SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 130, 25 February 1908, Page 4

SOUTH SEA ISLANDS.

' ' QUAINT CUSTOMS. SOME AMUSING STORIES. (By Boy. Frederick Stubbs, for ' - Tub Dominion.) ir. One of thotaost amazing tilings to a Euro- . pean visiting tho Islands is tlio quantity of • food eaten by. tho natives. In' ono of my -,vv_ : journeys in Tonga I had 1 a "boy" about 30 r-i. e. years. of ago, known as "Johnny Mylow." 110 was;a bachelor, and that is a somewhat ■ : uncommon distinction in tho islands for.a--. man of: his ago. l But his main distinction, so far as ■ iny recollection of him goes, was his enormous i My attention was first called to >.•; tlio fact whilst on a journey in tho lagoon. ■ • Wo had been to Mua, tho ancient capital of -I Tonga,; and on our way back Johnny stopped to buy a numbor of fish. As l knew ho had •• v. no family I "asked my host ",on our return rv; what Johnny would do with such a quantity. - . '!oh,'' ho said, "ho will eat tho wholo of themithis ovening, and thou roll over and go f.-flvto sleep."On another occasion-Johnny ato v, 1 a 41b. tin of- compressed beef, and a small ■ boilerfullof yams, and thought nothing'of it. My knew, two other 'l'ongans.who con;>umed 401b; of oread between Ahem-at..a single .; - .jitting; -Ifl am asked whoro tho natives stow :.v. iuch immense quantities of food) lamat a loss to answer; but ono thing I am quite suro of - ■ —that their mtornal economy must bo very ■ • difforont'fronvmmo. Onovquarter of-what-axia-!, :"> • tiro oats at a single meal would : givo mo in■a ' - digestion for a week. -Nor is this huge stor- .- ago capacity confined to any ono race. In fiamoa; 0.g., I met a nativo" pastor who lived ■:for several, servant in thqjiouso of !••• -• - a missionary. • -At*'ono period lib accompahictl: . the family to'Sydney,'and hcariiig' that afc ;a. certain well-known restaurant: tea and cakes'

