth of the devoured victims are made into 
necklaces ; the thigh-bones are formed into needles for 
the purpose of sewing sail-mats ; and the skull and 
other bones are hung in trees/ There have been cases 
in which the skull has been used as a drinking-cup. 
The tdbe (ornamental tuft of long hair) is frequently 
preserved as a memento, and worn in the girdle of 
the conquering chief. 

At Nakelo the bones of their enemies of the Toka- 
toka tribe are preserved till peace is proclaimed, and 
then ground up among the puddings presented to any 
guest from that rival clan that may visit them. These 
two tribes are almost always fighting with each other. 

The language supplies a word to designate the 
dead body of an enemy slain in war, which word 
(hohold) implies that it is designed to be eaten. 
Another word is used for the feet of a human being 
that are to be cooked and eaten (dua/rua) : the ordi- 
nary word for feet would not be employed. The beat 
of the woQden drum, when human bodies are killed to 
be eaten, is called the dema. The said beat betokens 
cannibalism. 



WAR, 816 

Hmnan flesh is not cooked in the orens or pots 
used ordinarily. Vessels and ovens are kept for that 
particnlar purpose. In some districts wooden forks 
are used by the chie& when partaking of this meat. 

Occasionally the slain body of a man is saved from 
the oven, at the request of a friend, who may happen 
to be associated with the party who killed him. In 
such a case the enemy is informed by call, and the 
relatives are allowed to take away and bary the 
corpse. Previous to the funeral the relatives remove 
the nail of the right thumb, and fix it on a four or 
five pronged spear. This is kept in a temple, as a 
memento to remind them of the good deed of the man 
who saved the corpse from being eaten. Soon after 
peace is declared, the relatives will present valuable 
property to him, as his reoompense. . 

The Mjians, as a people, are addicted to wjlb. It 
would appear that they always were warriors. For- 
merly the presence of one or two men of renown in 
any town would inspire their neighbours with fear. 
Such characters have released their towns from 
tyranny, and were called " dehverers." The Book of 
Judges reminds the old men of what their grand- 
fathers told them of the times of yore. The intro- 
duction of fire-arms has, however, placed the giant on 
a level with the dwarf. But few now care to sacrifice 
themselves in an attack in order to secure the object 
of the war. Each warrior considers the preservation 
of his own life to be necessary to the best interests 
of the state, and contents himself with encouraging 
others to *' go on," while he promises to follow. 

The occasions of war are very numerous. The 



316 ABOUT rnS PEOPLE, 

possession of land and women, and the commission 
of murder, are the principal canses. To these may 
be added, personal affronts to chiefs ; the refusal to 
give up a particular club, bird, or shell; the un- 
lawful eating of the turtle ; the lust of conquest ; 
the wish to murder, amidst the din of battle, a chief 
of their own, who is suspected of ambition ; a viola- 
tion of the tobbu ; love-affairs ; and last, not least, a 
determination, on the part of the country at large, to 
check despotism. 

When war is resolved on, the first thing is to 
consult the oracles. If the answer is favourable, pre- 
paration is at once commenced. 

Tribes expecting war will abandon their town if 
considered indefensible, and choose a more inacces- 
sible spot for their fortification, often in a swamp, or 
amongst the mangrove-bushes, or on the top of a hill 
protected by precipices, perhaps with all sides in- 
accessible save a narrow pass. Fences are erected, 
trenches dug, breastworks thrown up, and other 
defences prepared, adapted to protect against in- 
vaders. Pitfalls armed with bamboo-spikes are also 
made, the presence of which creates great caution on 
the part of the enemy, as they are very dangerous to 
bare feet. A man thus wounded is often slain. 

An army will sometimes keep up the siege for 
several weeks ; but rarely is a town taken without 
treachery. Battle in the open field is unknown, 
though it is said it was customary before the intro- 
duction of the dreaded musket. 

The native weapons are clubs, spears, bows and 
arrows, and the small club, for throwing, which is 
generally carried in the girdle. There is a great 



SIEGES, 317 

variety of spears, wbicli are only thrown when an 
enemy is supposed to be within reach : they are often 
used with unerring precision. The slinging of stones 
is sometimes employed. The battle-axe, the hatchet, 
the bayonet, the sword, and the musket are also now 
in Yogue. No defensive armour is worn, but fences 
are erected for the protection of those who are 
stationed near the besieged town. 

Each tribe of the besieging army keeps together, 
and forms an encampment of its own ; but the opera- 
tions of the whole army are conducted by the general, 
who is almost always either the principal chief^ or 
some member of his &jnily. He communicates with 
the chiefs of divisions. 

A most striking feature in the arrangements for 
attack is the primary preparation for defeat. Many 
days are sometimes spent in preparing the orua^ 
(paths by which to run away easily in case of defeat,) 
while the subsequent attack may not last over many 
hours. Each division prepares its own orua^ all of 
which tend towards some part of the enemy's fortifi- 
cations. During the year 1863, as many as eight of 
these orvbds were prepared in an attack on Kurudua- 
dua*s town. When the assault was made, it appeared 
as though the town were deserted, and the army 
hastened on to set fire to the houses. But just then 
a shout was heard. Kuruduadua and about one huur 
dred men were in their rear. All thought of defeating 
the enemy was lost in the desire for self-preservation, 
and the thousand warriors took to their heels. Ku- 
ruduadua's small party, which could easily have been 
cut off, succeeded in killing fifty of their assailants ; 
whilst fifty more only saved liieir lives by throw- 



ai8 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

ing away their mnskets, and cattsing a scramble for 
the prizes. 

Frequently the army feigns retreat, and draws out 
a sally from the town, a portion of which is then 
almost invariably cut off by ambuscade. Generally 
the assailants will lie in ambush, so as to cut off any 
small party which may happen to venture into their 
trap. Women and children are not spared. The 
slaughter of a pig is apparently equivalent to that of 
a man. '* Seven were killed, the seventh being a 
pig," is sometimes reported. 

When out on a war-party, warriors are painted, 
grenerally in black. On collision with the enemy, the 
painted faces reveal that the party is prepared for 
battle. In the absence of this, the foe would be led 
to hope they had taken their adversaries by surprise. 
A painted face has sometimes thus saved a man. 

Each clan hafi its own peculiar war-cry, which is 
uttered on the death of an enemy. The watch- word 
in question is peculiar to the clan, but is never the 
name of the tribe itself. 

If a town holds out successfully, some of the 
assailants frequently change sides and join their 
former enemy. During the war, each party tries to 
buy over, with property, the towns on the side of its 
foe. When property is thus sent, and the people do 
not intend to accept it, the town will communicate 
with the general, who has to dWfca (break it up — 
previous to maturity), by presenting property, of the 
same or of superior value. The enemy's tender i» 
then sent to the general as a, return. But if he fails 
to dirika^ it is considered that he is not anxious to 
retain the town. When a town, under these circum- 



WAB-CUST0M8. 310 

stances, is fayonrably disposed towards the enemy, 
tbe property is concealed, and as soon as tkey ean 
murder some of their own party in the neighbourhood, 
they do so, as their vukivuhi (turning), and take the 
bodies of their victims as the equivalent for the 
property employed to turn them. 

When Bauans are from home and engaged in 
battle, it is tcCbu to cut fire-wood for household use, 
or to close the water-pot with fresh grass, lest the 
offender's husband be killed. Thus there is great 
employment when a fight is postponed. 

It is a breach of etiquette for a friendly visitor to 
return home when the Ban chiefs are going to war. 
However inconvenient it may be to him, the visitor 
is expected to accompany the expedition. It is also 
tabu for a visitor to go direct to the war-party. You 
must first proceed to the city, and the authorities in 
charge will send a messenger with you or your 
message. Probably this custom originated in the 
fear lest news should be spread among the army 
calculated to dispirit the troops. 

The warriors on their return home intimate their 
success by the exhibition of flags, one for every 
victim slain ; whereupon they are met by the women 
with songs of praise, the words of which and the 
accompanying gestures are exceedingly obscene. 
Those who have slain an enemy are afterwards 
knighted, during the performance of which ceremony 
they fast by day, and eat at night. These play at 
a game called "upsetting the pot." Whoever ac- 
complishes the feat, becomes the possessor of both 
food and pot. In its performance the arms are some- 
times fearfully scalded. 



320 , ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

The retnming army, on approaobing their town, 
dance songs and brandish weapons. The following 
songs were heard bj the missionary at Ban : — 

" Ai tei vovo, tei vovo, 
E ya, e ya, e ya, e ya ; 
Tei vovo, tei vovo, 
B ya, e ya, e ya, e ya. 
Rai tu mai ; rai tu mat ; 
Oi au a vlriviri kemn bai. - 
Rai tn mai ; rai tn mai ; 
Oi au a viriviri kemu baa." 

" Toa alewa tagane 
Veico, veico, veico.** 

" Au tabu moce koi au 
Au moce ga ki domo ni biau." 

'' E luvu koto ki ra nomu waga, 
E kaya beka au sa luvu sara." 

*' Nomu bai e wawa mere 
Au a tokia ka tasere." 

The principal check possessed by the Fijians npon 
the despotism of their chiefs, consists in the frequent 
opportunity which each tribe or town has to desert 
from their rulers, and place themselves under some 
other chief who is waging war at the time. This is 
done yery stealthily, and is frequently accompanied 
with murder. The party under whom they now 
place themselves is expected to furnish them with 
help to complete their fortifications, and also to pro- 
tect them in the event of attack. In time of war it 
is scarcely necessary to make any other arrangement 
than to proclaim a " turn " by beating a drum, and 



FIJIAN DIPL OMA CT. 32 1 

kniing a few friends as a note of introduction. This 
system usnallj acts as a great preventive of tyranny ; 
for as the real conseqnenee of a chief depends on the 
number of his vassals, a strong motive is supplied to 
render himself popular with them. The same reason 
also leads the unpopular chiefs to hesitate as to 
declaring war ; as it is impossible to foresee how far 
any dissatisfaction extends. Should a town revolt 
from Bau, or a friendly tribe challenge Bau to a trial 
of strength during time of peace, the king first sum- 
mons his chiefs, to know if any of them are parties to 
the disturbance. They of course deny any share in 
it, and urge the king to fight. The ruler has now to 
reckon up the probabilities : " What towns may be 
secretly annoyed with me ? '* If he thinks the evil 
will spread, he pockets the insult, and waits until the 
enemy forces him to action. But if he concludes 
the foe is unsupported, he takes immediate action. 
Sometimes his brothers will have ordered the town in 
question to initiate hostilities, promising to join the 
enemy. Hence, when a difficulty of this sort arises, 
there are great searchings of heart. " Which of my 
brothers, of my sons, or of my chiefs, want to fight 
with me ? " 

Should the people, headed by the tributary chiefs, 
begin the war, they generally endeavour to secure 
men of rank as the ostensible leaders. Thus Yugale 
has for the last two years been endeavouring to per- 
suade Biewa to head them against Bau. Their mes- 
sengers reported, '' Our seers behold war ! An attack 1 
A battle ! A fight on the banks of the shore opposite 
to Bau ! Bau is swept and finished ! " The Brewa 
chief is related to Thakombau, and, being inclined for 

T 



322 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

peace, ridiculed the vision of tlie seers. Afterwards 
another messenger came: "The deceased king of 
Biewa has appeared to ns ; we saw his whole body 
attired for war, his face painted black, his head dressed 
with a turban ; he drank liquor with us, and told us 
there was war with Ban." The chief replied as fol- 
lows : — " K we had not become Christians, we should 
have believed you, and should have rewarded you with 
valuable gifls for the intelligence you bring. But 
we are too wise to believe these tales now-a-days. 
Besides, the body of the late king is buried in our 
own town ; and how could it travel in your parts ? " At 
the present date these Yugale people are threatening 
to commence hostilities; and it remains to be seen 
whether any of the inferior Ban chiefs are cognisant 
of the movement. The general opinion is, that such 
is the case. 

" They are decidedly a religious people," says the 
late Rev. D. Cargill, M.A. ; " and if they are cruel, 
revengeful, and addicted to the revolting propensiiy 
of eating human flesh, their religion is the poisoned 
source from which these demoralizing qualities have 
been derived. They can find an apology for their 
inhumanity in the spirit of that religion which tradi- 
tion and their priests have taught them, and assign 
a reason for many of their actions by pleading its 
injunctions." * 

Death by the hands of others, whose help is self- 
invoked, is by no means infrequent. Thus, a strong 
young man, suffering acutely from disease at the time, 
painted his face, fastened his turban, and othermse 
adorned his body for death. Having sent for all his 

* Memoirs of Mrs. Caj^gOl, by hor hnsbaad. 



SELF-DESTRUCTION-, 323 

fiiends, lie bade them each farewell. " I die to-day," 
was all he said. At the conclasion of the scene he 
commanded his relatives to strangle him, which thej 
accordingly did. A few months after Varani's death, 
Titoka, who had been mnch attached to him, set his 
own honse in order, distributed his property, bade 
adien to his relatives, then mounted the pile of mats, 
and was suffocated by his friends, at his own earnest 
request. 

Suicide is generally committed by jumping from a 
precipice, or from the top of a nut-tree. A death by 
strangling, though originating solely with the party 
concerned, is not considered as suicide, but as a 
natural end. In the latter case the individual takes 
a final adieu of his friends, and goes through all the 
ordinary ceremonies on approaching death. 

The incurably sick are either strangled, buried 
alive, or deposited in a cavern. Even after the 
abandonment of heathenism, vigilance is necessary to 
prevent the continuance of these time-honoured cus- 
toms. It may be, the missionary supplies medicine 
during illness ; but the patient appears Hkely to die. 
Suddenly the news is brought, the poor fellow is 
dead. By cunning inquiry you find that his neck has 
been dislocated. If the patient is supposed to be 
actually dying, his body is at once wrapped up and 
carried off to the grave. Frequently his voice is 
heard from under the ground, until it becomes fainter 
and Winter, and then ceases for ever. Sometimes the 
victim of immolation is himself a consenting party, 
and from his tomb ascends the smothered voice, bid- 
ding a last " farewell ! farewell ! " 

Amongst those who have recently lotitsd, I know 

Y 2 



824 ^B UT THE PEOPLE. 

a few iiustances in whicli the officiating teachers have 
found, by the utterance of groans, that the burial- 
seryice was being read over the living, and have had 
the invalids taken home again. Three of these, thus 
rescued, hved to recover their former strength ; the 
others died in the course of a few days. No wonder 
the travelling missionary requests his Fijian fiends 
not to bury him, but to carry home his corpse, in the 
event of death during the journey. 

In some places the sick are conveyed to caverns, 
and supplied with food for a few days. When it is 
found that the food remains untouched, the friends 
suppose that the sufferer is dead, and make the usual 
mourning. 

There seems to be no religious ceremony prac- 
tised at the interments of the Fijians. A shallow 
grave is dug, broad enough to contain the man and his 
strangled companions. Four branches of a tree called 
ta/rmomLhcmJcaka are placed at the bottom of the 
grave, the mats are spread, and the dead are then 
lowered. The mat on which the body is placed is let 
dowu gradually, and then thrice drawn up again. 
As it descends for the fourth time, it' is allowed to go 
to the bottom. One of the relatives, or some old man, 
then whispers towards the inmate of the new grave, 
*' The end of death ! " and the grave is covered up. 
The priest is invariably present, but takes no particu- 
lar part in the proceedings. Most persons attendant 
hold a few flowers of tud during the ceremony. This 
shrub possesses an overpowering and disagreeable 
smell. The last kiss bestowed on the corpse is either 
given in the house of the departed, or at the brink 
of the grave. 



FUNERAL CtrSTOMS, 825 

The last token of respect paid to the dead is the 
drinking of the hava, which is generally celebrated in 
the honse of the deceased. It is also nsual for per- 
sonal friends to practise the same ceremony in their 
own houses, for such of their acquaintance in other 
parts of the world, whose death may be reported. 
On all such occasions the priest is an important 
personage. He invokes a whole host of deities, and 
prays, " Take knowledge, O ye gods ! Let this be 
the last death." 

Those who have attended on the sick, and those 
who have dug the grave, are tahuedy so that they 
cannot touch any food with the hand, or do ordinary 
work, for several days ; the period being about ten 
days for common people, and one hundred for a great 
chief. During this time they are fed by others who 
are appointed to the work. 

The place where the deceased has actually died 
is itself the object of fear. Certain parties are ap- 
pointed as the toni to continuously lie down on the 
very spot. This office is performed by the firiends of 
the deceased ; and if neglected, the spirit of the de- 
parted is said to kill some of its Mends, or some of 
their children. The actual scene of the death is thus 
to be occupied, day and night, for a given period, 
sometimes for one hundred days. Should one of the 
two who are lying down wish to leave the house, the 
place is immediately supplied by some -one in waiting. 
At the expiration of the proper time, the hands of all 
the tonis are rubbed over with raw fish, and they are 
then permitted to associate in ordinary with their 
friends. 

The howling lamentation for the death commences 



326 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

at the very moment of the supposed departure of the 
spirit. But if death has occurred during the night, 
the howl is of slight duration, beginning again with 
renewed vigour before break of day : with persons of 
high rank, it is kept up all night. 

Many join in these lamentations out of professed 
sympathy ; but they remind one of hired mourners. 
The ease with which the unearthly cry is made 
is astonishing. " I'll cry here," said one, when she 
heard of the death of a friend ; and, having begun 
and finished her " cry " in the public road, she went 
home, not having once been near the house in which 
the death had taken place. 

It is distressing to see the various bodily wounds 
inflicted as tokens of mourning for the dead. These 
consist of shaving the head or beard ; the amputation 
of fingers, considered, in regard to the deceased, as 
being a proof of love next in importance and value 
to strangling; and the burning, cutting, or torturing 
of the flesh. 

The soul is supposed to linger about the earth for 
four days. On the fifth night, it is usual to provide 
some means of comforting the relatives by causing 
laughter, as the spirit has now actually departed. On 
the death of a great chief, his house and its contents 
are sometimes burnt. 

On the fourth day, there is a public game called 
the veinasa. The men begin by confiscating some of 
the property belonging to the women, who, in resent- 
ment, beat the thieves with their wooden pillows or 
with clubs. The men pelt the ladies with clay in 
return, and are not allowed to make any other defence. 
The occasion is seized by many to pay off old scores, 



INFANTICIDE. 327 

uid to have satisfaction for wrongs which may have 
been inflicted. On snch occasions, the hapless hus- 
band, who has rendered himself obnoxious to his 
wife, may be seen running for his life, with his help- 
mate at his heels, brandishing her club ; he popping 
in at one door, out at another, and using every stra- 
tagem to get rid of his pursuer, but in vain ; and 
ever and anon receiving on his unprotected person 
the blow of a club wielded by an injured and exas- 
perated wife. In ten days the game is brought to 
a close by a public dance ; when the city officer 
proclaims aloud that the mourning is at an end. 

It is customary to erect houses over the graves of 
chiefs of rank, sacred to their memory. In Eastern 
Fiji large double canoes are built in commemoration 
of deceased persons of quality. Thus the * * Ra Marama ' ' 
(given by Thakombau to King George, of Tonga) was 
built to keep up the remembrance of a person at 
Cakaudrovi, and is named '' The Ladv.'' At Bewa 
canoes are placed as monuments on the graves of the 
chiefs. Large double canoes thus mark the place 
where the kings are buried. The rotten timber of 
those placed over the graves of the Rewa kings who 
were buried at Burebasaga, in times of yore, is fast 
crumbling into dust. 

In&nticide is practised on various grounds. 
Multitudes are yearly destroyed before birth, by 
means which frequently cause permanent injury to 
the mother. Many are murdered immediately after 
birth. Infanticide is more prevalent among the 
poorer classes than the rich. Anger, expediency, or 
the fear of diminishing the parent's personal charms, 
are generally the motives for thus dooming the young 



328 ABOUT THE PEOPLE^ 

to a barbarous death. Should a quarrel arise between 
the parents, the child is likelj to be sacrificed. This 
institntioii is entirely in the hands of the women. 
The men generally express great regret for the exist- 
ence of the cnstom. Females, being considered as 
less nseful than males, are more often destroyed. 
Illegitimate children, almost inyariably, are not 
suffered to see the light. One woman, known to 
the writer, destroyed her last child, becaose her other 
children were ^11 grown, and she was ashamed to be 
seen with an infant in her old age. Difficulty in 
securing food for the yoang is the last reason that 
conld be assigned for the custom. There is not eren 
a tradition of famine ; and it is highly probable that 
Fiji has never been visited with what Europeans 
would consider a dearth of food. 

The discovery (rf crime is the work of witchcraft ; 
a superstition which exerts immense influence. The 
wizard, however, has rarely time to announce the 
name of the offender before the criminal himself 
makes his appearance to confess his sin. Should he 
fail to do so, the wizard works enchantment to effect 
his death. Such is the fear of this magical influence, 
that those who know they are the subjects of it will 
frequently pine away and die. 

A man was suspected of having stolen some yams 
from a plantation belonging to Tanoa. No one could 
prove his gmlt; therefore they tried him by the 
following ordeal : — A native took a stick, and mut- 
tered over it some words, then handed it to one of 
their seers. K the suspected one is guilty, the seer 
feels a peculiar pain in his arm. In this case the 
pain came ; and the man was pronounced guilty, and 



condemned to die. Bnt the man had taken himself 
out of the way. When this was told Tanoa, the 
humane monarch said, ^* Ah, well, take his father and 
kill him: it makes no difference." The innocent 
&ther was killed for the fanlt, real or supposed, of 
the son.* 

Crime, unless committed against a foreigner, is 
seldom concealed effectually. To secure immunity 
from its consequences, war frequently arises. Of- 
fenders are rarely surrendered on demand, unless 
the party making the request is one whose power is 
greatly feared. But even then the criminal is gene- 
rally told to fly elsewhere. The mass of the people 
sympathize with criminals. There is no public opinion 
against them. 

