Ratu Mara - A Colossus of the Pacific

Remembering a colossus

www.fijitimes.com - Thursday, October 08, 2009

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Awaiting launch ... the new book Tuimacilai

Tuimacilai: A Life of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara was four years in the making.

It is the first major biography of Fiji's late president and prime minister, who was the dominant political figure in the period leading to Independence and in the first decades of nationhood.

It was said of Ratu Sir Kamisese that he bestrode Fiji's political stage like a colossus.

To some his height and quick temper meant he was "the towering inferno"; others gave him god-like status.

His achievements were numerous. But most of all he was known for his advocacy of multi-racial co-operation, through a philosophy of dialogue and consensus he called the Pacific Way.

Tuimacilai is the latest book by the historian and author Dr Deryck Scarr.

It is printed and published as a joint venture between the Fijians Trust Fund and the Australian company Crawford House Publishing.

It will be launched in Suva on Fiji Day, Saturday October 10th, by Ratu Sir Kamisese's close friend Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea.

Sir Robert Sanders, for many years secretary to Ratu Sir Kamisese and cabinet, knew the late leader better than most.

He describes Tuimacilai as a monumental work adding, "I would certainly call it definitive."

"To those of us who knew him the whole account rings true even without all the evidence so studiously gathered, interpreted and synthesized," says Sir Robert.

He compliments Dr Scarr for making sure Ratu Sir Kamisese's "very considerable achievements are fully recognised."

Here are some brief extracts and summaries from Tuimacilai, the first public disclosures of the contents of the biography:

"..he was forever navigating between discordant interests and aspirations in his re-emerging nation until the year 2000 when he became overwhelmed at the end of a very long walk along a political tightrope".

Dr Scarr saw Ratu Sir Kamisese as odd man out among the chiefs of his era. He had attended four universities, reading medicine, history, economics, political science and colonial administration. By conversion he was a Roman Catholic among Methodists. "Above all," writes Dr Scarr, "he was recognised as likely to see much more moral force in Indian political claims than most other Fijians were likely to do."

Psychology of a community: "As he remembered and as was often remembered of him too, he had actually taken full note of Indian aspirations throughout his time in district administration. 'In many instances I felt that their main problem was a psychological one,' he recalled in 1972, as prime minister with an election coming up. 'They felt that in spite of the role they played in the development of this country, they were not recognised as any more than itinerant immigrants who could possibly be sent away again. Having this understanding of the Indians, whenever I have the opportunity to serve them, I make sure that I serve them as fairly and honestly as I serve any other citizens in Fiji.' "In his diaries, though, his concern for his own people predominates, Ratu Mara wanted rapid results for Fijians in industrial as well as agricultural development."

Quoting from a letter by Ratu Sir Kamisese to his mentor and relative, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna: "By the way, there will be no peace of mind if we keep on underlining the differences between Indians and Fijians. Neither race seeing anything in common. One thinking the other privileged."

Quoting G K Roth, author of The Fijian Way of Life: "Ratu Mara is an outstandingly able and intelligent young chief holding some remarkably unorthodox views on the Fijian social system and administration."

On the role of chiefs: "As a high chief from an established dynasty, and so the living representative of a creator god, his ascribed function was to serve as a central co-ordinating agency and in his formative years it was generally axiomatic that chiefs would or should lead in modern politics too."

Impatience: "Behind their hands, the young Fijians of his think tank said that it was doubly fortunate that he had never gone on to be a surgeon, because so impatient a man would hardly have waited for an unpunctual anaesthetist before making the first incision."

As a child at Levuka: "Ratu Mara was photographed there at about eight years old - a bare-foot boy in shorts and shirt, handsome, solemn, reserved, wary and not altogether happy, or perhaps merely shy."

Ratu Sir Kamisese on race and racialism: 'Race is a fact of life as language is a fact of life and these facts will have to be reconciled with progress. .. racialism is an evil, but also a reality"... "racialism is a cancer, a malignant growth; you cannot confine it to one race only."

Recollections from Oxford University: "My memories of him are vivid", wrote his modern history tutor, Mr A F (Pat) Thompson, nearly 60 years after taking him on. "Invariably dignified, his presence greatly reinforced by his youthful stature. Economical with words, but something of a wit when he uttered. Quietly competent, not a natural third by any means. In the late '40s, when there were schools lunches as well as dinners, I remember him striding round the quad after one lunch, completely under control after putting away phenomenal quantities of drinks. He was a truly heroic drinker in a very booze-ridden period."

Being hungry at Oxford: "In secluded gardens behind the college, he went scrumping (pinching) pears with Ratu Penaia because, big men that they were, they were so hungry for so much of the time."

A favourite Biblical text: "Have I not commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage: Be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord Thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest."

Quoting Dr Peter France on Ratu Sir Kamisese as a good listener: "He would ask questions and then subsidiary questions and you would find yourself talking to him for half an hour and only on leaving him realise that you hadn't the faintest idea of what his thoughts were on whatever you'd been discussing."

Socialising with Pat and So Raddock: "In houses like the Raddock's ... he was free to relax, joke, pour the wine, wrangle with Pat about cricket and poke fun generally."

Complaining when Adi Lady Lala Mara took her time when the couple were ready to go out: 'Clean people don't need to bathe,' he might comment when his wife lingered in her bath and they were going to be late for some cocktail party."

Fijian Arts and Craft

The beauty of the Fijian craft

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An average mat may take up to two weeks to finish.

One of the places you simply must visit on your Fijian holiday is the local handicraft market. The obvious benefit is being able to buy local art and craft at much cheaper prices compared to handicraft stores.

