Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/136

 110 FIJI A^D THE FIJIANS. gruel is made from the milk and pulp of the young cocoa-nut. Shrimps are used to make an elegant and delicious sandwich, being arranged be- tween two thicknesses of taro leaves. Fish is sometimes served up with a relishing sauce ; and sweet sauces are made for the richer sorts of pudding by expressing the juices of the nut, the ti-root, and the sugar- cane. Eoasting and frying are added to the other methods of cookery. The refreshing milk of the nut is much used by the Fijian ; but his general beverage is water. In drmking without a cup, the head is thrown back with the mouth opened, the water-vessel held several inches above the lips, and a stream allowed to run down the throat — a process whereby a novice is more likely to be choked than refreshed. This method of drinking is adopted to avoid touching the vessel with their lips — a practice to which they strongly object. To drink from the long bamboos sometimes used is no easy task. These vessels are from two to ten feet long. One of the longest will hold two gallons ; and to slake one's thirst from its open end, while a native gradually elevates the other, requires care, or a cold bath will be the unsought result. On opening the oven of the Somosomo King, the iui rara, or master of the feast, names aloud the parties who are fed from it, that their sev- eral portions may be fetched away. The priests and the principal Mata-ni-vanua have the precedence. The King's Mata is served first ; then the priests, whose portions are given in the name of their gods, ac- companied by a short prayer ; it being a rule in heathenism, never to do a god a small favour without asking a larger in return. If a chief lady receives a portion from tlie oven, it is distinguished by the cry A magiti-i-i-i ! * followed by clapping of hands. The meal of a Chief only differs from that of a common man in that the food is of better quality, more frequently served, and received with greater form. Clean mats answer for both chair and table. The food is brought on an oblong dish lined with fresh leaves, while other leaves serve for a cover. If the Chief is not liga tabu — tahu as to the hands — he may feed himself or not, as he chooses ; but if liga tahu, he must be fed by another, generally his chief wife, or a Mata. While he is eating, everybody present retains a sitting position — the attitude of respect ; when he has done, he pushes the dish a little way from him, and each person claps his hands several times. Water is next brought to the Chief, who washes his hands and rinses his mouth, after which, in some parts, hands are again clapped by every one in the house. While eat-
 * " Cooked food."