The punishment of crime is peculiarly Polynesian. 
It consists in robbing the relatives of the criminal, 
modestly called " confiscation ;" in appropriating 
some of his female relatives, called "payment;" or 
in killing some of his tribe. In 1856 two young 
girls, then in full possession of health, were even 
buried alive as a punishment. The unfortunate 
creatures begged in vain to be strangled previous to 
the burial. This horrid transaction occurred within 
three miles of the Ban mission-house. If an at- 
tendant accidentally hurts a chief, his tribe would 
be subjected to confiscation. 

The history of a few thefts may not be without 
interest, as illustrating the habits of the people. 

King Thakombau was detected in 1851 with a 
stolen knife in his hand, just appropriated from the 
pantry ; but he would not surrender it to the owner. 

• "Life in F^i, by a Lady " (Mrs. WaOis). 



^mmmmmmmmmf^mmm^mmmmmmmmmmm^mmm^mmm^mi^mi^-am^^^^mm 



830 ^^0 VT THE PEOPLE, 

It is clear, then, that no rank amongst the heathen> 
is above the occasional practice of theft. 

A native visiting Ovalan agreed to sell two bas- 
kets of sweet potatoes to the missionary. Having 
delivered the first, he returned to his canoe for the 
second basket. On his way he espied a pile of 
bricks, and stole two of them, which he took and 
concealed in the hold of his canoe. ]^ow the theft 
was observed through the window ; and, when pay- 
ment was being made, I said, ''The second basket 
must be equivalent for the bricks." " Bricks !" said 
the Fijian: "I thought they were blocks of red 
paint. The potatoes, however, are yours. Yet, be- 
fore I leave, I just want to know one thing : how 
did you know that I had committed a theft?" I 
conducted the trader into the house, and, remain- 
ing at a distance from the window, bade him look 
through the glass. As soon as he perceived that the 
glass was transparent, he could scarcely contain 
himself for astonishment. He left, saying he would 
warn his countrymen against stealing where they 
could so easily be seen. 

When I was first settled at Ban, the most trifling 
article, if left for a moment in the garden, would be 
stolen. Great inconvenience was caused by this con- 
stant pilfering. At last I made an appeal to the king, 
who directed me to the chief of Lasakau, the thieves' 
quarter. The Lasakau chief listened very attentively 
to the list of articles stolen, and then replied as fol- 
lows: — "I understand why you should suspect us 
Lasakauans to be guilty of the stealing, on account of 
our reputation in that line. But I can assure you, 
that no Lasakauan has committed theft on your 



SEVERE PUmSHMEITT. 331 

premises. For it is a law with us, that if anything 
be stolen, an account shall be given of the same to as 
chiefe by the thieves. Whereon we say, * Very well, 
hide it : if there is no inquiry about it, we will hon- 
ourably divide the spoil.' Now, since no thefb has 
been reported to us, there cannot have been any 
offence committed by our people.*' In vain did I 
urge that the Lasakauans might be learning and 
practising the foreigners' way of robbery. The chief 
said, his people dare not steal without his cognisance. 
Soon after this, the town was accidentally destroyed 
by fire. During the progress of the flames most of 
the people had time to save their property. Qreskt 
was my surprise to discover, amongst the salvage, 
several of the stolen articles. The fire had declared 
who were the thieves. The Lasakau chief returned 
the property, and was very angry vnith the people for 
having concealed the theft from him. 

It behoves the missionaries to use great caution in 
thus reporting thefl to the native magistrates. At 
Lakemba several children, related to certain culprits, 
had each a finger cut off in consequence. At Hewa 
the king's messengers were sent secretly to kill a 
chief, who had been discovered in the very act of 
stealing from the mission-premises ; and they success- 
ftdly accomplished their errand, the body being left 
for burial. 

At Ban, a man one day jumped over the palisades, 
and came deliberately into the verandah of the mis- 
sion-house to purloin a blanket. An English lady, 
who was then our visitor, thought that so nude a 
figure could scarcely belong to the establishment, 
and questioned him on the subject. He immediately 



■i 



332 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

dropped his spoil, and made his escape over the fence ; 
not, however, before a passer-by recognised him, and 
gave his name. I at once laid an information against 
him before the Soso chief. The chief was most in- 
dignant, and said he would kill the thief. I had now 
to plead for the life of the offender. The chief 
yielded the point at last, sajdng, " Let us understand 
each other. You dislike being robbed, but do not 
want the thief to be killed. Very well. I will only 
threaten to put him to death. Whatever I may say or 
do, you must not be alarmed ; as I shall only frighten 
him." The chief now sent for the parents and uncle 
of the young man, and told them of the theft. " Not," 
said he, ^' that stealing is anything new amongst us ; 
but it is new to do it so carelessly as to be found out. 
Your son has disgraced us, and he must die." The 
relatives gave their consent to the death. As soon as 
the criminal was found, he was sent to the chief, who 
harangued him thus : — " You are a thief ; a thief dis- 
covered in the very act of stealing. I am a thief, my 
father was a thief, my grandfather was a thief ; but 
were we ever found out ? Through your bad manage- 
ment, you have discovered to the missionary that we 
steal from him. You must die. Your father and 
mother and uncle have given their consent. How- 
ever, as the missionary has interceded for you, I am 
willing to offer you terms, by compUance with which 
you may save your Hfe. You may either cut twenty 
fathoms of firewood for my wife ; or furnish me with 
six pigs ; or be strangled. Take your choice.^ After 
some deliberation, the youth replied, " To cut twenty 
fathoms of fire-wood, sir, is very difficult, and would 
cause me very great fatigne, and I must therefore 



REMARKABLE SENTENCE, 833 

decline tliat. To famish six pigs is not in my ability ; 
and I have not five Mends who would each give me 
a pig to add to mine, thereby to save my life. To die 
is the easiest : so yon will please strangle me." " O, 
very well," said the chief: " then you shall be stran- 
gled." So the house was prepared; the man was 
cleansed, oiled, and attired in the usual way; the 
Mends were kissed ; the knot was adjusted, and the 
cord was about to be pulled. At that moment the 
chief again offered life to the culprit. But the offer 
was 'rejected with anger. *' Strangle me : I never 
shall give up stealing without you do strangle me. I 
wish to die." " ! so you wish to die ? " inquired 
the chief. " Yes, sir, I do," was the reply. " Then 
you shall not be strangled ! " exclaimed the now indig- 
nant chief ; ^' but you shall live, and you shall give up 
stealing as a punishment. Mind you are not caught 
again, or we will make you uncomfortable." And so 
ended the affair. The young man was not '' caught " 
stealing again — ^for twelve months ; when he was once 
more seized in the very act on the same premises. 

On a theft being reported by the missionary 
Williams to the Somosomo king, a difficulty existed 
in the way of punishing the offender. '' He is one 
of my men," said the king : *' stop till some one else 
is caught stealing." So the next offender had to bear 
the sins of the two.* 

* The following extract from a letter written on the 25th of November, 
1852, by the £ey. John Wataford, is somewhat amusing : — " A letter from 
Abraham, at Koro, was brought yesterday, from which I learned that 
Bolabasaga had taken your pig from Koro, and brought it to Bau. 
Abraham told him that it was your pig. I went to Bau iu the afbemoou, 
and spoke to Tui Viti about it. He said it was ' true/ and * bad ; ' 
and sent a messenger with me to the party concerned. I went into a 
house where were a good many persons. I told them that a pig of 



^mmmmK^mmmmmmwmmtgfmmfSS^'B''9^W 



334 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

Real gratitude is very rare. Certain actions are 
considered as requiring compensation ; but the per- 
formance of any good deed, not included in the 
Fijian catalogue, scarcely receives the mere form of 
thanks. 

The murder of those who are wrecked is a recog- 
nised institution, not originating in simple cruelty. 
It is rather the result of education. On the discovery 
of any who are called " swimming for life," the oven 
in which they are to be cooked and eaten is forthwith 
prepared. It would appear from research that the 
victims of this savage custom are usually natives of 
the Fijis, to whose misfortunes only is this severe 
penalty attached. Such are looked upon as abandoned 
by the gods ; and the slaughter of them is considered 
acceptable to the deities, and indeed necessary. In 
weighing the evidence on the subject, let the follow- 
ing facts be remembered : — 1. There .are many small 
clans, now living, in various parts of the group, who 
are the offspring of Friendly Islanders, who were cast 
away on these islands long before there was any inter- 



yonrs had been stolen firom Eoro; but 'We know nothing about it/ 
was all I could get out of them. *Bat this letter says Bolabasaga 
took it.' 'O, he has gone to OvaJau/ *Well/ I said, 'you must re- 
member that when Mr. Waterhouse hears of it, he will perhaps say, 
Is it right for a Bauan chief to steal my pig ? ' The principal in rank 
then said, ' Go and bring the pig.' Bolabasaga himself, who was sitting 
near me, rose and said, Til go, and bring it;' and away he went. 
When returning from Toi Viti's, we met Bolabasaga, who said, * There's 
the sow ; ' and our lads laid hold of her, and put her into the boat. He 
went with me to the boat, and said, ' Letters are dreadfol things. I 
brought that letter from Koro, and it tells of my own doingrs. It is 
truly wonderful.' He laughed heartily about the thing; as did Tui 
Viti, and all who heard the story. The stealing the pig, bringing him- 
self the letter informing of himself, and having a policeman after him 
before he had been long in Bau, seemed like electric-telegraph work, and 
at all eyents electrified him." 



PROVERBS, 335 

oourse between Tonga and Fiji. 2. In another part 
of this volume mention is made of a Tongan woman, 
whose almost lifeless body was drifted on the shore 
of one of the islands, and who subsequently became 
a Bauan queen, from whom Thakombau himself is 
descended. 3. At Nadroga, the present king is the 
lineal descendant of a copper-coloured boy, who was 
cast ashore on that coast. The exhausted child was 
fed with ripe banana, and gradually recovered his 
strength. So soon as he was fully restored to health 
he was installed as king, in opposition to a candidate 
of well-known rank. A certain family at Nadroga still 
possesses the privilege of demanding ripe bananas 
from the king, on certain occasions, in commemorar 
tion of the fruit given by their ancestors to his, at 
the period of his first appearance. 

Something of the Fijian's character may be 
learned from his proverbs. "Delay is ruin." "Will 
almost catch me ?" ** Night is an age :" meaning, that 
there may be many changes before morning ; therefore 
do not despond. " When the fresh extends to the 
sea, there will be fine weather." " One house will 
have trouble ; two houses will have ease : " illustrating 
the advantages of polygamy. " Running before the 
wind is cooked food," is much used by sailors. It 
is like saying. Keep well to windward : you can more 
easily bear away than luflF up. " Every one is a wind 
in his own bay : " meaning every one is of import- 
ance in his own neighbourhood. " Plenty of guests 
render work easy : " meaning, Use your visiting friends, 
as many hands make light work. " The influence of 
a (revolted) slave-town is of monthly duration only : " 



336 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

i.e.y towns of recognised position will eventually r&» 
gain whatever they may apparently lose. " We rap 
the roots of chestnnt-trees to call forth the voice of 
parrots/' is a proverb of great signification ; indi* 
eating that, by putting questions to a man, you will 
draw something out of him. 

The Fijian fully believes that every reality has its 
counterfeit. The first he appropriates to himself; 
the second to the gods, to the dead, or to the imps of 
the wood. Thus the ka/va and the banana are for 
man, their counterfeits for the imps. The fruit of 
the ta/rawom is consumed by the living ; the branch of 
the counterfeit is buried with the dead. The pro- 
visions of war, and the body of the slain enemy, 
are consumed by man ; but not until they have been 
presented to the gods, who first satiate themselves 
on the soul and the essence. 

The fore£eithers of the Fijian race have bequeathed 
au admirable plan for preserving the surplus food. 
It consists in buryiug such vegetables as the dcdo^ 
ma, chestnut, banana, bread-fruit, and sweet-yam, in 
earthen pits. By this means there need be no waste 
during seasons of plenty. Enough "bread," as the 
article is called, is sometimes thus stored in a 
town to last twelve months, in case of war or other 
need. 

The Fijians are peculiar in their use of tobacco. 
Instead of consuming the cigarette in whiffs, they 
invariably swallow the smoke. Men, women, and 
children are much addicted to the habit. The 
quantity of tobacco used at a time is not large ; but 
its effect is kept up by the fi^equency with which it is 
replenished. The term employed, in speaking of the 



THE TAMA. 337 

use of the narcotic herb, is neither " smoke," nor 
*' chew," nor " snuff," — ^but " to eat tobacco,^* 

It is customary for the people to make an au- 
dible expression of reverence or submission, when 
approaching a chiefs or the house of a chief. This is 
called the tamay and is expected by every one of rank. 
The same shout is made on visiting sacred places or 
things. On one occasion the writer, quietly carrying 
a sacred club, went amongst a number of heathen, 
who were idling about in front of the mission-house. 
His friends soon recognised the shrine, and, to his 
astonishment, saluted it. At sea, the somewhat mu- 
sical sound of fifty men, thus saluting the tropical 
birds, is affecting to a missionary. The ta/ma varies 
according to locality ; and that of the women is quite 
different from that of the men. The ta/ma is not utt-ered 
in the afternoon, when it is usual to clap hands in- 
stead, and say, " It is afbemoon, sir." If a tributary 
town is fighting with its rulers, it is customary for 
them also to clap their hands instead, and say, '' It is 
tahu, sir." 

The kings or head-chiefs of the principal nations 
are very punctilious and exacting towards those over 
whom they rule. With the investiture of office, all 
the airs, authority, and consequence of official life 
are assumed. Their will is law. Their veto nullifies 
the whole proceedings of the minor chiefs in council 
assembled. On such occasions they sometimes ap- 
pear, by the wisdom and eloquence they display, to be 
head and shoulders above their peers. As in ordi- 
nary rambles they walk first of all the company, so 
in the transactions of the state they must take visible 
precedence, and appear to originate every movement, 

z 



338 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

or they will oppose it. Nor must there be any in- 
terference with their prerogative. For instance, the 
Rewa nation had engaged to send warlike help to 
Nadroga, and the king went to the islands in quest 
of canoes to be used as transports. But, on his 
return home with twenty canoes, he found that the 
chiefs had been making independent arrangements, 
which he considered was an encroachment on his pre- 
rogative. He therefore immediately sent the canoes 
home again, and has left the Nadroga question un- 
touched ever since. 

The number of chiefs is very great ; so that, if 
there were not a king, there would be more masters 
than men. A king is a political necessity in Fiji. 

The real power of a Fijian king is two-fold. 
In his own matamtu (kingdom) he is generally 
supreme. Amongst his neighbours, tributaries, or 
rivals, his power is only that of influence. King 
Thakombau was never supreme ruler over more 
than fifteen thousand of the inhabitants ; though 
he could, at one time, influence, in various ways, 
perhaps one hundred thousand, or one half of the 
entire group. 

The mode of addressing chiefs is ftilsomely re- 
speotfdL "My head," " Root-of-the-Rafter," "Eat 
me," and "Chief," are used synonymously with 
" Sir." Clapping of hands is usual after a person of 
rank has partaken of reireshment, smoked a cigar, or 
sneezed. It is also performed on certain approaches 
near the person of a chief. 

The Fijian is extremely fond of gifts ; and would 
rather dance attendance for days on one who is likely 
to bestow property on him " like a chief," than work 



IMPORTUNITY, 339 

for a few hours, and purchase a similar article bj his 
own honest labour. 

He does not like to be the first to communicate 
bad news. Should the crew of a canoe arrive at Bau 
in possession of distressing intelligence, thej will 
charge each other not to divulge it. 

He keeps time rather by the year than by months. 
It is true that certain months have names ; but these 
owe their designation either to religion, to the plant- 
ing and digging seasons, to the appearance of certain 
fish, or to the prevalence of particular winds. There 
is no distinct name for each of the twelve months by 
which they are called. 

It is no breach of Fijian etiquette to tease one 
into a compliance with the wishes of those who are 
importunate, provided that the applicant is a superior 
or an equal. This is a source of much evil. In times 
of war, towns will thus be teased into changing sides. 
The party yielding is apprehensive lest the applicant 
turn, and in retaliation inflict some injury. Probably 
the custom originated in the remembrance that a 
return-favour might be solicited at some future day, 
when one good turn would earn another. It is con- 
sidered a good reason to assign, that '' the messenger 
came five or six times about it." Superiors them- 
selves will sometimes yield. Thakombau once jus- 
tified himself by saying, " I thought, if I continued 
to refiise, they would say that I was their enemy." 
Expediency, rather than right principle, seems to 
govern the race. 

There is every reason to conclude that originally 
the Fijians were a sober people. A hundred years 
ago, there were but two grog-bowls in Eewa, a town 

z 2 



4 



340 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

then containing a population of three or four thousand 
people. These bowls were in the houses of the prin- 
cipal chiefs ; and the drum was beaten to assemble 
those who wished to partake of liquor. Within the 
last thirty years, however, intoxication has become 
fearMly prevalent, by the use of both alcoholic and 
hava mixtures. 

The use of yaqondfor hava root is said to have 
been made known by the Tongans. A tradition in- 
deed says that the root sprang up originally from 
the grave of a Tongan leper, who had been addicted to 
ka/va drinking. This is given as the reason why the 
7ca/va is difficult of digestion. 

Toasting, in English style, is unknown. But he 
who is about to drink the kava will sometimes ex- 
press audibly an earnest request for some particular 
thing. On such occasions, fowling-pieces, pigs, and 
even canoes, have changed owners. It is perhaps a 
species of gambling. 

It is tabu to pass at the back of an individual. An 
inferior may not reach for anything which may hap- 
pen to be above the head of a chief. He must also 
lower his club and crouch down when a chief passes 
him. Probably these customs originated in the fear 
of murder. The " felling down after " a chiei^ on 
the occasion of his stumbling, may be conjectured to 
have had a similar origin. In the latter case, it is 
usual for the chief to present, to those who " fall after 
him," any article of property that they may desire. 

A rubbing together of the hands is the strongest 
denial that can be given. 

Canoes passing to windward of certain chiefs are 
fined. At Bau one clan only beats the drum at sea ; 



SONGS OF REVENGE. 341 

another possesses the exclusive privilege of carrying 
a flag. 

Fijians have been slain for disrespectful approach 
to chiefs. 

It is believed that if the head and tail of a certain 
sprat (the daniva) is thrown into the sea, at Naigani, 
it "lives again." 

In answer to an inquiry sent to me, as to " what 
is the origin of making atonement to the divinities 
with the whale's- tooth," it will, perhaps, be sufficient 
to say, that the whale's-tooth has probably not been 
in use much more than a century. Previous to its 
introduction, atonement was made by the small 
white cowry-shell. Indeed, in ancient times the Fijian 
currency consisted of this huli-leka shell, to which 
reference is so frequently made in the traditions. 
These shells were then used as the offerings to the 
gods, just as whales'-teeth have been since. They 
were also employed for the purposes of war, mar- 
riage, and treaties. Costly clubs and staves were used 
similarly. 

The rite of circumcision is universal. It is per- 
formed very ostentatiously, at the ages varying from 
sixteen to twenty years. It does not appear to be a 
religious rite. When young men conform to this 
national institution, power to domineer over them is 
conceded to the women, which they seldom fail to use 
with telling effect. Its accomplishment is accom- 
panied by much that is objectionable. 

The great design in composing songs commemo- 
rative of massacres, murders, &c., is the promotion 
and sacred perpetuation of the purpose of revenge. 
Only the relatives and friends of the slain sing to the 



342 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

memory of the victims. It would be a breach of 
etiquette, and the addition of insnlt to injur j, for 
the murderers to chant a song detailing their own 
treachery. 

The following traditions further illustrate the 
popular style of thought :— 

Caeiobe (of Waikete near Buretu) aimed to 
secure tribute both from Bau and Rewa, and took np 
his residence between the two places. He caught a 
crab, and told his mother to cook it for him. But she 
was dilatory, on account of being anxious to finish 
a mat, which she was then plaiting. Becoming ex- 
hausted, Cakobe gradually sank into the ground, call- 
ing, at various stages, for his food. His mother then 
prepared to attend to his request ; but it was too late. 
As she brought his food, he disappeared below the 
ground. This is employed to illustrate, first, the evil 
arising from over-grasping ; as Oakobe missed both 
Bau and Bewa: and then, the danger of every one 
doing as they choose ; the mother thus losing her son. 
The marks of an extensive pottery there seen are 
shown as confirmatory of the statement that he drove 
away from thence the pot-makers at Dravo. 

The Mouse and the Mo ok disputed amongst 
themselves as to the way in which mankind should 
die. The moon wished man to be immortal. The 
mouse said, " No ! let men have children, and die one 
by one, leaving successors, as I do." As mankind 
wished to die all together, the human race has ever 
since hated the mouse. The mouse being the only 
indigenous quadruped, the people thus shrewdly ac- 
count for the enmity of which it is the object. 