But there is another reason why you should do so. Visiting a local market is a chance to interact with local craftspeople and watch them at work.

You will get a better understanding of how local handicraft is made and craftspeople will happily answer any questions you may have about the materials and processes.

Suva’s handicraft market is located behind the Central Post Office while the one in Nadi is a short walk from the fresh food market in the centre of town.

At both markets, you will find Fiji’s two major races, indigenous Fijians and Indians sharing stalls side by side. These people, who come from various parts of Fiji, specialise in different craft depending on the area they are from.

Take the case of Leba Waqanisau, who hails from the island of Nayau in the Lau Group. She moved to Suva in 1960 to be close to her parents, who had resettled in Suva and decided to stay.

Leba, now in her 60s, has been making and selling handicraft for the past 36 years and has held a stall, No. 18 at the Suva Handicraft Centre for a good number of those years.

When I visited her, she was making pink rosettes out of vau, a rough paper like material that is made from the bark of a local tree. Vau bark is usually stripped and soaked in water for four weeks, before being flattened through beating. It is used in salusalu (traditional garlands), skirts and rosettes.

I saw Leba take a small piece of pink vau, make small circles out of it and deftly tie it together to make a perfect little rosette. It would be used to decorate some woven girl’s slippers she told me. Leba also weaves mats and makes tapa (the traditional cloth made from the bark of the mulberry tree).

These are skills she learnt growing up in her village on Nayau, where young girls would sit alongside women and imitate what they were doing. “We learnt by watching what they were doing, no one really taught us,” she says.

The younger generation is losing interest in the traditional crafts, says Leba. “You have to keep doing it to maintain it.”

One of the things that deter many young people from entering the handicraft industry is the relatively low returns for what is labour intensive and.time consuming work. Take a woven mat for example.

An average mat may take up to two weeks to finish and sells for only $25 - $35, a steal if you consider the amount of time and effort that goes into making it.

By visiting and buying directly from craftspeople, you are helping support the local craft scene.

It also means a greater portion of the sale goes directly into their pockets, as opposed to buying it from big handicraft stores where craftspeople are forced to sell their wares at cheaper prices.

So pay a visit to the local handicraft centres on your next visit to Fiji, you’ll no doubt take back stories of how those special holiday mementos were made.

Art of Fijian body painting

Art of Fijian body painting

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During war in the old days, warriors painted their faces and sometimes chests in mainly red or black colours.

Traditionally, the Fijians painted their face and bodies in a range of different colours and patterns, not only for cosmetic decoration but in terms of tribal warfare, when a more serious make over was called for!

An indigenous palette of red, yellow, black and white was used, which was later joined by blue and vermilion with the arrival of the Europeans in the 1800’s.

In fact vermilion had become equivalent to gold by the mid 19th century and the Fijians swapped baskets of the seafood delicacy, blanche-de-mer, with European traders for the valuable red pigment.

Black pigment was obtained from the soot of burnt candlenut or kauri resin, or from charcoal or fungus spores, then mixed with coconut and other oils.

Yellow was derived from a type of ginger root as well as turmeric.
For everyday decoration, faces were striped, zigzagged, spotted, bisected or plain black except for a red nose.

For wars, men would paint their faces and sometimes chests in mainly red or black – colours that were associated with battle, blood and death.

Tumeric was used to paint babies and women for the first three months of pregnancy and after the birth, until the baby was weaned.

During this time, a woman was sexually ‘tabu’ and if a man was found with traces of yellow on him, he was seriously teased!

Tumeric was also used for young boys’ puberty ceremonies or renaming ceremonies celebrating the first killing.

While men favoured red and black for war paint, the women preferred to use brighter colours or yellow, red and pink.

Fine black circles around the eyes were considered beautiful.

Before painting, skin was oiled and scented with coconut oil – a practice that many Fijian women still include as part of their beauty routine.

After the European settlers and missionaries arrived in Fiji, tribal warfare and rituals such as initiation tattooing were discouraged. Eventually, the practise of Fijian face and body decoration also disappeared.

Today, face painting is reserved for cultural performances only.

The romantic tale of the Tagimoucia

The romantic tale of the Tagimoucia

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The Tagimoucia is one of the rarest flowers in the world.

Nestling in a dormant volcano, the rare and lovely tagimoucia blooms on the fringe of Taveuni's remote lakes, four thousand feet above sea level.

One of the rarest flowers in the world, the tagimoucia or medinilla waterhousei, grows only on the island of Taveuni, home to lush rainforest, exotic ferns, orchids, rare palms and native trees.

Behind Fiji's unique, national flower, there is a legend - a Fijian legend full of South Seas romance. On the island of Taveuni there once lived a beautiful princess.

One day, she found out that she was to lose her lover because her father had betrothed her to an ugly, old man in the village.

In her anguish, she ran into the forest, where she wandered around for many hours before she found herself on the banks of an exquisite, jewel-like lake.

She was later to be discovered by a search party, weeping as she slept upon a bed of tangled, green vines.

As her tears rolled down her cheeks, they fell on to the stems of the plant and turned from salt into blood red flowers.

The group of men, send by her father to find her, named these flowers "tagimoucia" which means in Fijian "crying tears of despair."

And there they are to this day, for the people of Taveuni believe that this exquisite flower did indeed originate from the bitter tears shed by a young girl in love.

As for the princess, when she awoke from her nap she was delighted to find her lover by her side. Her father, feeling pity for his daughter, then allowed the young couple to marry and they lived happily every after on Taveuni - the "Garden Island of Fiji."

