The Queen is confronted by 6ft7in ‘Fijian warrior’ brandishing a war club on museum visit
From the moment the Queen arrived at the University of East Anglia, she entered the world of Fiji, with two warriors guarding her red carpet and others beating out a rhythmic welcome on drums
THE Queen took in an exhibition of Fijian artefacts today which had her reminiscing about her trips to the South Pacific nation.
She walked up a red carpet passing two warriors dressed in traditional clothing guarding her path while clutching war clubs.
The towering figure of 19-year-old Joe Cokanasiga, a winger with the rugby union club London Irish, was one of the two Fijian warriors who symbolically guarded the Queen when she arrived.
Wearing just a skirt made from dried bark strands he stands 6ft 4ins tall, weighs 17 stone and was an imposing figure but he broke out into a smile when asked how he felt about performing for the Queen.
The Fiji-born sportsman said: "It was a bit cold out there but a real experience and honour to be asked to be here - we added some atmosphere to the occasion."
Looking a his large war club he said: "These are replicas, the real things are made from hardwood and many are in the exhibition."
The Duke of Edinburgh was scheduled in error to attend the event at the University of East Anglia, Buckingham Palace said, and it is understood he was out and about on the Sandringham Estate instead.
Fiji: Art & Life In The Pacific showcases the Commonwealth country's sculptures, textiles and ceramics alongside ivory and shell regalia.
Having visited Fiji a number of times, the Queen was well versed with some of its customs and as she was taken on her tour appeared fascinated by the exhibits and asked a number of questions.
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The Queen was left fascinated by the clubs when Dr Karen Jacobs, co-curator of the exhibition staged at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts at the university in Norwich, escorted her around.
The academic said: "I think she was just generally very interested in the whole exhibition.
";She was also interested in the clubs and we talked about the impact of one of those clubs, which would be quite impressive."
The exhibition not only featured Fijian artworks but the European response to them - paintings, drawings and historic photographs of the 19th and 20th century.
These include watercolours by the intrepid Victorian travel writer and artist Constance Gordon-Cumming, and the Irish naval artist James Glen Wilson, who was in Fiji in the 1850s.
During her visit the monarch stopped to watch a black and white news reel which showed the chiefly reception, or Veiqaravi Vakaturaga, when a whale tooth and others, which symbolise chiefly power and authority, were presented to her during her 1953 visit to Fiji.
Looking intently at the screen showing herself as a young woman, the Queen stepped closer to the moving images, then was shown one of the very teeth in a nearby display case.
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