232 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



to Major Abercrombie, an eyewitness of the ceremony, one man 

 begins the chant alone ; a second soon joins him, then a few more, 

 till finally all present have taken it up, accompanying the wild 

 music by much pantomime and earnest gesticulation. The time 

 is beaten upon a wooden drum by one of their number, and is 

 occasionally accentuated by a general clapping of the hands. 

 After a certain climax has been reached, the music stops quite 

 abruptly with one loud clap. 



Yangona, the national beverage, is then served. This liquor 

 is brewed with much formality, accompanied by low chanting. 

 The great wooden bowl having been brought into the center of 

 the room, the operator in charge sits down cross-legged before it. 

 The yangona root is grated (it was formerly chewed by young 

 men selected for the purpose) and deposited in the bowl, the in- 

 side of which has, from long use, become covered with a beautiful 

 purple enamel. The requisite number of cocoanut shells of water 

 are measured out and poured over the grated root, the whole 

 being stirred to the music of a solemn chant. The floating par- 

 ticles of the grated root are collected and removed by means of a 

 net of hibiscus fibers skillfully handled by the person in charge of 

 the brew. The liquor thus prepared is handed round in cups of 

 cocoanut shell, the chief being the first to drink. Taking the 

 cup between his two palms, he slowly swallows its contents with- 

 out removing it from his lips, while the onlookers join in a meas- 

 ured clapping of the hands. When the cup is finally thrown 

 down with a spinning motion, to show that it is empty, all unite 

 in the chorus, "A matha, a matha" it is finished. The others 

 now drink in a certain order of precedence. The liquor is of a 

 dirty yellow color and has a bitter, aromatic taste, not altogether 

 disagreeable. Used in moderation, it acts as a stimulant, but if 

 indulged in too freely a temporary paralysis of the lower extrem- 

 ities follows, and the victim, while perfectly rational, reels and 

 staggers as if drunk. 



It is at these meetings around the yangona bowl that the nu- 

 merous legends and fables of which the Fijians were passionately 

 fond have been handed down in song from generation to genera- 

 tion. As a specimen of these mythical tales we give one which 

 has been rescued from oblivion by the Rev. Thomas Williams 

 and recorded by Mrs. C. F. Gordon Gumming in her At Home in 

 Fiji. It tells of a gigantic bird called " Duck of the Rock." This 

 monster carried off Tutu Wathi Wathi, the beautiful wife of the 

 god Okovo and sister of Rokoua. The two gods gave chase in a 

 large canoe, and as they voyaged came to an island inhabited by 

 beautiful goddesses. Here the brother wished to remain, but, the 

 husband protesting, they sailed on to the Yasawas, the most west- 

 erly isles of the group. Here was the cavern in which dwelt the 



