Figure stands in the Auth.Vers. as the represent- ative of the following words in the original : bwD, se'- mel, Deut. iv, IG, i. e. an idol, as elsewhere rendered ; rvh'p'O, viikla'ath, 1 Kings vi, 29, a carving, as else- where rendered ; but usually, in a metaphorical sense, fT'iSJ^, tubnith\ Isa. xliv, 13, likeness or pattern, as elsewhere rendered; to which correspond in.the N. T. TVTTOC, Acts vii, 43; Rom. v, 14, a type; avriTV—ov, Heb. ix, 24 , 1 Pet. iii, 21, an antitype ; and 7ra(jo/3o,\//, Heb. ix, 9 ; xi, 19, a parable, as elsewhere rendered. See Type ; Parable.
Fiji Islands, a group of islands in Polynesia, sit- uated 340 miles north-west of tlie Friendly Islands, be- tween Lit. 15° 30' and 19° 30', and long. 177° and 178° Vv'est. It comprises 225 islands, of which 95 are in- habited. The others are occasionally resorted to \\y natives for the purpose of fishing, and taking the hiche- de-mer, or sea-slug. Two arc larj:e islands, stretcliing north-east and south-west nearly throughout the whole extent of the group, and are su]>posed to be each at)out 300 miles in circumference. The group comprises seven districts, and is under as many ])rincipal chiefs. All the minor chiefs on the difft-rent islands are more or less connected or suliject to one of tliese. The area of the whide group is estimated at 8(133 sq. miles, and the population at from 200,000 to 300,0(10. The white population is aliout 600, among whom are 40 Ameri- cans. The people are divided into a number of tribes,
independent of and often hostile to each other. In eacli tribe great and marked distinction of rank exist. The classes which are readily distinguished are as fol- lows : 1. kings ; 2. chiefs ; 3. warriors ; 4. the king's me-songers (matanivanua, literally " eyes of the lands"); 5. slaves (kaisi). Mbau, the metropolis and imperial city, is situated on a small island, about two miles in circumference. It contains nearly one thou- sand inhabitants.
War is a constant occupation of the natives, and en- grosses most of their time and thought. In 1809 they became acquainted with the use of fire-arms. The crew of a brig which had been wrecked on the reef off Nai- rai, in order to preserve their lives, joined tlie Mbau people, instructed them in the use of the musket, and assisted them in their wars. Next to war, agriculture is the most general occupation of this people. They have a great number of esculent fruits and roots, which the}' cultivate in addition to many spontaneous pro- ductions of the soil.
Of the religion of the natives, the following account is given in Newcomb, Ci/clojxedia of Missions : "The pantheon of the Fijians contains manj' deities. 'Many of the natives,' says Mr. Hunt, in his Memoirs of Mr. Cross, ' believe in the existence of a deity called Ove, who is considered the maimer of all men ; yet diflt'erent parts of the group ascribe their origin to other gods. A certain female deity is said to have created the Vewa people ; and yet if a child is born malformed it is at- tributed to an oversight of Ove.' Tlie god most gen- erally known next to Ove is Ndengei. He is worship- ped in the form of a large serpent, alleged to dwell in a district xmder the authority of Mbau, which is called Nakauvandra, and is situated near the western end of Viti-Levu. To this deit}' they believe that the spirit goes immediately after death for purification, or to re- ceive sentence. All spirits, however, are not believed to be parmitted to reach the judgment-seat of Kden- gei ; for, upon the road, it is supposed that an enor- mous giant, armed with a large axe, stands constant- ly on the watch. With this weapon he endeavors to wound all who attempt to pass him. Those who are wounded dare not present themselves to Ndengei, and are obliged to wander al)out in the mountains. AMieth- er the spirit be wounded or not depends not upon the conduct in life ; but they ascribe an escape from a blow to good luck. They have four classes of gods be- sides their malicious deities. The occasions on which the priests are required to officiate are usually the fol- lowing: to implore good crops of yams and taro ; on going to battle ; for propitious voyages ; for rain ; for storms, to drive boats and ships ashore, in order that the natives may plunder them ; and for the destruc- tion of their enemies. Their belief in a future state, guided b}' no just notions of religious or moral obliga- tion, is the source of many abhorrent practices, among which are tlie custom of putting tiieir parents to death when they are advanced in years, suicide, the immo- lation of wives at the funeral of their husbands, and human sacrifices."
The islands were discovered in 1643 by Tasman, partly rediscovered in 1773 by Cook, visited in 1783 and 1792 by Bligli, l)ut accurate infovmation about them was for the first time obtained tlirough the expe. ditions of Dumont d'Urville (1827) and Wilkes (1840). The history of tlie Christianization of the Fiji Islands began in 1835. In October of that year, the Kev. Wm. Cross and D. Cargill,Wesle3'an missionaries from Eng- land, proceeded from Vavau, one of the Friendly Isl- ands, to Lakemba, one of the Fiji Islands. It is but a small island, being only about 22 miles in circum* ference, and did not contain above lOOO inhabitants. The chief, to whom their object was explained, appear- ed friendl}', gave them a piece of land on whieli to live, and built a temporary dwelling for each of their fami- lies. In a few months the missionaries liaptized a number of the natives, some of whom had previously