Tabua

Five whale's teeth engraved with names joined by a cord. Presented to Admiral of the Fleet Sir John Rushworth Jellicoe (1859-1935) by the hereditary chief Hon. J.A. Rabice, O.B.E. during a visit to Suva, Fiji in 1919. See Admiral Sir R. Bacon ' The Life of John Rushworth, Earl Jellicoe' (London, 1936) p.412 'Immediately after anchoring at Suva, Fiji, a party of native chiefs from the province of Cakaudrove, headed by their hereditary chief, the Hon. J.A. Rabice, O.B.E., came on board and performed the ceremony of Cavuikelekele...In this case it consisted of an address and a presentation of whales teeth....At the end of the speech the chief cries out "Mana," and all present reply in chorus "e dina a muduo," and the ceremony ends. '

A.C. Reid 'The Fruit of the Rewa: Oral traditions and the Growth of he Pre-Christian Lakeba State' (Journal of Pacific History, 1977) says that unwelcome visitors used to be warned off by beating the water with sticks at the approach of a vessel. 'The reverse was for a part to go off by canoes and ceremonially invite the visitors to bring their vessel to land. The latter custom Cavuikelekele (lifting of the anchor) is still practised on special occasions.'

Object Details

ID: AAA0037
Collection: World Cultures
Type: Tabua
Display location: Not on display
Places: Suva
Vessels: New Zealand (1911)
Date made: 1919
People: Jellicoe, John Rushworth; Doviverata, Jione Atonio Rabici
Credit: On loan to the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, from a private lender
Measurements: Overall: 260 x 184 mm
Parts: Tabua