The Fltdtg Pox and the Mouse. — ^A mouse 



LEGENDS. 343 

wished to fly, and made a pair of wings. The bat, or 
flying fox, passing by, offered to make the first trial ; 
to which the mouse consented. But when the monse 
wanted the bat to return the wings, he refused, say- 
ing he was delighted with his power to travel by 
wing. This is said to be the reason why the bats 
suckle their young, and, embracing them, fly about 
with them. 

The Fijians give the following reason for the pig 
rooting about the ground: — "Once upon a time" 
there was a grand assembly of gods, men, and animals, 
to decide what would be the most suitable meat to 
place on the top of the baskets of cooked vegetables, 
when served up on the occasion of a feast. Various 
propositions were made. Some said that a cooked 
human body was the most appropriate, and all the 
animals assented. But the men said the human 
body was too long for the basket ; the head and the 
legs must be cut off, and the look of the thing spoiled. 
After some discussion, the worm proposed that the 
pig should be adopted ; remarking that, although the 
snout was long, it could easily be broken and turned 
up. This suggestion was agreed to ; and ever since 
then, it is said that pigs root up the ground to find 
the wottns, against which they have sworn deadly 
enmity. You firequently see the snout of the cooked 
pig turned up in the way said to have been suggested 
by the worm. 

At Koro the natives speak of a time when the 
island was completely covered by water, with the ex- 
ception of the summit of one of the highest peaks, upon 
which a qiqi^ one of the smallest of the Fijian birds, is 
said to have alighted to weep over the deluged land. 



344 ABOUT THE PEOPLE, 

There is likewise a tradition respecting tbe Tower 
of Babel, which appears to be local. Mankind re- 
solyed upon building a tower which should reach to 
the moon ; but, when the edifice had been carried up 
to a certain height, the lower part rotted, and gave 
way, upon which the people dispersed. Probably in 
no country is there such a multiplicity of dialects 
as in Fiji. 

There is a tradition that a man, from the interior 
of Great Fiji, was frightened at the water rolling in 
some old nuts which had been given him, and clubbed 
them, to drive away the god which he thought had 
possessed them. 

The Ya Kalili O is a driving away of a devil. 
When there is an impression of the unwelcome pre- 
sence of a devil, a man climbs up to the top of a 
house, and there seats himself. He then .calls to the 
devil to come, defying him to the utmost. When the 
devil appears, or is supposed to have appeared, the 
surrounding spectators shoot at him, and make all 
sorts of noise, such as blowing the conch-shell, &e. 
This causes the devil to take to flight. 

Near Ovalau is a black stone which is said to have 
been a sacred pig. Some unbelievers had resolved to 
eat it. Having killed it, they put it in an oven to 
bake. Whilst it was being cooked, they went to 
bathe. On their return, they opened the ovens to 
satisfy their appetites. Judge of their surprise when 
they found that, after the shoulders and legs had been 
separated, the whole of it became transformed into 
stone (lia-vatu) ! 

A Sovivi canoe was destroyed at sea. When in 



■ I ■ m mmr^^nmtww^r^^m^^mw^m'mi ■■■■>nii 



THJB LANGTIAGE. 345 

the water, the crew loudly lamented their fate. Those 
who sorrowed because they should no more see their 
wives and children, perished in the sea. But there 
was one, and one only, who regretted most of all that 
through death he should no longer see the sacred 
grove of his god. That man was saved. Faith's 
reward. 

The liatural history of the Fijian race furnishes 
rather more than its full share of physical irregu- 
larities, such as albinos, hermaphrodites, dwarfs, and 
six-fingered families. The average duration of life is 
not long. ^ 

It is possible to trace similarity to Malayan cus- 
toms in the manner of fortifications, and particularly 
in the use made of bamboo-pits to render dangerous 
the approaches. And also in the way in which 
the canoes are concealed amongst the mangrove- 
bushes, ready to pounce out in overpowering numbers 
so soon as an unfortunate craft is in their power. 
The pottery is similar in design to that which is dis- 
covered in South America. The custom of preserv- 
ing the skulls and bones of their slain reminds one 
of some of the old races of that continent. There is, 
ftirther, a curious similarity between the word for 
Grod, " Nanitu," as used by one portion of the group, 
and the American '' Manitu" and its variations. 

The LAKaiTAaE abounds in words to designate 
every object of experience ; but it has none to express 
a spiritual conception. The Fijian can describe all his 
sensations and desires, and has a most copious voca- 
bulary describing things within his knowledge, and 



346 ABO UT THE PEOPLE, 

for ideas derived from bis senses ; but for spiritoal 
tbings, and indeed for many matters of ordinary 
virtue, be bas no words. He bas no name for conti- 
nence or gratitude ; for conscience or ingratitude ; 
for justice or boliness. Tbe word used for god is also 
employed to express " anytbing superlative, wbetber 
good or bad."* 

Sometbing may be learnt respecting a people from 
tbeir language. If tbeirs be old, tbe Fijians must for 
ages bave been respectful towards tbeir superiors. 
Tbe dual or plural form is generaDy used in address- 
ing tbe gods and tbe cbiefs. " Tbey sleep," would 
refer to tbe repose of a young babe of rank. Tbey 
must ever bave been liberal. Words for give or gifts 
tbere are ; but none for lefnd. And so exists tbe verb 
to heg^ but not to borrow, Tbe buman cbest is styled 
" tbe centre of tbe song ; " tberefore tbe custom of 
singing is probably as ancient as tbe language itself. 
Tbe names of tbe fingers are very significant. Tbe 
tbumb is " tbe portioner of food ; " tbe first finger, 
"tbe ordinary pointer;" second finger, "tbe cbiefe' 
pointer;" tbird finger, "tbe boarse Tsdtb crying" 
(in lamenting tbe amputation of tbe fourtb finger) ; 
Httle finger, " tbe gift of respect to tbe dead." Tbe 
familiar salutation on meeting is, "Awake to you." 
At parting, " Sleep to you." Five colours only bave 
names, — grey, black, red, yellow, and green. Tbe 
word for green is also used for blue. Black is used 
for dark blue. 

Some of tbe cbiefs pretend an innocent conceit, 
asserting tbe non-existence in tbeir social circles of 

* Hazlewood's Dictionary. A similar usage is found in Hebrew, and 
other Eastern totngnes. 



k. 



THE LANGUAGE. 347 

certain words. Thus, a man of great rank assured a 
missionary that there was no such aword as '* anxiety " 
in his dialect. The precision with which words are 
employed to express the various stages of immorality 
and sin is fearfully admonitory. 

A distinguishing feature of the language is its 
nice distinctions. The Fijian cannot say father or 
son, wife or husband : he must use a more definite 
expression, and limit the noun by including within 
itself the pronoun for the person to whom it relates. 
Thus, the doxology is chanted, "Grlory be to our 
Father, and to His Son, and to the Holy Ghost." In 
like manner, the language is defective in terms that 
express generalizations. The forests abound, for 
example, in various kinds of pine : the Fijian has a 
special term for each kind, but no generic term 
including them all. So with the numerous sorts of 
bread-fruit trees : there is a name for each, but none 
for the whole. Every species of shells has its name, 
but there is none for its genus. The same is even 
true of the verb. Multitudes of words express the 
same action as modified by changes of its object. 
There is no verb to fte, used abstractedly ; the words 
employed including within themselves the idea of 
place or time. The pronouns form a very large class 
of words. They possess four numbers ; the triad 
being one of position rather than of number. There 
is, however, no artificial distinction of gender. The 
pronouns, moreover, are modified by being used in an 
inclusive or exclusive sense. For " our &.ther," no less 
than six pronouns could be used. There are also three 
sets of pronouns, each set embracing the four numbers 
and the two forms of inclusive and exclusive. One is 



348 ABOTTF THE PEOPLE, 

used for property, the second for eatables, and the 
third for drinkables. Thus " your body," if expressed 
by the wrong pronoun, would mean " the body you 
are to eat ;" and " your ink " might thus be made a 
drinkable. A different word for **wash" would be 
used in speaking of washing the head, face, hands, 
feet, or body of a man ; of his apparel, his crockery, 
or his house : in all, eight terms with different shades 
of meamng to the same idea. "No " is expressed 
probably by many more than twenty-five different 
words ! * 

On a review of the whole subject of the language, 
it is evident that there exists a marvellous fertility of 
expression, and a wonderful precision ; and yet this 
very copiousness is a defect, springing from the want 
of reflection and analysis. To the study of the Fijian, 
the intelligent foreigner brings the habit of analysis, 
and wiU doubtless enrich the language with the 
experience of civilization. The half-castes are already 
adopting new forms. 

It has been said that the Fijian language, though 
consisting of many dialects, is one. But it is to be 
observed that the same word has different meanings 
in various districts. Thus oca^ is " weary" at Bau ; 
but at Nadroga and Yuda it means " anger." 

The language may be classified in two great divi- 
sions, which may hereafter prove suggestive to the 
philologist as to whether there are not in reahty two 
distinct tongues. It is somewhat remarkable that 
the districts in which the striking difference of 
tongue is observed, are those in which the mythology 
also varies ; and this fact is therefore rather confirm- 

* Appendix m. 



DIFFERENT LANG UA QES ? 



349 



atory of the suggestion, made in the chapter on 
mythology, as to the existence, in Fiji, of two races. 
The words chosen as examples are such as, it may be 
supposed, should be similar. In other parts of the 
group where there is a difference in other words of 
minor importance, these particular words are essen- 
tially the same. 





Supposed 


Supposed 


English. 


Aborigines. 


Immigrants. 


God 


Nanitu 


Kalou 


Chief 


Viaqane and Momo 


Turaga 


Pig 


Vurei 


Vuaka 


House 


Were land Sue 


Vale 


Temple 


Bito 


Bure 


Hninan being 


E cola 


Tamata 


Wood 


Guto 


Buka 


Anger 


Oca 


Cudru 


Hand 


Lima 


Liga 


Man 


Seiqane 


Tagane 


Bow 


Vucu 


Dakai 


Song 


Wesi 


Meke 


Cold 


Driwadriwa 


Liliwa 


Hot 


Tunutunu 


Eatakata 


Sick 


Raraci 


Tauvi mate 


Strangle 


Nafiu 


Kuna 


Grave 


Lovolovo 


Bulubniu 


Kiss 


Yabo 


Regu 



The word for " canoe" (waqa) is the same throughout ; 
but this would rather confirm the theory. So also are 
the words for "prayer" (masu), and for "atonement" 
(jsaro). But the immigrants have been shown to be 
the more religious party of the two, and their words 
for these acts of worship may have been adopted. 
Indeed, one district acknowledges that they have lost 



^^mf^mmm^mmmm^m^mfm^mmmtmmi 



350 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

their own word for "atonement." Another retains 
one, na qa, bat it is obsolete. 

Finally, all these supposed aborigines occnpj ad- 
jacent parts of the oonntrj, dwelling principi^ly on 
Great Fiji, and some of them occnpying Vnda (** owr 
origm^^)^ a spot where tradition says the Fijian race 
originated. Their position may be noticed on the 
chart as including the districts of Sema, Nadroga, 
Vatulele, Vuda, Ba, &c. 

A singular fancy prevails respecting the mention- 
ing of their own names. When a Fijian is asked his 
name, he will look at some bystander, and request 
him to answer. Unless it is for the purpose of 
allowing another mouth to pompously declare and 
magnify his position, it is hard to account for this 
custom. 

The same person will frequently hare five or six 
different names at various periods of his life. His 
name at birth, his name as knight, his names as 
parent or grandparent, and his names bestowed in 
consideration of some particular actions. He is also 
known by the name of his house; as "He firom 
Niukaubi." This is considered the more respectful 
form of speaking amongst the natives. 

The language of the names is of itself an interest- 
ing study, as illustrative of the mental habits of the 
people. The following are selected from the names 
of those whose marriages have been celebrated by the 
writer. All of them are names adopted at the time 
of birth. 

I. Relative to present or past circumstances at- 
tending birth : — 

Males, — Day. Night. Blind. Beloved. Calms* 



NAMES. 351 

Locust. Long. Precious, Qnick-as-lightning. Be- 
hindhand. Bain. Arrowroot. Imp. 

Females. — The Stolen (t.e., the fruit of sin). 
Living-together. Waited-for. Bheumatism. Bed. 
Difficult, Bepentance. Pitiable. 

n. Descriptive of supposed disposition : — 
Males, — Bule-the-land. Shark (greedy?). Eats- 
like-a-god. Dog (savageness ?). Perishable-house. 
East-wind (even temper P). Prawn (agiUty ?). Box 
(covetous ?). The Sun (eminence ?). Lily (hand- 
some?). Goddess Oi^ggler?). Paint (outward 
bravery). Tickling-of-the-nose (readiness to fore- 
bode evil ?). 

Females, — Teeth (biter?). Good. In-flame (pas- 
sionate). Impudence. Willing. Sleep. God (clever 
manager?). Chief (one who mZZ rule ?). Smooth- 
water (peaceful ?). Lie. Pride. Truth. Fish (gratifi- 
cation of appetite?). 

III. Prognostic of ultimate occupation or future 
career : — 

Males, — Biches. Father-of. Banana. Land. Comb. 
House. Kjiight. Carpenter. Star. Trumpet. Top-of. 
The-observed. King-of-gluttony. Drunk. Beef. Spark- 
of-fire. Not-sufficiently-cooked. Temple-for- treachery. 
The-new-grave. Bevenge. Bemember. 

Females, — Woman-for-the-eye. Good-looking. Be- 
nowned-wife. Wife. Cry. Sleeps-like-a-serpent. The- 
lady's-blossom. Lady. Wife-of-the-moming-star. 
Die-in-the-canoe. Drinker-of-blood. Orange. Spear. 
Fig. Mother-of-twins. Cause-of-elopement. Speech. 
Earthen- vessel (for water). Mother-of-a-wife. Wood- 
of. Sleeping-in-the-grass. Pillow. Mother-of-cock- 
roaches. Elysium. Owner-of-language. Mother-of- 



352 ABOUT THE PEOPLE. 

pigeons. Wife-of-the-lord-god. Tn fl a.Tn mation-of-the- 
eye. Sky-on-fire. Wife-of-waterspout. One-who- 
quiets. lip-of. Word-of-man. Sacred-cavem. 
rV. In commemoration of contemporary events : — 
Males. — Weeping -for- Ban. Drought. Long- 
treachery. Liying-in-the-bash. Empty. Swim. War. 
Fence. Disturbance-in-the-town. Deliberation. Die- 
ont-of-doors. Slain. 

Females. — Yessel-sailing-empty. Waning-moon 
(decline of a chiefs power?). Capsized. 




tm^r^^^^ 



^^^ 



m^ 




CHAPTER XII. 



Pstj^oloju; an)) Snptrstittm. 




2a 



CHAPTER XII. 







MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

<<TBADITION IS A METEOB, WHICH, IF IT ONCE FALLS, 
CANNOT BE BEKINDLED."— Jo7a»«OW, 

^^*^T is impossible to ascertain even the probable 
nnmber of the gods of Fiji ; for disembodied 
spirits are called gods, and are regarded as 
^such. But tbe natives make a distinction 
between those who were gods originally, and those 
who are only deified spirits. The former they call 
Kalou-vu^ the latter Kalou-yalo. Of the former class 
the number is great; but the latter are without 
number. A third class consists of idolized objects. 

There are various grades amongst the Kalott-vu ; 
their rank being fixed by the number of their wor- 
shippers, the extent of their government, and the 
measure of their ability to save and to destroy. Thus, 
they may be classified as follows : — 

1. Gods universally known throughout the group. 
2. G-ods of nations. 3. Oods of districts. 4. Gods 
of families. 

2a2 



pmmmsmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm^mm^mmmmmmm 



366 MTTHOL OQY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

I. — Gods XJniteesallt Knowk. 



Degei (" Inspector " ?) is the supreme god of Fiji. 
He is the creator of the (Fijian) world, of fruits, and 
of men. He it was who deluged the world in punish- 
I ing the sin of his rebellious creatures. He sends 

forth his sons to visit the earth, who make their 
report to him concerning the piety of its inhabitants. 
His sons have performed miracles on the occasion 
of these visits. He is also a god of anger and of 
war. 

He is enshrined in a serpent ; and sopie saj that 
I the hinder part of his body is a stone, sig^ficant of 

I eternal duration. He resides in a cave, on a moun- 

' tain in the Bakiraki district, towards the north-east 

I end of Na Viti Levu. When he turns over, he causes 

i earthquakes. When he moves, there is thunder. He 

is universally known and acknowledged in Fiji ; but 
not worshipped, except near his own cave. 

On approaching Degei's cavern, the Fijian goes 
on his elbows and knees, neither head nor foot touch- 
ing the ground. His sons are continually on the 
I watch for visitors. On drawing near, the priest, who 

accompanies the party consulting the oracle, calls 

out, " god, coil thyself!" The company then enter 

the cave, and remain in silence until they hear the 

' exclamation of the sons, " There's some one moving." 

The priest now speaks. "It is we, sir," says he: 
" we are going to fight, and have come to inquire 
respecting the issue." " Listen, then," says the son. 
The worshippers hear a clashing of clubs, and a repe- 
tition of the sound for every individual that will be 
killed. 



DEGEL 357 

The earth was without form, and Degei sent 
Bokomantu, one of his sons, to pile np the land. In 
those places where Rokomantu allowed his flowing 
robe to drag over the ground there appeared a sandy 
beach ; but where the god-son tucked up his garment, 
the beach became rocky, or else covered with the 
mangrove-bushes. 

The first-bom of Degei is Rokola, and was con- 
stituted a carpenter. One day he was building a 
canoe, at the command of the god. Buivesi, a god- 
dess, came to collect chips for firewood, and became 
pregnant by a chip that struck her. She bore 
Siamese twins, Nakausabaria and Ciri Kaumoli. 
Bokola was very fond of them, and became their step- 
father. He manufactured bows and arrows, and gave 
them to the twins. 

When they were grown up, they were sent by 
Uto (one of Degei's sons) to collect the leaves fi:ora 
which the ashes are made with which the Fijians dye 
their hair. He instructed the boys to rub together 
two pieces of wood, which they would find would 
ignite, and they would discover the element of fire. 
Previously to this, fire was unknown, and food was 
eaten in its uncooked state. 

Whilst they were thus engaged, they saw Turu- 
kawa, the sacred watch -bird of the supreme god, 
whose duty it was to awaken Degei every morning. 
One of them, being very fond of mischief, proposed 
to shoot the bird, and, pointing his weapon at it, 
said, " I'll just try." His brother, being apprehensive 
of danger, and afraid of provoking the god, vainly 
endeavoured to prevent the execution of the sacri- 
legious purpose. The fatal deed was done ; the arrow 



358 MTTHOL OQY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

entered the bird, and killed it. The lads plucked the 
bird's feathers, which were blown all about and 
covered the sacred mountain. They tried to collect 
the feathers, but did not succeed. They then buried 
the body. 

Next morning there was much ado about the 
alarm-bird. Degei ordered Uto to search for it. It 
was found buried under Rokola's doorway. Full of 
fear, Bokola and his family fled to Nasaro, a town 
situated at the base of the sacred mountain. Degei 
sent an army to summon the town, and demanded 
that the offenders be surrendered to justice. The 
town revised to give up the guilty parties, and the 
god's army made an attack, which was repulsed, and 
the town proved to be impregnable. The god then 
employed a waterspout, which destroyed the town 
with a flood, washing it away with all its inhabitants. 
Bokola placed the twins on a tree, which floated 
towards Nakelo. Here the violence of the storm 
forcibly broke apart the hitherto united brothers. 

At Natavea (Naitasari) the flooded deities inad- 
vertently left their tools ; which is said to account for 
the people in that part being able to build canoes. 
But they careftiUy preserved their sponges, and their 
roqo^ — small mats for nursing children on ; to which 
cause is assigned the fact that the chiefs' carpenters 
have such large families. 

Wherever any canoe grounded, the ved sprung up ; 
a tree considered sacred throughout the entire group. 

The chiefs' carpenters were eventually portioned 
out to Bau, Kadavu, and other places ; but the 
majority settled at Biewa, which has since, on that 
account, been celebrated for carpenters. 



THE FLOOD. 359 

Such appears to be the account of Noah's flood, 
darkened and perverted by heathen superstition, 
through a lapse of countless generations. There is 
a poem in celebration of the death of Turukawa. 
The late Rev. J. Hunt furnished the following as 
" between an imitation and a translation of the 
original : " — 

" I'll try, I mean no harm, I'll only try," 
Pointing his arrow as he fix'd his eye : 
His brother strikes his hand, the arrow flies, 
And prostrate at their feet old TuruJtana lies. 

Stretch'd on the fatal ground, npon his back, 
They see the deadly arrow's fatal track ; 
His entrails all turn ont, his flowing blood 
Stains the white sand, and dyes the ocean-flood. 

" This is no common bird," one faintly said : 
" His glaring eyes retain their crimson red ; 
His sacred legs, with many a cowry bound, 
Crash'd as the monster fell upon the ground. 

My brother, can it be ? is this the bird 
Whose office long has been to wake the god 
Whose serpent form lies coil'd in yonder cave, 
Boasting the dreaded power to kill or save ? '* 

They strip him of his coat, by nature given ; 
And, lo, his feathers rise in clouds to heaven, 
Fly o'er the mountains on the gentle breeze. 
Cover the mystic groves of sacred trees. 

A grave, at once convenient and secure, 
They find beneath the threshold of the door ; 
They bury him with vows of self-defence, 
Should Degei's anger visit their offence. 

