As Is Well Known All Over Fiji, Ratu Lala, A Few Years Before My Stay
With Him, Had Been Deported In Disgrace For A Term Of Several Months,
To The Island Of Viti Levu, Where He Would Be Under The Paternal Eye
Of The Government.
This was because he had punished a woman, who had
offended him, by pegging her down on an ants' nest, first smearing
her all over with honey, so that the ants would the more readily eat
her.[4] She recovered afterwards, but was badly eaten.
As regards
his punishment, he told me that he greatly enjoyed his exile, as he
had splendid fishing, and some of the white people sent him champagne.
His people were terribly afraid of him, and whenever they passed him
as he sat on his verandah, they would almost go down on all fours. He
told me how on one occasion when he was sitting on the upper verandah
of the Club Hotel in Suva with two of his servants squatting near by,
the whisky he had drunk had made him feel so sleepy, that he nearly
fell into the street below, but his servants dared not lay hands on him
to pull him back into safety, as his body was considered sacred by his
people, and they dared not touch him. He declared to me that he would
have been killed if a white man had not arrived just in time. He was
very fond of telling me this story, and always laughed heartily over
it. I noticed that Ratu Lala's servants treated me with a great deal
of respect, and whenever they passed me in the house they would walk
in a crouching attitude, with their heads almost touching the ground.
Ratu Lala's cousin, Ratu Kandavu Levu, is a very enthusiastic
cricketer, and has a very good cricket club with a pavilion at his
island of Bau. He plays many matches against the white club in Suva,
and only last year he took an eleven over to Australia to tour that
country. I learned that previous to my visit he had paid a visit
to Ratu Lala, and while there had got up a match at Somo-somo in
which he induced Ratu Lala to play, but on Ratu Lala being given
out first ball for nought, he (Ratu Lala) pulled up the stumps and
carried them off the ground, and henceforth forbade any of his people
to play the game on the island of Taviuni. I was not aware of this,
and as I had brought a bat and ball with me, I got up several games
shortly after my arrival. However, one evening all refused to play,
but gave no reasons for their refusal, but Tolu told me that his
master did not like to have them play. Then I learned the reason, and
from that time I noticed a decided coolness on the part of Ratu Lala
toward me. The fact, no doubt, is that Ratu Lala being exceptionally
keen on sport, this very keenness made him impatient of defeat, or
even of any question as to a possible want of success on his part,
as I afterwards learnt on our expedition to Ngamia.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 8 of 114
Words from 3602 to 4139
of 59060