Common Fijian Phrases

Say It In Fijian

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No stay in Fiji is complete without learning some Fijian words. The best way for you to learn Fijian and Hindi is to converse with a local. Not only will you learn a new language, you will also make a lifelong friend. Here’s a few hints about pronunciation - an essential part of Fijian and Hindi. The vowels in the Fijian language are pronounced the same as in English but the Fijian language also comprises of the following consonants - b is mb as in bamboo, c is th as in that, d is nd as in candy, j is ch as in church, g is ng as in singing, q is ngg as in great. In Hindi, the vowels are pronounced as follows: a is long as in master; e is long as in wet, I is pronounced as e like reef, o as in wow, u as in run.

Here are just some words that you might want to try out:

English	Fijian
Hello (casual)	Bula (Boo-lah)
Hello (formal)	Ni sa bula (Nee Sah Boo-lah)
Good morning	Ni sa yadra (Nee Sah Yarn-drah)
Please	Kerekere (Cayraycayray)
Thank you/good	Vinaka (vee-nakha)
Yes	Io (ee-oh)
No	Sega (Seng-gah)
Eat	Kana (kah-nah)
Lady/woman	Marama (Mmah-raam-mah)
Man	Turaga
Child	(Too-rang-gah)
	Gone (Ngo-ne)
Small	Lailai (Lie-lie)
Large	Levu (Lay-voo)
A little	Vakalailai
	(Vah-car-lie-lie)
A lot	Vakalevu
	(Vah-car-lay-voo)
Quickly	Vakatotolo
	(Vah-car-toe-toe-low)
Slowly	Vakamalua
	(Vah-car-mah-loo-ah)
House Vale/bure	(Val-lay/Boo-ray)
Toilet	Valelailai
	(Vah-lay-lie-lie)
Come	Lako mai
	(Lah-koh my)
Go away	Lako tani
	(lah-ko-tah-nee)
Goodbye (informal)	Moce(Mow-they)
Bring it	Kauta mai
Take it away	(Cow-tah my)
	Kauta tani(Cow-tah-tah-nee)
One more	Dua tale (Doo-ah tah-ley)
One	Dua (Doo-ah)
Two	Rua (Rooh-ah)
Drink	Gunu (Ngoo-noo)
Food	Kakana(Kar-car-nah)
Church	Vale ni lotu (Vah-ley nee low-too)
Coconut	Niu (New)
Shop/Store	Sitoa(See-toh-ah)-(store)
Earth oven	Lovo (Low-voh)
Sarong	Sulu (Sue-loo)

The shifting sand dunes

The shifting sand dunes

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The dunes are clearly visible from the main highway just outside Sigatoka.

Near where the Sigatoka River meets the sea on South-Eastern Viti Levu stretches an expanse of barren wind-blown sand that has been the subject of myth and superstition for centuries.

The dunes are clearly visible from the main highway just outside Sigatoka.

All you need to do is park the car at the foot of the dunes and a short, steep ascent up the sands is rewarded with a panoramic view of rolling surf, the mouth of Sigatoka River and a desert-like vista of breathtaking beauty.

The Sigatoka sand dunes are constantly being reformed by wind and tide on the side nearest the sea and have revealed archaeological treasures that have done so much to establish Fiji's earliest human history.

The dunes are the product of fluvial erosion in the coastal hinterland and coastal beach forming process. Eroded rock material from the Sigatoka River's catchment is transported downstream to the river's mouth where a sand bar has developed.

Wave action (long-shore drift) then transports the sand ashore. Strong on-shore winds then further transport the sand in-land, piling it up in the form of dunes. Dunal vegetation reduces Western wind velocity and acts as a sand trap, thereby effectively stabilising and building up the dunes at the same time.

The sand dunes extend from the mouth of the Sigatoka River for a distance of close to five kilometres. The width of this complex system of dunes and inter-dunal hollows (swales) varies from around 200m in the east to 0.8 km in the west

Their average height is 20m but at their high point in the Western Section, they reach in excess of 50 meters. Dunes composed largely of alluvial sands, overlay details and beach deposits.

Their average height is 20m but at their high point in the Western Section, they reach in excess of 50 meters. Dunes composed largely of alluvial sands, overlay details and beach deposits.

For almost half of their total area of approximately 240 hectares dunes are unstable.

Occasionally, as the huge sand dunes shifted with the wind, shards of pottery and human bones were uncovered.

Even today, as the dunes continue their endless movement, new discoveries are being made.

For almost half of their total area of approximately 240 hectares dunes are unstable. Occasionally, as the huge sand dunes shifted with the wind, shards of pottery and human bones were uncovered. Even today, as the dunes continue their endless movement, new discoveries are being made. The mystery of this dune-forming process has been occurring for the last 3500 years.

In those times, the coastal strip was tropical forest with.fertile soil and lay close to rich fishing grounds making it an ideal spot for settlement.

Somewhere around 1,000 BC, migrants believed to be from Vanuatu arrived. Called the Lapita people, evidence of their early settlement has been found in the Sigatoka sand dunes and on Yanuca Island near the present site of The Fijian Hotel.

However, their exact origins and eventual fate are lost in time.

It has been suggested that Fiji's early settlers played a major role in the formation of the sand dunes through deforestation of the Sigatoka River's catchment.

These first settlers may have come and gone unnoticed, but for the ancient shards of pottery that has survived centuries in the sand and triggered modern scientific interest in the area.

There was a second epoch of settlement and it too remains largely unexplained.

The watchful eyes of the coconut

The watchful eyes of the coconut

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The legend says that God gave the coconut three eyes, which are represented by three dark indentations at one end of the nut.

