Chapter I: Preface

The object of this romance is to preserve in a readable form some record of the ancient manners and customs, traditions and superstitions of the Fijians, the most numerous and the most interesting race of savages in the South Pacific, who are rapidly disappearing before the terrible push and civilisation of the white man. The opportunity of acquiring information on these subjects is fast slipping away with the older aboriginal inhabitants, and if not now seized upon it will be gone for ever. I have endeavoured to bring before the reader a picture of life in Fiji as it was before that portion of the New World “stretched its dusk hand to the Old.” To be of any value to the ethnologist, it is the first requisite of such a work that its details, so far as they relate to the country and its people, should be strictly accurate. In this respect the sources from which I derived my information render the book, I believe, thoroughly trustworthy. I desire to acknowledge my obligations to the Rev. Jesse Carey, for many years a missionary in the Fiji Islands, for his valuable assistance in translating legends and songs, and in placing at my disposal a quantity of other important material. Hearing of the progress of the story, Mr Carey furnished me with a bundle of manuscript, accompanied by the following remarks:—

With a view to the more intelligent discharge of my daily duties in
Fiji, I added to other necessary studies the antiquities of that
country. The more I examined the subject, the more I was assured
that it was one of greater extent and interest than had been
supposed. This belief led me to issue circular letters, addressed to
the most intelligent native men in the islands. These letters put
forth a long list of questions bearing on Fiji’s past, and concluded
with an offer of prizes for the three best works thereon by native
authors. Twelve months afterwards this call was nobly responded to
by fifty competitors, and the result was as many essays, some of
which were remarkably able and exhaustive, besides a large number of
papers from non-competing writers. I now forward to you the pith of
this cannibal literature, a literature which it was possible to
secure only while the oldest inhabitants were still on this side of
the spirit-world.

In the construction of this tale I have made use of the interesting manuscript here referred to, though of course a very large portion of it was not suited to my purposes. For the rest I have relied upon my own acquaintance with the scenery of the country, and my own recollections of the manners and customs of its people, which I had opportunities of observing during my residence among them.

Some portions of the first half of this book have appeared in the “_Australasian_” in the form of short stories.

YORICK CLUB,
_Melbourne, 30th November, 1883_.

CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE.
I. OLD SYDNEY 9

II. AT SEA 13

III. AN INHOSPITABLE RECEPTION 22

IV. A RACE FOR LIFE 32

V. THE ISLAND-WORLD 36

VI. THE PRINCESS LOLÓMA 42

VII. FAIRY FOLK 48

VIII. THE VALLEY OF TIVOLI 52

IX. CANNIBAL CHIEFS 61

X. WISDOM OF CANNIBAL-LAND 67

XI. THE WONDER OF CANNIBAL-LAND 75

XII. CAPTURE OF THE “EBBTIDE” 89

XIII. ELOPEMENT OF A GODDESS 95

XIV. A RIVAL’S STRATEGY 100

XV. ORDEAL BY SMOKE 105

XVI. OLD FRIENDS WITH NEW FACES 108

XVII. A CANOE VOYAGE 117

XVIII. THE TEMPLE IS SET IN ORDER 127

XIX. GRIM-VISAGED WAR 132

XX. THE CANNIBAL BANQUET 137

XXI. A FISHING ADVENTURE 147

XXII. THE BIG FISH 154

XXIII. THE DEATH OF HOT-WATER 157

XXIV. A DISEMBODIED SPIRIT 161

XXV. THE SPIRIT-WORLD 165

XXVI. A TREACHEROUS CHIEF 176

XXVII. FAREWELL TO CANNIBAL-LAND 181

APPENDIX.

THE RELIGION OF OLD FIJI.

I. GODS AND THEIR SHRINES 186

II. CHIEF OF GODS AND MEN 195