The god lies sleeping, nor has power to wake ; 
He turns himself, and rocks and mountains quake ; 



■> 

i 



I 






360 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

When gloomj night has laid aside his pall. 
He lists intent for Tvruka/ma^i call. 

Three sans have risen, bat no call he hears ; 
His heart now beats with boding god-like fears; 
The god, ezhaasted with saspense so sore, 
Sends Uto his dominions to explore. 

" Go search my f avoarite bird, my precious store : 

O, shall I never hear his cooing more ? 

If distance weary, or the sun shall burn, 

Bef reshlng draughts shall wait thy glad return. 

**Go, search 'mong tow'ring heights, *mong vales 

beneath, 
' Mong gloomy caverns, and the cloud-capp'd cliffs : 
There dwell the murderers, so report declares : 
Vengeance shall now absorb our god-like cares.*' 

If, on his return from the earth, Uto reports to 
Degei that the temples are deserted, and the offeringB 
neglected, the god causes a hurricane, to rebuke the 
impiety of its inhabitants. 

On one occasion Uto found two men weeping over 
the grave of their brother. He compassionated their 
misery, and brought to life the inhabitant of the 
grave, after he had been dead four days. 

During a great drought, the women were away 
fetching water from the interior, by relays, and the 
men were lamenting over the children dying of thirst, 
when Rokomautu made his appearance, and inquired 
into the reason of their sorrow. On being informed 
that it arose from the want of water, he pierced a 
rook with his milamila, (a long pin, with which the 
natives ornament and scratch their heads,) and water 
gushed out. 

The natives of Mololo told me that Degei particu- 



•■■v^aoiavH 



DEEDS OF DEOEL 361 

larly favours them as a people. One day there was 
a very great calm and heat, which extended every- 
where. In his love and pity, Degei sheltered these 
his people by the shadow of a great cloud, which 
remained over them. 

XJto, a native of Namacuku, was planting dalo^ 
when Degei passed, and commanded him to go to 
the Kauvadra (the sacred mountain). He imme- 
diately disappeared in the earth. When you tell the 
Namacukuans of the translation of Enoch, they 
mention this tradition in reply. 

These and other traditions bear, at least, a remark- 
able seeming of resemblance to certain facts of sacred 
history. 

The following evidence is proof sufficient to satisfy 
the uncultivated mind of the Fijian, that Degei is the 
true god : — 

The Bakiraki reefs annoyed Degei with their roar. 
He sent Uto to silence the cause of his trouble ; which 
is said to account for the fact that the Bakiraki reefs 
do not roar to the present day, although the surf 
breaks over them as over all others. 

The bats at the entrance to Degei's cave were 
very noisy, and he sent Naqai (another son) to drive 
them away, or order them to be quiet. An adventure 
arose out of this, which is subsequently recorded. 
The bats are silent in that place to this day. 

The manufacturers of the native crockery dis- 
turbed Degei by the noise they made. With his 
foot he struck off those portions of the land which 
they occupied, and made them islands. This accounts 
for the islands of Malaki, Nananu, &c., where pot- 
teries exist, whilst there are none at Bakiraki. 



362 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

Tlie birds at Nacilau made too great a clamour 
at night to permit Dogei to sleep with comfort. The 
god sent Naqai, who ordered them to sleep elsewhere. 
This is the reason why the birds leave that point 
after sunset, and return after sunrise to spend the 
day there. 

Degei is evidentlj a god fond of quietness. At 
some villages near the sacred mountain, the women 
pour the water into the pots with great care, guard- 
ing 'against noise, lest the god be offended. If 
they transgressed, the god would turn the boiling 
food into serpents. 

During the drought of 1838, Tanoa, the Bauan 
Yu-ni-Yalu, sent certain young men, as his messen- 
gers, to appease the great Degei, and to pray that 
rain might be given. 

Some traditions say that the island of Bau, and 
the flat alluvial country constituting what is usually 
termed the Bewa territory, owe their origin to the 
great flood of Degei. 

Degei is also recognised as a serpent- god in the 
Friendly Islands ; but it is probable that the know- 
ledge of him was received from Fiji. 

In conclusion, perhaps Degei is a perverted idea 
of the true and only God. This would appear from 
the mystery connected with his name ; the divine 
works attributed to him; the requirement, on his 
part, of gratitude (as worship) firom the human 
family ; and from his immediate connexion with the 
traditional occurrence of the flood. 

The god most generally known, next to Degei, is 
Daucota (''Light"). He has various other names, 



DA UCINA, 363 

but is acknowledged, worshipped, and known under 
the one name of Dancina, by all the seafaring and 
fislung communities in Fiji. 

In ,reality he receives more homage and attention 
than Degei. He is the patron of adultery, and his 
worshippers have not been slow to imitate his 
example. 

Dancina is the great god of seafaring Fiji. He is 
called the "Lord of gods ;" for, in an assembly of all 
the gods, it was discovered that he was the tallest 
in the company. Many say that he is a monster 
giant. When a child, he was only quiet when look- 
ing at a lamp. One day, his mother tied some 
lighted reeds to his forehead to amuse him. His 
fondness for light was the origin of his name. 

When one of his tribes is about to engage in war, 
the chiefs and gentlemen assemble round his priest 
in the temple. The head chief then says, " We pray 
thee, lord, to appear." Soon the priest becomes 
inspired, and his word is thereupon considered as 
the utterance of the god. His promises are pledges 
made by the god ; and his warnings intimations 
from Daucina himself. Before his departure he 
drinks kava ; and then the priest quiets down into a 
mere man again. 

He takes an active part in the wars of his people. 
Transforming himself into a man, he visits the towns 
of the enemy, to sell fish. After he has departed, the 
inhabitants perceive an unusual smell of fish, and 
know thereby that Daucina has been trading with 
them, and that some will be killed in consequence. 

When he has sold his fish, he commands his people 
to attack the town, promising that they shall have as 



mm^ 



364 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPEMSTITIONS, 

many hmnan bodies as he had purchasers. The 
people proceed to lie in ambush, and are invariably 
snccessM. 

If the town be attacked during the night, or be- 
fore daylight, Daucina walks round the suburbs, and 
illuminates the fence and the houses. The assailants 
know Daucina is there, and are greatly encouraged. 
As they land, the light disappears, so that they may 
not be discovered by the enemy. 

Once he listened to some, who were arranging for 
the death of a favoured clan. One of the party 
finishing his address, all the conspirators heard 
distinctly a " Pooh ! pooh !" from outside. A search 
was made for the offender ; but it was fruitless, for 
the culprit was Daucina, and he rendered himself 
invisible. The god then informed his friends of the 
proceedings of their enemies. 

At another time, he promised success in war to the 
same clan. The tribe started, and secured one of 
the enemy's canoes, carrying seven men. But when 
some of the captors embarked, in order to sail the 
prize home, they found that the canoe would only 
carry four of themselves, though they were no more 
corpulent than the slain. Daucina had buoyed up 
the ill-fated craft, and enabled it to keep the seven 
afloat until his followers captured them ! 

Owing to their being Kalou-vato, (worshippers of 
the same god), the seafaring tribes have a sort of 
freemasonry amongst themselves. If any go to a town 
in which they are perfect strangers, and find a temple 
dedicated to Daucina, they enter it, and are treated 
as fellow-citizens. 

When one of Daucina's priests at Nairara died, 



RATUMAIBULU. 365 

there was the most fearM lightning afterwards, which 
was said to be the lala (omen) on the death of a chief. 

!EIattjmaibultj, (*' Sir, from Hades,") known also 
under other names, some being his descendants, is the 
god of the crops, acting as the Ceres of Fiji. In De- 
cember he comes from his residence in Bnlu, and takes 
np his abode on earth, causing the fruit-trees to flower 
and bear fruit. The month is sacred to this god. The 
people sit quietly, avoiding all noise and unnecessary- 
labour, lest the god be disturbed, and leave the earth 
before he has finished his work; in which case the 
season would be unfiruitful. It is tahu to beat the 
drum, to blow the trumpet, to dance, to plant, to 
make war, to sing at sea, &c. At the end of the 
month, the priest bathes the god, who then departs. 
The priest blows the sacred trumpet ; the people raise 
a shout, which is carried from town to town ; and all 
kinds of labour and amusement are again constituted 
lawful. 

His shrine is a serpent, which is said to lie in 
a very small cave, or rather hole, near Namara, 
within a mile of Bau. Food was taken annually to 
this sacred spot, and presented to the god; when 
the Bauans carefully weeded the immediate vicinity 
of the cave. Unlike the other gods, he does not 
drink the hcuoa. Instead of the usual presenta- 
tion of yaqona^ the people blow the conch-shell, 
and the god eats the wind and the noise of the 
trumpet. After the god has departed, the priest 
partakes very gratefully of a copious draught of the 
kava. After all his shaking and snorting, the poor 
fellow needs it. 



366 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 



I 



Koroika, a chief living at the Soso end of Ban, 
had professed to disbelieve in the existence of Batn- 
maibuln ; and, as that god was then enshrined in a 
serpent, which lay in a small cave not two miles 
distant, he determined to satisfy himself whether 
Batu was divine or not. Embarking alone on a 
small canoe, with a cargo of small fish, he poled 
towards the . spot where the god was reported to be. 
On his arrival there, a serpent issued from the cave, 
and made its appearance to Koroika. The chief 
inquired, "Please, sir, are you the god Batumai- 
bulu ? " The serpent replied, " No, I am not : I am 
his son." The chief presented him with some fish, 
and bade him request his father to come and see him. 
Presently another serpent came in sight ; but he was 
a grandson ; and, having received a present of fish, 
was politely asked to solicit his grandsire to visit the 
hero. At length there issued such a serpent, so 
large, so noble, as to leave no doubt whatever on the 
mind of the chief that the god himself was before 
him. " Please, sir,*' said he, " here is some fish for 
you." The serpent-god took the fish, and retired 
with it ; but, just as he was about to enter his cave, 
Koroika shot him with an arrow, and immediately 
beat a hurried retreat. But the voice of the god fol- 
lowed him, uttering the prophetic warning, " Nought 
but serpents ! Nought but serpents ! " Arriving at 
home, and recovering fi'om his agitation, he ordered 
dinner to be brought. The cover was taken off the 
pot, the servant prepared to fork the food, and lift it 
out of the vessel ; when a shriek alarmed the hungry 
chief, — ^the pot was full of serpents ! The chief 
seized a jug of water, saying, " I will drink, at any 



SERPENT 'WORSHIP. 367 

rate." Bat he ponred out serpents instead of water ! 
Unable to eat or drink, there still remained one 
source of comfort, — ^he could go to sleep. He un- 
rolled his mat, and was about to fling himself upon 
it, when innumerable serpents appeared there, and 
terrified him. He rushed out of doors, and took a 
walk in the town. Passing a temple, he discovered, 
to his dismay, that its priest was making a revelation, 
to the effect that "the god had been wounded by 
a citizen,*' and that punishment would overtake the 
qity. There was but one course left for him, — he 
would SOTO, He returned home, collected property, 
and offered it to the god as an atonement for his sin ; 
and he was pardoned. 

The snake is a god almost universally known and 
worshipped throughout Fiji, but under different and 
various names, according to locality. 

In some towns, when one is found, it is taken up 
carefully, anointed with oil, laid in soft drapery, and 
taken to its temple. If one was found dead in the 
Bauan snake-temple, a priest invariably died soon 
afterwards. 

The Fijian worship of this reptile seems to have 
been ancient and authoritative. It is called " The 
Offspring of the Origin," — a signification pregnant 
with meaning, the ftill import of which is suggestive 
of " that old serpent called the devil." (Rev. xii. 9.) 
It is curious that there is thus said to be a close 
connexion between the human race and the serpent. 
Degei is a " v-w-i-wom* " (" our originator," i.e., of the 
human femily) : the serpent is *' hwe^nu-vu " (" child 
of the originator"). 

When an offering to the snake was presented at 



368 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

Ban, by Tanitoga (the state conncillor) and the 
priest, thej both first besmeared their bodies with 
ashes before commencing the ceremony. 

It is also very remarkable that the appearance of 
the rainbow on land is said to originate with the 
snake. '^ ^ veHka'u, sa vuna na gata ; e wai sa vuna 
na qio,** 

The snake is the patron god of the priestly clan 
of Ban. 

Disembodied spirits are nniversally acknowledged 
as gods; bat are not worshipped by the sea&ring 
tribes, unless the spirits of chiefs of high rank. 

I am inclined to think that this branch of their 
mythology throws some light on the origin of the 
Fijians. I venture to suggest that those who worship 
Degei, and the spirits of their fathers, are the abori- 
gines, who have merely acknowledged the divinity of 
their conquerors' gods, and continue to worship their 
own. Those who worship Dancina and the Kalourvu 
generally, I regard as the intruders, who, out of policy, 
have indeed nominally deified Degei, and the spirits 
of men, but who, out of custom, pay divine honours 
only to their gods proper, and to all those KaUm-vua 
which their respective tribes made known, as the 
spirit of rivalry for eminence grew with their growth 
into nations. The greatest national gods of Bau and 
Lakeba are both evidently of very recent invention ; 
the ridiculous and disgusting origin of both being 
well known, whilst the others have been worshipped 
from time immemorial. The variety of names by 
which Daucina is known may have arisen from the 
independent and emulous spirit of the rising nations. 



1 



CAGAWAZU, 369 

eacli anxious to preserve its own distinctiveness, and 
desiroas of supremacy. 

The aborigines would profess to adopt the gods of 
their invaders, out of veneration for the evident supe- 
riority of their votaries, and therefore of the gods 
themselves. Their native politeness would also lead 
them to acknowledge, at least, the divinity of these 
gods ; as, indeed, Jehovah was, from, the very firsts 
acknowledged as a great god, though it was denied 
that He was ^Hhe cnily** God. He is still spoken of in 
heathen circles as '^ the god of the white people.'' 

II. — Gods of Natioks. 

Some of these are worshipped by several nations, 
but not by all. Others receive divine honour from 
one nation only. 

CAaAWALU, ("Forehead-eight-spans,'*) though of 
unworthy and disgusting origin, yet is the great 
war-god of Bau. He is the patron of murder and 
cannibalism ; establishing his superiority by the 
truthfalness of his predictions, when consulted by the 
Bauan warriors previous to their engaging in battle 
and war&re. 

The Rev. D. Cargill, M.A., had the opportunity 
of seeing the outside of his new temple, soon after its 
erection by Seru and his father. He says : " Whilst 
that edifice was in course of erection, many human 
beings were slaughtered and eaten. For this temple, 
the three men in whose murder the Verata war 
originated were killed ; and perhaps more human 
beings have been put to death on account of this 
edifice than for any other building of the kind in 

2b 



370 MYTHOLOGT AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

Fiji, although the number of persons who are de- 
prived of their lives on such occasions is sometimes 
great. When the posts of a Fijian temple, or spirit- 
honse, are erected, three, foar, ten, or as many hnman 
beings as can be obtained at the time, are killed, 
roasted, and eaten. When the white shells are 
adjusted on the black sticks, which adorn the ends 
of the ridge-pole, on the outside of the house, as 
many more meet with a similar fate. When the 
posts of the place for the fire at which the priests 
and their associates warm themselves are arranged, 
several others are massacred for another feast. 

Occasionallj, after the workmanship of any temple 
has been completed, a tuft of grass is placed in the 
thatch; and after it has remained there for a cer- 
tain period, it is taken down, at the caprice of the 
principal chief who is connected with the temple. 
He delivers it to some of his friends or followers, and 
despatches them to a certain settlement, against the 
inhabitants of which he has taken umbrage, with 
orders to massacre men, women, aud children, with- 
out discrimination. 

'^ Although these occasions are the most important 
on which human lives have been sacrificed by reason 
of the monstrous custom of killing and eating men 
on account of the erection of a Fijian spirit-house, 
yet during most of the time which was occupied in 
the building of this Bau temple, the emissaries of the 
chief were on the alert, to decoy and capture victims. 
Such a temple may, with much propriety, be declared 
an appendage of Satan's throne. There he who was 
a murderer from the beginning erects his stronghold, 
and &Jlen angels reyel in the degradation and misery 



A DEDICATION, 371 

of the souls and bodies of men. The voice of truth and 
mercy has never been heard within its precincts, and 
the moral atmosphere bj which it is surrounded is dis- 
mally dark and awfiilly pestilential. Let every friend 
of Fiji pray that such ramparts of superstition and 
misery may soon be destroyed, and that a Bethel to the 
only living and tme God may soon beautify and adorn 
every abode of man in that extensive group of islands." 
The erection of this place of worship was in- 
strumentally the cause of the death of a great number 
of people. Mr. Cargill says that " three Verata men 
were murdered, that their bodies might be sacrificed 
and eaten during the erection of a new temple at 
Bau. The chief of Verata made retaliation on the 
aggressors, by causing some of his people to waylay 
and kill five Bau men. The chiefs of Bau were too 
haughty and resentful to brook such a retaliation of 
the injury done to their neighbours of Verata, and 
declared war upon them. About a fortnight before 
this massacre, they attacked a settlement in the 
district of Verata, and killed several persons. After 
that affray, the body of one of the victims was sent to 
Tui Dreketi ; but, in consequence of our expostula- 
tion, he caused it to be buried. Since the commence- 
ment of these late hostilities, the fighting-men of Bau 
have made inroads on several of the towns, and 
destroyed many of the plantations, of Verata. In 
the last assault they mustered great numbers of their 
allies and adherents, and resolved, if possible, to 
strike a decisive blow, and effect the extermination 
of the people of Verata. Like a lawless troop of 
robbers and murderers, they destroyed many planta- 
tions, burned two settlements, killed two hundred 

2b2 



372 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

and sixty of the inhabitants, and made prisoners of 
many women and children. Daring several days 
the victors were devouring the slain, like inAiriated 
wolves and hysBnas."* 

Let the cost of this temple be reduced to figores : — 

Killed, in the first instance, by the Bauans . 3 
Strangled by their friends, out of respect to 

the memory of the slain .... 3 
Widows, mothers or sisters, killed in re- 
venge by Verata 5 

Strangled by friends 5 

Killed by Baa in retaliation .... 260 
Killed of the Baa people when making the 

attack unknown 

Strangled by the friends of the same . unknown 
Known to have been strangled at Verata in 
honour of the 260 (the number being very 
much reduced by the Bauans having 
taken as prisoners many of the women) . 50 

326 

We may safely reckon that as many as three 
hundred and fifty lives were lost in the erection of 
this spirit-house. 

Betasiqobi is a son of Batumaibulu. He lives 
in a forest near the cave of his father. Food is taken 
annually to him, and his residence careftdly weeded. 

A club, one of the shrines of this god, is now in 
my possession. It was wrapped carefully in fine 
head-dresses, and deposited in the temple built in its 
honour. In order to show respect, whoever entered 
the temple moved circuitously so as to avoid the 
place where the shrine lay, and bowed low. It had a 

* lEeinoizB of M». Caxgi]!, by her hoBbaad. 



DAKUWAQA, 373 

montli sacred to it, when all work and noise were 
prohibited. When the front of the temple was being 
weeded, and whilst the club was receiving its annual 
bath, the most perfect silence was maintained, after 
which the sacred shells were blown, and the new 
month was formally announced. 

Dakuwaqa, (" Outside-the-canoe,") the Fijian 
Neptune. He assumes the form of a shark, tattooed 
on the belly. In his honour, all sharks are saluted 
when they are seen ; and it is tabu to eat the flesh of 
that fish. 

One day a priest was bathing in the sea, when 
Dakuwaqa came up, and rubbed himself against the 
man, as a pig scratches itself against a post. The 
priest was astonished at the friendliness of his visitor, 
but was delighted to hear from the shark that he was 
no less a personage than their Neptune. 

A canoe was lost at sea, between the islands of 
Koro and Batiki. A native of Soso, the west end of 
Ban, prayed for deliverance to Dakuwaqa. " Inha- 
bitant of the water, save me this day !" Immediately 
a shark made its appearance, and approached Mana. 
It was Dakuwaqa. The god swam before the man, 
keeping to the surface of the water. Mana caught 
hold of the fin on the shark's back, and the shark 
supported him until they reached Nasavusavu, a 
distance of sixty miles. The god only abandoned 
his follower when the shore was touched. All Mana's 
companions perished. For some time the Bauans 
had no idea that he was saved. He maintained the 
truth of this story throughout the whole of his life, 
greatly confirming the faith of Dakuwaqa's votaries. 



874 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

Dakuwaqa jumped on the end of the Soso canoe, 
the owners of which were hiR priests, dnring the in- 
vasion of Katewa, in 1848. He stared at them ; tamed 
over, for them to see the tattooing ; and then leaped 
again into the water. He then made his appearance 
to the chiefs of Somosomo and Ban, who were in the 
rear, and swam before their canoes to the town which 
was the object of attack, a distance of some miles. 

He is a god of antiquity, and is worshipped by 
almost as many as honour Daucina. Perhaps he and 
Daucina were the gods of the immigrants. 

The shark is worshipped in several islands, dis- 
tricts, and towns, but under many names. The natives 
say that each shark named is a separate god. It 
is probable, however, that it is the same god under 
different names ; as something peculiar is attached to 
the appearance of most, and the same attribute of 
saving the wrecked is ascribed to several. The fol- 
lowing are specimens of the names : — 

Circumnavigator-of-Yadua. The Feeder- of-fish (by 
scattering fragments). Fond-of-canoe-yards. Way- 
layer. Rover-of-the-mangroves. The Expectant- 
follower. The Ready-for-action. The Sail- cleaner. 
Mr. Shark- that-calls (his companions). Tabu- white. 
The Tooth-for-uncooked-food. 

