ORTALITY AMONG THE NATIVES OF EASTERN MELANESIA (FIJI)
(_concluded_)

[Sidenote: Worship of ancestors in Fiji.]

In the last lecture I described the rites of ancestor worship which in
certain parts of Fiji used to be celebrated at the sacred enclosures of
stones known as _Nangas_. But the worship of ancestral spirits was by no
means confined to the comparatively small area in Fiji where such sacred
enclosures were erected, nor were these open-air temples the only
structures where the homage of the living was paid to the dead. On the
contrary we are told by one who knew the Fijians in the old heathen days
that among them "as soon as beloved parents expire, they take their
place amongst the family gods. _Bures_, or temples, are erected to their
memory, and offerings deposited either on their graves or on rudely
constructed altars--mere stages, in the form of tables, the legs of
which are driven into the ground, and the top of which is covered with
pieces of native cloth. The construction of these altars is identical
with that observed by Turner in Tanna, and only differs in its inferior
finish from the altars formerly erected in Tahiti and the adjacent
islands. The offerings, consisting of the choicest articles of food, are
left exposed to wind and weather, and firmly believed by the mass of
Fijians to be consumed by the spirits of departed friends and relations;
but, if not eaten by animals, they are often stolen by the more
enlightened class of their countrymen, and even some of the foreigners
do not disdain occasionally to help themselves freely to them. However,
it is not only on tombs or on altars that offerings are made; often,
when the natives eat or drink anything, they throw portions of it away,
stating them to be for their departed ancestors. I remember ordering a
young chief to empty a bowl containing _kava_, which he did, muttering
to himself, 'There, father, is some _kava_ for you. Protect me from
illness or breaking any of my limbs whilst in the mountains.'"[701]

[Sidenote: Fijian notion of divinity. Two classes of gods, namely, gods
strictly so called, and deified men.]

"The native word expressive of divinity is _kalou_, which, while used to
denote the people's highest notion of a god, is also constantly heard as
a qualificative of any thing great or marvellous, or, according to
Hazlewood's Dictionary, 'anything superlative, whether good or bad.'...
Often the word sinks into a mere exclamation, or be