Tucked inside a dark shopping plaza in this otherwise enchanting city in the South Pacific is Henry’s Pawn Shop. Inside, Joseph Baivatu, 29, prepares to make the next payment on a layaway for something very special: a large sperm whale tooth. Known as a tabua in Fiji, a sperm whale’s tooth is often given by a groom and his family to the parents of the man’s (hopefully) future bride when he asks permission to marry her.

“The whole of my life I want to be married, so I give my goods and my time,” says Mr Baivatu, a Vodafone technician in Suva, Fiji’s capital and largest city. “I give the tabua, and that means ‘I love you’ from the inside.”

Mr Baivatu, who is as soft-spoken as he is tall and broad shouldered, says he had yet to meet the future Mrs Baivatu, but that detail does not get in the way. He is determined to be ready with tabuas when she turns up.

Tabua (pronounced tam-BOO-ah) roughly translates to “sacred” in Fijian. The valuable relic, associated with good luck and even supernatural powers, has traditionally paved the way for marriages in this nation of more than 300 islands.

With few countries still harvesting whales and laws limiting the international trade of endangered species like the sperm whale and their specimens, the number of tabuas circulating in Fiji is dwindling, causing prices to rise. A single tooth strung with braided cord as an oversize pendant on a necklace can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars. Mr Baivatu is aiming to buy 12 teeth, which he says would amount to three months of his salary.

Despite the cost, giving tabuas “is very much still alive and a part of our culture”, says Apo Aporosa, a New Zealand-based anthropology researcher with Fijian heritage. The practice is more common in rural areas, he says, but even in the urban areas, the tradition continues among some families.

Most noble families descended from chiefs keep a cache of tabuas available for when a son is in need. The modern-day romantics who choose to keep the tradition alive, however, often require a few trips to a pawnshop in a city centre like Suva.

With about 90,000 people, Suva has the feel of a large town. Colourful buses clog the narrow streets, their windows missing glass to make the humidity a little more bearable. Just as colourful is the city’s heart: the fruit, vegetable and flower market where villagers make the daily journey to sell their produce.

In addition to engagements, tabuas are given at weddings, funerals and births, and to seal an apology.

Tabuas “essentially communicate that the holder or presenter highly esteems the sanctity of the agreement, promise, etc,” says Simione Sevudredre, from the department in Fiji’s government that oversees indigenous affairs.

During the days of warring tribes, before Fiji became a British colony in the late 1800s, if a chief wanted someone killed and was unable to do it himself, he offered a tabua to another tribe to take care of the matter. This was the case for an unfortunate 19th-century British missionary, the Rev Thomas Baker.

According to national legend, the missionary offended a village chief, who then offered a tabua to another tribe to kill him. In 2003, the descendants of the village that killed – and promptly ate – Baker presented 100 tabuas to the missionary’s ancestors in an effort to break what was viewed as a curse on the area related to the death.

At a handicraft market in downtown Suva, Sarah Naviqa, a shopkeeper, sits in a tiny stall surrounded by mats, bags and fans woven from pandanus leaves. She plonks a blue plastic bag containing half a dozen sperm whale teeth on the table. Some are cream. Others have a brown hue. Their size varies from the length of a hand to the length of a forearm. The largest weighs about 3lb and cost about $1,000 (£800).

Buying a tabua ahead of an engagement is also about status, she says.

“It means the man’s family is quite well off,” says Ms Naviqa, whose husband presented six tabuas to her family in 1970.

The parents gave their blessing for the marriage, but Ms Naviqa says she had ultimately made the decision. “I was working and very independent.”

Ms Naviqa keeps a supply of tabuas available by buying them from families who run into financial troubles. “Once they get into financial constraints, that is when they have to sell these items,” she says. “Keep on recycling, eh? And very good business. The more recycling, the better for us.”

A fish specialist for a conservation nonprofit, Waisea Batilekaleka, 34, was recently heading back to Suva from a work trip on one of the many ferries that link the city with Fiji’s outlying islands. Mr Batilekaleka says that during the time of his engagement and wedding in 2002, he had given almost 20 tabuas to his wife’s family.

Some he inherited from his family and others came from his mataqali, or clan. Mr Batilekaleka also took three years to save for the four he bought himself. He gave his wife a diamond ring, which remains rare in much of Fiji.

Mr Batilekaleka says that saving for the tabuas, which 15 years ago cost him about $150 each, had shown that he was “willing to take up this responsibility to become a husband and a father”.

Despite the value placed on tabuas, Fijians did not traditionally hunt whales. Instead, it was hunters from the neighbouring island nation of Tonga who killed the whales and traded the teeth with the Fijians. That supply was cut off when Tonga banned whaling by royal decree in 1978.

Two decades later, Fiji signed a global treaty that restricted international trade in endangered species and their parts, including sperm whale teeth. A cultural exemption allows for the export of 225 tabuas each year, according to Sarah Tawaka, a senior environmental officer at Fiji’s Department of Environment. A special permit is required to bring sperm whale teeth into Fiji, Ms Tawaka said.

