LEGENDS AND CUSTOMS OF THE FIJI-PEOPLE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 13997, 2 September 1907, Page 7

LEGENDS AND CUSTOMS OF THE FIJI-PEOPLE.

n \t ? at the Mornington Aletnodist Mutual Improvement So- > Oiety the Kcv. W. Slado delivered , a very interesting leciuro to ' a . largo company. From tho commcncc* . n.ent to tho otao tho lecturer hold the attent'on of his hearers, dealing with his subject in a very humorous manner, and ( . began by explaining that the work of the , missionary was not simply preaching ( the Gospel but tho getting together of nn alphabet after carefully obtaining a know- , ledgo of signs and sounds of tho peoplo omonsrat whom they had to labour. When tho language liad. been systcm&tised and ( literary work really begun,, then it was that the opportunity arose of getting together much of tho legendary lore which tho Fijian so much loves. Ho traecd tho elmractorislies of tho races of mankind iirst to tho cast and then to tho west of tho meridian line, showing that Fiji was truly central—tho middlo class between tho Malay and tho Papuan. Tho Malay tonguo.vas a pleasant one—sweet > alid soft-sounding owing to tho predolnincnco ot liquid letters —whilst the Papuan was harsh owing to the abundant dental sounds. The Fijian chiefs, explained tho speaker, \vcr3 men of considerable importance, and, as in the old feudal system, hiul in their households somebody for everything. The storyteller was -ono of tho biggest officials in that jliotley crowd. Ho showed that in thie way had the legends Leon preserved, as li/ul also . tho old Norsemen stories and old traditions of JMirope. 'I'ho Fijiafi yarns were indeed ta yarns; but tho native loved to hear a tall story. Tno lecturer then told a few of theso legchds, causing considerable amusement by the story of "The Big Gance," out of which, ho said, arose to tho native mind the idea of the ebb and flood tides, 1110 stories not being without their meaning. Other legends wore: "Tho Goddess" (showing the origin of many of the I'ljian names), The Spirit World" (humorously depicting tho awful fate of tho bachelor), and "Tho FishTarliamcnt" (out of which arose the saying in Fiji, Dont preach ono thin# and practice another'), Referring to the customs of tho people, he explained that tho mcsfc influential thing in Fiji lifo was a certain whale' 6 tooth, called a tabua. Whilst money could not, perhaps, bind or persuade a man to do certain things, tho acceptance of this tabua would complete any bargain and assuro its performance. In 1857 the only murder of a missionary which ever took place in Fiji was owing to the acceptance of tho tabua. I be- speaker described tho beautiful 6ecnery, tho precipitous crags and cliffs, the great gorges, and the dangers of travel. It was amidst scenery like this, and at iho end almost of a dangerous journey, that tho 1857 murder took place. The sequel, which was of a more pleasant character, took place in 1900, when a dopu- | tation' of theso conscience-stricken people requested the authorities to accept another tabua in rglurn to' wipe out tho bloodstain, and so ease their minds of the guilt. Tho natives believed in witchcraft—a belief .still prevalent in manv British peoplo. It was ■ now a crime in Fiji to bo guilty, of witchcraft. .Ho very humorously gavo his experiences amongst tho nativo medicine men. Tho families had remedies which were handed down through the generations, anil their secret was never given away. Ino overage nafivo.was very ignorant of physiology, "Surely Iheso people ought lo 'know whero the organs of tho' body loy " Mid Iho -spoakor as ho smiled. Yet their medical experimenting was very funny, ajmoiiinea ihey cured—for in ono ca c o v,-hero ho himself had nearly exhausted the remedies or hie medicine chost—his cowboy hnd efleeted a very wonderful cure. The means, however, were kept, a cloao sccrof. lain.ess dentistry was not lmknown, for in

one ca«> a man who suffered from tho effects of toothache had been told to chew a eorlain concoction of stringy bark—get

tho stuff- well into tho gums and spit. it. out. At tho third trial tho teeth all camo out! Surely an evidence of dentistry of tho most painless kind. Tho spoakor finished a very instructive Icctiiro with a storv of fclic fishenromen for the benefit of tho children pr«ont, and votes of thanks closed tho meeting.