Falling coconuts that watch for you! You've heard about how the coconut tree is called the Tree of Life in the Pacific and how versatile it is.

However, have you heard the one about the falling coconuts that watch for you?

According to Fijian legend, there's no need to watch for falling coconuts when you're in the islands, because the coconuts will watch for you.

The legend says that God gave the coconut three eyes, which are represented by three dark indentations at one end of the nut.

Each of the eyes has a job to do: one looks left, one looks right, and the third looks down to make sure there is no one below when it decides to fall from its lofty perch.

Getting hit by a falling coconut would inflict considerable pain, but thanks to the legend of the three eyes, such an accident almost never occurs. Falling coconuts are often heard of but, thankfully, are never felt.

Perhaps it's because of the legend - who knows? One thing's for sure, your head's probably very thankful!

Fiji’s Cannibal History

Step into Fiji’s cannibal history

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Udre Udre's grave on the outskirts of Vaileka town. The stones surrounding the grave signify the number of people he is believed to have eaten.

As you turn off the Kings Road in to Vaileka in northern Viti Levu you come across a neatly-kept grave on your right, 12 kilometres before the town.

The neatly-inscribed grave stone and serene surroundings belie the terror with the Fijian chief buried there held sway over the area more than 200 years ago.

Ratu Udre Udre, a tribal chieftain in the area, was the last-known cannibal in Fiji and was known to practice this gruesome feat even after influential chiefs like Ratu Seru Cakobau ceded Fiji to Great Briatin and accepted Christianity.

He is reputed to be the world's most prolific cannibal.

During the 19th century, Ratu Udre Udre reportedly ate more than 99 people. He kept a stone for each body he ate, which were placed alongside his tomb in Rakiraki, in northern Viti Levu.

According to Udre Udre's son, the chief would eat every part of his victims, preserving what he couldn't eat in one sitting for consumption later.

While it is believed that Udre Udre ate over 9000 people, this would have been impossible considering the time it would have taken per person. Actual estimates from the count of grave stones near his grave the count near 872.

The National Museum in Suva has on display part of Udre Udre’s dining table, with several of the actual ceremonial forks used by Fijians to eat human flesh.

The excellent Lonely Planet guide to Fiji gives the following story.

In 1849, some time after Ratu Udreudre's death, the Reverend Richard Lyth, who was staying in Cokova in north-eastern Viti Levu, saw a long line of stones placed together in a row.

Each stone represented one of the chief's victims and amounted to a personal tally of at least 872 corpses, in addition to any eaten in his youth [apparently some of the stones had ben removed].

The Reverend recounted a conversation with Udre Udre's son Ravatu. “Ravatu assured me that his father eat all this number of human beings - he was wont to add a stone to the row for each one he received - they were victims killed in war he eat them all himself - he gave to none,” he said. “However much he had on hand - it was cooked and recooked (by which it was preserved) until it was all consumed - he would keep it in a box so that he might lose none ... he eat but little else, very little vegetable - and being an enormous eater he was able to get through a great deal.”

So next time you’re travelling that As you turn off the Kings Road in to Vaileka in northern Viti Levu you come across a neatly-kept grave on your right, 12 kilometres before the town.

The neatly-inscribed grave stone and serene surroundings belie the terror with the Fijian chief buried there held sway over the area more than 200 years ago.

Ratu Udre Udre, a tribal chieftain in the area, was the last-known cannibal in Fiji and was known to practice this gruesome feat even after influential chiefs like Ratu Seru Cakobau ceded Fiji to Great Briatin and accepted Christianity.

He is reputed to be the world's most prolific cannibal.

During the 19th century, Ratu Udre Udre reportedly ate more than 99 people. He kept a stone for each body he ate, which were placed alongside his tomb in Rakiraki, in northern Viti Levu.

According to Udre Udre's son, the chief would eat every part of his victims, preserving what he couldn't eat in one sitting for consumption later.

While it is believed that Udre Udre ate over 9000 people, this would have been impossible considering the time it would have taken per person. Actual estimates from the count of grave stones near his grave the count near 872.

The National Museum in Suva has on display part of Udre Udre’s dining table, with several of the actual ceremonial forks used by Fijians to eat human flesh.

The excellent Lonely Planet guide to Fiji gives the following story.

In 1849, some time after Ratu Udreudre's death, the Reverend Richard Lyth, who was staying in Cokova in north-eastern Viti Levu, saw a long line of stones placed together in a row.

Each stone represented one of the chief's victims and amounted to a personal tally of at least 872 corpses, in addition to any eaten in his youth [apparently some of the stones had ben removed].

The Reverend recounted a conversation with Udre Udre's son Ravatu.

“Ravatu assured me that his father eat all this number of human beings - he was wont to add a stone to the row for each one he received - they were victims killed in war he eat them all himself - he gave to none,” he said.

“However much he had on hand - it was cooked and recooked (by which it was preserved) until it was all consumed - he would keep it in a box so that he might lose none ... he eat but little else, very little vegetable - and being an enormous eater he was able to get through a great deal.”

So next time you’re travelling that way take a little time to be acquainted with Fiji’s last cannibal.

The giant and his swing

The giant and his swing

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Degei...the all powerful snake god

We've all heard of the value of hard work and the danger of idleness. In the Western world, this moral is told through the story of the grasshopper and the ant.

In Fiji, this moral is told through the story of the giant and his swing. High in the mountains of Kadavu, in a small village in Naceva, there lived a family.

They were your average Fijian family, except the youngest child, Bulai, was a giant and was more prone to go off and play rather than go off and work like the rest of his hard-working family.

Bulai left home when he was young and went to live on the mountaintops where he could play all day, uninterrupted.

