N° d'objet
M.51.5
Titre
Ceremonial Whale's tooth
Date
1951-00-00
Matériel
Etendue
Description
Possibly withdrawn due to P Snow registering a complaint
Sold in 1987 bicentenary auction. Possibly not sold in auction as no price listed (2015)
Presented to MCC touring team, 1950 by Fijian Cricket Association
A ceremonial whale's tooth, with plaited strap of coconut fibre attached.
Presented to D.C.S. Compton, on behalf of the MCC Touring Team on the occasion of their visit to the Fiji Islands, April, 1951.
The presentation to the chief guest of a whale's tooth is the first stage in the chiefly ceremony of welcome performed by the Fijian race when the wish to show honour and respect to distinguised persons visiting the Islands.
The ivory tooth of the cachalot whale is the symbol among Fijians of power. In the cannibal days it could mean life or death, for if the chiefly possessor of a tooth wished to encompass the death of a rival, it would be obligatory on anyone accepting the tooth from him to carry out his wish, and if he wished to save a person from death, the offering of a whale's tooth could alone achieve this aim.
The handing over a tooth, which considered sacre, constitutes an offer: its acceptance implies a contract to carry out the wish accompanying the offer. The MCC were offered a tooth in honour of the team's arrival in Fiji, with the hope that there would always be friendly relations between the Fijian and the British race, that English cricket would flourish and that Britain would continue to be fortunate and powerful in the future. Its acceptance indicated reciprocal good wishes.
The teeth form a kind of ambassadorial currency and are for ever changing hands among chiefs for reasons as far apart as securing marriages, wedding dowries or land; as expressions of sympathy at funerals; as symbols of congratulations; for the opening of schools or equally varied occasions. They are scarce, as as they are the most valued gift in the Fijian chiefly customs their export without permit is prohibited.
M.2015.793 : The MCC Team is Welcomed at Fiji Airport
M.2015.794 : Fijian Native Ceremony For The MCC Team
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