io8 THE CORAL LANDS OF THE PACIFIC. 



accepted my boatman's offer of his broad shoulders. I was 

 dressed in spotless white drill, and when I landed, I had to 

 change all I had on. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



MEKE-MEKES. 



DANCING is one of the chief amusements of the Fijiaus, and is 

 taught by professionals ; and this is also the case in nearly all 

 the islands in the South Pacific. Games of a school-boy order, 

 like hide-and-seek, hare-and-hounds blind-man's-buff, and ducks- 

 and-drakes, are all known and appreciated by native adults. 

 The natives are also fond of swinging, and a game called lavo, 

 which consists of pitching the fruit of the walai (Mimosa 

 scandens) ; the fruit is flat and circular, and somewhat re- 

 sembles honey in appearance. Another game indulged in 

 resembles our pastime of skittles, stones being substituted for 

 the wooden pins. It is said that skilful players can pitch their 

 stone with their back towards the skittles. Wrestling is a 

 favourite amusement, and sometimes the Fijians make it a 

 very rough game indeed. One of their most skilful games is 

 the veivasa ni moli, which consists of suspending an orange or 

 lemon, and trying to pierce it with a spear when it is in 

 motion. To a certain extent this resembles the old English 

 game of quintain. 



Dressing the hair of the chiefs is a very serious business 

 so serious indeed that the occupation of a chief's barber 

 is almost a sacred appointment. They are tabooed from 

 doing anything else, and I understood were not even allowed 

 to feed themselves. A chief's coiffure often takes several 