Bulai, decided to go for a nice swing and sat upon a massive creeper that hung from the biggest tree in the mountain forest.

The meagre sashaying of the normal-sized playground swings we're accustomed to was incomparable to the immense stride of the giant vine swing of Bulai.

With one swift movement, Bulai could soar across the mountains and valleys until he reached Nabukelevu, some 20 miles away from where he started.

With one sweep back on the swing, Bulai passed over the valleys and mountains on the way back and went right across the island until he was right over the sea at the other end of Kadavu.

Bulai would swing backwards and forwards over Kadavu all day long, even swinging right about his family's village. Every time he passed it, he observed his family hard at work.

One swing forward, he could see them hiking to the forest to the yam gardens; on the swing back, he saw them digging up the yams.

Another time, he saw them climbing the coconut trees and cutting the leaves to weave into baskets; another swing back and Bulai observed them placing the yams into the completed baskets and lugging the heavy loads to the village.

Again, with another swing, he saw them struggling on their way home through the slippery mud up and down the rough terrain.

Bulai continued swinging into the evening and continued to observe his family each time he passed overhead.

As always, they were never idle, always attending to some task. The women gathered the firewood and at night fires were lit to roast the yams they had collected laboriously.

Just as his family were about to enjoy the fruits of their labour, Bulai swung down and snatched the delicious yams before they could even get a taste of the fresh, piping-hot treat.

They were undoubtedly miffed at this, but being the genial, industrious people that they were, they simply went out to get more yams.

However, when Bulai continued to nick their food and quickly escape with the help of his massive swing, they agreed that he must be stopped, somehow.

They tried yelling at him, but Bulai simply laughed and ignored their scolding. One day, two men from his village decided on another tactic.

They hiked up the mountains until they reached the top and found the giant tree, which held the notorious swing. They climbed the tree and found the particular creeper that Bulai used as his swing.

In fact, Bulai was still swinging gleefully on it, not even realizing that there were two intruders just above him.

With stone axes, the two men hacked at the vine until it broke in two and fell down far into the valley below. The vine coiled and entangled Bulai on the way down. Bulai met his doom and died instantly.

It is said that in a small village somewhere in Naceva there are two large white stones that look like the bones of a giant.

The villagers refer to them as Bulai's bones and every time they look at them, they are reminded of his idle folly and say, "Those who think only of pleasure and leave all the work to others will come to a bad end!"

Dakuwaqa -The Mighty Shark God

 Fiji Times Story - 25 July 2011

Safe By My Brother

by Ilaitia Turagabeci

UNDER the fast-flowing currents of the Somosomo Strait, sharks roam free happily.

They do not fear the two-legged predators who come from land and brought their world population after 415 million years of existence to the brink of extinction.

From the depth of the darkness of this stretch to the light blue waters closer to the coastlines in Cakaudrove, they feel free to hunt the reefs for food, free to rule the seas and maintaining its life cycle as the top-of-the-food-chain predator.

This is their home, home of Dakuwaqa, the ancient shark god, protector of the paramount chief of the province, the Tui Cakau.

The waters of Somosomo Strait have been the backyard of this king of the seas, feared, captivating and mystifying. His home, Benau ù an island which closer to Vanua Levu than Taveuni, home of the Tui Cakau ù sits in this strait. Benau is among evidence of a relationship between the shark and Fiji, in this case the people of the mataqali Ai Sokula, the chiefly bloodline of the Tui Cakau, who legend has it was a twin of Dakuwaqa.

When the twins were born, they were put in a basket made of leaves and left to drift at sea. One turned into a shark, the other was rescued by the people of the Ai Sokula. They returned to land with this child from the sea, escorted by the shark god who promised to protect his brother and his people.

The people of the Ai Sokula embraced the child as their chief and today Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, the current Tui Cakau, has given his support to a campaign to protect sharks and push for legislation to turn Fiji's waters into a shark sanctuary.

His gonedau (traditional fishermen) are originally from Rukua in Beqa. They visited Somosomo when they heard news of the twins' birth because they also believed in a shark god called Gone Mai Wai (child from the sea). Today, these gonedau make up the mataqali Benau in Somosomo.

Moved by the Pew Environmental Group for shark sanctuaries around the world as their numbers drop drastically ù estimated at 73 million killings annually ù campaigners are racing against time to create awareness and safeguard the guardian of the reefs on which we depend on for our survival.

Without the sharks, the middle predators will take control, feeding on smaller fish that live off the micro organisms that attack and smother the coral.

The death of the coral, says leading shark conservation campaigner Manoa Rasigatale, will mean the death of the islands.

"We must act now to save the future for our children. The existence of the sharks ensures a balance in the life cycle that sustains our world. The shark is our friend. Our world is still here because sharks survived the ages," he says.

"The dinosaurs disappeared off the face of the planet after appearing 180 million years in the wake of the sharks. Our relationship with the shark is an ancient one, one based on veiyalayalati (agreement) that either will look after their own habitat ù man on land, shark in water."

The overfishing of sharks for their fins, meat and by-products has driven their population down in most parts of the world. While it is stable in our islands, Mr Rasigatale ù Fiji's sharkman ù says we must act quickly.

With the help of The Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL), and the Ministry of Fisheries which is holding consultation and drawing up proposals on permanent shark protection, the sharkman and Pew hope Fiji follows the island of Palau, which declared the world's first national shark sanctuary.

That led to other shark sanctuaries in other states such as the Maldives, Guam, Saipan, Honduras and the Bahamas. Fiji is now poised to lead the region as the first Melanesian nation to enact similar full shark protection.

