Page:Twenty years before the mast - Charles Erskine, 1896.djvu/184

 the square, they bowed very gracefully to us, and then suddenly became quite violent in their actions, jumping  up and down, treading the ground furiously, brandishing  their war-clubs, and all of a sudden gave some of the  most unearthly yells imaginable. We were all well armed, kept a bright lookout, and feared no danger. Finally they gave a tremendous "wha-hoo," then fell to the ground and kissed it. This ended the Fiji club dance.

John Sac, or Tuatti, our New Zealand shipmate, then danced his country’s dance, which was one of great  energy and violence, and greatly astonished the Fiji  natives. After this there was a "love dance" by the young women musicians, which consisted simply in bowing very prettily to us, bending and twisting the body  backward and forward, and throwing the arms about,  without moving the feet. The performance closed by a loud clapping of the hands. This ended the matinee.

The natives were very fond of sports and games. The girls played vimoli, which was performed by tossing up and keeping five or six oranges circling around the  head. Another game, called libigilla, was wrapping a girl up in a mat, and carrying her to another to guess  her name. If she guessed wrong, a forfeit of yams and taro must be given for a treat. The boys pitched quoits with a mother-of-pearl shell, and also played at hide-and- seek. Another of their games was called vitaki, which consisted in throwing a stick from a length of bamboo. The one who could throw it the highest or farthest was considered the winner.

The Peacocks treated the natives to a regular,