At Yadua, for every human being the god seizes, 
he throws one of the thighs into a deep water-hole, 
near a narrow ledge of reef, that becomes nearly dry 
at low water, when the priest visits the cistern, and 
dives for his portion. He then takes it home to eat. 
The thighs are the parts allotted to the priest by 
the god. 

Quite recently, the shark (Mr. Tooth-for-un- 



SUARK^GODS. 375 

cooked-food) is said to have saved Dalia, whose 
canoe was capsized between Kadavu and Yatnlele. 
The god-shark landed his worshipper at Beqa. 

At one place a shark was caught which wept like 
a man when placed on the canoe. It was tattooed, 
but the fishermen did not notice it. When they 
arrived at the beach, the priest came, and ordered 
them to release it, which was immediately done. 

When the god-sharks attack a canoe to destroy it, 
the parrot-beaked fishes (curmb) make a hole in the 
bottom of the vessel, and scuttle her. The rainbow 
rests on one end of the canoe, to portend to the 
crew their approaching fate, that none may attempt 
to escape. 

A dead shark drifted to Yadua ; and when the 
people discovered that it was qia (tattooed), they 
reverently buried it, and raised over the grave a stone 
platform. A vesi (iron- wood) tree immediately grew 
from the sacred remains. 

About A.D. 1840 one of the tabu sharks was eaten 
at Navukeilagi, Gau, and all who ate of it died. 

A fleet of twenty Yasawa canoes were laden with 
the fruit of the cocoa-nuts, which are dedicated to 
these sea-gods. This was a grave offence; and the 
gods pursued them, and succeeded in destroying nine- 
teen of the vessels whose crews had been guilty of 
the sacrilege. The shark-gods saved one man, how- 
ever, and conveyed him to their residence, (Nacawa, 
Yadua,) where their captive was devoted to the work 
of making a perpetual noise, like that of preparing 
the cocoa-nut husk for the plaiting of sinnet. It is 
said that the sound of the unfortunate fellow's ham- 
mer can still be distinctly heard. 



S76 MYTHOLOaT AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

A rainbow at sea, or on the water, is said to ori- 
ginate with the shark, just as one on land is attribnted 
to the snake. 

Vnsatinitini (" Ten-in-origin") liyed in a cavern 
near Nacovn, on Great Fiji, near Bau. A shark 
came into their cave one day, and they tried to 
spear it. No sooner had one thrown a spear than 
he himself was irresistibly impelled to follow it. 
Thus went Radua ("Mr. One"), Mr. Two, and so 
on, till all ten were attracted towards the sh^rk. 
Next came after them their grandmother or nurse. 
The shark then took them all to Malawai, Gau. 
A priest at Malawai, becoming inspired, revealed 
the fact of the Yusatinitini having removed. Where- 
on all their votaries left their town on Great Fiji, 
and settled at their present residence on the 
island of Gau. 

III. — Gods of Distkicts. 

OiBA NAi Saealo (the gods of Famine). When 
there is either a famine or drought, it is said to be 
caused by the Sakalo, but more particularly the 
famine. When this happens, the Sakalo temple is 
rebuilt, and an offering presented. Unlike all other 
presentations, the oblation consists of very bad food, 
fit for neither man nor pig. The offering is then pre- 
sented to the priest. The people say, '* Ye Sakalo ! 
behold our distress ! see the straits to which we are 
reduced! We have no food to eat. Be pleased to 
give rain and fruit, that we may live." Thus they 
endeavour to cheat the gods by making them believe 
that they have no yams left. 



THE 8AKAL0, 377 

The Sakalo are very numerous, numbering two or 
three thousands. 

The iron- tree is sacred to these gods in all places 
where they are worshipped. Earthen pots are placed 
at the roots of these trees, for the gratification of 
their thirst. An iron-tree, when it is felled, cries ; 
and the man who has committed the outrage is eaten 
by the Sakalo. 

It is said of an inordinate eater, that the Sakalo 
have ** entered him/* 

Saxtmiaki (" Turnabout ") is enshrined in a river- 
shark, and is worshipped by several towns of different 
tribes, each having its own peculiar deity, but united 
in the worship of Saumaki. He is frequently to be 
seen bathing in company with his priest. 

If he makes his appearance with any one else, it is 
an intimation that the individual in question is 
engaged in treacherous intercourse with the enemies 
of the tribe. 

B/ADi-Ni-BTJBE-BrA (" Queeu-of-two-templcs ") is a 
goddess with four breasts. She is mighty in battle ; 
a destroyer. None of the towns under her protection 
has ever (1856) been taken in war. She may be 
styled " the Defender of the Faith," from her reviving 
heathenism whenever the cause has drooped. 

She is served by priestesses. 

BoEOMOKO (" He-who- embraces *' — ^probably to 
defend), whose shrine is a lizard. He is a god of 
war. Though a god of Waimoro, he frequently 
appeared to the Bau chie&. 



i^^m^m 



378 MYTROLOOY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

Wlien the Bauans weeded the vicinity of liis 
temple, previons to a certain war, he swam off to 
their canoe. The great chief Tnnitoga, who is stlQ 
living, maintained the lizard at Ban for some time, 
and then took him home again in a basket of the 
small white cowry-shells, an article to which the god- 
is very partial. The shells were deposited in the 
temple ; and the Bauans, in acknowledgment of the 
god's courtesy, danced to the townspeople, and pre- 
sented them with native property. 

Bokomoko's chief soldier is called Rokotavo. He 
and his sons, in obedience to the command of the god, 
enter men, and make them invulnerable. As this 
takes place, the men are seized with a fit of frenzy, 
which proclaims the indwelling of the god's soldiers. 
They are then conveyed to a sort of barracks, where 
they live a Kfe of separation from their families and 
the world, for twelve months at least. During this 
period, they enter no house, and converse only with 
those of their own sex. Their food is all roasted, in 
their own huts or in the bush ; none boiled nor 
baked. The corps is constantly exercised by the 
priest, who keeps them practising continually. At 
length the priest pronounces them to be invulnerable, 
by saying, " The god is ready." The warriors are 
now led to action. If their path is crossed by any 
body of water, they must be ferried or carried over, 
as their feet must not touch water. The spear, the 
arrow, the bullet — as the case may be — cannot injure 
those who are thus constituted invulnerable. If it 
happens to hit them, it rebounds immediately. But 
this is only the case with those who retain the favour 
of the god. If any one has offended Bokomoko, the 



TUI'DELA-I- GA U. 379 

god withdraws his protection, and the shot takes 
effect on the unhappy man. 

There is an intimate connexion between the Yisible 
part of B/okotavo — ^a snnken log of wood, to be seen 
in the river near Bx)komoko's temple — and the invul- 
nerable. If the god permits a man to be injured, in 
punishment for his offence, there is no mark to be 
found on the log. But if a man is hit when in a state 
of favour, he remains unhurt, whilst tits log is injwed^ 
and receives the imprint of the weapon with which 
the man has come in contact. The natives occasion- 
ally dive for this wonderful log, in order to gaze at 
the vicarious imprints. 

Tui-DBLA-i-GATj("Kjng-of.the-top-of-Gau"). This 
is a Gau god, whose traditions are rich in romance. 

A heathenish game was to be celebrated at Na- 
muanaira, from which two men resolved to absent 
themselves, in consequence of their ill-feeling towards 
some of their comrades. Their wives were displeased 
at this decision, and said that, let their husbands do 
as they liked, they were not going to lose the enjoy- 
ment of such fun. The women accordingly collected 
flowers, wreaths, &c., for the purpose of decorating 
themselves on the occasion, and, at the appointed 
time, went to the scene of the game. 

Feeling very lonely, their husbands thought they 
would have a picnic, and, providing themselves with 
cooked vegetables, went in the bush to search for 
land-crabs, which they intended to cook for their 
dinner. Whilst thus engaged, (the very spot is still 
shown,) they saw a man, of pleasing features and 
gigantic dimensions, coming from the forest towards 



380 MYTBOLOOY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

the sea. On his arrival at the beach he prepared for 
bathing. Addressing certain limbs of his body, he 
ordered them to go and bathe. "Arms! go and 
wash." The arms separated themselves from the 
trunk, and obeyed the mandate. He then com- 
manded his legs to ''go and wash." His legs left 
the body, and went into the sea. After every portion 
had thus been commanded to "go and wash," the 
head went and took np its abode in a ^ni«-tree. 
As the different members and portions of his body 
finished their ablations, they returned and resumed 
their proper place. At this strange sight, the men 
were struck with wonder, and said to each other, " A 
god ! a true god ! " The reconstructed body being 
again crowned by the head, the giant retired into the 
woods. The spectators followed respectfully. The 
stranger walked leisurely to the highest mountain in 
the island, and the men pursued him. At length the 
god came to a very lofty cowrie-tree, and disappeared 
in it ; and the two men, having fixed some reeds to 
indicate the locality, returned home, conversing of 
their adventure, and resolving to prepare to " hasten 
after another god." 

The next morning, our heroes furnished them- 
selves with a large root of kava, and returned to the 
cowrie-tree. Presenting the kava in due form, they 
addressed the divine inmate of the tree, craving his 
patronage and blessing. They did not wait long 
before the god again appeared bodily to them. They 
were now alarmed ; and, continuing to sit down on 
the ground, they simultaneously clapped their hands. 
He inquired their errand. In reply, the bolder of the 
two ventured to say that they had accidentally been 



TUI'DELA-I- GA XT, 381 

so fortunate as to see Ms divinity bathe, and that 
they humbly solicited him to adopt them as his chil- 
dren, and become their god. The god at once made 
known his approTsl of their choice, and ordered them 
to prepare the Jcava^ that he might quench his thirst 
with their drink-offering. This was done, and the 
god partook of the libation. Looking upwards, to- 
ward the top of the cowrie-tree, the god then called 
out, " Who's up there ?" " A spade to dig an oven ! " 
The men were terrified as they saw a spade thrown 
down, which began forthwith to dig a hole for an 
oven. The god then called for some cooking-stones. 
Stones were showered down, which immediately 
arranged themselves in the usual form. He ordered 
wood. It fell down, and began to ignite, bum, and 
heat the stones. When the oven was ready, he 
inquired of his victims, who were tremblingly alive 
to the expected punishment of their presumption, 
" Which of you will get into my oven to be cooked, 
that I may eat and be filled?" This was a severe 
trial of their faith ; but they felt that they must obey 
or perish. With becoming hesitation, the bolder 
exclaimed, " I will, sir." " Jump in, then," said the 
giant god. With a tear in his eye, the unfortunate 
fellow leaped into the oven. The god called for leaves, 
which poured down, and buried the hapless mortal. 
A spade was called, and came to cover the smothered 
holocaust with the heated stones and earth. His 
comrade, more dead than alive, was transfixed to the 
spot with anxiety for his own personal safety. 

In a short time the god pronounced the provision 
to be sufficiently cooked, and called for an instru- 
ment to come and open the oven. A spade descended, 



382 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

and performed its office. The earih was remored, 
then the leaves and stones. Bat, instead of a cooked 
man, some beauti^ mats were in the oven. These 
were removed, and then were discovered several pieces 
of tastefully-printed cloth. This was taken aWaj, 
and out jumped the man, alive and well, with not one 
hair of his head singed. The god presented the two 
friends with the property, who rendered thanks for 
his bounty, and retired laden with their wealth. They 
quietly went home, and concealed their treasures. 

The next morning was spent by them in fishing. 
Having secured four baskets-full of fish, the two men 
went to the scene of their exploits. They piled up 
the fish before the tree, and requested their invisible 
patron to accept of their thank-offering. They then 
retreated hastily. 

The day after this, the two adventurers went in 
dishabille to see the game, which was not yet con- 
cluded. The company, annoyed at their untidj 
appearance, used insulting language to them. After 
loitering about, one of them proceeded to the centre 
of the dancing-ground. "Away with you, slave ! " 
exclaimed some of the merry crowd. " No,** said 
he : " we wish to make a feast for the chief.'* Before 
he could be removed, the attention of all present was 
arrested. "Who's up there?" cried he. "Please 
send a spade to dig an oven." The tool descended 
from above, as it had previously done at the mandate 
of the god, and an oven was soon prepared in the 
midst of the dancers. All the assemblage thronged 
round in a ring. The man imitated the actions of 
the god, and the various preparatory stages in cooking 
were accomplished. He then said to his companion. 



TUI-DELA-I- GA U. 383 

'* Which of us shall be cooked to-day, to make a 
dizmer for the chief?" " I will," said he who had 
before been the mere spectator. He jumped into the 
oven, and the necessary material and instruments 
came, at the request of his friend, to complete the 
burial of the oven's contents. The survivor said to 
the surrounding concourse, "I will go and bathe, 
and then take my feast to the chief." He departed, 
and having washed, he oiled and dressed himself in 
the beautiful garments he had previously procured 
in so novel a way. On his return to the oven, he 
found the multitude awaiting his arrival with im- 
patience. The man invoked his new god, and the 
oven was mysteriously opened by a spade from the 
sky. Mats were visible, to the amazement of the 
company ! One mat was drawn out from the oven, 
rolled up, and then another, and another, until a 
great number was piled up. Then came gaudy 
prints in a very large quantity. After the removal 
of this, out jumped the man who had been buried. 
He was now beautifully attired, and adorned with 
small white cowry-shells on his legs, arms, &c. The 
property was carried formally to the chief, and pre- 
sented to him ; after which the men hurried home, 
the envied subjects of applause. Their wives, who 
had been so angry, preceded them. Others of the 
♦ gentler sex rushed into their houses, evidently 
desirous of alliance with the renowned. But their 
liege ladies drove away the bold aspirants, exclaiming, 
" Back to your own homes ! We want no polygamy." 
No wonder the great shout was made, " Tui-de-lai- 
(Jau, (* The King of the Mountain-tops of Grau,') he is 
the god !" 



384 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

The wife of Tui-de-lai-Gau's priest having com- 
plained of the trouble of removing the outer rind of 
the edible Tahitian chestnut, her husband besought his 
god to relieve her. Immediately the bats came, and, 
in the presence of a number of people, stripped off 
the husk as the nuts stood on the tree. 

The parrots stole the priest's plums as soon as lipe. 
The priest hung on the tree a stone wrapped in cloth, 
as a charm ; after which there was no more pilfering, 
though the bats and parrots destroyed the plums 
belonging to the less influential of the townfolk. 

The bats and parrots are of the sacred kind. 
This accounts for their respecting the tahu. If any 
bat or parrot break the restriction, the sacred ones 
kill him, and carry his body to the temple at Navu- 
keilagi. The sacred bats are distinguished from the 
ordinary bats by being white or grey {mdavula). 

Naqai, ("Messenger,") one of Degei's sons. The 
following tradition is related of him. When sent by 
Degei to drive away the bats from a certain forest, 
he felled a large iron-tree to make a throwing-club. 
He then proceeded to expel the noisy creatures by 
casting the missile at them. Once his ula fell near 
the point of Nai Cobocobo, Great Land. He walked 
over on the sea to pick it up. He found it floating 
near that Cape. He took hold of it, saying, " A nice 
little thing to take ashore with me at this place." 
A Vuya god heai'd this speech, and went reporting 
to his fellows, " Here is some one who talks of bring- 
ing to the land, by his own strength, a large tree." 
The gods went in a body to watch the stranger, being 
resolved that, if he failed in his apparently pre- 



I^AQAL 385 

sumptiLOiLS attempt, they would club and kill him. 
But Naqai walked with the greatest ease to the 
beach, carrying his weapon in his hand. Struck 
with surprise at the strange sight of any one carrying 
a large tree as a mere ula, and admiring the mar- 
vellous strength of the stranger, the gods feasted 
him, and promised that they would place an embargo 
on property so as to amass a large quantity of riches, 
which they would then present to him. Naqai re- 
turned home. 

In due course of time, Naqai again proceeded, ac- 
cording to engagement, to Nai Cobocobo. His friends, 
the gods, feasted him with great heaps of food ; but, 
to their dismay, their guest ate and finished heap 
after heap. They could not get enough food with 
which to satisfy his appetite. They then resolved 
amongst themselves to kill the gluttonous stranger. 
They endeavoured to entrap him, by persuading him 
to sleep at a certain house; but he apparently re- 
mained at his own lodgings. The next morning they 
had proof positive * that the guest was an extraordi- 
nary god, and they unitedly worshipped him, respect- 
fully inquiring his parentage, <&c. The gods then 
brought their offerings fco him. These consisted of 
mats, sandal- wood, native fruits, fishing-nets, pots, 
ladies' dresses, <fcc. Naqai then prepared to recipro- 
cate. As soon as the gods had made ready the pig- 
fence, which their guest had instructed them to 
prepare, Naqai opened his armlet, and took therefrom 
one hundred pigs, which he placed inside the fence ! 
A piece of drapery was in his ear as ornament, and 
this he pulled out to leave on the groand. He pulled, 

* OmiBsioQS are oooasionally necesBaxy for the sake of propriety. 

2 



386 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

and palled, till thousands of fathoms of printed cloth 
were drawn out, and placed in a great heap. He then 
presented the whole to his wonder-stricken friends, 
who engaged to retnm his yisit. 

When this visit came to pass, the Yuya gods 
coald not eat all the food that was presented to tiiem. 
Their host then served them in the matter of lodging 
as they had treated him; which, unfortunately for 
them, issued in the death of their chief. Next morn- 
ing the gods, missing their leader, and remember- 
ing their own treachery to I^aqai, during his first 
sojourn among them, retreated precipitately. 

To this day the Yuya people retire hastily from. 
Bakiraki, when visiting that neighbourhood. 

Ra-VUBAVU ("The Murderer"). — ^He went about 
for several years at Navukeilagi in human form. He 
killed several men and women ; but having once been 
accidentally discovered in the act of murder, dis- 
appeared. He had a seat on the rocks. K any one 
sat on this seat, or followed in his footsteps, or 
touched with his hands the imprints of Bavuravn's 
feet, his hands or feet, as the case might be, would 
become white. 

His priest, when inspired, used to make a show 
of eating stones, but he only bit them. All his teeth 
are broken; in other respects he is still a strong, 
powerful man. 

BuTAJCO-i-VALTT ("The-Thief-of-war") is a son of 
Daucina. During war he assumes the human form, 
and visits the town of the enemy with fish for sale. 
After he has sold his fish, he returns, and makes it 



OI-RAU'NA^MARAMA. 387 

known to his followers ; wlio go and lie in wait for 
the enemy, and always succeed in killing the same 
number of victims as the god had buyers. 

He does not confine himself to one shape, but 
assumes the appearance of any individual of the tribe 
in whose cause he is at the time engaged. 

Oi-BAr-NA-iCABAMA ("The two Ladies"). — Two 
goddesses resident at Y ioni, Gttu, habitually stole some 
banana-shoots on their return from fishing. The 
Yioni men, having missed their plants several times, 
set a watch to discover the thief. One night the 
watchmen caught sight of the pilferers, and, following 
them, became acquainted with the place of their 
retreat, a hole in the earth, at the mouth of which 
they fixed a reed as a mark. 

The next day the injured tribe requested all the 
Ghiuans to come, and help them to secure the offenders. 
At the appointed time, the assembled tribes proceeded 
to the cave« They dug deep, following every turning 
of the hole. After very hard labour, they heard a 
voice, saying, ** Come no nearer. Here is the price 
of our ransom." A female albino was presented to 
their view, who was seized, and taken in triumph to 
Yioni, where she became the wife of the chief. 

In due course a son was bom. The mother was 
remarkably inattentive to the cleanliness of the 
child, and the friends of the father frequently re- 
proved her for her negligence. One day she answered 
very angnly to those who were thus expostulating 
with her. After reminding them that she was of 
unearthly origin, the albino suddenly disappeared 
before them by descending into the earth. 

2o2 



388 MYTHOLOGY AND aUPERSTTFIONS. 

In compliance with the wish of the Yioni pec^le, 
the tribes again congregated to repeat their former 
experiment at the cave. After great exertion in 
digging, they were frightened away by a noise made 
by the two goddesses, who immediately afterwards 
fled away from so unfriendly a soiL 

Several years subsequently, the deities returned 
to Yioni, and entered two women, whoih they con- 
stitated their priestesses. The goddesses maliciously 
killed all solitary trayellers. The two ladies and 
their priestesses became much dreaded. No man 
would venture out alone. The Bauans, while visiting 
Yioni, adopted the same precaution. 

Dsi^jL-TABTJ-TABTT ("Pire-topped "). The ignis- 
&tuus of Bau. A Soso god, who has a pot of fire on 
the top of his head. He wanders on the reefs at night, 
catching fish, and broils them on the fire which he so 
conveniently carries about. He has neither priest 
nor temple; but there is a spot of ground which 
is sacred to him. 

Tabo-tabo (** Questioner"), and Komaibubekito- 
TOSiA (" Him-of-the-temple-of-the- victorious "), two 
gods living near Nacovu, are exchangers of men. 
Tarotaro goes to the other : " Friend, I have come to 
beg you to g^ve me one of your people. My wor- 
shippers have paid me tribute." " Yery well," is the 
reply: "I give you one." The clan that worships 
Tarotaro now succeeds in killing one of the tribe 
that adores Komaiburenitotoka, their own god 
having voluntarily surrendered to death one of theii: 
number. 



VUIMABUA AND MOST. 389 

When Komaiburenitotoka's dan wants a victim, 
the patron god applies to his old friend for a sup- 
ply, and receives a prompt payment for his former 
liberality. 

