Ceremonies of war. 

 Fortifications. 



CUSTOMS OF THE FEEJEE GROUP. 



Sieges. Mode of begging 

 for peace. 



205 



tinues, " Ah ! I have heard of you ; you boast 

 yourselves to be brave men; we shall see what you 

 are ; I doubt whether you will do much. You 

 seem to be more like men fit to plant and dig yams 

 than to fight." 



After he has thus gone through his forces, he 

 cries out : " Attend !" On this the whole clap 

 their hands. He then tells them to prepare for 

 battle, to which they answer, "Mana ndina" (it 

 is true). 



In some parts of the group the forces are mar- 

 shalled in bands, each of which has a banner or 

 flag, under which it fights. The staff of these flags 

 (druatina) is about twenty feet in length, and the 

 flags themselves, which are of corresponding 

 dimensions are made of tapa. As an instance, 

 the forces of Rewa are arranged in four bands, 

 viz. : 



1. The Valevelu, or king's own people, who are 

 highest in rank, and held in the greatest estima- 

 tion. 



2. The Niaku ne tumbua, the people of the vuni- 

 valu, or fighting chief. 



3. The Kai Rewa, or landholders of Rewa. 



4. The Kai Ratu, which is composed of the off- 

 spring of chiefs by common women. 



The flags are distinguished from each other by 

 markings : that of the Valevelu has four or five 

 vertical black stripes, about a foot wide, with equal 

 spaces of white left between them ; the rest of the 

 flag is white. 



In the flag of the vunivalu the black and white 

 stripes are horizontal. 



The flag of the Kai Rewa is all white. 



The Kai Ratu use, as flags, merely strips of 

 tapa, or array themselves under the flag of a chief. 

 Each of the first three bands is kept distinct, and 

 fights under its own flag, in the place which the 

 commander appoints. The flag of the latter is 

 always longest, and is raised highest, whether he 

 be king or only vunivalu. To carry a flag is con- 

 sidered as a post of the greatest distinction, and 

 is confined to the bravest and most active of the 

 tribe. 



A town, when besieged, has also its signal of 

 pride. This consists of a sort of kite, of a circular 

 shape, made of palm-leaves, and decorated with 

 ribands of white and coloured tapa. When an 

 enemy approaches the town, if the wind be favour- 

 able, the kite is raised by means of a very long 

 cord. The cord is passed through a hole made 

 near the top of a pole thirty or forty feet in height, 

 which is erected in a conspicuous part of the town. 

 The cord is then drawn backwards and forwards 

 through the hole, in such a manner as to be kept 

 floating as a signal of defiance, immediately over the 

 approaching enemy. The attacking party, excited 

 by this, rush forward with their flag, and plant it 

 as near the walls as possible. If the garrison be 

 sufficiently strong they will sally out and endeavour 

 to take the flag ; for it is considered as a great 

 triumph to capture a flag, and a foul disgrace to 

 lose one. 



When flags are taken, they are always hung up 

 as trophies in the mbure ; and in that of Levuka 

 I saw many small ones suspended, which, as I was 

 informed by Whippy, had been taken from moun- 

 taineers of the interior of the island. 



The towns are usually fortified with a strong 

 palisade made of bread-fruit or cocoa-nut trees, 



around which is a ditch partly filled with water. 

 There are usually two entrances, in which are 

 gates, so narrow as to admit only one person at a 

 time. The village of Waitora, about two miles to 

 the north of Levuka, is justly considered by the 

 natives as a place of great strength. This was 

 visited by Messrs. Hale and Sandford, who give 

 the following description of it. It is situated upon 

 a hill, and can be approached only by a narrow 

 path along the sloping edge of a rocky ridge. At 

 the extremity of this path is a level space of about 

 an acre in extent, which is surrounded by a stone 

 wall, and filled with houses. In the centre is a 

 rock, about twenty feet high, and one hundred feet 

 square. The top of this is reached by a natural 

 staircase, formed by the roots of a banyan tree, 

 which insert themselves in the crevices of the 

 rock. The tree itself, with its numerous trunks, 

 spreads out and overshadows the whole of the 

 rock. A house stands in the middle of the 

 rock. This contains two Feejee drums, which, 

 when struck, attract crowds of natives together. 



Some of the principal towns are not fortified at 

 all. This is the case with Ambau, Muthuata, and 

 Rewa. The fortifications of which we have spoken, 

 whether palisades and ditch or stone walls, are 

 constructed with great ingenuity, particularly the 

 holds to which they retire when hard pressed. 

 For these a rock or hill, as inaccessible as possible, 

 is chosen, with a small level space on the top. 

 Around this space a palisade is constructed of 

 upright posts of cocoa-nut tree, about nine inches 

 in diameter, and about two feet apart. To the out- 

 side of these wicker-work is fastened with strong 

 lashings of sennit. Over each entrance is a pro- 

 jecting platform, about nine feet square, for the 

 purpose of guarding the approach by hurling 

 spears and shooting arrows. The gates or en- 

 trances are shut by sliding bars from the inside, 

 and are defended on each side by structures of 

 strong wicker-work, resembling bastions, which 

 are placed about fifteen feet apart. When there 

 is a ditch, the bridge across it is composed of two 

 narrow logs. The whole arrangement affords 

 an excellent defence against any weapons used 

 by the natives of these islands, and even against 

 musketry. 



Sieges of these fortified places seldom continue 

 long ; for if the attacking party be not speedily 

 successful, the want of provisions, of which there is 

 seldom a supply for more than two or three days, 

 compels them to retire. Although such assaults 

 are of short duration, the war often continues for a 

 long time without any decisive result. 



If one of the parties desires peace, it sends an 

 ambassador, who carries a whale's tooth, as a 

 token of submission. The victorious party often 

 requires the conquered to yield the right of soil, in 

 which case the latter bring with them a basket of 

 the earth from their district. The acceptance of 

 this is the signal of peace, but from that time 

 the conquered become liable to the payment of a 

 yearly tribute. In addition to this burden, the 

 more powerful tribes often send word to their de- 

 pendencies that they have not received a present 

 for a long time; and if the intimation has no effect, 

 the message is speedily followed by an armed 

 force, by which the recusant tribe or town is some- 

 times entirely destroyed. The bearer of such a 

 message carries with him a piece of ava, which is 



