274 



FIJI ISLANDS. 



The whole mound most strikingly reminds one of ancient 

 stone circles and such like erections at home. Were the earth 

 of the mound to wash away, numbers of the stone slabs might 

 remain standing on end. I give a copy of a rough sketch 

 which I took of the place in its present condition. Its condi- 

 tion before its destruction is to be seen in a book entitled 

 " Fiji and the Fijians," by Thos. Williams (London, Hodder 

 & Stoughton, 1870). The tumulus supported a large "Mbure " 

 or temple, with the usual high-peaked roof and long pro- 

 jecting decorated ridge pole. 



Now the mound is falling into decay and covered with grass, 

 and a small pony (there are very few horses in Fiji, and of 

 course only room for this one in Mbau) belonging to Ratu 

 David, the king's eldest son, found the top of it a pleasant 

 place to graze on. The pony had a quiet life, for Ratu David, 

 having been kicked off on his first attempt at riding, had not 

 tried again. 



Sacrificial Stone. 

 NA VATANl TAWAKI, MBAU, FIJI. 



The sacrificial stone, against which the heads of the victims 

 were dashed, is an insignificant looking slab, in no way differ- 

 ent from the others, except that it is smaller and stands by 

 itself a little in front of them, near one corner of the mound. 

 In front of it, in old time, bodies have been heaped up till 

 they formed a pile ten feet high. Whilst I was sketching the 

 mound and its stones, a very pretty daughter of one of the 

 chiefs came and looked on, and at my request wrote her name 

 and the Fijian name of the mound in my sketch-book, in a 

 very good round hand. 



There are several similar slab-built foundations of temples 

 about the open space near the site of the Na Vatani Tawaki, 

 but except in the case of one small one, they are not in such 



