“HIS OWN GRAVESTONE”

Greymouth Evening Star, 30 August 1932, Page 8

“HIS OWN GRAVESTONE”

EXCHANGE OF NAMES. /

On»the island of San Cristoval,- in\ the Solomons Group, is a grave with, a headstone bearing the inscription. “C. E. Fox, died , 1922.” Buried there is a young native who, in compliance with an old Melanesian custom, lived some years ago as the Bey. Dr. C. E. Fox, of the Melanesian Mission, while Dr. Fox acted the part of the native, Martin Takibaina. Now Dr. Fox has the privilege of being able to contemplate his own gravestone —a gruesome privilege in the opinion of his friends. The circumstances of this strange procedure were recounted by Dr. Fox, who is at present in Auckland on: furlough (states the “New Zealand Herald”): “In 191 S it was arranged that I should change names with the native, the son of a. chief, as ti sign of friendship,” said Dr. Fox. “The custom is an extremely old one in Melanesia, where it has been frequently carried out between chiefs in order to cement friendship. I went into the

hut of the chief’s son, and lived as a member of his family while the native went to live in my hut. "We exchanged our personal possessions, and we almost, but not .entirely, exchanged our identities,” said Dr. Fox. “I continued with my mission work, and the native lived as before. The usual custom is to exchange wives, but this was not part of the arrangement. However, he was Dr. Fox in the eyes of the other natives, and I was Martin Hakibaina, a young chief, in whose name I paid the native tax. I am still regarded as this by the tribe, and I am considered to be the chief, owing to the death of th& father.” Dr. Fox said the native died four years later and was buried under his adopted name. Dr. Fox inherited the young chief’s native drum, an instrument 200 years old, which had been beaten only at the death of chiefs of the tribe. In identifying himself with the tribe.he had obtained a wonderful grasp of their habits of life ancT customs, which had later served him to good purpose.