Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/224

 194: FIJI AND THE FIJIANS. which is divided into distinct parts, and punishment and enjoyment awarded to its inmates, but not for offence or merit of a moral kind. Mburotu is the Fijian Elysium, and in its description the most glowing language is used. Scented groves and pleasant glades, smiled upon by an unclouded sky, form the retreat of those who dwell in this blest re- gion, where there is an abundance of all that a native deems most to be desired. Such are the delights of Mburotu, that the word is used pro- verbially to describe any uncommon joy. In most parts of Mbulu the inhabitants plant, live in families, fight, and, in short, do much as people in this world. They are said, how- ever, to be larger than when on earth. Mention is made in native tra- ditions of first, second, and third heavens ; but the terms do not appear to convey any definite idea. Various punishments are inflicted upon those who have not lived so as to please the gods. Some are laid in rows on their faces, and converted into taro beds. Those who have not had their ears bored are doomed to carry for ever on their shoulders the log of wood on which cloth is beaten, jeered at by all who see them. Women that are not tattooed are chased by their o^vn sex, who tear and cut them with sharp shells, giving them no respite ; or they are scraped up, and made into bread for the gods. Men who have not slain an en- emy are sentenced to beat a heap of filth with a club, because they used that weapon so badly while in the body. A native regards this as the most degrading of all punishments. It thus appears that, although the Fijians allow a spirit to almost everything, they dispose of them in such a way that few attain to im- mortality. The spirits of meats and drinks are consumed by the gods, who also eat the souls of all whose bodies are devoured by the people. The souls of animals, etc., are appropriated by Mbolembole. Lewa Levu gets a share of the best-looking ghosts, and those of the bachelors all fall to Nangganangga. Samu and his brothers consume a great number. Mbati-ndua roasts all that belong to, but do not obey, him ; and a farther deduction must be made for the souls which are killed by men. Thus few, comparatively, are left to inhabit the regions of Mbulu, and the immortality even of these is sometimes disputed. The belief in a future state is universal in Fiji ; but their superstitious no- tions often border upon transmigration, and sometimes teach an event- ual aimihilation. The existence of witchcraft has already been noticed ; and of all their superstitions, this exerts the strongest influence on the mmds of the people. Men who laugh at the pretensions of the priest tremble at the power of the wizard ; and those who become Christians lose this fear