Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . ch steadies the vessel and is held out from it bylong poles. The sail, wherein the great loveliness lies, is very large andis made of strips of fine pandanus matting sewn together,formerly with a needle made of human bone. The mattingis a beautiful colour in itself, and, being shiny, it reflects the Canoes. 127 colour of the sky and sea, and tones majestically into thelandscape, so that it never failed to thrill me with its perfectgrace, and harmony with the surromidings. The Fijians were the master canoe-makers of the Pacific ;and the Ton
Islands far away; Fijian pictures with pen and brush . ch steadies the vessel and is held out from it bylong poles. The sail, wherein the great loveliness lies, is very large andis made of strips of fine pandanus matting sewn together,formerly with a needle made of human bone. The mattingis a beautiful colour in itself, and, being shiny, it reflects the Canoes. 127 colour of the sky and sea, and tones majestically into thelandscape, so that it never failed to thrill me with its perfectgrace, and harmony with the surromidings. The Fijians were the master canoe-makers of the Pacific ;and the Tongans and all inhabitants of other islands got theircanoes from them, or were taught by them how to make the canoes were very large, as much as a hundredfeet long, and instead of a thama, there would be a second canoe,so that a great many people could go in them. The flotilla of canoes this day was bringing in fish and otherprovisions for the feast, and fire-wood to cook them. Agreat quantity of firewood was required, because the native. SHARK BAKED WHOLE. ovens are many of them very large. Much food had to begot ready for the morrow, and pigs and calves, not to speakof a large shark, had to be cooked whole. During the cere-mony we saw the shark strung on a long pole being carriedpast by four natives. It was done up just as the humanbodies used to be, and was very suggestive of the old dayswhen no feast was complete without its mbokola, and it wouldcertainly not have been wanting on such an occasion as shark is a great feature of all Mbauan feasts, and the in-habitants of the two small islands of Kamba and Kiuva areobliged to supply it. Catching it is a verj^ exciting natives go out in a canoe and wait in deep water close toa reef frequented by tliese animals; and there they remain 128 Islands Far Away. absolutely silent but alert, watching, while one man holdshimself ready, a long line of sinnet, with a noose at theend, wound round his arm. So
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1920, bookidislandsfaraw, bookyear1921
