Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/98

Y2 FIJI AKD THE FIJIAJN'S. After successful fishing, the canoes return in nearly the same order, and with as much noise, as when they come home from war laden with their slain foes. The women meet them with dancing and songs, which, I remember, in one instance they finished by a smart volley of bitter oranges, which the men returned by driving the women from the beach. The turtle caught are kept in stone or paled pens. Three or four may be taken in a day ; but many days are quite without success. Fifty or a hundred turtle caught in a season, constitute very good fish- ing. According to Fijian fishermen, the female only yields the tor- toise-shell of commerce. Traders name the thirteen plates which cover the back, " a head." A head of shell weighs from one to four pounds ; the latter is not common. One or two heads have been taken weighing five pounds ; and one, seven pounds. Fishermen make offerings to their gods, and obtain promise of success before leaving home. Tuikilakila once thought fit to accompany his men. The priestess promised five turtles, and the party set out in high spirits. Some days after we saw them returning, but in profound silence : an unwelcome omen for the poor priestess, who forthwith fled and hid her- self in the forest, and thus prevented the enraged King from cooking her instead of a turtle. Tlie commercial transactions of the Fijians, though dating far back, have been on a small scale, consisting of a barter trade, which is chiefly in the hands of the Levuka, and Mbutonic, and Malaki people, who regard the sea as their home, and are known as " the inhabitants of the water." Although wanderers, they have settlements on Lakemba, Somosomo, Great Fiji, and other places. They exchange pottery for masi, mats, and yams. On one island, the men fish, and the women make pots, for barter with the people on the main. Their mode of exchange is very irregular. The islanders send to inform those on the mainland that they will meet them, on such a day, at the trading place, — a square near the coast paved for the purpose. The people of the continent bring yams, taro, bread, &c., to exchange for fish. The trade is often left to the women, among whom a few transactions take place quietly, when some misunderstanding arises, causing excited language, and ending in a scuflle. This is the signal for a general scramble, ^vhen all parties seize on all they can, and run oflf with their booty amidst the shouts and execrations of the less successful. The inland tribes of the Great Fiji take yaqona to the coast, receiv- ing in exchange mats, masi^ and fine salt.