I do not think you can take what is written in many books even based on some limited historic observation as some sort of religious text and turn your brain off {Lord knows so many people find comfort that way}.
Yes one might beat your wife with such a beautiful club, but I believe the Fijians were skilled warriors. Weapons would be made for certain weights, grades and ages of the warrior, and indeed the task demanded of the weapon. Just like soldiers today, an elite snatch raid in a city would be carried out with speed and light weapons not a mortar or heavy belt fed machine gun.
I have a similar item that fits the discussion. A near example is in "Fijian Artifacts, Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery, Rod Ewins" which I add. Said to be a walking staff. 120cm long so a bit shorter than the one in the book, and considerably finer. You can fight with a staff just a much as you can walk with it. In my example you can see that it has had contact with the ground but that does not mean it is not an effective weapon. The item may be thin but the wood is heavy and dense. A big heavy club might be very good at smashing human bodies but light fast weapons in the hands of warriors, confident in their abilities with superb foot work will have delivered at least three blows after dodging a slow heavy club swing. Leaving your enemy to be killed by your fellows with the slow heavy club. Anybody who has studied a martial art will understand this. It might be a good idea to ask yourself does the author have any weapons training? A wife beater reinforces the idea of savagery, Fijians in the past may well have been hard on their women but I do not believe that they blundered into surprise raids, ambushes and battles with just big heavy clubs. Also you have to think of sport, contests as entertainment tournaments, light protection and disputes within a Fijians own chiefs local. I am showing it with other pole clubs of similar weight.
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