Weapons

By the 1800s, war occupied the entire male population of Fiji, with boys being trained in the wielding of weapons from early childhood and only being given a ‘real’ man’s name once they had killed an enemy. Most battles started with a skirmish of missile weapons: showers of arrows and sling stones, spears and throwing clubs. However, it was only when opposing warriors engaged each other with their heavy, two-handed clubs that casualties became serious.