Chap, xiii.] RELICS OF CANNIBALISM. 



575 



good preservation. The slabs from one of these are now beinr^- 

 used to construct the foundations for a Wesleyan church. 

 Conspicuous amongst the buildings close by, is the large 

 " visitors' house," where guests were entertained, and, if of 

 distinction, always provided with human flesh, at least once, 

 by their hosts. 



Beside the building, a slight depression in the turf is the 

 remains of one of the ovens used for cooking the " long pig," 

 for this is the actual name by which human flesh always went 

 in the Fijian language. I always thought it a joke, until I 

 was told by the interpreter. On a tree overhanging the ovens 

 are to be seen notches, cut in the trunk from its base to its 

 summit, an old score of the number of victims cooked beneath. 



There is another stone, not far from Thackombau's house, 

 which is smooth, and somewhat like a millstone in appearance. 

 The ground around this is paved with slabs of coral rock, 

 which had been perforated with holes by boring molluscs and 

 worms before it was taken from the water. So many heads 

 have been dashed against this stone, that it has happened that 

 human teeth have fallen into almost all the holes in the slabs, 

 and have becomed jammed there. The slabs were quite full 

 of them. 



This second stone was seen by Captain Wilkes' officers, and 

 is mentioned by Brenchley. We were told by the people that 

 a second ceremony was performed at it, the heads of bodies 

 being a second time pounded to pieces here, in honour of the 

 slayer, who drank kaava from some grooves which are to be 

 seen in the slab in front. The grooves are, however, very 

 irregular, and look much rather as if they had been made in 

 sharpening stone axes. I think this second stone must have 

 been used by a separate tribe, occupying this quarter of Mbau, 

 for even on this small island the people were often much 

 divided. 



On going up the hill we came suddenly upon two old women 

 bathing in a fresh-water pool. They made for deep water in a 

 hurry, but I saw that they were tattooed of a uniform indigo blue 

 colour, from the hips to near the knees, just like the Samoan 

 men. 



King Thackombau was visited in the morning by two of our 

 party who took him by surprise ; he was found lying on his 

 stomach, reading his Bible. I went with a party and we were 

 regularly announced. The king, who was dressed in a flannel 

 shirt, and a waist cloth reaching to his knees, rose to receive us, 

 and came forward and shook hands. He is a very fine-looking 

 man, six feet high, with his dark face set off with abundance ot 

 grey hair. His eyes are bright and intelligent, and his face full 



