66 ETHNOGRAPHY. 



privately to the grave and lays on it a piece of kava-root, which is 

 called the vei-tata, or farewell. 



This, it should be observed, is not the only occasion when the 

 natives resort to suicide. Spite in the men, and disappointed love in 

 the women, frequently excite them to destroy their lives. A precipi- 

 tous rock near the town of Levuka, on Ovolau, had the same reputa- 

 tion with the famed steep of Leucadia, as a last resource of despairing 

 lovers. The love of life seems to be weaker than common in the 

 minds of these islanders. A slight disgust, a momentary offence 

 taken at the conduct of another person, often suffice to make them 

 weary of existence. " It is easier to die than to bear this," is an 

 expression frequently heard, and not seldom followed by the threat- 

 ened act. 



Another singular custom which we find in these islands, is that of 

 cutting off one of their fingers, either as a token of mourning at the 

 loss of a friend, or to propitiate the wrath of a superior. In the former 

 case, the mutilation is in general less an evidence of grief than of 

 covetousness ; every one who thus maims himself expects to receive, 

 in return, from the friends of the deceased, a considerable present, 

 which is called vakamamatha ni ndra, the drying of blood. For 

 this reason, parents frequently cut off the little fingers of their 

 children, much against the will of the latter. 



When a chief is offended with any among his subjects, and 

 threatens them with punishment, they sometimes, if he proves inex- 

 orable to their prayers, have recourse to the singular expedient of 

 cutting off their little fingers (and sometimes the third), which they 

 stick all together in the cleft of a bamboo, and present it to him. 

 This extraordinary offering usually has the desired effect. 



The ceremonies at the birth of a child have little that is remarkable, 

 though they partake of the peculiarities which characterize most of 

 their customs. As soon as the child is born, a quantity of provisions 

 is cooked and distributed among the friends of the family. At the 

 end of four days the friends come to kiss the child, and a feast (called 

 vakambongivd) is made for them by the parents. At the end of ten 

 days, another feast (vakambongitini) is made, and the matter is over. 

 The child is named immediately after birth, either by the father, or 

 by the priest. If this is not done, the mother becomes disgusted with 

 it, and strangles it, saying that it is a luveniale (outcast). 



Names, which are always significative, are frequently changed, and 

 an individual sometimes has several in the course of his life. With 



