360 CLOTHES. TATTOO. 



paint. They were specially proud of their hair, and if it was 

 short they wore a wig as a substitute. Some of these wigs 

 were beautifully made. The men wore "tapa," which is a 

 kind of cloth obtained from the inner bark of the paper- 

 mulberry, and made into a sash, from three to one hun- 

 dred yards in length. Six or ten yards is, however, the 

 usual quantity, and it is passed between the legs and round 

 the waist.* The women are not permitted to use "tapa," 

 and their dress is more scanty than that of the men ; con- 

 sisting, indeed, only of the "liku," a kind of band, made of 

 the bark of hibiscus, and fastened round the waist. It ends 

 in a fringe, which is worn short by the girls, but longer 

 after marriage. Nevertheless, though almost naked, the 

 Feegeeans are said to have been very modest, and if any one 

 were found entirely without clothes, Captain Wilkes thinks 

 that the offender would be immediately put to death. 



Tattooing is confined to the women, who are ornamented 

 in this manner on the fingers, the corners of the mouth, and 

 oddly enough, on those parts of the body which are covered 

 by the " liku." The process is very painful, but submission 

 to it is regarded as a religious duty, f 



The graves of the common people are only marked by a 

 few stones, but over those of chiefs they build small houses 

 from two to six feet high, or in some cases erect large cairns 

 of stone ; these also are sometimes " set up to mark the spot 

 where a man has died." J The body is buried in a sitting 

 posture. The usual sign of mourning is to crop the hair or 

 beard, or both. Very often also they burn the skin into 

 blisters, and cut off the end-joints of the small toe and little 

 finger. 



Among the Feegeeans, parricide is not a crime, but a 

 custom. Parents are generally killed by their children. 



* Figi and the Figians, vol. i., p. 156. f Ibid. p. 160 ; Wilkes, I.e. p. 355. 

 J Figi and the Figians, vol. i., p. 192. 