Enterprising Fijians have taken advantage of dead sperm whales that wash up on beaches. The jaw and teeth of a sperm whale found dead on Nukulau Island near Suva in 2015 were quickly taken, according to The Fiji Times. Dead sperm whales in Tonga faced similar fates.

World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 14 September 2020 Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga, former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba and former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida celebrate after Suga was elected as new head of the ruling party at the Liberal Democratic Party's leadership election in Tokyo Reuters World news in pictures 13 September 2020 A man stands behind a burning barricade during the fifth straight day of protests against police brutality in Bogota AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 September 2020 Police officers block and detain protesters during an opposition rally to protest the official presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus. Daily protests calling for the authoritarian president's resignation are now in their second month AP World news in pictures 11 September 2020 Members of 'Omnium Cultural' celebrate the 20th 'Festa per la llibertat' ('Fiesta for the freedom') to mark the Day of Catalonia in Barcelona. Omnion Cultural fights for the independence of Catalonia EPA World news in pictures 10 September 2020 The Moria refugee camp, two days after Greece's biggest migrant camp, was destroyed by fire. Thousands of asylum seekers on the island of Lesbos are now homeless AFP via Getty World news in pictures 9 September 2020 Pope Francis takes off his face mask as he arrives by car to hold a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 8 September 2020 A home is engulfed in flames during the "Creek Fire" in the Tollhouse area of California AFP via Getty World news in pictures 7 September 2020 A couple take photos along a sea wall of the waves brought by Typhoon Haishen in the eastern port city of Sokcho AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 September 2020 Novak Djokovic and a tournament official tends to a linesperson who was struck with a ball by Djokovic during his match against Pablo Carreno Busta at the US Open USA Today Sports/Reuters World news in pictures 5 September 2020 Protesters confront police at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, Australia, during an anti-lockdown rally AFP via Getty World news in pictures 4 September 2020 A woman looks on from a rooftop as rescue workers dig through the rubble of a damaged building in Beirut. A search began for possible survivors after a scanner detected a pulse one month after the mega-blast at the adjacent port AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 September 2020 A full moon next to the Virgen del Panecillo statue in Quito, Ecuador EPA World news in pictures 2 September 2020 A Palestinian woman reacts as Israeli forces demolish her animal shed near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank Reuters World news in pictures 1 September 2020 Students protest against presidential elections results in Minsk TUT.BY/AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 August 2020 The pack rides during the 3rd stage of the Tour de France between Nice and Sisteron AFP via Getty World news in pictures 30 August 2020 Law enforcement officers block a street during a rally of opposition supporters protesting against presidential election results in Minsk, Belarus Reuters World news in pictures 29 August 2020 A woman holding a placard reading "Stop Censorship - Yes to the Freedom of Expression" shouts in a megaphone during a protest against the mandatory wearing of face masks in Paris. Masks, which were already compulsory on public transport, in enclosed public spaces, and outdoors in Paris in certain high-congestion areas around tourist sites, were made mandatory outdoors citywide on August 28 to fight the rising coronavirus infections AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 August 2020 Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe bows to the national flag at the start of a press conference at the prime minister official residence in Tokyo. Abe announced he will resign over health problems, in a bombshell development that kicks off a leadership contest in the world's third-largest economy AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 August 2020 Residents take cover behind a tree trunk from rubber bullets fired by South African Police Service (SAPS) in Eldorado Park, near Johannesburg, during a protest by community members after a 16-year old boy was reported dead AFP via Getty World news in pictures 26 August 2020 People scatter rose petals on a statue of Mother Teresa marking her 110th birth anniversary in Ahmedabad AFP via Getty World news in pictures 25 August 2020 An aerial view shows beach-goers standing on salt formations in the Dead Sea near Ein Bokeq, Israel Reuters World news in pictures 24 August 2020 Health workers use a fingertip pulse oximeter and check the body temperature of a fisherwoman inside the Dharavi slum during a door-to-door Covid-19 coronavirus screening in Mumbai AFP via Getty World news in pictures 23 August 2020 People carry an idol of the Hindu god Ganesh, the deity of prosperity, to immerse it off the coast of the Arabian sea during the Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Mumbai, India Reuters World news in pictures 22 August 2020 Firefighters watch as flames from the LNU Lightning Complex fires approach a home in Napa County, California AP World news in pictures 21 August 2020 Members of the Israeli security forces arrest a Palestinian demonstrator during a rally to protest against Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank AFP via Getty World news in pictures 20 August 2020 A man pushes his bicycle through a deserted road after prohibitory orders were imposed by district officials for a week to contain the spread of the Covid-19 in Kathmandu AFP via Getty World news in pictures 19 