106 NOTES ON THE CAVES OF FIJI. 



Almost invariably the isolated and almost inaccessible lime- 

 stone plateaux contained large heaps of shells of various kinds, the 

 remnants of shellfish brought from the seashore for food. 



The rough nature of the limestone and the dense covering of 

 vegetation made it impossible for a surprise to be sprung upon 

 the concealed township, as the sentinels could give timely warning. 



A very interesting feature about the caves existing in the close 

 neighbourhood of these shell mounds is the existence of the 

 numerous " Bai Valu " or fighting walls, seen so frequently in 

 the various Lau islands. The caves often open out into canons. 

 The mouths of these defiles are set with walls of stone, breast 

 high. Every approach is guarded with them, and outlying walls 

 support these in turn. We have seen as many as a dozen of 

 these walls belonging to a single cavern. In cases where caves 

 exist in the cliff faces, the defiles below are accompanied by 

 these walls {e.g., Mango and Bai Yatu). At Bai Vatu some of 

 the walls are very lengthy, and overlook steep sloping ground. 



We were informed by the Hon. J. M. Borron, Mr. F, Beddoes, of 

 Mango, and others, that these caves were used as retreats for the 

 women in the olden days in times of war, while the warriors 

 defended the walls. On the other hand. Dr. B. G. Corney, chief 

 medical officer of Fiji, says that to the best of his knowledge 

 they were used simply as burial places. In one cave one of us 

 (B. Sawyer) discovered three skeletons laid side by side. In 

 another chamber we discovered relics of former feasts. Some of 

 these consist of large brain corals, having the original flat 

 surfaces worn hollow by scraping kava on them. These are 

 known as " yangona scrapers." 



The existence of these caves in rough country, the concealment 

 of their entrances, the numbers of the " Bai Valu " closing every 

 way of approach to the more inaccessible ones, the existence of 

 "yangona scrapers," etc., the discoveries of skeletons in the cave 

 recesses, and the proximity of the underground chambers to the 

 large shell-mounds of the limestone plateau seem to point both 

 to their habitation in former times by natives in time of war, and 

 to their use as burial places. 



