Fulaga Chronicles - Part 5: Dead Men Tell No Tales!!!

It's well known that early Fijians were fierce warriors.  And that cannibalism was a commonly practiced ritual.  Put those two things together, and things can get ugly!!!!!  Little did we know that the idyllic island setting of Fulaga was, like much of Fiji, the site of these rites.

One day, after hiking to the high point of the island to check out the views, Mele and Bis offered to take Graham, Diane, Cindi, and me to see a nearby cave strewn with early human bones.  Bringing out the Indiana Jones in us, how could we refuse???  Lead on, oh fearless guides!!!

We climbed up a short steep rock outcropping to a cave set into the face of the cliff over the village.  There we found a good sized pile of bones...skulls and other bones piled up with no particular reverence, as might be shown in a typical ancestral burial plot.

Bis said that no one knows what the origin of the bones really is....are they ancestors of residents of the village, or remains of vanquished (and presumably eaten) warriors???  To their knowledge no archeologists have ever studied the remains or dated them.  We examined several of the skulls, and most showed signs of being smashed, usually at the back of the head.  This, plus the rather cavalier stacking of the bones, would seem to indicate that no love was felt for the original owners of the bones.....likely not a burial site for ancestors.  The mystery lives on.....


A few days later, we were telling Bis how interesting the cave trip was.  He mentioned that he might be able to find another cache of bones near another cave as well, if we were up for it......UP FOR IT???  Lead on, Bis!!!

Check out Joanna's left foot hold!!!!  We're getting there!!!

 Reaching this batch o' bones was a bit more of a challenge, involving some class 4 rock scrambling.  Happily us kaipalangis wore hiking shoes, though Bis and his wife Joanna were in sandals!  At any rate, we all made it up the short face and gingerly peered over the edge.....once again, another assortment of human bones.  This time they were just sitting on a ledge under a rock overhang.  Here they were sorted a bit.....skulls in one pile, other bones in another.  Again, no real knowledge among the villagers of the origin.  But like the other pile, many of these skulls were cracked open.

Graham, aka "Indie of Ardwall"

Reaching the ledge of bones

"Who goes there???"

 After checking out the bones, we decided to check out the little cave opening next to the ledge.  Bis said no one had been up here yet this year.  He stuck his head in, and immediately we heard a horrendous SCREEECH from deep in the cave!!!  It kept on going!!!  Bis freaked out, so of course so did we kaipalangis!!!  (No matter how old they are, messing about with skulls is bound to put you on edge!!!)  We thought that maybe a feral pig was around the corner, and no one wanted to meet it face to face!!!

But not to be deterred, next in went Indie of Ardwall, not knowing what lay in wait just inside.......We had no flashlights, but he held his arm in with his camera strobe on, reached around, fired off a shot, and pulled back his arm.  We all huddled around the camera to see what beast was in there shrieking so loud.   Graham opened up the image, and we all started to laugh...

Entrance on right, then into the larger cave to the left

It was a baby bird, tucked into a small alcove just inside the cave entrance, whose mother must have left to go get food.  At first we thought it might be an owl, but looking at it's webbed feet, it's obviously a sea bird of some type.  After checking on the internet, it's clearly a baby white tailed tropic bird.

We took a few photos of the feisty chick as we walked past into the large cave beyond.  We were eager to check it out and be gone before mom came back with dinner!!!

Hard to believe how loud the little guy's warning cry was!!!

The cave beyond was quite spectacular, with stalagtites and stalagmites all around.  We hurriedly did a bit more exploration before leaving the little chick to the darkness, awaiting his meal.  All in all, it had been another great day in Fulaga!!!  Thanks, Bis and Joanna, for showing us another unique bit of the island.

Cindi looking for the lost "Temple of Doom"

Bis at a rear entrance to the cave in the face of the cliff, looking out over the water.

Fulaga Chronicles - Part 4: The Sailing Canoe

One of the most memorable experiences of our time in Fulaga was the chance to help Mele launch a new dugout canoe.

All across the south pacific, the dugout outrigger canoes have served as the go-to, workhorse boats for centuries, providing reliable transportation for fishing, traveling, exploring, and even warring and conquering.  In many places these very capable boats are being phased out, as the skills to handle and build the boats get lost to subsequent generations.  But the more modern fiberglass open boats ("fibers") are expensive to buy and repair, and their outboard motors are also expensive, and can be nearly impossible to maintain in remote communities.

Mele's old canoe

The chief of the village of Muanaicake has expressed a desire for the men of the village to build more of the canoes, both to keep the cultural expertise alive among the skilled carvers of the village, but even more importantly as a source of reliable time proven transport within the lagoon.

Very interesting boats, the outrigger designs of the south pacific always need to have the outrigger on the upwind side.  This means that to reverse direction, the rudder is moved to the opposite end of the boat, and the sailrig moved back where the rudder was!!!

Mele sailing his old canoe with Graham from s/y Maunie.  Note the bailing bucket, in use constantly!!!  Photo by s/v Charisma

At present there is just one remaining sailable canoe left in Muanaicake.  One of the other villages on Fulaga has one or two as well.  We heard that Mele, one of the village's most skilled carver and sailor, had been working in the bush on a new dugout to replace his aging (6 years old) canoe....they apparently don't have a very long usable lifespan before rot and waterlogging claim their next victim.  Mele had been working on his new canoe for 5 months, and he needed help to haul it to the water.

Along with a few men from the village, 4 or 5 of us kaipalangis met at the beach early one morning, and together dinghied over to the location where the boat could be launched from the woods.  We left the boats in the mangroves and followed Mele about 1/2 mile into the dense bush, stepping over the logs that he had felled to serve as rollers for his new boat.

Mele leads the way

Planning the next move...

 Finally we arrived at the clearing, where we saw the 24 foot dugout sitting amidst a pile of chips.  He had carved the canoe using primarily traditional tools, an axe, adze, and machete.  Large cuts were made with a chainsaw as well.

Mele, a charismatic, quiet leader, sat down to work, and with a few deft strokes, cut slots to anchor sticks securing a tow vine which he cut with his machete from a tree above. 

 

Mele working on a piece which will become the canoe's deck

Elegant system to secure towing vine

Ready to go!!!

Finally it was time to head towards the water.  The canoe was heavy, perhaps 700 lbs or so, as the hull had been deliberately left thick to withstand its first rocky voyage to the launch spot without damage.  With some pushing and others pulling on the vine, we made our way slowly over the roller logs, with some helping to bring the rollers up to the front after we'd passed over them.  Here are a couple of video clips of the slow progress:

At last, after about 4 hours we arrived at the mangroves, and with a final 1.....2.....3......, the dugout slid into the water for the first time.

We secured the tow vine to our dinghy and towed her the final mile to the landing, where Mele will now finish her with the superstructure, deck, outrigger, rudder and sail rig.

Mele and his new and old boats

Two other men in the village, Sake and Alfreddi say they will be starting their canoes soon, and promise that we will be able to hold races when we return to visit next year!!!  We can't wait!