August 2020 A car burns while parked at a residence in Vacaville, California. Dozens of fires are burning out of control throughout Northern California as fire resources are spread thin AFP via Getty World news in pictures 18 August 2020 Students use their mobile phones as flashlights at an anti-government rally at Mahidol University in Nakhon Pathom. Thailand has seen near-daily protests in recent weeks by students demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha AFP via Getty World news in pictures 17 August 2020 Members of the Kayapo tribe block the BR163 highway during a protest outside Novo Progresso in Para state, Brazil. Indigenous protesters blocked a major transamazonian highway to protest against the lack of governmental support during the COVID-19 novel coronavirus pandemic and illegal deforestation in and around their territories AFP via Getty World news in pictures 16 August 2020 Lightning forks over the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge as a storm passes over Oakland AP World news in pictures 15 August 2020 Belarus opposition supporters gather near the Pushkinskaya metro station where Alexander Taraikovsky, a 34-year-old protester died on August 10, during their protest rally in central Minsk AFP via Getty World news in pictures 14 August 2020 AlphaTauri's driver Daniil Kvyat takes part in the second practice session at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmelo near Barcelona ahead of the Spanish F1 Grand Prix AFP via Getty World news in pictures 13 August 2020 Soldiers of the Brazilian Armed Forces during a disinfection of the Christ The Redeemer statue at the Corcovado mountain prior to the opening of the touristic attraction in Rio AFP via Getty World news in pictures 12 August 2020 Young elephant bulls tussle playfully on World Elephant Day at the Amboseli National Park in Kenya AFP via Getty World news in pictures 11 August 2020 French Prime Minister Jean Castex is helped by a member of staff to put a protective suit on prior to his visit at the CHU hospital in Montpellier AFP via Getty World news in pictures 10 August 2020 Locals harvest their potatoes as Mount Sinabung spews volcanic ash in Karo, North Sumatra province, Indonesia Antara Foto/Reuters World news in pictures 9 August 2020 Doves fly over the Peace Statue at Nagasaki Peace Park during the memorial ceremony held for the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing EPA World news in pictures 8 August 2020 Anti-government protesters try to remove concrete wall that installed by security forces to prevent protesters reaching the Parliament square, during a protest against the political elites and the government after this week's deadly explosion in Beirut AP World news in pictures 7 August 2020 A protester throws a stone towards Israeli forces in the village of Turmus Aya, north of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, following a march by Palestinians against the building of Israeli settlements AFP via Getty World news in pictures 6 August 2020 A woman yells as soldiers block a road for French President Emmanuel Macron's visit the Gemmayzeh neighborhood. The area in Beirut suffered extensive damage from the explosion at the seaport AP World news in pictures 5 August 2020 Damage at the site of Tuesday's blast in Beirut's port area, Lebanon Reuters World news in pictures 4 August 2020 A large explosion in the Lebanese capital Beirut. The blast, which rattled entire buildings and broke glass, was felt in several parts of the city AFP via Getty World news in pictures 3 August 2020 A general view shows the new road bridge in Genoa, Italy ahead of its official inauguration, after it was rebuilt following its collapse on August 14, 2018 which killed 43 people Reuters World news in pictures 2 August 2020 Empty stall spaces are seen hours before a citywide curfew is introduced in Melbourne, Australia EPA World news in pictures 1 August 2020 People take part in a demonstration by the initiative "Querdenken-711" with the slogan "the end of the pandemic - the day of freedom" to protest against the current measurements to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Berlin, Germany AFP via Getty World news in pictures 31 July 2020 Pilgrims circumambulating around the Kaaba, the holiest shrine in the Grand mosque in Mecca. Muslim pilgrims converged today on Saudi Arabia's Mount Arafat for the climax of this year's hajj, the smallest in modern times and a sharp contrast to the massive crowds of previous years Saudi Ministry of Media/AFP World news in pictures 30 July 2020 The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission lifts off at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. The mission is part of the USA's largest moon to Mars exploration. Nasa will attempt to establish a sustained human presence on and around the moon by 2028 through their Artemis programme EPA World news in pictures 29 July 2020 A woman refreshes herself in a outdoor pool in summer temperatures in Ehingen, Germany dpa via AP World news in pictures 28 July 2020 Malaysia's former prime minister Najib Razak speaks to the media after he was found guilty in his corruption trial in Kuala Lumpur AFP via Getty World news in pictures 27 July 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un poses for a photograph after conferring commemorative pistols to leading commanding officers of the armed forces on the 67th anniversary of the "Day of Victory in the Great Fatherland Liberation War". Which marks the signing of the Korean War armistice KCNA via Reuters

Tabuas made from plastic are also circulating, according to sellers in Suva, who says they had ways to identify the fakes.

“You use matches to light the tabua,” says Rachel Turaga, 19, a shop assistant at Henry’s Pawn Shop. “If it melts, that’s the fake one.”

It has been five months since the interview with Mr Baivatu at Henry’s Pawn Shop, and his search for a wife continues. “I’m still looking,” he says through a spotty phone connection. On the bright side, he now has 11 tabuas, one short of his goal.