210 



Plurality of wives 

 allowed. 



CUSTOMS OF THE FEEJEE GROUP. 



Infidelity 



punishment. 



presents to his betrothed. Her own relations, by 

 way of dowry, give her a stone-chopper (matawiwi) 

 and two tapa-sticks (eki), after which the marriage 

 may take place 



Among the common people the marriage rites 

 are less ceremonious than those of the chiefs. The 

 priest of the tribe comes to the house, when he is 

 presented with a whale's tooth and a bowl of ava, 

 and making a sevu-sevu (prayer), invokes happi- 

 ness upon the union. The bride's near relations 

 then present her with a large petticoat (licolib), 

 and the more distant relatives make gifts of tapas, 

 mats, and provisions. 



Every man may have as many wives as he can 

 maintain, and the chiefs have many betrothed to 

 them at an early age, for the purpose of extending 

 their political connexions by bonds which, accord- 

 ing to their customs, cannot be overlooked. 



The daughters of chiefs are usually betrothed 

 early in life. If the bridegroom refuses to carry 

 the contract into effect, it is considered as a great 

 insult, and he may lay his account to have a contest 

 with her relations and friends. If the betrothed 

 husband die before the girl grows up, his next 

 brother succeeds to his rights in this respect. 

 Many of the marriages in high life are the result of 

 mutual attachment, and are preceded by a court- 

 ship, presents, &c. The parties may be frequently 

 seen, as among us, walking arm-in-arm after they 

 are engaged. Forced marriages sometimes occur, 

 although they are by no means frequent in this 

 class ; in such instances suicide is occasionally the 

 consequence. A case of this sort had occurred 

 previous to our arrival, when a daughter of the 

 chief of Ovolau killed herself by jumping off a 

 precipice behind the town, because she had been 

 forced to marry a brother of Tanoa. The females 

 of the lower classes have no such delicate scruples. 

 Among them, marriages are mere matters of bar- 

 gain, and wives are purchased and looked upon as 

 property in most parts of the group. The usual 

 price is a whale's tooth, or a musket; and this once 

 paid, the husband has an entire right to the person 

 of the wife, whom he may even kill and eat if he 

 feel so disposed. Young women, until purchased, 

 belong to the chief of the village, who may dispose 

 of them as he thinks best. Elopements, however, 

 sometimes take place, when a marriage is opposed 

 from difference of rank or other cause, when the 

 parties flee to some neighbouring chief, whom they 

 engage to intercede and bring about a reconcilia- 

 tion. 



Wives are faithful to their husbands rather from 

 fear than from affection. If detected in infidelity, 

 the woman is not unfreqiiently knocked on the 

 head, or made a slave for life. The man may also 

 be treated in the same manner; but this punish- 

 ment may also consist in what is called suabi. 

 This is a forfeiture of his lands, which is signified 

 by sticking reeds into the ground. These are 

 bound together by knots, so as to form tripods. If 

 the offender wishes to regain his lands, he must 

 purchase the good-will of the offended party by 

 presents. In some cases, the friends of the injured 

 party seize the wife of the offender, and give her 

 to the aggrieved husband. There are also other 

 modes in which a husband revenges himself for the 

 infidelity of his wife, which do not admit of de- 

 scription. 



We have seen that the extent to which polygamy 



is carried is limited only by the will of the man 

 and his means of maintaining his wives. The 

 latter are almost completely slaves, and usually, 

 by the strict discipline of the husband, live peace- 

 ably together. The household is under the charge 

 of the principal wife, and the others are required 

 to yield to her control. If they misbehave, they 

 are tied up, put in irons, or flogged. 



The birth of the first child is celebrated by a 

 feast on the natal day ; another feast takes place 

 four days afterwards, and another in ten days, 

 when suitable presents are made to the young 

 couple. 



Parturition is not usually severe, and some 

 women have been known to go to work within an 

 hour after delivery. Others, however, remain 

 nnder the nurse's care for months. It is the pre- 

 vailing opinion that hard work makes the delivery 

 more easy. After childbirth the women usually 

 remain quiet, and live upon a diet composed of 

 young taro-tops, for from four to eight days, after 

 which they bathe constantly. 



Midwifery is a distinct profession, exercised by 

 women in all the towns, and they are said to be 

 very skilful, performing operations which are 

 among us considered as surgical. Abortion is 

 prevalent, and nearly half of those conceived are 

 supposed to be destroyed in this manner, usually 

 by the command of the father, at whose instance 

 the \\ife takes herbs which are known to produce 

 this effect. If this do not succeed, the accoucheur 

 is employed to strangle the child, and bring it 

 forth dead. 



A child is rubbed with turmeric as soon as it is 

 born, which they consider strengthening. It is 

 named immediately, by some relative or friend. 

 If, through neglect or accident, a name should not 

 be forthwith given, the child would be considered 

 as an outcast, and be destroyed by the mother. 



Girls reach the age of puberty when about four- 

 teen years old, and boys when from seventeen to 

 eighteen. This period in a girl's life is duly cele- 

 brated by her; for which purpose she requests the 

 loan of a house from a friend, and takes possession 

 of it, in company with a number of young girls. 

 The townspeople supply them with provisions for 

 ten days, during which they anoint themselves 

 with turmeric and oil. At the expiration of this 

 time, they all go out to fish, and are furnished by 

 the men with provisions. 



The only general fact to be derived from the 

 various opinions in relation to the spirits of the 

 dead, which have been stated: in the way we 

 received them, is, that a belief in a future state is 

 universally entertained by the Feejeeans. In 

 some parts of the group, this has taken the fol- 

 lowing form, which, if not derived from intercourse 

 with the whites, is at least more consistent with 

 revealed truth than any of those previously re- 

 corded. Those who hold this opinion, say that all 

 the souls of the departed will remain in their 

 appointed place, until the world is destroyed by 

 fire and a new one created ; that in the latter all 

 things will be renovated, and to it they will again 

 be sent to dwell thereon. 



This belief in a future state, guided by no just 

 notions of religious or moral obligation, is the 

 source of many abhorrent practices. Among these 

 are the custom of putting their parents to death 

 when they are advanced in years ; suicide ; the 



