The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2: Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristicsWood, J. G. (John George)
History
The uncivilized races of men in all countries of the world; vol. 2 of 2: Being a comprehensive account of their manners and customs, and of their physical, social, mental, moral and religious characteristics
Wood, J. G. (John George)
Anthropology; Ethnology; Manners and customs
“Custom requires that a hut should be built, in which the anointed
man and his companions may pass the next three nights, during which
time the newly named hero must not lie down, but sleep as he sits; he
must not change his masi, or remove the turmeric, or enter a house in
which there is a woman, until that period has elapsed. In the case
now described, the hut had not been built, and the young chief was
permitted to use the temple of the god of war instead.
“During the three days he was on an incessant march, followed by half a
score lads reddened like himself. After three weeks he paid me a visit,
on the first day of his being permitted to enter a house in which there
was a female. He informed me his new name was _Kuila_, or Flag.”
When a name of honor has thus been given to a man, the complimentary
title of _Koroi_, or consecrated, is prefixed to it.
The battles of the Fijians are not, as a rule, remarkable for the
slaughter that takes place. They are, in fact, little but a series of
single combats. When a man falls, his friends try to get him off the
ground to save his life, if possible, or to be able to bury the body if
he should die; while the enemy use their best endeavors to secure the
wounded man in order to bake and eat him. No dishonor is attached to
the fact of a slain man being eaten. On the contrary, it is a proof of
his courage, for none but those who die bravely in battle are eaten in
the feast which follows upon the victory, the bodies of slain cowards
being contemptuously thrown into the bush.
* * * * *
We now come to a more pleasing part of Fijian character, namely, the
various incidents of domestic life.
As soon as the Fijian child comes into the world, it is taken from the
mother, and given to another woman for three days, during which time
she lies at her ease. The first clothing which the child receives is
a thick coating of turmeric oil, and the first food which it knows is
either the juice of sugar-cane or of cocoa-nut. A name is given to
the child as soon as possible after its birth, and these names are
generally significant of some event that has happened either to the
child itself or to some member of its family.
Though the Fijian children spend the great part of their time in the
open air, and are untrammelled by clothing, they are liable to a very
unpleasant disease called the “thoko,” which somewhat resembles the
“yaws” of the negro tribes. The parents are rather glad than sorry to
see their children afflicted with this disease, as they believe that
it forms a necessary adjunct to infantile health, and that a child who
escapes the thoko is sure to be sickly and feeble when it grows up.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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