Page:Folk-lore - A Quarterly Review. Volume 7, 1896.djvu/30

20 centre; and it is only an hour or two's walk from two other villages—Nadurutabua, in Ra, and Nasau, in Sawakasa—which have an equally bad reputation. I have recorded five cases in the former.

With regard to the supposed functions or cult of the Na Qia stone I could obtain no information. I visited Na Qia at a time when I was engaged in inspecting the Ra Province, and not Tailevu, to which it belongs; and I turned aside from my path to call at the place in consequence of information I extracted from some women of the neighbouring village whom I met on the road. My visit was short and unexpected, and, being in the day-time, many of the elders and able-bodied people, including the turaga ni koro, were away in their yam-grounds, while those who were left were taken by surprise and seemed uncommunicative. On my return to Suva I therefore instructed Rata Temesia, the native practitioner for Tai Levu, to go to Na Qia and look up the whole matter of the stone; and he has since reported to me that it has no story, and that no functions are attributed to it. Presentations are not made to it, magiti are not prepared for it, dances are not performed for it. Its Taukei is neither priest nor sorcerer, and it is named the "Vatu ni Vukavuka," merely in consequence of its being peculiarly maculated. Such is Ratu Temesia's report; and he possesses special facilities for finding out any history it might have. His report corroborates the result of my own inquiries on the spot.

Another leprosy stone is said to be at a place called Navitiviti, in Ra, not far from Nadurutabua, already mentioned, in the district of Bure. I have not yet seen it. There is also one at or near to Bukuia, but I have had no opportunity hitherto of gathering any account of it upon whose accuracy I could rely. I also heard during the course of my inspection in Colo Navosa of a leprosy stone at Wala, a town only two or three miles above Fort