Plenty

Fiji Now Has Plenty Of Whales’ Teeth

From Our Own Correspondent wwrmn* SUVA, NOV. 30. 11/HEN a Government official fromr TT Fiji (Mr. W. J. Eason) wentJ about New Zealand asking* museums if they happened to haves any spare whales’ teeth, it was am event regarded as unlikely to be ofl world-wide interest.

Yet when the New Zealand press,, and news agencies in both the* Dominion and Fiji, took the matter' up seriously, the shortage of whales” teeth (as tabua for essential Fijiam ceremonial purposes) suddenly be came featured in innumerable: newspapers in the most ex traordinary places.

Some New Zealand papers, par- ■ ticularly in the South Island, have: given tabua stories three-columns? headlines on front pages.

In Norway, the stories inspired ] the A/S Thor Dahl shipping com- ■ pany of Sandefjord (whose Thor • ships have long been welcome: callers at Suva) to ship 500 whales” teeth as a goodwill gift to the i Fijian people.

On November 27 the Thorsisle • arrived at Suva and the Fijian office was informed of the gift Immediately a Fijian official , party was despatched to the ship to thank Captain Olaf Niemann with traditional ceremony, but at this point a minor hitch occurred: Everything was there except the three big cases contain ing the 500 teeth, and it was dis covered that the gift had been accidentally off-loaded at Noumea.

Another ship will bring the cases to Suva, but, Captain Niemann said, his company was determined that the gift should reach Fiji before the Royal visit, and if a ship had not been available the cases would have been air-freighted from Noumea to Suva.

The Norwegian gift, together with a large consignment of tabua bought by Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna in Scotland, and gifts made by New Zealand museums, will ease, the Fijian crisis considerably.

During her two days in Fiji, the Queen will receive dozens of the finest specimens of tabua, presented to her in accordance with the strict ! ancient ritual without which the gift of a whale’s tooth means noth ing.

The Queen received her first tabua early in 1952 after a gather ing of Fijian chiefs had presented a noble specimen to the then acting Governor for forwarding to the new Sovereign as a token of unchang ing loyalty. ff Mr. Harold Gatty, of Fiji Air ways, Suva, paid a visit to Hono lulu during November.