Vfimabtta (" Origin-of-Mabna-clan"), and Mosi 
(" Pain") his wife. (The latter is now in possession of 
the writer.) — ^A god and goddess transformed them- 
selves into stones, and took up their residence in a 
wood, on the summit of a pretty mound, at the foot 
of which two or three people lived. The evident 
peculiarity of the stones attracted the notice of the 
villagers ; and their veneration was soon secured by 
the discovery that the goddess invariably gave birth 
to a small stone, simultaneously with the birth of 
every child born among themselves. 

The people fell down before the divine stones, and 
worshipped them. A man was inspired, and pro- 
claimed himself to be the favoured priest. He 
revealed the names, origin, attributes, and trans- 
formation of the gods. One day I went to see these 
deities. I passed through a grove of ivis, or Tahitian 
chestnuts, the protruding roots of which make it 
difficult to walk among them without stumbling. 
Here I was cautioned not to hit my foot against 
the itris, and thereby insult the neighbouring gods, 
who are said to kill, without exception, any who 
intentionally or inadvertently thus offend. Hav- 
ing survived this ordeal, the worshipper of Mosi 
follows the road until he discovers the path leading 
direct to the residence of the object of his veneration. 
Here he utters the shout of respect, and removes his 
turban. He then selects and prepares four blades of 



890 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

•a certain grass, with wluch he approaches the god. 
Standing with his back to the deity, he throws the 
grass, blade by blade, on the stone, and then mnr- 
mnrs a prayer after the following fashion : — " One, 
Two, Three, Four. Ye gods ! fevonr me. Prosper 
my jonmey. Make my tribe prolific. Grant me the 
desires of my heart. So be it." 

No heathen ever passed these gods withont thus 
worshipping them. When I first visited the place, 
there were proofs that no less than fifty had thus 
paid homage that morning, althongh it was only ten 
o'clock a.m. 

Handreds of her offspring, in the shape of small 
> stones, surrounded the angost mother. One had a 
white ring on it. It had been bom simultaneously 
with the chiePs son, who had a white mark round his 
neck. Another was black ; the contemporary in birth 
of a black child. The Fijians make a distinction 
amongst themselves as a people, and consider some 
to be black, and some red (i.e., copper-coloured). 
For an albino a white stone was bom. 

Mosi is the goddess herself, not her mere shrine, — 
lia vabi (" self-transformed into a stone"). 

Yatumudbe, the god l^t formerly sent Gorai to 
the present Bauans, is a god also metamorphosed 
into a stone. The following is his description as 
given by an intelligent chief. ^^ A Jealou rd had 
Koroccm mai Gaha/udrovi ; sa Jealou lior-vatu ; sa rai 
toka ga na matoma^ e rai vakayawa,''* (" The god of 
the Korocan people at Cakaudrovi ; is god metamor- 
phosed into stone ; his eye is always looking, and sees 
to a great distance.") 



WAmUA, 391' 

Waieua ("Two-water8")is the great war-god of 
Bewa. In one account he is said to have come from 
the valley of Namosi. In another he is reported to 
have drifted from Tonga. The traditions respecting 
him have probably been confused. It would seem 
that he was originally supposed to have come from 
Namosi, as the name is indicative of the great water- 

. shed whence spring the Rewa and the Navua rivers. 
His second name, Bakinamoka, also the designation 
of a deity in the Friendly Islands, may have been 
given to him by some shipwrecked Tongans, who 
would thus pay homage to him. The responses of 
Wairua are indeed given in Tongan ; but this would 
be a consequence of the priest adopting the theory that 
the god was of Tongan origin. Marama, the goddess 
of the Yusanamu tribe, is his wife. Hence the Vusa- 
namu may, with impunity, seize offerings presented 
to Wairua, on account of the relationship between the 
god and their own goddess, Wairua's sons are Se- 
BUATABUA and TiLYEALAaiLiLai, who each has his own 
temple. The priests of all three sit together, in front 
of Wairua's temple, on state occasions. Taukai Rewa 
is their kaso (i,e,, brother) by an inferior wife of 
Wairua, and therefore the slave of the more princely 

^ons. His children are Koli, Saronikau, Taukei-vuci- 
vuci, and Taukei-ni-vakavuku. 

Kjlbuya. ("Scatterer") is the Rewa god of rain and 
fine weather, of great antiquity. He is also a god of 
war. This deity is enshrined in a stone, now in the 
possession of the Rev. James Calvert ; and the stone 
is said to sink deep enough in the ground to cover 
itself. The stone is said by some to be the god 



mmmmmmmm^^^^^''''^m 



mm 



392 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

himself. ^^ 8a Jcdlou talega ho hoya na vatu,^' said 
Katu William Koroigayoka. ('^The stone is also god,") 
One of his names is Kavu (" Original",) The stone 
is treated with rery great reverence. Any one 
touching it will become leprous. He is invoked in a 
Bewa curse : *^ Me hui iJco ho Kahuya mo wikavuka ! " 
(" May Kabuya mar thee with leprosy !") K any one 
arrives too late at a feast, he is said to have been 
delayed by Kabuya, so as to prevent his receiving a 
portion of the food. 

A Tavuya woman, looking on a reef for fish, found 
a stone, which she thought would make a good mat- 
weight, and she therefore concealed it near the beach. 
The next morning she went for it, but found it at a 
considerable distance from the spot where she had 
deposited it, accompanied by the appearance of 
having moved away of itself, leaving its trail under 
the bashes. However, she washed it^ and took it 
home. Then, beginning to plait her mat, she used 
it as a weight. To her astonishment, she found that 
as her work progressed, the stone rolled afber it, as 
though conscious of its office. At first she thought the 
motion was the result of her accidentally dragging 
the mat; but she found it was not so. Again, the 
stone was too big to be easily shaken. So she con- 
cluded that " something must be in it." Away she 
^4: went to her husband, and told him all about the 

wonderful stone. He thought as she did. So he 
proceeded to interrogate it. "Who or what are 
you ? " "I am god, and a god of war. If I remain 
in this town, you will always be successful in your 
war-expeditions." The man goes and reports to the 
town ; and the male folks come and worship the 



TAKEL 393 

stone. Two mornings afterwards the worsMppers 
killed one of their enemies. Three or four days 
elapsed, and they slew another. Their success was 
reported far and wide. " It is the result of their new 
god, Kabuya." The Rewa authorities heard of it, 
and went to remove it to the town of the chiefs. 
The stone had to be carried three or four miles only ; 
but the god rendered it insupportably heavy, and 
four days were occupied in effecting its removal. 
Just before the party entered Rewa, they rested 
Kabuya under a dawa (plum) tree. A plum hap- 
pened to fall on the top of the stone ; whereon the 
god said, " For the future, let dawa bear abundantly 
at Tavuya ; but let it be fruitless at Rewa." This is 
the reason assigned for the dawor-treQ being restricted 
to the former locality. 

This god remained in his sacred locality until the 
re-occupation of Rewa by the missionary in April, 1861 . 
Permission was then given to the Tongan missionary, 
the Rev. Daniel Afu, to move Kabuya, if he dared. 
He boldly laid his hands on the god, and removed it 
from its resting-place. Subsequently, some of the 
Rewa chiefs ventured to touch the object of their 
former veneration. 

Takei is a god who assumes a leprous form when 
he wishes to make himself disagreeable. At other 
times he is handsome. 

Being angry at having so small a quantity of fish 
shared to him, he resolved to entrap the Moon, and 
extinguish her by the application of salt water. When 
his mother heard of his intention, she was deeply 
grieved, and determined to do all she could to avert 



394 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

60 dire a calamity. Yet she knew it would be xiseless 
to opezdy oppose the action of her son. She made, 
however, great lamentation, as though the sad work 
wonld be accomplighed : '* O ! what will the king 
of Rewa do, when he commands his fishermen to go 
a-£lshing ? There will be no midnight lamp for them ! 
What will the king of Ban do also ? There will be no 
lamp for the king of Baa's fishermen ! And what 
will the king of Nayau do also ? There will be no lamp 
for the king of Nayau's fishermen ! " <&c. &c. Amidst 
all this apparent sorrow, she contrived to get hold of 
the long bamboos which the god had filled with the 
sea-water for the purpose of destroying the Moon. 
Pouring off the salt, she refilled the bamboos with 
fresh water. When the Moon was in the trap, which 
was of considerable dimensions^ and baited with most 
tempting food, the god hastened with his water- 
bamboos, with the contents of which he hoped to 
accomplish his purpose ; but, to his surprise, it injured 
her not, and she succeeded in making her escape. A 
fortunate thing for Fiji, where the Moon is our only 
hghthouse ! It seems that the Moon, being accus- 
tomed to rain, was uninjured by the fresh water. 
The dark places on her surface are the spots of the 
encrusted mud which were attached to her during the 
encounter ! 

A town, Na-dai-ni-vula ("Moon-trap"), takes its 
name from this tradition. The snare was made out 
of a large cZamaww-tree. The marks of the sweep 
made by the closing of the trap are shown. It is 
said that, when the Moon left her customary position, 
and came towards the trap, the spectators who 
thronged to see the result were innumerable. 



ROKOSUISUIVA U. 3^5 

DAinnKEiTUiCAVxrL4, another god, disputes the 
performance of this feat with Takei. 

RoKOSUi&TJiVATJ. — A Siwa god, very poor in pro- 
perty, bat rich in scheming. He collects pig's dung, 
and the old thrown-away fringe-dresses of women : 
the former he scatters about all around the outside of 
his house ; the latter he carefully hangs up in con- 
spicuous parts of the interior of his dwelling. Thus 
he makes a great show, as though he had plenty of 
pigs, and a great number of wives. But when asked 
where his women are, he says they are out in the 
fields, collecting herbs and leaves for household use. 
Wlien inquiry is made as to the pigs, he replies, that 
they are in the bush, cruising about for the land-crabs. 

A man who makes a great appearance out of 
nothing is said to be imitating this god. 

Racinacina's shrine is a falling star. On one 
occasion a great quantity of native printed cloth, the 
produce of a large tribal offering, was left on the 
dancing-ground for the space of three days, until a 
falling star appeared ; whereon the priest became in- 
spired, and the property was apportioned out. When 
the offering is made, the priest, touching the gifts, 
says, " Let it be acceptable to the sky ! " 

NAiTOFr is a god who hates clothing. Any one 
who passes his place in any other state than i^at 
of nudity, becomes a leper. Visitors are included 
amongst those who have to observe this ttCbu, 

Tawakitiki (" Ten-flags '^) is a son of Ko-irau-na- 



396 MTTHOLOQT AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

marama. When his mother was shrimping, he fell 
off her back without her knowing it, and she lost 
him. An old Yioni woman found the child, and 
adopted him. When he came of age, he told his 
foster-mother that he was going to reside elsewhere. 
Afler he had dressed himself, he commanded the old 
lady not to look after him, on pain of punishment ; 
and then he started. But her natural curiosity over- 
came her dread of consequences, and she ventured 
to look after him. She immediately squinted, as 
do all Tier descendcmts to this day; the punishment 
of her sin thus becoming hereditary. The tea-tree 
grows all round the temple of this god from the 
traditional fact of his foster-mother having used tea- 
leaves as his bed when first she nursed him. His 
temple is one of the numerous devil-houses in which 
I have conducted the worship of God since the aban- 
donment of heathenism. 

Kalof-alewa ni So so (the Soso goddess). — ^AU 
who occupy this temple for the purpose of rest or 
slumber are, in all their actions and words, to con- 
duct themselves just as they would in the presence 
of ladies. It would be well if this tahu were on all 
the temples. 

Radecidiki went to Sawayeki, having heard from 
Ralevu that the food there was of a superior quality. 
He stood at a point of land in the vinicity of that 
town, when its people were going to toga halolo 
(catch the November sea-worm). Now, it so hap- 
pened that two boys were angry because their friends 
had not taken them with the party, and one of them. 



TIKOTIKOVAKADUA, 397 

in a joke, prayed, " for a god to destroy the com- 
pany with a wind !'' Badikidiki lEnmediately entered 
into this praying boy, and sent a wind, which caused 
their death. The boys then went home, and reported 
what had taken place. Some were for killing the lad, 
because their relatives had been drowned through his 
ill-timed prayer. But the others said, " Not so : let us 
first test yet further the power of the new god." 
Shortly after this, they resolved to try the god on 
occasion of a fight then expected. They presented 
food, and inquired of the<oracle as to the issue of the 
proposed expedition. " You will bum Waikama," 
was the agreeable utterance. Next morning they 
attacked the town of Waikama, took it, and destroyed 
it. Whereon the people adopted him as their god, 
and built up a very high foundation for his temple. 
It is said that, in a scarcity of water, which one of the 
goddesses lamented, he pricked the rocks with his 
mUa/mila (one-pronged comb), and water gushed out. 
This is believed to be the origin of the chain of ponds. 

TiKOTiKOVAKADFA (" Permanent-resident ") once 
took livmiata (valuable property) to Degei, to show his 
respect. The great Degei commanded his son Uto 
to heat some water in a large caldron. When the 
water was boiling hot^ Degei requested his guest to 
"jump into the pot/' It was a severe trial to Tiko- 
tikovakadua ; but he obeyed the mandate, leaving 
his follower, Raciwa, overwhelmed with grief at his 
master's folly. But after a considerable time, the god 
came forth through the sides of the caldron, alive and 
well, with his body highly ornamented with all that 
is precious. Degei then gave him a sort of early 



398 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

banana, which he took home and mtrodnced into tke 
island of Gran. In commemoration of Mb obedience, 
Degei empowered him to enable his priests, when 
inspired, to strike orange and lemon trees witb the 
palms of their hands, so as to let the thorns pierce 
throngh them, and then to withdraw them without 
being injured bj the thorns. This is how the priests 
of this god came to possess this remarkable power. 

Nai-vuki ("Transform"). — In the shape of a par- 
rot, he enters the dwellings of the people for improper 
purposes. When search is made, he hides hinoiself, 
and resumes the semblance of a parrot on his 
departure. 

BiATTJTir ("Jealousy"). — ^A man saw an orange 
drifting in the sea, and picked it up. Happening to 
cut it in two, out sprang Bayuvu. Like Butako-i-valu, 
he goes about selling fish. His personal appearance 
is loathsome, as he is leprous. K any one spits oil 
him to show his disgust, the offender forthwith meets 
with an untimely end. His temple is built on the 
spot where the orange was picked up, and is called 
" The orange-tree." 

liBWE-in-CAGi-BULA ("Coutents-of-stiff-breeze") is 
a Yatulele goddess, to whom Lalai presented some 
living prawns as a gift of courtship. As they ap- 
peared to be cooked, she commenced to eat them, not 
suspecting that they were otherwise, as food on such 
occasions is always presented ready for immediate use. 
But she was disgusted to find that they were raw, 
and, in her anger, threw them away. The prawns are 



VU-I^BEQA, 399 

still to be found in her pond, and are called " cooked- 
prawns," from the fact of their being red, and unlike 
living prawns in general. Till some Tongans visited 
the island, no one ever dared to eat them. I have 
myself seen the prawns that are remaioing. 

Vf-i-beqa (" Origin-of-the-island-of-Beqa ") is a 
god of extensive renown and worship. He assumed 
various shrines. Once, when travelling under the 
appearance of an eel or serpent, he was discovered by 
a man, who determined to catch the eel for his dinner. 
But the creature concealed itself. The man dug, and 
dug, and dug, until he came to a fence. "Fence 
yourself as you Hke," said he, "you shall be mine." 
As he was about to secure his prize, the god expressed 
a wish to bargain for release. " What will you give ? " 
was the inquiry. "Women," said the god. "No," 
rejoined the man. " Then food without the trouble of 
planting it." "No." At last the god promised him 
power over fire, and besmeared the man's body with 
its froth, imparting thereby the necessary power over 
the fiery element. Thus the Beqa people make large 
fires, and walk about in the midst of the burning ele- 
ment uninjured, when others cannot approach near 
the flames. Since they have embraced Christianity 
they have revealed the secret of their performance. 
In former times the natives thought the Beqa people 
equal Jjo Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. 

ly. — Household Gods. 

These include almost everything, animate and 
inanimate. 



400 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

As an illnstration of the ease with which the 
Fijian hastens ''after another god," the following 
example will be sufficient: — ^A woman at Lokatoka 
fonnd a part of a tree on the beach, which had 
drifted from a distance. She carried it home to be 
nsed for firewood. But, before it was required for 
that purpose, it struck out its roots and began to 
grow. A priest became inspired, and made a reve- 
lation, to the effect that the timber was the shrine of 
a god at Toga. The credulous £Ekmily believed the tale, 
and abandoned the house to the new deity. Here we 
have, in the first instance, the household god. The 
tree lives, and is acknowledged as a god. The people 
desert their town, and build elsewhere, paying divine 
honours to the said tree. The household god has now 
become the god of the clan. 

Ka^lott-taxo. — There are also various ranks 
amongst the second class of gods, the grade of the 
Kalou-yalo being fixed by the extent of the man's 
power when on earth and the degree of his supposed 
influence in the world of spirits. 

All Kalou-yalo were originally men. They con- 
sist principally of the spirits of chiefs of high rank, 
and those who have distinguished themselves by 
sanguinary exploits. A Fijian poet, revising the 
well-known lines, — 

^' One murder makes a yillain, 
Millions a hero," 

would write, — 

One murder makes a hero, 
Hundreds a goo. 



¥ 



WORSHIP OF THE DEAD. 401 

A noted murderer becomes a famous god. Women 
are rarelj deified. 

You may sometimes hear the Fijian invoke his 
friend who has been drowned at sea. He can see no 
absurdity in praying to one who could not save him- 
self from a watery grave. " Ye who were killed at 

, help us ! " " Ye who were drowned in the sea 

near , hear us ! " 

In March, 1854, iSome of the most intelligent young 
men in all the Fijis visited the tomb of the late Bauan 
king, to propitiate him in his character as god. I was 
deeply moved at the affecting sight. " My father," 
prayed the son, a noble youth of three-and-twenty 
summers, " help us ! '* 

But how plausible is this phase in their idolatry ! 
How agreeable to humanity is the belief that one's de- 
ceased friends and relatives have now both the incli- 
nation and the power to assist the living ! If some who 
are enlightened take dehght in praying to departed 
spirits, it need be matter of no surprise that these be- 
nighted islanders should joyfully worship the spirits 
of the deceased objects of their affection. 

" What ! " said one of a thousand to the writer, — 
the speaker was a man who loved his faith, and sup- 
ported it with superior ability, — " Will you rob me of 
my own relations F Will you leave me without a god ? 
Is this your religion of love ? You talk of benevolence 
and of love. It is a veil with which you would conceal 
your cruelty. Missionary, you are cruel ! You deprive 
us of all our gods ; you take from us our hest deities, 
the spirit-gods ; and you make us forlorn wanderers 
on earth without a solitary god to comfort us ! " 

The late king of Somosomo offered the late Bev. 

2 D 



402 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

John Hnnt a preferment of this sort. '' If yon die 
first," said he, " I will make yon my god." 

The first-bom of the first Ban lady who was 
taken to Eewa never breathed ; bnt the lifeless infant, 
the first vasu ki Bau, was deified at once, and a temple 
bnilt to his hononr. His name is Ko-na-san; his 
temple being called Nai Bili. 

Some claim to themselves the right of divinity 
whilst still living. Many of the priests and chiefs 
are thus regarded as sacred persons. The great 
chiefs would sometimes say, '' I am a god ; " and they 
believed it too. I have no doubt that Seru, the sub- 
ject of the preceding sketch, beheved for some years 
that he was something above a mere man ; in other 
words, a god. 

On one of my visits to Nadroga, I found some old 
priests receiving superior honours. One of them died, 
and the people exclaimed, "Our god is dead!" On 
inquiry, I learned that this language was generally 
used on such occasions. 

Whole districts are without temples in those 
parts where the Kahvryalo only are worshipped. 

The Kalcm-yalo are not confined to the soxds of 
adults. The souls of deceased little children, who 
had only lived a few days on earth, are deified. These 
are called kad'Siga, They have no priest, and no 
temple ; but may be found in most towns. The soul 
is said to return to the house in which it formerly 
lived. When its parent or nurse finds that such is^ 
the case, a small curtain or covering is placed in one 
part of the house, as a sort of concealment for the 
little wanderer. This is sometimes so small that no 
one could be hid under it. 



I 



VARIOUS OBJECTS OF WORSHIP, 403 

The Jcaci'Biga talks and speaks, but is always in- 
visible. When consulted bj its attendant, it responds 
audibly. It is quite the town-oracle, and is employed 
to foretell ftiture events, and to make known the per- 
sons who may have stolen property or food. 

The third class of gods embraces all those objects 
which the Fijian idolises ; such as spots of ground, 
groves, isolated trees, passages through reefs, animals, 
fruits, birds, fish, insects, stones. It is this phase in 
their idolatry that most affects the stranger mis- 
sionary. As your canoe enters the passage* your crew 
unturban themselves, present property to the great 
deep, and give the simultaneous shout of respect. 
Passing the sacred forest, the exclamation of reverence 
is uttered. A bird flies over your head, or a shark 
appears in sight, and the same ceremony is performed. 
You notice an ugly stone on the road-side. Your super- 
stitious attendant salutes it, and in the most respectful 
manner proceeds to inform it of the object and des- 
tination of your journey. Nor wiQ he stir one inch 
until he has finished his act of adoration. You see a 
serpent. Your heathen follower catches it, anoints it 
with oil as his o£fering, and then sets it free. 