. could boihad forGd.* ho entered;and,asked for tea. Tho usual small Jiot ttas brought ' him, :;with two largo plates of cakes from which to select. My Samoan friend, 1 delighted! with • the liberality of the proprietor's, ato the lot. When tho timo for settlement arrived, however, he experienced' a sudden- revulsion of : • • feeling, for ho found to his amazement and disgust that ho had to pay—not 6d:, as ho an-: ■ ■■■■• i. . imputed, but half-a-cron u! Large Appetites. , "" :V'':'L A; similar story!was -/foldijmp by ; a -mls'sfon-■■ aryV wife concerning .one, oft the. high - chiefs »• 1 of; Samoa;, This 'gentleman had occasion*.to call at the houso of a European) and in orderto do him honour, tho lady of tho houso brought in-afternoon tea, including a good- , ;. r, sized cako cut in tho usual fashion:: -As my readers will bo aware, • although-tho cako is cut in" soveral places a visitor. l is onlv sup-,' '' . ' posed to tako a singlo slice, or at most two. L ;\]3utithe : 'niativo^'did: not understand ..thcreti- 1 ' - quette of, afternoon tea, and to his hostess's, v, amusement (and possibly. diseomhture) went i - .on eating till jtlio wholo cako.had disappeared; Whilst I wasi at tho Yasawra Islands .there' was a great deal of feasting,' during.'whicli ono, ... of the natives was observed wcopmg.. On be-- ■ l ing asked what was-the matter with him, -lie, . ■ • replied, as tho tears ran down his cheeks, "I am so full of fish that I can't eat any.nigl" ; • Tho principal articles of diot in the Islsnda arfe tho banana, tho taro; thoyam, -tho'.'bread-' ■' :: • fruit, and fresh fish, with .pork;" tinned Bal- ; ; ■ , mon, tinned beof;i etc;; when tho natives can . got them. A-curious circumstance connected' ■ .- - with tinned foods is that tlioy are all.callcd !;, "pulumakau." On asking, for an oxplaiia' tion of .this custom, I was- told ...thajfc.when, 'jAj , y',.;cattlo;>T«o,' l 'first-;'inti;dduco'd :'.into"-Sam'ba;:"~a' : •, . bull and a; cow wero landed.: "What, are ,theso?M.-asked tho ..natives. •.;,"A>.bidl''and. a.. ■> now," was tho roply.; and ever since'theri the viiatives , Acall -any. bullj bullock, or cow. they. , -)nay see, "pulumakau," and this nanie extends eveif to tinned moats, and is common;;I? :believo, ti'all Sea,lslands.;, Tho modo .of cooking throughout the Is-. !';■ lands ',13. to';dig:,a.• shallow;;hole• 11; the; ground; ~X/ : l[in which' a 'firo is- kindled; Thick'" pieces"bf< . wood aro then laid - across tho opening, .and 'on::tho"tbp;*a£/tH^so.■'.v,'Wlien':the.'st : , oro sufficiently heated, tho parcels-of meat. ■ vegetables, etc., wrapped in leaves, are placed - on" tho,stones, and-theii:the wholo covered' ; v with; layers of. thick- 'leavesftaidvvloostesoilii; ■ . How tho natives ■ know when - tho food' is properly cooked was always; a/puzzlo to mo, bjit : §x,' 'I, .must: say ;thb,result, so far'as the cooking ' - : was concerned, was always excellent., \ :• : In Fiji husband and wife nover eat at the ' same timo or: from the - same, 'dishi- Tho :men p.;.v-:'.'"ißi;e served .first," whilst: tho" women wait on thorn, and later on the women share what is - : loft. Brothers and -.sisters, first cousinsj fa--1 thers and daughters-in-law, brothers and sis-" r, ters-in'-law, aro also forbidden to ,cat from the ; Bamo dish or to dwell beneath tho same roof. ; It is oven considered iniprop'cr for them to - converse toeothor.V.The reasons' for:these pro.V, liibitions I liopo to, givo ou- another occasion..

