of
fully fifty people, and when we had finished eating, a wooden bowl of
water was handed to us in which to wash our hands. Ratu Lala would
generally hand the bowl to me first, and I would wash my hands in
silence, but directly he started to wash his hands, everyone present,
including chiefs and attendants, would start clapping their hands
in even time, then one man would utter a deep and prolonged "Ah-h,"
when the crowd would all shout together what sounded like "Ai on
dwah," followed by more even clapping. I never learned what the
words meant. In this respect Ratu Lala was most curiously secretive,
and always evaded questions. Whenever he took a drink, a clapping of
hands made me aware of the fact.

One day, when they had chanted after a meal as usual, Ratu Lala turned
around to me and mimicked the way his jester or clown repeated it,
and there was a general laugh. This jester, whose name was Stivani,
was a little old man who was also jester to Ratu Lala's father. Ratu
Lala had given him the nickname of "Punch," and made him do all sorts
of ridiculous things--sing and dance and go through various contortions
dressed up in bunches of "croton" leaves. He kept us all much amused,
and was the life and soul of our party, but at times I caught the old
fellow looking very weary and sad, as if he was tired of his office
as jester.

The "angona" root (_Piper methysticum_) is first generally pounded,
but is sometimes grated, and more rarely chewed by young maidens. It
is then mixed with water in a large wooden bowl, and the remains of
the root drawn out with a bunch of fibrous material. It is then ready
for drinking.

On gala and festal occasions the Fijians were wonderfully and
fantastically dressed up, their huge heads of hair thickly covered with
a red or yellow powder, and they themselves wearing large skirts or
"sulus" of coloured "tapa" and _pandanus_ ribbons and necklaces of
coloured seeds, shells, and pigs'-tusks. In out-of-the-way parts the
"sulus" are still made of "tapa" cloth, and the women sometimes wear
small fibrous aprons. They also often wear wild pigs'-tusks round
their necks.

I noticed that many Fijian women were tattooed on the hands and arms,
and at each corner of the mouth (a deep blue colour). Both men and
women gave themselves severe wounds about the body, generally as a sign
of grief on the death of some near relative. I once noticed a young
girl of sixteen or seventeen with a very bad unhealed