IDNO

P.99871.VH

Description

Studio portrait of Ratu Meli, sometimes of Levuka, and native Chief Justice (i.e., magistrate) of Levuka.
Ratu Meli is holding a gatawaka club, and is dressed vakatoga or toga fashion, as favoured by chiefs, wearing a gatuvakatoga barkcloth wrapper folded and fastened high up under his ribs and secured about the waist by a sash of fringed white barkcloth. On his head is a fringed white barkcloth ivauvau or hair wrapper, itself a badge of rank. See P.100019.VH.
Circa 1873. [Fergus Clunie, 14/7/2003, updated JD 16/1/2012]

Physical Condition: Print mounted onto card.

Place

Oceania Polynesia; Fiji; Ovalau Island; Levuka

Cultural Affliation

Named Person

Ratu Meli

Photographer

?Dufty Brothers, Levuka

Collector / Expedition

von Hügel, Anatole (Baron)

Date

circa 1873

Collection Name

von Hügel Collection

Source

von Hügel, Anatole (Baron)

Format

Print Black & White Mounted

Primary Documentation

Other Information

P.99726.VH to P.100050.VH were in the belted folder now numbered C539/3/. This was formerly kept in paper archive Large Box G; VH1/4/5. It has now been transferred to the photo archive. The lists describing the contents of this box have been returned to the Paper Archive.

Bibliographical Reference: Ratu Meli, sometimes of Levuka, is described by Baron von Hugel on p.325 of The Fiji Journals of Baron Anatole von Hugel, on 22 May 1876 as “Ratu Meli (native Chief Justice [i.e., magistrate] of Levuka) an old scoundrel I should fancy”, and who is met with again on 5 October 1876 at Bau (p.442) where “Ratu Meli, my old Nadroga friend, the magistrate of Cuvu, turned up. He tells me that he has left Nadroga by order of H.E [His Excellency - Sir Arthur Gordon].” [Fergus Clunie, 14/7/2003]

Related Image: This commercial photograph appears more than once in the MAA Collections. There is no original negative. [JD 16/1/2012]

This print has been catalogued with the support of the Getty Grant Fund. [A. Nadin, 10/9/2003]