Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/145

 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 119 was the result of fear; lest by withholding any part, or by something in their manner of eating, they should give offence.

Besides the forms observed on public occasions and towards per sons of rank, there are others which affect ordinary life. Foreign vis- itors, who have only a ship-deck intercourse with them, cannot; estimate them fairly. Some such have supposed them ill-behaved; and it is true that many natives, from what they have seen and heard on board ordinary vessels, have come to the conclusion that the observance of good manners would not be appreciated there. Among themselves the rules of politeness are minute, and receive scrupulous attention. They affect the language, and are seen in forms of salutation, in attention to strangers, at meals, in dress, and indeed, influence their manners in- doors and out. None but the very lowest are ill-behaved, and their confusion on committing themselves shows that they are not impu- dently so. The forms of salutation used towards Chiefs have been noticed. Equals, on meeting each other early in the day, say, "Sa ya-dra,"Awake," or "You are awake;" in the evening,"Sa moce," or, "La ki moce," Sleep," or "Go to sleep." On Vanua Levu the person addressed replies, "Roaroa," "The morning of to-morrow," meaning, "We will meet again to-morrow." From some who have been told to sleep while the sun was yet high, I have heard the smart rejoinder, "Let that be for the owls!" A husband ought not to ad- dress the morning salutation to his wife. I knew one who did so, and the wife took it as a dismissal. Persons meeting about mid-day, gen- erally ask each other whence they have come and whither they are going. Bandied remarks on the weather, or inquiries about health, — so com- mon in England, — are here unheard. Certainly the Fijian methods of salutation are confirmatory of the observation, that such forms indicate the character of the people using them : they are civil, inquisitive, and heartless.

On a visit of a person from a distance, as soon as he is seated, the master of the house gently claps his hands three or four times, and says, very much in eastern style, " Come with peace ! " The name of the place whence the visitor has come is generally added, or the name of the house, should he reside in the same town. Thus the wife of the King of Somosomo would be welcomed with, " Come with peace, the lady from Nasima," — the name of the King's house. If the visitor should be a person of rank, the formula is either the former, or, " Good is the coming in peace of the Chief" On a person leaving the house, those within say, "Sa lako" or, "Sa lako tale," "You go," or, "You return;" to which the answer is, "I go; you remain" (literally, sit). Any one