A writer has questioned whether religious homage 
is given to these objects. But he has overlooked the 
fact that some of them are not mere shrines, being 
called KcdovMna (** true gods ") . I am convinced that 
in certain cases with which I was acquainted, there 
was idolatry, the actual worship of natural objects. 
In particular, I would mention Mosi. 

The word employed to express divinity amongst 
the majority of the islanders is halou ; literally " the 

2d2 



404 MYTHOLOGY Aim SUPERSTITIONS. 

silent thing." It evidently means the invisible canse, 
the mind of matter, the origin of motion which can- 
not be comprehended. The other word is fumitu,. The 
gods are variously described — as, Almighty, Icalou 
gata; omniscient, halou rai-vaJcayanva ; cannibal, 
Icalou ka/na; impnre, halou dcmyalewa; warlike, 
kalau ni valu, which only are appealed to in war; 
metamorphoser, kaiou da/uMdka, 



BELiaious Acts. — The temple-worship of the 
gods consists of the lovi^ an act' of propitiation ; the 
fn/asvkoAi^ an act of covenant or solemn vow; the 
sorOy an act of atonement for sin ; and the madraU, 
an act of thank-offering. 

The first-fruits of the earth are invariably pre- 
sented to the gods. 

Some gods have certain months held sacred, as 
Batumaibulu has December. Indeed, this month is 
similarly regarded in other parts of Fiji where this god 
is unworshipped, and other gods served ; there being 
an identity of worship, though a diversity of gods. 

On all state occasions, and at the commencement 
of any negotiation with another tribe, the gods are 
invoked. 

The A;at;a liquor is never drunk until a long prayer 
has been offered up, and a whole host of gods 
invoked. 

All the offerings refer to the present life. The 
Fijians propitiate the gods for success in war, 
offspring, deliverance from danger and sickness, 
fruitful sefeons, fine weather, rain, favourable winds, 
&c.y &c, ; but their religious ideas do neither extend 
to the soul, nor to anoth^ world. 






RELIGIOUS RITES, 405 

Chanting (meke) in the temple is practised as a 
mode of pacifying the gods. It is performed in 
periods of war, and on the occasion of adverse winds. 
The language of the chants recited does not, however, 
relate to the particular necessity. 

Again, the principal directors and instigators of 
the heathen rites are the priests, who are a connecting 
link between the people and their gods. They alone 
announce the will of the deity, and receive in the 
name of the gods the offeriags of the people. The 
office is generally hereditary; but impostors frequently 
succeed in deceiving the people, and pretending that 
certain gods have visited them, and appointed them 
to be their ministers. The influence of the priest 
over the common people is immense, although he is 
generally the tool of the chief. Indeed, these two 
personages most usually act in concert. 

When the priest reveals the will of his god, he 
becomes inspired. On the first appearance of the 
paroxysm of inspiration, the company remove their 
turbans, and utter the shout of respect. At the 
time of the departure of the god, kcuoa is generally 
prepared and presented to the priest, who drinks 
it greedily, and announces the god's withdrawal. 
One family of priests, however, used to pretend to 
eat stones; and another (at Nadroga) always re- 
quired live coals of fire, which were partially masti- 
cated, and then rejected &om the mouth. The teeth 
of the former were sadly broken ; and the family of 
the latter was reduced in number to one male adult 
in 1851. This individual when requested to assume 
the office of priest, on the occasion of his relative's 
death, declined, on the ground that all the family died 



406 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

prematurely. To secure iininunity, he became a 
Christian ; and is a teacher of the true religion at 
the present date. 

The Futube Stats. — ^The principal residence of 
the gods, and of all departed spirits, is called Bulf. 

It is said that, in their anger, the gods have some- 
times taken men into the world of spirits whilst still 
in the body. When the gods are pacified bj offerings 
from the friends of the absent, the men are liberated, 
and retum to their friends. Hence, if any one is 
missing, the natives immediately apply to the gods, 
nnder the supposition that he has been translated 
to Bulu, 

Bubo TIT is also a residence of the gods, and is 
said to be a most delightful place. It is the Elysium 
of Fijian mythology. K a native wishes to make 
known his complete happiness, he will tell you, he 
feels as though he were in Burotu. Sabi, the god of 
Nayau-kumu, Ovalau, is said to have been bom in 
Burotu. The following tradition is related con- 
cerning him : — 

Some Sawayeki people were on a visit to Ovalau ; 
and one of their number, Bavovo, met with Tinani* 
vatu, a very handsome woman, whose beauty was 
celebrated throughout Fiji. He ventured to make 
advances towards her, which were not displeasing to 
the lady. An elopement was planned and executed. 
The Gftuans returned home with the bride. But 
TakaJa, Bavovo's father, was smitten with the 
stranger's beauty, and appropriated her to himself. 
Takala became very fond of her, and his other wives 
grew jealous accordingly. 



8ABL 407 

One night" thie women all went to fish by torcli- 
light. Tinanivata wandered from the company. As 
the tide flowed, she turned towards the spot where 
the canoes were supposed to be anchored, in order to 
embark for home. But, on arriving at the place 
where her companions ought to have been, she found 
that they had deceived her, by fixing poles in deep 
water, and fastening their torches to the poles. She 
called, but no one answered. At first she thought 
they were trying to frighten her ; but soon the truth 
burst on her : they had intentionally sailed away, 
leaving her at the mercy of the sharks. When the 
unfortunate creature found out her mistake, she 
hastened to pile up some stones to keep her above 
high-water mark. Of course this involved great 
labour, but her life was at stake. Her work being 
concluded, she sat on the top of the pile, and waited 
for the m.oming. At dawn of day she discovered a 
man, with a spear in his hand, looking for fish. To 
her dismay, he perceived her ; but, dazzled with her 
beauty, refrained from spearing her. He was a god, 
and took her with him to Burotut She held on to 
his girdle, and shut her eyes : the god then dived 
perpendicularly, and she soon found herself in the 
delectable land. Here she was very happy. After a 
time, a son was bom, whom they named Sabi. He 
had deformed feet. Sabi grew to be a very impudent 
young man, and was disliked by the gods on account 
of the meanness of his birth. He arrived at man- 
hood before he found out that his parentage on the 
mother's side was not noble. He resolved to go to 
Nayau-kumu. He went accompanied by forty gods, all 
of them assuming the shape of porpoises, in order that 



imwumr^mwmmmr'=^mgmmnm 



^mmt 



408 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIOirS. 

they might swim with ease to their desired hftren. 
On their arrival there, Sabi left his comrades, and 
hurried into the town. His companions got aground, 
and the presents which they were carrjing, consisting 
of the small white cowry-shells, were partially lost. 

In accordance with this tradition, Nayan-knmn is 
the only place on Ovalan where this particular shell 
is fonnd. To secnre it, yon mnst present offerings 
to Sabi, and yon will then certainly pick np some on 
the said reef. 

There is only one tribe (Kai Talikii) which is said 
not to go to Bnln, but to the sky. 

At Ynna, just beyond the carem, are two trees, 
which are shown as the spot whence the spirits 
ascend. One of these trees is nsed by the men, the 
other by the women. The spirit climbs the tree, and 
calls for a rope. A rope is then lowered, varying in 
qnaUty according to the rank of the applicant, who is 
then taken np to the sky. 

A despised hump-back is said to have returned 
from this sky. He was asleep in his bed-chamber, 
and his soul departed out of his body. Having passed 
the cavern, and climbed the tree used on such occa- 
sions by the men, a rope made of strong creeper or 
vine, the sort used for common people, was passed 
down for him. His spirit was then drawn up ; and 
on entering the sky, he heard the order given, '^ Pre- 
pare his food." Only one banana was made ready for 
boiling, but it was of dimensions very different from 
earthly plantains. It was cut up into a great many 
pieces, and £lled the pot. When eooked, it was served 
up in a new dish, and he was about to break his fi»t, 
when a former friend, whom he had known on earth. 



"^v^ 



BULU. 409 

whispered, " Don't eat." By and by the friend said, 
"Let us go and see the root of thunder." They 
departed together. " Tread in my footsteps," said 
he who acted as guide. They soon came to a bridge, 
suspended over a frightftil chasm, made of the branch- 
less trunk of a very large and long tree, which kept 
turning round and back again at regular intervals, 
as though its motion were directed by machinery. 
" Tread in my footsteps," repeats the leader. This 
was no easy matter; but the new comer succeeded 
pretty well. They retained their footing. After 
crossing, they soon came to a magnificent sight, — 
two unique and gigantic trees, whose branches spread 
over a circumference of fifty miles. One was in 
flower, the other in flames. As each bud burst, 
thunder was heard ; and when the tree of fire burned 
vigorously, lightning was caused. After their 
curiosity was satisfied, they returned to the court. 
The god's son perceiving that the hump-back had not 
eaten, ordered him to prepare to return to the earth. 
He himself conducted the dwarf to the entrance, and 
lowered him by means of a square plank, to the four 
corners of which a rope was tied. 

It is remarkable that this one clan shoxdd thus 
be isolated in their tradition respecting the ftiture 
state. 

A Dravo man is said to have returned to earth 
from Bulu. When his spirit entered Bulu, he found 
that the gods were busy. They had assembled 
together to feast and game. He saw great heaps of 
treasure, and a large quantity of cooked provisions, 
including every luxury. All the gods, countless in 
number, were smartly dressed and painted for the 



410 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

occasion. As the Draro man crouched down in 
terror bj the side of the road, he was accosted bj one 
of the merry imps : " Halloo ! whence come you ?" 
" I am from Dravo, sir.*' " Go back again : we are 
busy with our great game." His spirit then returned, 
and fortunately in time to prevent the sepxdture of 
its body. A few days aHer he made this narration, 
he died and was buried. 

Two men were disbehevers in this state of exist- 
ence; and one day, when on the main-land they 
painted and oiled themselves, and put on a new piece 
of native calico, (just as the dead are prepared for 
the grave,) and approached a sacred spot. One calls, 
"Please, sir, we want a canoe to take us to Bulu." 
An invisible hand directs a canoe, built of the 
timber of the bread-fruit tree, and places it within 
their reach. " 0, sir,*' said the spokesman, " we are 
not slaves : we want to go to Bulu like chiefs." The 
canoe is withdrawn, and its place supplied by one 
built of iron- wood. No sooner is it near them, than 
the sceptics throw their spears at it, and exclaim with 
a laugh, " 0, we are not going to die just yet ! " A 
voice is heard, "Young men, unbelievers, you have 
called for two canoes : they have not returned empty, 
but both have conveyed here your own relatives. 
There is death in the houses of both of you. ' ' Alarmed 
at the supernatural declaration, they hurry home. 
As they near the town, the sounds of wailing are 
heard, and on their arrival they find that they have 
both lost their mothers ! Death is indeed in their 
respective houses. 

For four days the spirit is said to linger about 
earth. Then the gods congregate to welcome the 



CIBACIBA. 411 

new comer. The seer frequently- goes in spirit to 
behold the assemblage on these occasions. Men can 
accompany him, if thej will follow his directions. 

On the fonrth night succeeding a death, those of 
the living who have a curious wish to visit the world 
of spirits congregate at the house of the seer. The 
most perfect silence is enjoined. Kava is drunk, but 
no noise made. The seer says, " My spirit will soon 
start : follow it ; do not look behind or aside, however 
much you may be tempted to do so." They all lie 
down. " We soon found," to quote from one who 
described the experiment to me, "that the spirit of 
the seer was moving about, and our spirits soon 
followed him. I could see our bodies laid in the 
places where we had lefb them. Unfortunately my 
attention was attracted by the lamp which we had left 
hanging. I thought it would be well to move it, lest 
it should bum the body of Ka during our absence. 
I had looked back : my spirit could get no farther ! 
Another made a greater advance ; but, hearing a great 
rustling towards his right, he looked aside, and was 
invisibly stopped. A third went a long way ; but, 
hearing the exclamation, 'Bauans!' he also was 
diverted from the gratification of his curiosity. A 
fourth was the only one who, in company with the 
seer, saw the wonderful interview between our de- 
parted friend and the gods." 

Every town has its Gibaciba; the place at which 
departed spirits descend into the invisible world. 
There is generally something peculiarly striking 
about the spot. In the hour of danger, the Fijian 
will sometimes say to his companions, "We shall 
see the entrance to the invisible world to-day;" 



^•^i 



412 MTTHOLOGT AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

mentioning the name of their own gateway to 
immortality. 

Vakaleleyalo (Taveta, Gema, Ac.) is the Charon 
of Fiji, who conducts the souls of the dead in 
a canoe over the Stygian waters to the infernal 
regions. He is frequently invoked in the songs 
(meJce), 

The soul of the deceased Bauan goes overland to 
the region of the sacred mountain. At iNTaisovaga, 
it passes through a certain house, and takes some 
cold yam or dalo from a basket which is hung up 
in the middle of the house. The stock of food is 
continually replenished, but as constantly disappears, 
owing to the frequency with which the souls pass 
into Bulu. Having eaten, the soul now crosses a 
certain river, previously satisfying its thirst. Soon 
afterwards it passes Ravuyalo ("Soul-destroyer"), who 
stands with a club, ready prepared to fight with any 
one who defies him. Those who pay homage to him are 
allowed to pass with impunity. The soul then crosses 
a dark valley, in which the gods are assembled. In 
this vale a log is so placed as to cause the soul to 
stumble unexpectedly. As each soul meets the 
accident, it instinctively makes an exclamation, which 
betrays its nation or tribe to the invisible listeners. 
Thus, the Bauans say, " Tile r (" I am hurt !") the 
Lasakauans, ^^Ulair^ the Bewans, ^^KioT* The 
gods exclaim, "A Bauan,'' "A Lasakauan," "A 
Bewan," as the case may be. 

When the soul arrives at Bakiraki, and calls for a 
canoe to ferry it across to Bulu, the following ques- 
tions are put to it : — 1 . " Are you married ? " 2. " Hitve 
you killed ? " If either of these questions is answered 



FUTURE PUNISHMEI^TS, 418 

nnsatis&ctorilj, the applicant is tlirast into a river 
foil of sharks, there to be bitten by the monsters as 
an expiation of his celibacy or humanity. After 
this purgation the soul is conveyed to Bulu, where it 
retains the teeth-marks it has received. Those who 
have had wives, and have killed their fellow-creatures 
in war or by treachery, are conducted with due honour 
to Bxdu ; where the pomp of entrance is regulated by 
the multiplicity of their wives and the brilliancy of 
their deeds of blood on earth. Thus does their re- 
ligion commend polygamy, murder, and cruelty. 

In the world of spirits the soul is represented as 
living an unconscious, unintelligent existence. It is 
not immortal. It dies as the body died previously. 
This is called *Hhe second death." 

A god of the name of Locia collects the remains 
of the dead souls, and plants them. They grow up 
into bananas, on the fruit of which Locia lives. 

Certain gods have more immediate charge of Bulu. 
As the souls of men enter their final abode, these 
gods catch them, and endeavour to blind their eyes 
with the poisonous juice of the sinu-tTee, Those 
spirits which resist successfoUy are allowed to make 
their escape, and return to the earth as gods. 

Offences more trivial than celibacy are punished. 
He whose ears have not been pierced is sentenced to 
drag a large piece of timber (the dAdua)^ and drink a 
filthy mixture. He who has had no house of his 
own is to have no permanent resting-place in Bulu. 
A woman who may not have been strangled on the 
occasion of the death of her first husband, is now 
compelled to return to him. Her second husband is 
to be a widower. ' 



414 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

On account of Bavtiyalo, when a person dies, he 
is furnished with a club, or other instrument of war, 
as a weapon of defence. 

Tradition speaks of the first heaven, the second 
heaven, and the third heaven. The question is some- 
times asked, '' Are you from the second heaven, that 
you make such a bold request ? " Another foretells 
the fall of the heavens : " Where shall we flee when 
the heavens fall ? " 

Sneezing is considered a bad omen. If it occurs 
during sleep, it is considered very alarming. The 
inmates will be wakened, and will run for their lives. 
The last out is doomed by the gods to be clubbed. 

It has therefore become a custom of the country 
to exclaim, " Live ! " when one sneezes ; on which the 
party concerned calls out, " Thanks ! " This, having 
an immediate connexion with the gods, is of far 
greater force than was the old English saying, " God 
bless you ! " on similar occasions. 

If certain chiefs (for instance, the Tui Cakau, of 
Somosomo, and the Bokovakas, of Kadavu) die 
natural deaths, they are either struck with a stone 
in the forehead, or clubbed, lest the gods should be 
displeased, and say, " This is a foolish man : he has 
not engaged himself in treachery." 



Oaths are most solemn when taken in the name 
of the gods. The Fijian will swear by his sister, his 
parent-in-law, his chief. But the most binding is 
generally made in this form : " May the god eat 
me ! if," &c. 

The sorcerers are a class distinct &om the priests. 



KNIGHTHOOD. 415 

When applicatioii is made to effect the discovery of 
thieves, the sorcerer binds the souls of the saspected, 
throws them into his oven, and bakes them. Next 
morning he reports the names of the offenders, who 
immediately confess their crime, make restitution, 
and pay a fine. Should they obstinately rei^se to 
confess, they will become crazy. Generally they do 
not wait until their names are divulged in the morn- 
ing, but hasten to secure an immediate pardon, by a 
prompt declaration of their guilt. The faith in this 
craft is very great. On one occasion Thakombau 
threatened to send for the sorcerers, unless some 
stolen property were surrendered. It was at once 
brought to the chiefs whose anger, the wrath of a 
king, had not been sufficient to alarm the offenders. 

The investiture of knights is strictly connected 
with the service of the gods. The natives compare 
a part of the ceremony to the administration of the 
ordinance of Christian baptism. 

When a war-expedition returns to Ban, the canoes 
congregate at Nailusi. Those who have been success- 
ful in killing their enemies are now bedaubed with 
paint, and clothed with new print-ed calico. The 
landing is then effected. The novitiates rush ashore, 
with reeds in their hands, to which pieces of cloth 
are fastened. They fix these reeds in a perpendicular 
position in the posts of the temple, and then return 
to their respective companies. The whole army 
then advances in procession, the new knights bring- 
ing up the rear, carrying distinguishing spears, to 
which are affixed long strips of cloth. 

On arrival at the square, the death-dance is per- 



416 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

formed. The old men, who liave remamed in charge 
at home during the expedition, now inquire for those 
who are deserving of knighthood. These are pre- 
sented, and the ciiy-goards ftimish each with a new 
club or spear. 

At night the watiy or knights' dance, takes phioe. 
There are three companies present: — 1st. Knights 
elect: 2d. Warriors and consecrated knights: 3d. 
Select women. Bound these parties the spectators 
form a ring. During the night the novitiates break 
their fo&i for the first time since their arrival. The 
dancing is sometimes kept up until ten o'clock in 
the morning. 

In the afternoon is the banana-presentation. A 
great quantity of this fruit is given to those who 
painted and dressed the new knights. 

The next dajis that of consecration (the ginigim). 
Each knight advances in succession towards the 
temple, at the head of all his friends, who follow him 
carrying property and merchandise of divers sorts. 
As the knight enters the square, a new name is pro- 
nounced aloud by the officiating priest. The knight 
and his friends then pile up their property, and 
retire. There is as much order, ceremony, and out- 
ward solemnity as in baptism. The priest has been 
previously made acquainted with the name chosen 
by each knight ; but the multitude hear it for the first 
time when pronounced in front of the temple. 

The fourth and concluding day witnesses ^^the 
diinking of waters." Canoes are sent to fetch water 
from a certain stream devoted to this special pur- 
pose. When the vessels become visible on their 
return, the shout is raised, " The water-canoes 



n 



THE TABU. 417 

appear!" Every one in Baa then retreats to his 
own house. All noise, even the crying of in&nts, is 
prohibited, and the most perfect silence reigns. The 
water is taken to the temple where the knights ai« 
assembled, and is there drank, no soond being made 
whilst the dranghts are consumed. 

This ceremony is repeated, with slight variations, 
on every occasion that an enemy is slain, and a new 
name g^ven. Madiy thas receive four names of knight- 
hood. To each name of a knight of the single order 
is prefixed the significant Koroi. 

To his name who had killed ten indiv^diials thei^e 
was formerly the prefix of Koli; a mordieper of 
twenty was called Visa. But these honoxtrs are now 
more difficult, and are therefore awarded on easier 
terms. Explanatory of these titles is the provei^b, 
'^He who kills ten closes one house; he who slays 
twenty shuts up two dwellings." 

The manner of consecration differs more or less 
in certain districts ; but only in matters of secondary 
importance. 

Tabu* — The remarks of the Bicv. Thomas Buddie, 
of New-Zealand, on the subject of the tapu of that 
country, are applicable to the tahu of Fiji. The 
following extracts from his published lectures will 
suffice: — 

*' Another subject connected with the priesthood 
and religpion is the superstitious custom or rite of 
Tapu. It may be defined as a law or restrioticm 
that deriyes its sanction from religion. OriginaUy 
it meant 'sacred.' It does not imply any moral 
quality, but is indicative of a particular distinctian or 

2 s 



418 MTTHOLOGT AND SUPERSTITIONS. 

Beparation from common purposes for some special 
design. 

