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PROCEEDINGS OE SECTION E. 
infrequency of land disputes. During my residence in Rotuma an 
old man returned from sea who had been absent from the island fifty 
years. He had almost forgotten his mother tongue- He remembered, 
however, where his land was and its boundaries, and so entered into 
peaceful possession, although very few on the island remembered him. 
When a man marries in Rotuina he takes his wife to live in his tribe, 
but not unfrequently he spends two or three months each year with 
her people cultivating her land. The children inherit their father’s 
and mother’s land, and are regarded as belonging to the two tribes. 
Cultivator of the Soil . — Every Rotuman is a cultivator of the soil, 
and seems to venerate it It is a real pleasure to him to watch the 
growth of the things he has planted. At sunrise he will often be 
found in his garden at work. All his food supplies come from his 
garden. The soil is so prolific he has little difficulty in raising 
sufficient food for all his requirements. His chief work is to keep 
dow T n the w r ceds which grow so rapidly and threaten to choke what he 
has planted. 
Bouses . — The Eotumans’ houses are not built on the same model 
as the Fijians, the Samoans, or the Tongans. They have not the two 
long central posts that are so conspicuous in the houses of the Fijians, 
nor the wood protruding at the top. The two rows of posts with 
the cross- timbers support the whole of theRotuman’s roof. The roof 
is covered with the leaf of the sago palm. One of these put on nicely 
is said to last without rethatching for twelve or sixteen years. The 
ends of a Rotuman’ s house are not square like a Fijian’s, but round like 
a Samoan’s. The Rotuman, however, cannot open the sides of his house, 
as the Samoan does. All the Rotumans build their houses on founda- 
tions of stone and sand, varying from two to seven feet in height. The 
doorways are seldom more than four feet high, and often only three. At 
the present time some of the Rotumans are building stone houses by 
the aid of burnt coral. In these houses they have wooden doors and 
windows of European manufacture. The floors of their houses are 
covered with coarse mats made of the leaf of the cocoanut palm 
plaited. On these are laid finer mats which the natives call epa. 
In addition to these mats the Rotuman women make a very fine mat 
which is much valued throughout the Pacific. They are called apei , 
and they can readily get £3 or £4 for one of them. 
Canoe-building. — Canoe-building used to take up a great deal of 
the men’s time. They made large double canoes. These, with their 
rude stone axes, took many years to build — often eight or ten. No 
nails were used ; everything was fastened together with sinnet. With 
these they were enabled to reach Tonga and other places. Some, 
doubtless, were lost at sea with all on board. According to tradition, 
many years ago the island was overcrowded, and it was considered 
necessary to build canoes and sail away in quest of other lands on 
which to settle the people. At the present time there are no double 
canoes on the island, but some small single ones used for fishing about 
the reefs. 
War. — War was not infrequent even on this tiny island, and as 
one goes from place to place he will find many large stones that have 
been'' erected to mark places where warriors fell. They speak of a 
war, in the memory of the old people, at which 100 were killed. 
