Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/165

 MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 135 or civil contract only. Every presentation of property or food is as- sociated with good wishes or prayers for the long life and happiness of the young couple ; but no priest is needed in this, as it is only the ob- servance of a custom used on every occasion that will admit of such forms. Commodore Wilkes's account of Fijian marriages seems to be compounded of oriental notions and Ovalau yarns. A change in the form of liJcu always takes place. Young unmarried women wear a liku little more than a handsbreadth in depth, which does not meet on the hip by several inches. On marrying, they put on a broader dress, which entirely surrounds the body, and the depth of which is increased as the wearer grows older. An owl flying about a house is considered by the natives as a sign that things are in a fair way for the master becoming a father. When such a hope is proved to be well established, certain matrons and the newly-made wife get up a sort of pic-nic, which they call vakata kakana. For this they choose some sylvan retreat, where embowering trees, with their thick foliage interwoven with various creepers, afford a cool and secluded shade. Here the women feast to- gether, and indulge in the " wide-mouthed mirth " of which they are so fond, unmindful of future care. After this comes the vakavotu, the " becoming visible," and with it another feast ; when friends eat and rejoice together, and a bartering of property takes place between them. The next step is the iaiavu, the "broiling." This is much quieter, and not so commonly observed, and consists in feedmg the expectant mother with fish just before her confinement. Voluntary breach of the marriage contract is rare in comparison with that which is enforced, as, for instance, when a Chief gives up the women of a town to a company of visitors or warriors. Compliance with this mandate is compulsory ; but should the woman conceal it from her husband, she would be severely punished. Fear prevents unfaithfulness more than affection, though I believe that instances of the latter are numerous. Too commonly there is no express feeling of connubial bliss. Men speak of " our women," and women of " our men," without any dis- tinctive preference being apparent. If a man does not approve of his betrothed, he quietly neglects the usual advance. If a woman rejects the suit of a man, after being promised to him, property must be taken to him or his friends, by whom the vakalutu, the " letting drop," is gen. erally accepted. This,- however, does not apply to persons of high rank, marriages among whom are so interwoven with the civil and political interests of the country, that no deviation from form is allowed, out of regard to