THE CORAL ISLANDS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2013, 22 September 1892, Page 33

THE CORAL ISLANDS.

(By R. Paulin, F.G.S.) The ToDgans pay great respect to their dead, the burial grounds being much attended to and kept very neat, decorated with pretty worked out in shells, coral, and different coloured stones. The graves are in the form of mounds, and some of them enclose a vault, and are like little hills. Anear relative of the king's died during my visit, and I had an opportunity of seeing a State funeral. The ceremony took place about 10 a.m. The procession was headed by a band of 15 playing the " Dead march " in " Saul." The body, done up in rolls of matting and tapu, was escorted by 22 of the king's guards in red uniform, and a long crowd of native men and women, with a few Europeans, followed in the rear. Arrived at the vault, which was placed inside a mound 30yds across and Bft high, the body was deposited on the mound, and service was held by the Rev. Mr Bowring. There was good singing during the service. Mr Bowring retired, and the body was buried in the following manner :— A piece of native cloth, which by actual measurement I found to be 50yds long and 12yds wide, was put over the body. Several young men got uuder tho cloth and moved along with the body, taking the cloth with them— all being obscured from sight. Presently the cloth stood still. A rope projecting from under the cloth, which was, I was told, attached to tho stone which closed the vault, was then pulled on by some men. In a few minutes another rope which projected in the opposite direction was pulled on. The huge piece of cloth was then rolled up. There stood the men, bub the body of Chalotti, as they called the deceased, had gone. The burial was thus done in the dark. And I was told that the Tongans believe that if light finds its way into the grave during burial an evil spirit will go with it and torment the departed. After the funeral a big feast was held in honour of the dead, presided over by the old king. There are numerous stone monuments in Tongatabu, formed of huge slabs of coral rock. Some of these slabs measure as much as 18ft x sft x 2£ft. Some of these monuments are of great size ; one I measured was composed of three tons of stones. The ground tier occupied a space of 40yds by 30yds, the second 38yds by 28yds, the third 37£ yds by 27iyds, each tier being 3ft in height. This construction had forest trees growing on the top of it over 50ft high and 4ft in diameter, whose roots formed a complete network over the top and sides of the building. The native name for these monuments is langi, and they are said to be the graves of the old Tua Tongas, or sacred men of Tonga, to whom the kings of Tonga paid homage. A gentleman who is an authority onTongan matters told me that each of these tiers of stone represented a Tua Tonga's grave, and urged that they were proofs of the antiquity of the Tongan race, "For," said he, " there was only one Tua Tonga, and could be no other till that one died. The Tongans are a long-lived race," and we must allow 40 years at least for the life of one Tua Tonga. Now there are over 40 langis known to exist in Tongatabu, and they have an average of three tiers." Well, I calculated the matter out, and if my informant is correct there have been Tua Tongas in Tongatabu for 3600 years. Near the village of Kalonga are to be see three curious stones — two perpendicular supporting a horizontal stone, the horizontal being neatly dovetailed into the topß of the perpendicular stones. The horizontal stone is of sandstone, and measures 10ft x 4ft x 22in, and is neatly dressed and finished ; while the perpendicular stones, formed of coral rock, are 14ft high, 10ft wide, and 4ft thick. When I first saw these stones in 1875 the natives did not seem to know anything about them, and I have never heard any satisfactory statements as to their origin. Tongatabu itself is a more or less level island, about 20 miles in length, in a straight line, and averaging perhaps about eight miles across. It is intersected with chain-wide smooth grass roads, pleasant to ride, drive, or walk on, and giving access to all parts of the island. The scenery in travelling about Tongatabu has but little variety. The roads are everywhere bordered with dense vegetation, composed of various large-leafed trees, cocoanut palms, and bananas, intertangled with a network of creepers, ferns, convolvulus, and other brilliant flowers. Here and there are brown native houses, with the usual pack of ugly, dingo-like curs. The villages are very pretty, generally built on gentle undulations, covered with smooth, green grass, well sheltered from the sun by palm and forest trees, among the latter often being the stately banyan tree. From these roads branch numerous native tracks. If one follows one of these on foot or horseback, as I have done for several hours at a time, he will meander mile after mile in a serpentine course, among a mass of palms, bananas, forest trees, ferns, flowers, and jungle, every now and then coming on a native house or plantation, with perhaps a group of natives at work. In 1875, when I, on horseback, wandered by myself all over Tongatabu, the natives everywhere seemed glad to see me, giving me flowers, fruit, food, and drink ; in fact embarrassing me with excess of attention. But in 1891 it was quite different. Very few took any notice of me ; I was offered no gifts of any kiud. In fact, many often looked as if they were annoyed at my appeurance. Poor people ! I am afraid they are beginning to realise the fact that the white man has done anything but make life happier to them, and that before long he will cause their extinction.