"Our relationship with the shark is unique, especially the people of Cakaudrove, Rukua in Beqa, Yanuca in Serua and Kadavu. All their legends involve the shark and his promise to protect them. It is now our turn to do our part," he says.

The people of Cakaudrove have a lot of respect for the sharks. The sharks accompany their paramount chief when he is out at sea, escorting his boat as a naval fleet would a flagship.

And they patrol the waters off Somosomo in unison when he dies. This was evident during the traditional funeral rites of the last four holders of the Tui Cakau title ù Ratu Josefa Lalabalavu, Ratu Ratavo Lalabalavu, Ratu Penaia Ganilau and Ratu Glanville Lalabalavu.

Metres from the seawall, they cruised up and down alongside the village green, as guards would for their king. This was captured in a Fiji Times photograph when Ratu Penaia's body lay in state in Somosomo in 1993.

"It's a phenomenon, a relationship steeped in mana and sacred. The sharks protect these people when they are at sea. They are not bitten, unless they have offended the vanua."

In 2002, while transporting 11 islanders from Vuna to Koro, a boat capsized in treacherous seas. Nine people died, two survived.

They were the boat captain Umu Vulakoro from Yacata, a subject of the Tui Cakau, and a man from Kadavu, whose link with the shark god stems from a promise Dakuawaqa made to the people of Kadavu when he lost a challenge to the guardian of the reef at the Naceva bay, an octopus called Bakaniceva.

In a documented interview in Fijian with the sharkman, Mr Vulakoro tells of the horror of losing his passengers as they battled the waves to stay alive. They prayed to God to save them and in desperation yelled out across the sea that threatened to engulf them for help from their ancient friend.

Then out of the water, a great white shape appeared and pushed them across the waves. Tired and exhausted, Mr Vulakoro and the Kadavuan were taken close to land and thrown on to a reef. They lived to tell their story and still travel the seas where the shark god is said to roam.

"These two men had links to the shark. In their moment of desperation, their prayers were answered. It is no coincidence, it is an understanding that we must respect and continue. Conservation is not a new thing. Our ancestors practised it to control fish stocks for their future, we must also for ours.

"The sharks keep the marine life cycle intact, they keep our reefs healthy, they bring in the tourists and their dollars and they ensure our sustainability. "The world can't do without them, certainly not we in Fiji."

Ratu Naiqama's decision to protect the sharks in the waters of his jurisdiction is really the continuation of what his ancestors have done.

From the tiny island of Benau to the borders of Cakaudrove, the sharks have a home.The reefs remain full of life and the people feel safer in the water with friends they are helping in their time of need.

Kubuna, Burebasaga and Kadavu have also offered their support and protection in their waters.

The sharkman is happy.

After sailing the Pacific Ocean on the historic double-hulled Uto Ni Yalo last year in the wake of our ancestors who journeyed from island to island, nation to nation, finding common ground between cultures and languages, the sharks have taught him a simple lesson.

Without them, we'd be just like the dinosaurs.

Here today, gone tomorrow.

The mighty shark god
www.fijilive.com

Dakuwaqa was extremely powerful and greatly feared by all

Dakuwaqa, the arrogant and aggressive shark god, was the most agitated and feared of all sea creatures that guarded the islands' reef entrances.

He was stubborn, daring, and jealous of other reef guardians, always on the lookout to challenge their authority and fight those he had not yet encountered.

It was his agenda to stir up trouble and take over the reefs around Fiji.

After causing chaos and dominating the guardians of the reefs in the Lomaiviti group, Dakuwaqa headed to Suva for his next match.

On the way, he was confronted by a local sea monster. Anger and excitement of another chance to prove his strength stirred Dakuwaqa and he immediately stepped up to the challenge.

The two sea monsters attacked each other with full force, seizing each other and struggling to overcome the other.

Their wild thrashings caused unrest below and above the water as great waves formed and rolled into the mouth of the Rewa River. These great towers of waves crashed on shore and flooded the land, waters even reaching the valleys, many miles inland.

Fiji Times Story

 July 18 2011

Hunters become the hunted

 

WHEN Manoa Rasigatale talks about sharks, he is passionate.

He oozes with admiration for this ancient predator and has made it a personal mission to make people give sharks the respect they deserve. "They are very intelligent, very sophisticated, beautiful, loved and they're feared. "Sharks are among the most friendly, inquisitive and very smart. Humans fear them because they don't know them. They are an ancient species who have been around through the ages and seen the changes to their world. They should be respected.

"The Fijian people are related to the shark. We have evidence of this in Fiji. The first is the chiefly yavusa of the Ai Sokula from Cakaudrove, home of its paramount chief, the Tui Cakau, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu.

"The second is at Rukua in Beqa in the province of Rewa. The third is the province of Serua on the island of Yanuca. The fourth is the province of Kadavu, a relationship forged between the shark god Dakuwaqa and the octopus Bakaniceva.

"In the old days, man and sharks communicated. Man could send the shark to do what man needed done to survive. "In most of these places, these things could happen because of an understanding between sharks and man. This is where the relationship between sharks and our ancestors were forged." Mr Rasigatale says our early fathers had loyalty and belief in the mana of the land and in the "qio" (shark).

"The idea of conservation in Fiji is not new, it is from our early days. Our forefathers believed in vakatatabu (to abstain from fishing) in certain areas to allow fish stock to grow. They would fish in one area and allow other fishing grounds to grow and then move on. They did this so they would not be poor.

"God gave them everything in our wasawasa to use properly, and smartly. They were not given these resources to be cruel to or to kill them all at once. Their belief was that if you looked after them, we'd be looked after too. This applies to us today.

