THE NATIVES OF FIJI.

Otago Witness, Issue 2425, 5 September 1900, Page 54

THE NATIVES OF FIJI.

By W. O. (See photos in Pictorial Pages.)

The men of the Fijian race aie tall, well built, and rather handsome; their skin i^ of a darl'i brown eolorAr, much oiled and °hiny. Like most coloured races, they have large dark eyes and beautifully white teeth. Their hair is grown in a very f irikinp manner ; it stands- straight tin oq the head, and is gpnelally about 6in long. Natuially, il i« of a very dark colour, but by washing and lying it up in lime, and well anohiiivig il vitl> eoco.imu oil, they make it a yold^n brown, ijuite an attractive colour, when the suji share on it. The women do not ha 1 , c hucb bushy heads; their hair i« inclined to giow shorter and closer. Their one and only fashion in haii-dressing is to have a miiii-

ber of small plaits hanging over one ot the ear-. This is dune mostly by young girU. but for vliat roason it i- hard to s-ay, for it ii by no means beautifying.

It i1"i 1 " not very long since the Pijians were c.mnibals, some of the old '"min-eater*" being fIjII alive. Although perfectly harmless, they are in some v. cy^ still savage", having learnt nothing of the refinement of civili«aiios"!. Their dress consists of a cloth, or suiu, wound lound them. vh;ch nifi^Os v port of petlico.ii. .Soinclimes the li' Cii nil! wear a shir 1 ny singlet as v. oil. and the women a loo&p-bloii-e arrangement with short dceves and low at the neck, which (he;/ call a "pina'foie."' It i» o)il> r or> ..Sunday, when they ..go to church, or for any unucual occas-iou, ihat they will wesr nich unnecessary garments; shoes and storking*-, of course, they never wear. Wl-.en tire^ed for a meke, or native dance, they do:i as= much t.ipa 01 native cloth as it is impossible for thorn to wear, winding; yards of it round their bodies till they are almost hidden in it. Their head*, rums, and legs they decorate with flower." and lea^e--, and their faces they paint with red, blue, and bbek dyCi. 'Their appearance when performing a war dance is quite terrifying; they have huge flubs and spears, which they flouris-Ii in a vfiy alarming manner. By iheir savage appearance, and "shouts and yells, they make you fesl that they are really in earnest, and will soon be down on you with their weapons. A» a rule the ordinary ping-song meke» are uot at all enjoyable to a white person. Some tsvo or three dozen men and v/omen will squat in rows on the ground and sing in a very drony way to the int-tafc of two sticks beaten tG'.;etiiv>' by the conductor, who squats at the back; to vary the monotony the performers will stand up and walk slowly round in a circle, bending slightly and keeping time by clapping. All songs are accompauie'd by very graceful gesture?. If they are ringing about ships and the sea, they will imitite the hauling; of ropes, dropping of arujhoiv, and the rolling of the ship, as they ting. .Strangers are always delighted with their performances, but one gets rather tired of them after seeing ihem a number of times. The wai dances and other big- mckes in which only men take p.irt are always interesting. Fijian villages - are very pretty, with thatched houses, looking very much like hayistackf-, dotted about amongst trees of every description. Fiuit trees are grown mostly in the towns, and there is always an abundance of cocoaimfc, banana, and breadfruit trees. One drawback to the towns is that they arc not always nicely kept ; pigs and fowls are allowed to wander at will, and children, dirty and naked, run about as they please. Every town has its chief, for whom all are supposed to work. All the work that is done by natives in. their own towns is planting yams, taro, and bananas, building houses, and supplying themselves with fish. They are very lazy, and will not do a stroke' more work than is absolutely necessary. For this reason they are not much employed on the sugar plantations except where boats are used ; they are excellent watermen. Native houses are very easily made : the framework is of bamboo, and to this is fastened the' thatch. The floor is covered with mats, and beds are made only a little higher by grass and mats, and are separated from the rest of the house by mosquito screens of muslin. Churches are built in the same way ; the congregation sitting on the floor.. In some churches a pulpit is made of a ' tree trunk hollowed out, but generally it is. a table covered with a white cloth. Native ministers, dressed in a white shirt and salu, preach and read the lessons, and if there are any white people attending the service, pray especially for them, and make a rule of shaking hands and expressing their delight at seeing them when the service is over. During the week the children are taught in the church, and once a year they are examined by a visiting missionary. Lately a school has been ebtablished at Ba, where the natives are taught English. Fijians have some very strange legends and traditions. In their heathen days they possessed a great number of gods, "Degai." the chief one, being very great and wonderful. Even now they firmly believe that the many small islands dotted round the eoa»t are pieces of the mountains that he threw down in his wrath. Earthquakes are caused by Degai, who is asleep in the hills, and when he moves he' shakes them. There are a great many stories more 01 less amusing which they tell, but they are so conrplicated that it would take some time to write them down. Altogether, they are a happy, easy-going people, seldom doing anything very outrageous, and seldom doing anything very good ; thinking nothing of stealing and telling lies ; bearing no ill-will if caught and punished i£ they think the punishment; is deserved, but showing strong resenlinent if they think it

undeserved. They are very hospitable to strangers, and will do anything for their comfort and amusement.

it is said that "where the white man steps in the black man dies away," and many people say it is so with the Fijians. They are slowly but surely dying away, and giving their beautiful island*, their home in the sunny south, to the white man, who is never content with what he has, but is always wanting more.