Near Nukualofa is a lagoon about seven miles long and from one to three miles wide. Its shores are fringed with a thick growth of mangrove. It is dotted with islands, most of which have cocoanut palms on, and all are covered with bush. Its bottom is composed of level-topped coral reefs, most of which are bare at low water. These reefs are intersected with numerous channels, some of them of considerable depth. The lagoon has access to the sea by two narrow, shallow channels. It abounds with fish, which at high water feed about the reefs, but as the falling tide leaves these bare. The fish gather in large shoals in the channels, and are then captured by neb or even a charge of dynamite. The fisherman standing on the edge of the reef with his boat handy throws a charge among a shoal of fish. As soon as it goes off he hastens to the spot, jumps into the water, and gathers up his spoil, or with great rapidity plucks the stupefied fish from the water with his barbed spear. The natives, I noticed, prefer to get a white man to light the fuse and throw the charge. I spent many pleasant days fishing in the lagoon. A friend of mine used to get a native and his canoe, and away the three of us would go, starting at sunrise, and spend the day paddling about the blue wa»-er3, hunting the reefs for shells, crabs, and crayfish. We never failed to get a supply of fish ; and during the day we would land on one of the islands, and refresh ourselves in the way I have already described. Our canoe was a'frail craft, with au outrigger in the centre, not more than 6in above the water, and liable to get swamped, which sometimes happened. It was also very easily upset. Ops day my friend gave mo the history of the native who was with us. It was that his

grandfather bought his grandmother for an old musket. My friend then remembered 1 that the native knew some English, and said : " I hope he haa not understood, for the Tongans think it a great insult to be told that their grandmother was sold." Whether he understood or not, I don't know ; but in a very few miautes afterwards the canoe was upset in the middle of a channel, and we had to swim for it. It didn't matter, as land was not far off. We swam to it, and in a very shoit time the canoe had been bailed out and the hot sun had dried our clothes.

But the most charming thing about Tongatabu to me was the small outlying islands, not many acres in extent, clad wibh shady bush and waving palms, and within a few .hours' boating distance over smooth water from Nukualofa — emerald gems set in rings of sand, resting on sapphire water, which outlying reefs keep always smooth and free from sharks. These islands are a bather's paradise. I spent many days on one of these islands, 14 miles from Nukualofa, called Ata. Threugh the kindness of a friend I got the loan of some natives, tent, and boat. I took my own provisions — tinned meat, live sheep, biscuit, and yams. The natives got a supply of fresh fish, and the days spent in boating, fishing, exploring other islands, and gathering curios, like a pleasant dream, came to an end too soon. On this island I observed the curious meat-preserving properties of the mummy apple. The natives killed a sheep, cut it up, and hung the pieces to a mummy apple tree, with its leaves round them. Eight days after the sheep had been killed the meat was as fresh and tender as could be desired, whereas under ordinary circumstances it would in that climate have gone bad iv two days. Ata is about 35 acres in extent, and has about 800 cocoanut palms. Its highest point is about 20ft above sea level. We sank a well in the centre of the island, but after going down 16ft we came upon salt water, which rose and fell with the tide.

(To be continued.)