O Viti

Since nothing really happened this week, except playing Scrabble, watching movies, and telling stories. Oh, and of course eating good American food! So, instead, I thought I should give a quick overview of Fiji. I know I have covered most of this throughout my blogs, but here is a quickie:


1. Fiji is a former British colony, independent since 1970, and lies about half way between, Papeete, Tahiti and Cairns, Australia. Most all of the nation's 333 islands are of volcanic origin.

2. Ethnically, the first Fijians were of Melanesian origin. Based on archeological evidence (primarily pottery), it appears that the islands were settled in three waves-1600 BC, 400-100 BC and 1000-1800 AD-by people immigrating from what is now Papua New Guinea. Because of various incursions, however, especially by the Tongans, many Fijians of today combine Melanesian physical characteristics (short stature, dark-skin and fuzzy hair) with those of the Polynesians (tall, muscular, fair and straight hair).

3. Cannibalism was deeply ingrained in the Fijian culture long before the birth of Christ. Indeed, the custom was an important aspect of the Fijian religion in which the great warrior-gods were themselves cannibals. The prime (U.S.D.A.?) idea behind this gruesome practice was to consume those who were captured in battle, because, as Rob Kay, the author of Fiji-a Survival Guide, points out: "Eating your enemy was the ultimate disgrace the victor could impose, and in the Fijian system of ancestor worship this became a lasting insult to the victims' families." Not surprisingly, as Kay continues, there was a good deal of "vicious infighting, internecine warfare and vengeance-seeking that went on in pre-Christian times."

4. In 1874, when Fiji became a crown colony of England, it was decided that substantial economic development was necessary. Concluding that the production of sugar cane would be just the ticket, but unwilling to exploit the indigenous Fijians, the governor at the time, Sir Arthur Gordon, decided to import workers from India. To that end, beginning in 1879, and continuing until 1916, some 60,000 Indians were brought in to tend the fields. By 1999 almost half of Fiji's total population of 850,000 was of Indian origin, and, as a result, Mahendra Chaudhry was elected as Fiji's first Indo-Fijian prime minister. Unfortunately, because Chaudhry endorsed land reforms (previously only indigenous Fijians could own land), and a social justice bill that reduced government programs for the "native" people, in May 2000, in a coup during which four rebels were killed, both he and his government were overthrown. Shortly thereafter, in yet another destabilizing twist, the insurgents themselves were ousted, and in August 2001, new elections were held. Today, still facing seemingly intractable problems, it remains to be seen how the current government will fare.

5. Perhaps the most famous Fijian social custom involves the drinking of kava, a concoction made by mixing ground, dried kava roots, a shrub related to the pepper family, and water. The resulting beverage, which is served in a large wooden bowl, looks very much dirty dishwater, and has a peculiar, but not unpleasant, taste. In older, pre-blender days, the roots were chewed to a pulp by young virgins, whose saliva, it is said, somehow reacted with the root's active ingredients, thereby intensifying the buzz the kava drinker might feel.

Well, now you know. Since we did not get blown away by Cyclone Tomas I thought before the next one comes and wipes out the entire country, I should have a little information in writing.

In the past week I have been spending a lot of time on the internet researching and planning strict itineraries for a trip coming up to Vanua Levu, "the visit" by my mom and sister, and a trip to hike to the highest point in Fiji. Lots of traveling to look forward to! I have found that this is the only way I get through each week, is by having something to look forward to in the near future! Oh Fijian coping strategies.

Anyways, talk to ya'll soon. Miss you Bestie, Sissy, Mom, and Dad.