FLORA VITIENSIS. 289 
(including twenty-three kinds). G. Forster (Plant. Escul. p.31) thinks the name “ Maya” (which he spells 
“ Meiya ”) may-be identical with the Malayan “ Medji,” by which name M. mensaria, Rumph. (M. sapientum, 
Linn. ?) is known. “The Fei, or Mountain Plantain, beaten into a pulp and diluted with cocoa-nut milk 
or water till brought tothe consistency of arrowroot as ordinarily prepared in England, was formerly much 
used in the Society Islands. Large quantities were usually prepared for every f@stival ; a kind of cistern 
was made, with a framework of wood and a lining of leaves, which, when filled, was a sufficient load for six 
men to carry. Seven or eight of these were sometimes filled and carried on men’s shoulders to one feast. The 
mode of preparing their made-dishes was seldom, according to our ideas, the most cleanly, and we rarely 
partook of their dressed food, excepting it had been cooked as brought from the garden, or prepared by 
our own servant,” (Bennett.) : 
Bananas and Plantains—understanding by the former those Musas the fruit of which may be eaten 
raw, by the latter those which have to undergo some process of cooking before eating—are known in 
Viti by the collective name of “ Vudi.” There are about eighteen different kinds (I prefer using this 
term, for the boundary between species and variety has never been determined with accuracy in this genus) 
—all of which bear distinctive names.* With the exception of one, the Soaqa (Musa uranoscopus, Rumph. 
[Zroglodytarum, Linn.]), none are found wild, and even this wild one is occasionally met with in plantations. 
It grows spontaneously in the depth of the forests, often in ravines, and is distinguished from all congeners 
by its bunches, instead of hanging down, being perfectly upright, and presenting a dense collection of 
orange-coloured fruits. The Polynesians, always ready to account, by some plausible story, for any devia- 
tion from à normal type, have not failed to exercise their ingenuity here. The Samoans assure us that once 
upon a time all the Bananas and Plantains had a great fight, in which the Soaga (their Soa’a) came off 
victorious, and proudly raised its head erect; whilst the vanquished became so humiliated by the defeat 
sustained, that they were never able to hold up their heads again. An important addition to their stock 
the Fijians received in the Vudi ni papalagi (i.e. foreign Banana), our Musa Chinensis or Cavendishit, 
which the late John Williams, better known as the Martyr of Eromanga, brought in a Wardian case 
from the Duke of Devonshire’s seat at Chatsworth to the Samoan or Navigator Islands, whence again, in 
1848, the Rev. George Pritchard carried it to the Tongan or Friendly Islands, as well as to the Fijis. Its 
introduction has put an effectual stop to those famines which previously to this event were occasionally 
experienced in some of these islands. Never attaining any greater height than six feet, and being of robust 
growth, the Cavendish Banana is but little affected by the violent winds which cause such damage amongst 
plantations of the taller kinds of Musa, and this advantage, coupled with its abundant yield and the fine 
flavour of its fruit, have induced the natives to propagate it to such an extent that, notwithstanding its 
comparatively recent introduction, the Vudi ni papalagi numbers amongst the most common Bananas of the 
country. The fruit of the different Musas is variously prepared by the native cooks. Split in half, and 
filled with grated cocoa-nut and sugar-cane, Bananas make a favourite pudding (vakalolo), which, on account 
of its goodness and rich sauce of cocoa-nut milk, has found its way even into the kitchen of the white 
settlers. Wilkes has already mentioned that the natives, instead of hanging up the fruit until it becomes 
mellow, bury it (occasionally, i& should be added) in the ground, which causes it to appear black on the 
outside, and impairs the flavour. The fresh Musa leaves are used as substitutes for plates and dishes in 
serving food or for making temporary clothing, the dry instead of paper for cigarettes (suluka). In place 
of the finger-glasses handed round at our tables after dinner, Fijians of rank are supplied with portions of 
the leafstalk of the Plautain,—not a superfluous luxury in a country where forks are dispensed with except 
at cannibal feasts. 
l. M. sapientum, Linn. Spec. n. 1477; caudice maculato; spadice pendulo, glabro; spathis 
fl. g3 ovatis, deciduis; fl. fertil. persistentibus, obtusiusculis, inferioribus interne viridibus; sepalis 
interioribus inzequalibus; baccis oblongis, utrinque attenuatis, subfaleatis, 3-gonis, 3-locularibus 
(flavis) ; seminibus globoso-turbinatis, tuberculatis. — Nomen vernac. Vitiense, “ Vudi.” ** Banana" 
of the colonists.—Cultivated throughout Viti. EC | 
. To this species probably belongs Musa mensaria of Rumph. Amb. vol. v. p. 131, a name which as the 
oldest would take precedence when this genus comes to be properly worked up. 
2. M. Cavendishii, Paxton, Mag. of Bot. vol. iii. p. 81, cum ic. ; caudice humili (4—5 ped. 
. * The following are the different kinds known to me:—Vudi ni papalagi (Musa Chinensis, Sweet 
[Cavendishii, Paxt.]), Soaqa (Musa uranoscopus, Rumph. [ Troglodytarum, Linn.]), Balawa ni Rakiraki, Bati, 
Dreli, Buli, Droledrole, Gonegone, Leve ni Ika, Mudramudra, Soqo, Tumoutala, Ura, Vudi dina, Vudi 
‘Vudi ni Toga, Waiwai Leka, Waiwai Salusalu, Waiwai Vula, and Sei. 
