Journal of Residence in the New Hebrides, S.W. Pacific OceanBice, C. (Charles)
History
Journal of Residence in the New Hebrides, S.W. Pacific Ocean
Bice, C. (Charles)
Missions -- Vanuatu
_Wednesday, August 4th._--There seems a perfect rage for fishing just
now, when the exceptionally low tides afford such advantages for the
pursuit. School was no sooner over to-day, than there was a general
exodus seaward of all the able bodied inhabitants of the place. They
talk to-day of trying the “Tasigoro” to see what it yields. This
Tasigoro is a tabu’d enclosure of so much of the reef as those who make
it choose, and it is made in this way--one, two, three or indeed any
number of people who have reached the rank of “welu” kill a certain kind
of pig, and for ten days the killer or killers are supposed to subsist
on pig’s flesh, at the end of ten days they go to the beach, and mark
off the chosen portion of the beach with a long bamboo at either end,
like a base for football, but on a somewhat larger scale, and tie on to
the bamboo the leaf of a certain palm tree; the person or persons then
bathe in that part of the sea, and the juice of the pig’s flesh which
they have eaten, is supposed to have the effect of sanctifying in some
way the place, and no one fishes within the enclosure until the “welus”
choose to take the “tabu” off. There is a talk of doing this to-day, and
the whole population turns out to it. Of course the whole length and
breadth of the reef during these low tides is left high and dry, and the
fish have wisdom enough to retire as the tide goes out, but some are
dilatory like Lot in his flight from Sodom, and some stop to have a look
back like his wife, these are therefore left behind in the several pools
that are everywhere dotted about of more or less depth. Some fish again
which feed upon the reef have natural channels of escape into deep
water, but these are very skilfully guarded by the natives with large
nets, and the fish are captured while making a rush to get out into the
open sea. All these channels are carefully guarded, and a very large
number of fish shut in from escape on the more or less exposed reef. The
leaves of a certain shrub are used for the purpose of stupifying the
fish in the deeper pools, and they are easily caught when under the
influence of the stupification. Others again are shot with bows and
arrows, others speared, others caught by hand until at times the haul
numbers several thousands, of all sorts, sizes and descriptions. After
this great catch of course there is much feasting and rejoicing, and
according to their own old heathen superstitious ideas there is
something sacred in the fish so caught. ‘Kava’ is largely drunk on these
occasions and the festivities are prolonged for many days. After my
experience the other day I did not care to go again, and followed Arthur
and some others to ‘Rarava,’ whither I took my photographic camera, and
shot off a most beautiful picture in nature. I hope it may prove so in
development.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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