Page:Williams and Calvert, Fiji and the Fijians, New York, 1860.djvu/47

 ORIGIN AND POLITY. 27 owner's inconvenience in its loss. Resistance is not thought of, and objection only offered in extreme cases. A striking instance of the power of the Vasu occurred in the case of Thokonauto, a Rewa Chief, who, during a quarrel with an uncle, used the right of Vasu, and actually supplied himself with ammunition from his enemy's stores. But it is not in his private capacity, but as acting under the direction of the King, that the Vasu's agency tends greatly to modify the political machinery of Fiji, inasmuch as the Sovereign employs the Vasu's influence, and shares much of the property thereby acquired. Great Vasus are also Vasus to great places, and, when they visit these at their superior's com- mand, have a numerous retinue and increased authority. A public reception and great feasts are given them by the inhabitants of the place which they visit ; and they return home laden with property, most of which, as tribute, is handed over to the King. When thus " on commission," a Vasu is amenable for his conduct, and, should his personal exactions affect the revenue, incurs the displeasure of his King, which can only be removed by a soro of the most costly kind, such as a first-class canoe ; and this he may have to load with riches before it is deemed a sufficient atonement.

The reception of one of these important personages, as witnessed by myself at Somosomo, may be worth detailing. The Vasu, who was from Mbau, had arrived with a suite of ten canoes, six days before. On the seventh day, several hundreds of people were assembled in the open air to give the important visitor a greeting worthy of his dignity. After waiting a short time the Vasu and his suite approached them, and per- formed a dance, which they finished by presenting their clubs and upper dresses to the Somosomo King ; after which they retired, seating them- selves at a distance, opposite to him. Two Matas were then sent by the King, holding by either end a coarse mat, and passing over the ground with a motion compounded of squatting and crawling, until they reached the Vasu and spread the mat before him, upon which he and another Chief forthwith seated themselves. An Ambasador, near the King, now shouted, in a high key, the proper greeting, "Sa tio! (He sits.) Sa tio! Sa tio! Sa tio!" repeating the cry with increasing rapidity and in descending tones for about a dozen times. Having rested long enough to recover breath, the man shouted again, "Sa tawa!" (" Inhabited : " a compliment to the Vasu, intimating that before his arrival it was empty.) "Sa-ta-wa! Sa-ta-wa! He comes, nobly descended from his ancestors! Sa tawa!" (Repeated many times quickly.) After a short pause, an aged Mata left the King, advancing towards the Vasu in a sitting posture : when he had gone about two yards