Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1898-09-11
FIJI'S FIERY ORDEAL
NATIVES WALK sAReFoOTEp IN A
WHITE HOT FURNACE.
weird Performance, Deliberate and
without Deception, That Bames Conn
prehension and For Which There IA No
Plausible Explanation @-

Plausible Explanation. 0-.
The island Of Benga, where the f,erv o..
deal takes place, was the supposed resi-
uencc OF some Of the old gods OF Fiji and
WAS therefore considered u sacred land
FIRST OF all, 1t Is necessary to explain the
native lovo, OF oven, In which tho masawe
root Is baked. This oven is merely a more
or less circular hole or hollow dug and
prepared III the ground with a diameter OF
from Is feet to 24 feet The oven Is next
nliec with rough logs of firewood, piled
up nine OF ten feet. On the logs are placed
great number of water worn stones,
varying in weight from eight pounds or
ten pounds 10 one hundreaweight 1t nav
nero Do explained that the masawe ia n
orac;enn with tbrous roots as large as q
yam, and full Of sugar. These roots ara
baked III the lovo for four days. The fro
for the ordeal is lighted in the masawe
oven before daybreak and burns for sew
eral hours--that is to say, until all the
stones ON tho top, big and little, have fall
en- through into the hole and become al
most white with hcnt. Then OF course
| mourning remains but quantity Of cherred
| chbcrs aud u few half burned logs. In
uue Time the enbcrs are dragged or fished
OUT DS means of vines attached to long
| sticks, the end of the vine having a run
ming loop, which is placed over the l1e.
| Tho burned logs and cmbers having been
| removed, grcon sticks, l5 or 90 feet long.
arc then inserted into the oven among the
heaps or hot stones and using these as
lovers, tho stones are distributed evenly
| over the surface of tho whole floor Of the
earth oven. Sometimes tho heat Is SO
| terrific that this operators are unable Direct
| " to manipulate tho levers themselves, 40
| thcy hrc compelled to rest the poles on the
sides OF tho ovon, and then pull ON them
by means of vine ropes. The Fiiians who
take part in this ceremony make for them
F., selves out Of tho broad banana leaf a spe-
I, clnl Kind of garment to shelter their bodies
from the heat given off by the white hot
| stones.
Whom tho big embcrs have boon remov-
cd, tho wood ashes arc swept away by
means OF whsks fastened to tho ends OF
long sticks, and then nothing remains in
the oven save tho clean layer Of glowing
stones. These pre!iminarics OCCUPY about
half an hour, and then all is ready for tho
ceremony itself AT II given signal the
| performers, barclcggcd and barofooted,
excepting for tho nnklets OF dried fern
leaves, crowd into tho pit and begin walk
| ing leisurcly about US If on q fashionable
| promenade. .'n
Here is tho narrative of person who
| witnessed the ceremony: Jonathan, ma
4
closely followed by Ia others They
marched round about tho oven, moving
| slowly and lcisurely and treading firmly
| on the redhot stones. Tho spectacle held
me spcll,ound Every moment expected
| my nostrils to be assaulted with the smell
| of burning human flesh, but it was not
| 30, and as l looked in tho faces of the men
strolling about in the lovo could sec no
emotion whatever depleted, but merely
the inscrntable impassivity Of festure
! common to many savage races
| Some Of tho bystAnders threw bundles
| of green leaves and branches into the oven,
and then Immediately the men inside were
half hidden in the clouds Of steam that
| arose from the kissing, boiling sap.
iandkcrchiefs We're also thrown in and
| afforded an unmistakable proof that there
| trifles reached the floor of tho oven they
were nlight and almost consumed by the
| great heat. Presently Jonathan and his
| followers marched out Of the inferno and
| were promptly examined by tho governor
| commissioner. Not only was there not
| tho least trace Of burning, but oven their
| anklets, which were of dried fern leaves,
| were not SO much. MS singed."
Jonathan himself was closely cross OK
! nmincd by tho government officials pres
| ont-of whom he stood in great awe-and
| he declared with perfect candor: There ia
| no trick. Why should there be? I and my
| forefnthcrs have done this thing for gener-
! atoms, long before tho white man came
| into the islands. Some of us may not be-
lieve the legend of the Fairy Chief Moh-
| wal, but do believe that it has been CIV
| Ell to my tribe to pass unframed st all
| times through the Inasawe oven." Anoth-
er official eyewitness declares "ths men
had not anointed themselves with any
I preparation whatsoever" Traders, mis-
sionarics and others who have witnessed
| tho ceremony cannot explain 1t, and some
have endeavored to do the thing them
| selves, with tho most horrible and disss-
| trous results
Ono official theory, given by Lord Stan
| mo:e's abide camp, Is contained IN the
following: Il venture to think that the
ordinary mortal who visits tropical cllmea
has no iden of the amount Of heat the ma
tives can benr on tho soles of their feets
Lot any one put his hand upon rock OF
object on which the tropical sun has been
playing for hours, and the result will be
that no will find himself extremely any
lous to withdraw 1t as speedily as possl-
bio. The native however, can go all day
on tho rocks and not feel the heat
Lord Stan.nore himself, however, in 6
letter to the writer, directly contradioti
the Inference here conveyed. ''If we &C
cept this theory, no says In effect, the
thing excites no wonder It. is not, how.
ever, the case that the natives feet are sc
insensible. I have often seen the hardest
of natives crossing u short extent of the
shingly bed of river in the hot sunshine,
compelled TO run off and cool their feet In
! tho stream, being utterly unable to beau
the heat o3 the sun warmed stones" And
Lord Stnnmorc's testimony is conclusive
In his opinion the thing is simply mex
plicnble, and u better theory will have te
be found than the callousness Of the per
formers fect.-Maurice Delca;se In World
Wide Magazine
Sawfishey. N t
Tho pristicphorid;e, or sawfshes, al
perhaps the most terrible In appearance O