''All nations, savage and civilized, have their 
peculiar laws. The chief peculiarity of the Tapn, as 
it exists in these islands, is the religions character it 
sustains. Transgression is a sin against the gods, as 
well as against society. I have met with some excel- 
lent remarks on this subject in the publications of the 
American Expedition, the substance of which is as 
follows : — ^When certain regulations are enforced by 
religious considerations, they exert an influence on 
the million they could not else obtain. The history 
of diflerent religious sects illustrates this. It was 
not lawful for the Jews, according to the Mosaic law, 
to eat certain kinds of meat, or to ofler in sacrifice 
the maimed, or to touch the animal considered un- 
clean ; and it was the sanction of religion that gave 
its vitality and power. The Mahometan code, the 
work of an earthly lawgiver, derives from its supposed 
divine origin a force superior to that of any ordinary 
law. It is not lawM to eat pork, or drink wine, or 
omit certain ablutions, or to take food during certain 
months from sunrise to sunset. The Institutions of 
Lycurgus are another example ; owing their authority 
less to their own excellence, or to the rank of the 
legislator, than to the solemn oath by which he 
enforced their observance, and to the mystery of his 
death. 

''These examples may give us a clue to the pro- 
bable origin of the rite of Tapu. It may be sup- 
posed that the author of the rite was a person who, 
in the original seat of the Polynesian race, united the 
power of ruler and lawgiver to the dignify of chief 



THE TABU, 419 

priest ; who probably pretended to be inspired by the 
gods, as they often do in the other islands when they 
utter oracles. If so, his laws, or tapus, 'whether or 
not promulgated as divine commands, would be re- 
cei^d and obeyed as snch. This view is supported 
by the fact that the principal chief is often the high 
priest ; and also by the &ct that in nearly all the 
groups men are found who pretend to be descendants 
from the gods, and regard themselves as a sort of 
earthly divinity. I have heard Te Huehue claim 
divinity. ' Think not,' said he, * that I am a man ; 
that my origin is from earth. I came from the hea- 
vens : my ancestors are all there ; they are gods, and 
I shall return to them.' 

*' I certainly regard the opinion expressed in the 
American work already referred to as a very plausible 
one, and likely to be correct, — * That the lawgiver 
whose decrees have come down in the %rm of Tapu 
was a ruler invested by his subjects with divine 
attributes.' 

^' But though the origin might thus be of a sacred 
and regal charo^er, yet it has become common pro- 
perty, a sort of magic term with which any man can 
throw a kind of protection over his property ; can 
tapu his . house, or fishing-grounds, or eel-pot, as 
may suit his whim or convenience, and think him- 
self quite justified in defending his Tapu with his 
musket."* 

In conclusion : 

Women are not allowed to be present at the 
religious ceremonies, though they may privately pre- 

* The AboriginM of New-Zealaad, by the Ber. Thomaa Bnddle. 

2b2 



420 MYTHOLOGY AND SUPERSTITIONS, 

dent ofPerings to the priest on behalf of the sick. 
Nor does the Fijian religion sanction the eating of 
hnman flesh by females. The proverb, ^ Where is 
the woman that is faithful ? *' would seem to imply a 
determined inferiority of the sex. 

The Fijians evidently believe too much. There is 
therefore a danger of reaction, and the fearfnl pro* 
bability of their believing too little. A man of some 
attainment in Christian knowledge afterwards be- 
came an infidel, and argued publicly with the mis^ 
sionary at Bau, that man possesses no soul. He was 
denounced by the audience as a madman. 

In taking English medicine during illness, the 
Fijians frequently renounce heatinenism, under the 
idea that it is necessary to secure the efficacy of the 
physic. 

A priest once applied to a missionary for pay- 
ment for a fair wind, which he said his god had given 
to the missionary in answer to his prayer. He travelled 
forty miles to make the unsuccessftil demand. 

In the event of a person reviving after having 
been partially strangled^ the individual, if desirous of 
living, generally states that the gods said, '^ Qo back, 
as the appointed time for your death has not arrived." 
To the piupose of Mends the command of a superior 
is thus opposed, and always snccessftilly. No desire 
is expressed for life, but rather a wish to obey the 
gods. Death is tabued. 

Some of the oldest men immediately acknowledged 
the true God as the Lord of the gods. " This is the 
link our fistthers lost," said they. " Of course the gods 
have one who rules over them all." 

The worship of the shark is not unlike that which 



SHARK- WORSHIP, 421 

formerly obtained in the Sandwich Islands ; though of 
the latter group Jarves says, "When victims were 
required in honour of Moa-alii, the divine shark, or it 
was supposed to be hungry, the priests sallied out, and 
ensYiared with a rope any one whom they could catch, 
who was immediately strangled, cut in pieces, and 
thrown to the rapacious fish." 

Particular friendship between the gods of certain 
tribes leads to friendly, and sometimes tributary, re- 
lations between their people. Thus, Lasakau exercises 
rule over a portion of the island of Gau, much to the 
annoyance of King Thakombau. The sole right that 
Lasakau possesses exists in the traditional relations 
between the gods of Lasakau and Sawayeki. Deuba 
and Beqa also take food to Rewa on account of 
Wairua, the Rewa god. 

Near Malolo is a large ugly-looking rock, whilst 
passing which the natives stoop. This was in times of 
yore a sacred spot. One day a chief who was pass- 
ing it did not unroll his turban, and the indignant 
god hurled the rock at the presumptuous mortal, as a 
punishment for the infraction of the tahu. 

As an illustration of the attention paid to religion 
by the leaders of the people, it is worthy of record 
that when Ratu Qara, the patriot-king of Rewa, took 
refiige in the interior of Great Fiji, he built and dedi- 
cated temples to all the Rewa gods. In addition to 
this, he used to send privately to Rewa, and present 
oiSerings to the deities, so as to assure himself of 
having propitiated them somewhere. None of his 
messengers were discovered, because, as they said, 
" The gods concealed us from those who would have 
betrayed us." 




APPENDICES. 




miBilHIiPPVBV 



-1 



•ttmwmfiw WWWIjaiJ imii^l 



APPENDICES. 



N"©. I.— Page 23. 

Thb Bauan "Song of the Tobacco" has not yet been 
found. The following is one on the same subject, as found 
at Great Land, and may be provincialised.* 

I. 

Dbu taki waitui, dru tale ; 
Cici muri ko Lewatagane ; 
Sa maqa na tavoko e na masi ? 
A tavako li ka koto mai vale, 
Qai la'ki soli kei na yakayi. 
Solia yakacava cayiraki ? 
Qisomakina ki na Lutu ni yale. 

II. 

Ualili mai e dua na tobe, 
Ualili mai yasa mai cake. 
An cata na yakawati ni qase, 
E dua yei au na gone 
Mei yivivi ni tavakoe. 



No. II.— Page 39. 



SoNo ON THE Tragic Dbath of Kosoitamana. 

It should be remembered that the mekea of Fiji are not 
written. They are committed to memory, and are therefore 
easily lost. The following is nearly fifty years old ; but it doe4 
not seem to have experienced any lapses. In Appendix rV» 

* Kindly supplied by Mr. E. P. Martin, of Yiwa. 



426 APPENDICES. 

will be found a piece of recent composition, which is frag- 
mentary. Its state may be accounted for, however, by the 
fact of its being much more abstruse than is No. 11., and 
therefore more difficult of remembrance. Yet it was supplied 
by one of the ladies who sang on the occasion. 

A MEKE KBI KOBOITAMAirA. 
I. 

O Meola ka tagitagi ka wale : 
^ I ko rata ko mate yinakari 
O mai mate i na kemu bati.** 
Tokatoka a tagau doa cake, 
O iko, Meola, ko ka dinari ; 
A tinadam dnaduaga ko Tabe ; 

iko na gone ni sagataki ; 
Yanri na gone ni dabilaki ; 
Bntnki an na Toraga bale, 
Mani yakasevi au tu ki Bari ; 
An toka kina an la'ki kabati, 
An mani se sobn i Beqari ; 
An toka kina au la'ki kabati, 
Qai ki Eadavu me'u la'ki mate ; 
Mani domobula ko Macaniwai 
A mani kauti an ki Bewari. 

An mai kena seya bula wale ; 
Au tonitonia soke ka'u wale ; 
An tonitonia au tawa rawari. 
Nokonoko mai na Euru-ki-lagi 
Laid ta mai me noqu yaragi. 

1 kaeivl o Eoroiyuetari. 

" Mai karia mada noqu call ; 
Ena ni karia yakamamare : 
Me^u tu yawa an ravutakari.^' 
I Nukucagina au toka kina, 
Masimasi tiko i kubuicake ; 
Dulaka tiko i kubuirari ; 
Ea ra veidroyaki na vadari ; 
'* A Bau edai me na sa bale." 
Tugilaka tu na volau ni waqa ; 



APPENDICES, 427 

Luku yarayara yakaturaga ; 
La'ki kacikaci tu ki raraya, 
*^ Eoroitamana ! na nodatou waqa 
Dou karona, de ka bau kama ; 
A waqa o qori ni tiko yinaka. 
A Tale ka tu na ka taratara." 
Au tei noko, an tei yasa, 
Au yakatabui cegu, tu mada ; 
Lave cake, i ulu ni turaga ; 
Tau yakadua, ka yakarua, 
Sa bale tu na Sau eda qaraya. 

n. 

Au rayu, au rayu ; bula tale ; 

Au 8e tu ki Burekorewari, 

A ra bosei au na kai Bewari, 

** Eoroitamana, la^ki se tani." 

Au lele tu ki tai ko Nasali, 

I curuma na yale ko Buturaki ; 

Era yeidroyaki na yadari, 

I kaciyi mai ko Batiyuakari 

'* De ka lada na tiki ni nomu masi 

Msd noqu masimasi ki Tokatokari ;" 

I tini labai dua ka'u yabe ; 

Era qolou nai yalu tani, 

Eoyaki " Yakayula qai cabe, 

E yaka tu na kalou kanari," 

Qaiqai ni siyi na yanuari 

Tua-ni-qio era la'ki yayaci 

I siyi mai ko Burebasagari 

Nasuekau e cere e cake 

Nukutolu a cere babari ; 

Taro koto ki bure ko Secake 

" Ocei ka tekuru kitautubari ? " 

(E lecayi o Koroitamanari) 

** Sa rawa mai noda Turagari, 

Oi keda me da mai yiribai." 

Era bose na turaga ni Rewari, 

^^ O Mataitini me sa la'ki mate." 



428 



APPENDICES. 



An mokn bnla e Tokatokari ; 
An lelc tu ki tai ko Sawani, 
I Katikoa wari ka*u la'ki mate ! 
An moku koto ni di na mati ; 
An ciri sobn, ka^u ciri cake ; 
An ciri yakatanlayelaye. 
Bogibogi me'u usa ki Rewari, 
Mata i na Kusa kabiraki ; 
Yanimoli ka'u la'ki cokonaki, 
O Vokili ni tagi yaso ki vale I 
E yasoya koto na liwa lalari ; 
Na watiqu I o na mai mate wale ; 
A sa ta bau dua nomn yale ; 
A sa tawa Intu tu na kemn qali ; 
Tawa bau dua na nomu yalewari. 
Ciba na yalo, ka ciba sasa, 
Ka ciba, ka tau ki Cakauyawa, 
O Qei ka tagi yaso ki yale, 
Ka e yasoya koto na liwa lalari. 
" Na luyequ ! noqu mata dua tani 
A tebenigusu na bulilekari 
Nai yaukula mana yuniyadre 
A bukubuku ni yaya e qivilaki." 

A yacaqu me^u cavuta qima yani, 1. Eoroitamana; 2. 
Waqaliqali ; 3. Mataitini ; 4. Lawedrau ; 5. Ganilau ; 6. Cure. 



No. III.— -Page 348. 

WOBDS FOR "NO" IN THE FIJIAN LANGUAGE. 



Sega. 




, used at Bau. 


Sigai 




M 


Rewa. 


Warai 




>» 


Dreketi. 


Jikai 




• »» 


Serua (Koro-leyu). 


YaU . 




• » 


Beqa. 


Isikai 




► »» 


Nadroga. 


Eilala 




' » 


Vuda. 


Aikai 




»» 


Nakorotttbn. 



APPENDICES. 42 


Beya 


, used at Ovalaa. 


Ilokali 


» 


Kadavu (Tavuki). 


lyali . 


► n 


„ (Nabukilevu). 


Mino 


' »> 


,, (Nakasaleka). 


Yalisokonena . 


>j 


„ (Nasanivolau). 


Wara 


' ij 


Na-lawa. 


Baclka 


' »» 


Noco. 


Awale 


j> 


Waya, 


Maqa 


»» 


Vanua-levu (Mncnata). 


Lebo 


• » 


>» 


Saniwaiauniga . 


• n 


Navatusa. 


Waratnnua 


' »» 


Natutuniba. 


Aikairarabua . 


» 


Rakiraki. 


Segaban . 


»» 


Lakeba. 


Yalibau . 


)» 


Mnala. 


Warainoa . 


• »» 


Namosi. 


Lavele 


»» 


Tannca. 



No. IV.— Page 425. 

Poem called " The Empty Land/' sung on a state dance at 
Bau in 1S53| and recorded in writing by the author. 



A YANUA ULLA. 

I. 

Au moc6mo<;e au yadrayadra 
Sa lake na la'ki darata 
E yanua wai cei ko Wayaqaqa 
Kg na soga sa ciri lala 
Lewatuveimoli ma kadara 
E yetau kula au roqo vata 
Buka Yutu ni cagi sa taqa 
O drova na uli ka tau yawa 
Bati ni tokalau sa laba 
Tare toYO i vale mo yawa 
Na lewe i kerekere e mataua 
Togi toka na vakayadrayadra 



430 APPENDICES. 

I>iimii tokii Inaliia Yuata 
Dren ni yetan mbuna vata 
Sovaraka e yaleyale ni waqa. 

n. 

Curama na yale ni sa yakiyi 
Drokadroka e taro na bai lati 
Lakoyaki seli ko Drayi 
Coyulaca e rube yu ni lagi 
Kena dro yela me dna tani 
Era yucu e rara ni yakayi 
Sa caga loma i Bnasali 
Koto e ra na yeluyaki 
Ton ciri na tadrna e cake 
Ton qalo koto e mm na cagi 
Oi keda beka eda sa mate 
Sa lala ko Naisogade 
Udiya na oro e mata ni yale 
Na coco draudraa sogolati 
Loma re na yalo e dua tani 
Cata tiko e yucuka boU cake 
Uca sa kere mai cake 
Vadngu mai ulu i na masi 
Doloka tuyu ni danidani 
An sa roqo cnm mai ki yale 
Eda la*ki tiko ena cum ko Tagi. 

« ♦ * * * ♦ 

E siga cake e n& liwa lala 
E cilaya na loma ni wasawasa 
E daro melo na yu ni se waqa 
Muri luyequ au waraka 
Dam lutu beka ki yanua yawa 
Qaqa rau sa yeitala 
Lega na yono niu ga lala 
Tabua drokadroka ko cakaya 
Lomadonu me daton rawarawa 
Salnsalu laye era sa kauta 
Era cabora koto matai mka 



APPENDICES. 431 

Tiko sobu ka*a yakatutnsa 
Nomudou qo ai co ko Tabna 
Buki toko do mo tabu luva 
Eda la*ki sili tuvu rogo na 
Qai mani luva biu ki yanaa 
E tasoYO mana kato ni votua 
Nai sogo tokalau eda curuma 
E cagudu na vucu e Yuraynra. 

IV. 

Uca kere lagi se caya 
Sauya ni yuca e yeitala 
Kena yobo bisabisasa 
Kilica e gone sa yadra 
E Yuki toka na yatoyato lala 
8a ciri ko na yatubasaga 
E 86 yidi ko Cakauyawa. 

V. 

Vu ni bola you na cudra nikua 
Me na kakua na curu kituba 
Sa qai utu tiko na yatua 
La^ki coka e tatau yakadua 
Coko laca yakasoua 
Me ra taro na alewa seynbnsa 
E Yula dra e soko na yatoma 
Uru koto na yeikasi e knla 
Qalo waqa era drau yakarua 
Ai rogo caya mo dran tnknna 
An ogaoga an lako mai dnguYotua 
Buno ni tokalan mo kauta 
E tayuki na yotaa eda raica 
Vu e cake an sa yakalilia 
An rogo cum yu ni gigia 
La*ki wpka ika ni wasaliwa 
O ira na rogo mai yuraynra 
Knru seseta na yeiyanua 
Kua ni tale yomo yanua 
La*ki nomu na gu yakadrnma. 



432 APPENDICES. 

No. v.— Page 64. 

▲ XEKE KEI GAKOBAU. 



KaiiOU ni Bau era lomanene 
Sra booe ki Diekeuelesele 
Cakobau vakawelewele 
A nona verc sa ra lako e na qele 
Ba bosebose toka era gala 
E ca ko koya mai Yalecayii 
Cauyaviti Loaloadravu 
£ bote waqa toka ko Cakoban 
Ea vauca toka na Tuinayan 
Vata ni vere i na Vunivalu 
8a veiroba na kena manumann 
A nodra vere tini ki Lasakau 
Era bolea na Tunidau ni Ban 
A 8a mai gunu ko Butako-i-valn 
' Sevuraki me mate ko Caacait 

n. 

Ni koYukoYua na kai Ban ka ra taraqusa 

Me ra soqo mai ki na Dulukovuya 

A qai vosa ko Namosimalua 

Na gone dan ka ra tutudua 

O Cakobau ko Tutekoyuya 

Ea rau butusereka na vanua 

Sa vadugu mai na domo ni boka 

Taukora ki wai na ruvekula 

Vakatautau yani ki Eubuna 

Na Boloqa era tekicuva 

A qai vosa ko koya mai na Ua 

Mai tini ni vere vakadua. 

in. 

Tevu tiko na rova ka tawacula 
Eta sa uqeta ta na cakovaya 



APPENDICES. 433' 

An Yosayosa au qai tukuna 
A vere cava ka tiko mai Vuya 1 
Vuna tiko druka na tara raa 
Era catakiy era Teiknna, era reilaba 
Era sa qalo koto na marama 
Qalo cabe na koro ko Namara 
Cere na malumu me ra veilaba 
Sa meqe mokn ko Tniyunidawa 
Kena bula era toka e Namata. 

IV. 

Ni sa roaroa e dua nai rogorogo au rogdya 

Sa se na koro ko Waicoka 

Ko Samnaki ni qai yosa toka 

A turaga ka ra taba loloma 

Ka^u tagitagi k'au sa oca 

Ka'u qai laid dula ki Yatoa 

O Qio sa lako mai o qoka 

A nona yere a ka babasogasoga 

Ko Raloyo mai tiko e Tokatoka 

Lako mai e mai tiko e noda 

A wai sese yoli a qioya 

Ki Namata me la'ki kasa toka. 

V. 

Ni yakamataka ra taraqnsa na san turaga 

Ba dirika na qiwa e sa waqa 

Na kena kubou sa lamata 

Wase-rua ko ira na Tuikaba 

Sa yiri na koro ko Namata 

Gibi mai nai yalu ni Verata 

Kaba koro ni siga ka bogicaka 

Ba butuki era dugu kadakada 

Kaci toka e cake a saurara 

Ma koto ko Ban sa ciri lala 

E dua bau na kenai yakatawa 

Luvu koto me tabu yue rarawa 

A kena yotua me sa mai laga 

Ka dromn dole na siga ki yata. 

2f 



'4:34 APPENDICES. 

Xo. VI.— Page 36. 

TBANSLATION OF THE MEKE KE00SDIN6 PABTS OF THE 
HISTORY OF THE NAKELO MASSACRE. 

The presentation of yams is arranged : 

At Lomainuku they are heaped : 

The race is boisterously announced : 

The yonng men are ronning : 

They mn until mid-day : 

They reach Burebasaga. 

A certain report preyails : — 

" The yam-presenters are kiUed ; 

They are killed, and not one has escaped : 

Batu Kutukutu is placed on the top [of the heap 

of slain]." 
The women of Naluna strike their bosons : 
" Who of us is killed to-day ? 
There is Dravo — ^there let us seek refuge, 
Seek refuge there, that we may live." 
The race was being mn, and the course was crowded ; 
The Tokatoka tribe close in on them, 
Closed in, and began at once to kilL 

Batu Kutukutu had escaped the massacre by flight, 

And sought refuge in Naqolowalu. 

The vasu to Yutia felt constrained, 

He untied a large whale's-tooth. 

Buns to Bewa whilst it is yet day ; 

Bo Eania* looks out expectantly ; 

Ogasaucalewa hurries ; 

Presents in his presence the large whale's-tooth. 

** This is the soro of the Batis, 

They are but fifteen persons only."t 

Batu : " Let them aU be kiUed I " , 

The chiefs return thence ; 

♦ "Bat,"— one of the names of the Bewa king. 

t These had eoci^ted, and the people ivished to Bare them. 



APPENDICES, 435 

They go into a house ; they weep. 

The common people make inquiries, 

" For what do ye weep ? " 

^' I do compassionate the Batis." 

They go, and present them with calicoes : 

" This is your clothing, O Batis." 

** Let us paint each other black, 

Let us divide [the calico], that we may wrap up." 

We go outside — ^it is daytime ; 

They come outside, and shout in admiration. 

Walaka comes whilst it is daytime ; 

Ba Eutukutu weeps ; 

'* I die with the remembrance of Eatikua,* 

Where my namesake resides ; 

I and the sun sink together below the horizon." 

* Batu Kutnkutu's home. 






LONDON: 
HATMAN BBOTHXBS, P&IVTSB8, 
13, OOUOH SQUA&B.