THE FIJIAN OF TO-DAY. 91 



CHAPTER XII. 



THE FIJIAN OF TO-DAY. 



THE Fijians live under a community system are divided into 

 two qalis, which are redivided into mataqalis. Of these qalis 

 or tribes there are about 140, and of mataqalis or families 

 about 4000, residing in about 1220 towns or villages. 



As already stated, the colony is politically divided into 13 

 provinces and 3 districts called yasanas (districts have not the 

 distinction of being governed by a Eoko Tui), 4 of which con- 

 tain about 10,000 inhabitants each, 2 over 4000 each, and the 

 remaining 3 under 2000 each. These numbers are very fairly 

 proportioned to the extent of each province, so that the popu- 

 lation is scattered with some degree of equality over the whole 

 group. In fact in Fiji it may be truthfully said, that with the 

 exception of some lands claimed but not occupied by white 

 men, no large tract of country or island of importance is 

 uninhabited. 



The provinces are again subdivided into 139 districts called 

 tikina, and these divisions, each of which is ruled by the here- 

 ditary chief of the rank of buli, generally contain one or more 

 qalis, which were generally considered the unit of the wider 

 political combinations in former times. 



The chiefs and people are the hereditary owners (ai taukei) 

 of the lands, and reside in towns and villages. Each town 

 again contains one or more of the family divisions called mata- 

 qali, which may be considered the unit of tribal combinations. 

 There is little doubt that they are originally the germ from 

 which the qali, or tribe, has sprung ; or perhaps, to make it 

 clearer, qali is nothing more or less than an aggregation of 