"The shark is the top predator in the sea, it is god of all the fish. Without it, there is no survival for the species in our seas. Without the shark, the wasawasa will be poorer, the coral will disappear, the reefs will disappear, the sand will be disturbed, the fish that we rely on for our meals will run for their lives from predators in the middle of the marine food chain.

"If there is no shark, all these will be affected. What will we eat? What will the world survive on?

"It's time we united and work together to ensure our survival."

The sharkman, as Mr Rasigatale has been dubbed because of his passion for them, made a traditional approach to the Turaga Na Tui Cakau, Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, to seek his support for the campaign ù led by the Pew Environment Group and the Coral Reef Alliance (CORAL) ù which are working with the Fiji Government to safeguard sharks in Fiji's waters .

"This relation between man and shark, in the chiefly province of Cakaudrove, is very important. The Turaga Na Tui Cakau stressed the importance of this tie. It is said when twins were born from the yavusa of Ai Sokula, it was decided that they be put into the sea. The one that would turn into a fish would become their god, who is now known as Dakuwaqa.

"The one that would be human would be from where the bloodline of the Ai Sokula would come from.

"When that child was put into a basket, made from leaves, and as it drifted out, his relatives out at sea saw it, took him out and carried him to a stretch of sand where they rested by the trunk of a very large tree that had beached there.

"They didn't know that this trunk was Dakuwaqa. It was here that Dakuwaqa turned into a shark and escorted them back to land. He became their vu (god) and promised to protect the people of the Ai Sokula when they go out to sea. He would not bite them."

When the twins were born, hundreds miles away on the island of Beqa, a mataqali of gonedau (fishermen) was alerted.

The clansmen from Rukua Village hurried to Cakaudrove to go and see this special child.

These people from Beqa also had a shark god but they called it the Gone mai wai (child from the sea). They believed this was the same god so they went to Somosomo to visit and stayed.

They became the members of the mataqali Benau, the name of the island drifting off the coast which was also the residence of Dakuwaqa.

The mataqali members from Rukua lived on in Somosomo while the rest remained in Beqa.

"This is their tie. Dakuwaqa and the Gone mai wai are the same."

The third evidence of our link to the sharks, according to Mr Rasigatale, is in Yanuca Island, Serua. Legend has it that there was once a discussion between two brothers from the yavusa Nukutabua. After seeing the destruction of their reefs, the younger brother promised he would look after the reefs and the elder one to look after the land and its people. The younger brother became a shark and was called Masilaca (meaning his sail was made of masi). "This shark was related to the same shark that Rukua and the yavusa of Ai Sokula served."

The Kadavu link to the shark was born out of a challenge Dakuwaqa made to the octopus Bakaniceva on the reef in the bay of Naceva. "Dakuwaqa wanted to prove to Bakaniceva that he was king of all living things in the sea. Bakaniceva made Dakuwaqa promise that he'd do what he wanted if he lost. So they fought. Bakaniceva then grabbed Dakuwaqa with four of his tentacles and held on to the reef with the other four. Dakuwaqa lost and then agreed that he would not attack anyone from Kadavu when they are at sea. "From that day, no one from Kadavu has been bitten.

"These four places ù Kadavu, Yanuca, Beqa and the people of the Ai Sokula, from the home of theTuraga Na Tui Cakau ù are related to the sharks and are never bitten, unless these people have done something wrong and offended the vanua."

Mr Rasigatale says this special relationship exists today.

When the former President, Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau, passed away, sharks escorted his body to his chiefly home in Taveuni. They patrolled the waters off the village. "The evidence of this mana, this loyalty of the sharks for these people, is amazing." For this Rewan shark campaigner, his mission is not over until all Fiji's people know the story of the shark and its link to our survival.

"We need to keep these stories alive, and the sharks alive, so we can better understand what they mean to us, they are our protector." Pew, which Mr Rasigatale works for, has pushed for protection of sharks around the world as their population plunges. It estimated in a study of the Hong Kong shark fin market that humans kill up to 73 million sharks each year simply to supply the fin trade. Many scientists believe that there are more than 100 million sharks killed annually for fins, meat and other shark products. The sharkman has lobbied for support from around the country. He has traditionally sought the support of the three confedaracies ù Kubuna, Burebasaga and Tovata ù and was received by Ratu Apenisa Cakobau on Bau, the Marama Bale Na Roko Tui Dreketi Ro Teimumu Kepa in Rewa and Ratu Naiqama. He also held discussions with the Ministry of Fisheries and the Ministry of iTaukei "with great success". "This is a lot of work and we need to move fast. "We need to listen to the advice of old ù lako vakamalua, vakatotolo (walk fast, with caution)."

A traditional Fijian wedding

A traditional Fijian wedding

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Wedding Bliss: Tourists wed in traditional Fijian costumes made from tapa.

Weddings are probably among the most favourite occasions that people attend. They are times of great rejoicing, of celebration.

Weddings are also fascinating places to be. Fascinating because of the pomp and ceremony involved with customs and traditions that add to the flavour of this special occasion.

No wedding is the same. Wedding customs and traditions vary between races, cultures and countries.

In Fiji, marriage customs differ slightly between different provinces. In most countries, weddings can only go ahead after the father of the bride-to-be has given his permission.

In most cases either the bridegroom or his parents visit the girl’s father to ask for her hand in marriage.

And this is also true for Fiji and Fijian weddings. In fact there are so many ceremonies that take place before, during and after a wedding – these differ from place to place.

Generally before a marriage can take place, the prospective bridegroom seeks permission in the traditional manner from his intended’s father.

