. The cannibal islands : or, Fiji and its people . fairly outdoes himself. 14 158 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. In putting down the posts of a house ofany importance, it is common to bury a manwith each one. He clasps it with his arms,and is supposed, in consideration of his sacri-fice, to have power given him by the godsto hold it up. The Fijian canoes were for a long timemuch better built than those of many oftheir neighbors. A Tongan chief, visiting Fiji, was so con-vinced of the superiority of their canoesover those of his own people that he lefthis clumsy craft behind him and returnedin one of Fi
. The cannibal islands : or, Fiji and its people . fairly outdoes himself. 14 158 THE CANNIBAL ISLANDS. In putting down the posts of a house ofany importance, it is common to bury a manwith each one. He clasps it with his arms,and is supposed, in consideration of his sacri-fice, to have power given him by the godsto hold it up. The Fijian canoes were for a long timemuch better built than those of many oftheir neighbors. A Tongan chief, visiting Fiji, was so con-vinced of the superiority of their canoesover those of his own people that he lefthis clumsy craft behind him and returnedin one of Fijian build. When his peoplesaw his new vessel, they abandoned theirown style and built after the Fijian mould,and for more than a hundred years theyhave never deviated from the pattern thenadopted. These boats are generally double, the twoparts united by a platform, which extendstwo or three feet beyond the sides of thecanoes. The sail, made of pliable mats,fifteen or twenty feet long, appears out ofall proportion to the rest of the vessel. The. OCCUPATIONS. 159 management of this is generally given tothe chief; and it often requires care andskill to prevent the top-heavy craft frombeing upset. The ordinary vessels holdforty or fifty men, and are built, like thehouses, by a contract with the chief of car-penters. Sailors are found on all the islands,but they especially abound in the Mbutoniand the Levuka tribes. They occupy a lowrank in the community, but are skilful innautical affairs, even the women possessingsufficient knowledge of them to perform theordinary duties of seamen. The heathensailors life is a very merry one. The crewseem less like hirelings, with certain dutiepto perform, than like a gay party of pleasure-seekers. Jesting, laughing, singing, beatingof drums, loud cries of thanks to favorablewinds, and prayers to adverse ones, are con-tinually heard; and thus they bound overthe ocean, often turning from their pre-scribed route to fish or catch turtles, withentire
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1860, booksubjectmissions, bookyear186
