FIJIAN FIRE WALKERS.

Hawera Star, Volume XLV, 29 August 1925, Page 11

FIJIAN FIRE WALKERS.

BAREFOOT OYER WHITE-HOT STONES

ISLAND LEGEND OF EXPLANATION.

it .is highly probable (writes R!aymo'iul Biremis in the Sydney Sun)' ibia.t the. recent exhibition of walking barefcoit over a, patch of white-hot- stones by the natives of Bega, Fiji,• will be the .lasit, (alb lleast, for a long time. This extraordinary feat has been witnessed by numerous visitors to Fiji during past years,., and many., medical men- who have been among tlib qbservero have, with true scientific caution, examined first, tile .heating arrangement, the pit of rbones,' and then the feet of the performers, before and after the event. .While admitting no do mbit lais to. the bona tides of the ceremony, they have not been able.'to ‘offer any siahikfactory explanation. And so the matter stands to-day.- , A . special performance . lecently, when, a .party consisting of nearly a hundred tourists., with some residents, of Fiji, made an excursion to the island of Bega (pronounce it Bengte), distant about 20 miles from. Suva, whereon live the only people an the would (and incidentally, the only tribe in the Fiji group) who possess the gift of fire-walking. It was ar regular gala day for the a slanders. For sonic bouiis they held a native market .of th»iir produce and handicrafts, treated thdifr visitors to iscune native dances in front of a marquee., and -in, the afternoon, added to their excheuoer by imposing a. fine of 3is on everyone .who desired to pass dong. the narrow track uphill to the spot. where the fire was. Here," in a small clearing, • wholly surrounded by' the thick and strangely laromatic Fijian jungle, wu.s the fire of slfcones din a circular hole about 12 feet in diameter. For several days this ha:d been bur-mug,., kept alive by a plentiful .supply of logs. The heat vftjis moire .iTiikems© tliaii tliai frsotni a furnace. Elven on the windward .side it was unwise to get nearer than several feet. . About 10 Fijita-ns. hideous m warpaint and garish with loin cloths of native tappu. bark, were seen to retire into the jungle for a little while, and after this they rushed out and

, down the clearing to the pit. The retirement was for the purpose: of ’Observing certain tribal ritual peculiar to themselves, and to ’.he performance they were about-to, give. Possibly did. wo . know exactly what took place, .we too, would have been able to walk over lire, or, a.t least, understand how it is done. , Straight into the pit, and then, round and round and over the stones, these howling creatures ran, and then jumped out. immediately, other natives piled. ;tuff«: of grass, and palm fronds and leaves on to the: stones,ianid when at once they smouldered, throwing off a dense , , green smoke, the fire-walkers hopped iii again, .sat them--selves down and chanted -a native song, lit a few minutes .they emerged, perfectly unharmed % not -scorched, not * even singed." Their feet-. were: exiaininetl hy onlookers, jet no effect of. their .terrifying ordeal was -visible. There is a legend about it,, of course, and 'a pretty one, too. •= Once upon a time, -a n'ative was walking along when he spied aft elf. He captiiired it, and was going to kill it.. The; elf pleaded piitepaisly for its life, and promised various boons in return. The Fijian . refused them all. On the point of death, the elf promised to give its captor the . {tower to walk unharmed through fire. This was not 'enough, however; the brave wanted the .same immunity for Inis descendants and for the members of laiis villbge. \ It was gladly promised, and the elf was released. And to this day, the spell is good. But every native of Bega cian’.t walk through fire—only, those of one particular tribe, and they are looked up to with .special reverence by the other inhabitants. Bega is" .a very rocky island. _ It has been suggested' theit generations of contact with the sun-baked rocks have hardened the feet. * But this does not explain why only same, and not all, of die .islanders can stand the fire ceremony. Really, the whole thing is a mystery. !