480 
COMPENDIUM OF GEOGRAPHY AND TRAVEL 
were digging - sticks and hoes made of turtle-hone or 
flat oyster-shells, now replaced by iron. They are skilful 
in basket, mat, and net making. 
The Fijians are cleanly in their habits, and very par¬ 
ticular about their personal appearance. They do not 
load themselves with ornaments, like the more savage 
Melanesian tribes, and the women only are tattooed. 
Although so scantily dressed, they are essentially as 
modest as the most civilised nations, and any public 
indecency would be severely punished. They have 
learned many arts from their intercourse with the 
Samoans and Tongans, but it is the opinion of some 
that in intelligence they are superior to these people. 
6. Religion and Education. 
Until the advent of Europeans, the religion of the 
people consisted in a sort of ancestor-worship. They 
had priests and temples, a complex mythology, and a firm 
belief in a future state. The priests were possessed of 
great power, being much consulted as soothsayers. Cir¬ 
cumcision was practised. The temples were of rather 
elaborate construction, their roofs in the form of a high 
truncated pyramid surmounted by a large beam with 
carved and pendent finials; they were surrounded by a 
walled enclosure, and sometimes built on stone terraces. 
Human sacrifices were offered. Now the Fijian reads 
handbooks of theology and the Pilgrims Progress , as well 
as his Bible, and there is not a single professed heathen 
in the group. 
This great change was mainly effected by the Wes¬ 
leyan missionaries, who commenced work in Lakeba in 
the eastern part of the archipelago in 1835. The 
successes of the Tongans in their invasions of the islands 