Kaua Drinking. -. The,transition from tlio subject of eating:to' : that of drinking is a simplo and natural one. . AVith the exception water; .which is drunk nfc all meals,the pmncipal drink in tho Is- - lands is kavalt niay boYdf, interest'if.-;L'do- • Mribo tho drinking of this i famoiis liquor, as it is drunk according to the : anciciit 'custom ou great; cereijionial occasion's, and: as' I "myself participated: in it when travelling with a representative; of . tho -'Government'' and the High Chief off iji: :,^r, - Kara (in Fiji called yagoiia)"js a most re- - freshing;: though- not intoxicating; beverage mado from tho root of the Piper Methysti- : cum; a pepper-plant. This;is split into small . pieces, or pounakl-betweeiv/too, stones. 'Every detail of -the'.'drinking is; rogulated by rules, ■ -the: manner of: mixing, straining, handing the, :.- cup, drinking of it, .returning it', etc}-- On the occasion to which I refer, ; the natives having gathered in the large',Valo hi Boso, or mooting house, an immense kriva, bowl was brought in. - The maker of the kava'took his place on the ground immediately behind \the - bowl, an-assistant at each side. The pulverised root was first handed to the maker,' and, by. him put: in the bowl.. Water was thch poured on by'one of,the assistants,'-and the f.'holo thoroughly mixed by the -kava maker; /•;atid strained with a largo bunch' of. cocoa-" nut fibre which was.brought;by aii attendant; - slid emptied Sgain and again of the sediment Jt.gathered iiiitil nothing: But: tlio liquid re- ... maincd. At;sJcach : stage of • this' straining, ■: which occupies in all about 10 minutes, tho men sitting behind and at. tlio two sides, of the bowl broke into a low chant, with drumbeating and clapping of hands'. : ;-At ; : length a gcnoral clapping announced that kava was mado, upon ;v.hich tho cseiiver; approached the front of the bowl, stopped/took the cocoanut cup from tho hands of the kava maker, , and lifting it, while all tho time ho kept bis eyes :_ fixed : intently - upon it, slowly 5 • . rose to his full height.. Then, ! turning to- : ffards his chief, ho gradually: sank to the f round, rose once more, solemnly, approached im, and -with_a peculiar flourish:of the rightarm offered ,him the cup amidst loud clapping and shouting.. Tho :chief, -having re-: ■ ceived the ciip, made a peculiar backward - flourish ; with,: it, and then having swallowed .its contents,-threw the cup spinning upon tho ground.Tho rest of. tho- guests' and chiefs were then served according to their rank, in liko - manner, /'and afterwards the .common people, until the 'jvhole was con- ,, sumed.: I .may add that as soon as tho pre- • paration of tho Kava begins,.a, ropo fastened .. to the_ bowl-is drawn up the'floor towards •. tho chief, and, whilst tho rope: remains—i:6., nntil the ceremony is. ovor—no man mav cross the floor. The ;:followihg additional .'c particulars may also prove of\interest ./ Fiji no women are allowed '-.to be '-'prcsen't, though they are invariably-so in Samoa, aui, indeed, the -Kava- in that country is - made by ■ them, the prettiest girl in the vil- ' :- kge : being usually selected for the office; . whilst in Fiji, the Kava -is invariably made -.; ; by :men, In: Samoa/ too,' thorp.,, is always, ;:/ present (I mean, of course,' jit'. cer,emoni'a] : ... dnnkmgs) a man who-acts as/Master ofj Uerenioiiics, who calls out loiul voice ■ ■ each drinker's , name in-, order' of Crank, thus, 1 "Le ipn o (i.e., the cup ofj.-fso-and-soj" ,- whcreupin tho Kara'is 'handed' td' the guest. A Curious Custom. ,/ ■ ' I also noticed in Samoa that,when the cup was handed to tho drinker,/it frequently happened (especially in tho cafio of the older. 1 men) that ho would before drinking reach out his, hand somewhat behind him and pour . 6 few d/ons ujsoa tho ground. I also did this I

until.l ;]eiirhcd .tlidiexplauationi which is as follows:—In the old Pafjan days it was the custom to niako a'libation to tho god, tho .officer crying -as honoured tho Kara on tlio grqund, "Bo it, High,. Chief, partaken of by the god." - To this'day-tho custom of pouring remains, although the words and heathen •meaning li'rivo disappeared. I must also say a few-;.words :about tho Kava-malsiiig.. The old-native fashion of making tho drink was 1 (and still is to somo extent) for tlio young women, or, in Fiji, young men, to chew the rpot".instead of poundiug_.it, afterwards spit-ting-it into the bowl," where it was mixed with water in tho, usual fashion. When Europeans, are,.present jt, is usual in these days; in doforonco' to their absurd sensibilitios,. to pound' tlio root, .though tho natives are not always so considerate. For example, after a Kava-making in. one village, it occurred to mo to ask how it had been made, when I learned to .my disgust that ; it had boon chewed in native fashion! Wlien tho reader is informed that 15 per cent, of tho Kava thus mado is composed of saliva ho will probably pardon ; my scruples ; and, needless to say, I. wasj.over. afterwards careful. to enquire beford drinking how it had been made. (' To bo. qnito ■ fair, hov.over, I must say that tho process of chewing is always. .dono by young men or women with perfect teeth, and oven tho mouth is' often rinsed beforo tho 'process is begun. After all, it is very much a matter of custom, for'.whilst wo ithiiik'':thcir way of making' Kava objectiqiia.bzlo, tho natives think our; practice of drinking tlio<milk of a.beast, and .giving , it. t0,.0ur., chiidren, simply, disgusting !; • ■ "Tot popidij"tot mores." • .