In a chiefly wedding, members of the man’s mataqali (clan) approach the girl’s father, taking with them several tabua (whale’s teeth). Each side has a traditional spokesman – known as mata.

The host’s mata speaks first – welcoming the visitors. The visitors’ mata then speaks – explaining the reason for the trip. This formal speech is called Na vakasavu i tukutuku or formal proposal.

When he finishes, the host’s mata then says “Vakavitu!” to which the hosts says “Vakawalu!”
He acknowledges the news saying “may the girl be yours. Mana!” His people immediately say “ye dina!” and all those present cobo (clap).

This reply is called na kena ulivi ni tukutuku. The head of the visiting mataqali then presents a tabua to his host – this is called i duguci. At this point, the girl’s father leaves the place and formally informs his daughter.

The father can, however, refuse the proposal by presenting a tabua in return to the visitors.

This form of refusal is called ai diri. But if the proposal is successful the visitors are served yaqona or kava which is not part of the formalities. Betrothal is completed when the girl has been informed – called na tabai lago or a vosa yalewa. The formal betrothal ceremony if called veimusumusuki.

Members of the girl’s mataqali visit the man’s family shortly after the veimusumusuki. The return visit (called vakadonumata) is to confirm the marriage.

During this visit, members of the host family present a mataqali buta (a feast of baked food) to their visitors. They take it back to their own village where it is divided and eaten. The next ceremony, na loku bogi, occurs when elder mata from the man’s mataqali visit the girl’s family to announce the proposed marriage date.

In the past, in formally arranged marriages, courtship was not allowed. The bride and groom only met on the wedding day itself.

The traditional marriage ceremony is called vakawati which means taking a husband or wife.

The religious (church) ceremony is called vakamau – derived from the Tongan word “fakamau” meaning to confirm. The way the ceremony is performed varies in different social circles.

At a chiefly wedding, mats are spread on the floor of a house specially built for the couple or a house loaned for the occasion.

The house usually belongs to someone from the man’s mataqali. This custom – i butubutu – is performed on the day itself.

When the ceremony is held in a church, the i butubutu is placed before the altar or communion table and the couple stand on this. After the Christian ceremony is over, any masi worn by the bride and bridegroom are removed and left on the i butubutu. The masi and i butubutu are given to the minister.

More traditional ceremonies are held after the wedding ceremony. Usually there is a wedding feast or as is the norm nowadays, a reception.

Wedding customs and ceremonies differ in different parts of Fiji. In Lau, for example, a long piece of gatu (Tongan tapa or masi cloth) is spread between the bride’s parents’ house and her husband’s.

If she comes from another village, it is spread between the house where she is staying and her husband’s.

The man, together with his male relatives, then goes to the girl’s house and presents a long piece of masi and a tabua to her relatives.

He does this in silence – her relatives accept it with cobo and saying vinaka. The visitors return home and the ceremony is repeated by the girl’s relatives. They exchange gifts back and forth until one side runs out.

At dusk, women from the girl’s mataqali go to the newly weds’ house where they perform a ceremony called i tevutevu or i tevu ibe.

Each person (in the order of their social standing) places a mat on the floor where the couple will sleep, one mat on top of the other. The bride’s mother is usually the last to spread a mat.

These days, bedding – pillows, blankets, sheets and mosquito nets are also given. The girl’s close relatives also present mats and tabua. And they hang up a large gatu to separate the sleeping area from the rest of the house.

The man’s female relatives present similar gifts after the girl’s relatives have returned home.

The man’s mataqali prepare feasts which they present (with tabuas) to the girl’s family. There are two feasts – one, i vola ni yalewa, is presented to the girl’s mother.

The other, magiti ni tevutevu is presented to her mataqali. They then invite the bride to occupy her new home by presenting her mataqali with tabua called i lakovi ni yalewa.

Clothed in masi, she is formally taken to her new home – carrying a tabua known as i kaukau. Meanwhile, her husband waits for (a tabua in hand) in their new home. Once she crosses the threshold, the masi and tabua are exchanged.

The couple then sit down to their first evening meal (i vakayakavi) together. This is a small meal of the magiti ni tevutevu. After eating, they wash their hands in sweet scented coconut oil (waiwai).

This is the signal for her relatives to claim anything used in the meal. Entertainment usually follows after which the newly weds retire behind the gatu.

Another feast is prepared the next morning by the man’s mataqali. Called the i dola ni duba, it is presented to the girl’s people. It is done to dertermine the girl’s virginity.

This is done by looking at a baked pig. A hole in the pig’s rump means the girl was not a virgin when she married. This leads to bitter words between the two mataqali and the ceremony ends abruptly as the girl’s mataqali go home.

But if there are no such signs, there is great rejoicing which lasts four days. During this time, the couple are confined to their house and forbidden to bathe. They are supplied with cooked food.

This is also the time, the girl’s relatives present a tabua to her husband’s people asking them to look after her. Called the i tataulaki, it signifies that the girl has now been handed over to her husband and has become a member of his family. She remains a member of his mataqali until he dies.

On the fifth day, the bride is taken by her husband’s female relatives to bathe in the sea or a nearby river.

The women also fish – this ceremony is called vakasobusobu. While she is out, her husband and his male relatives prepare vakalolo (a Fijian sweet).

Prior to their return, the women string together all the fish caught. They put the fish and a tabua in the girl’s fishing basket (noke) which is given to her parents.

Her husband’s people then give her dry clothing and a large piece of masi in a ceremony called i vakamamaca.

A final feast called na magiti ni cece ibe ends the wedding ceremonies. Women from both sides divide among themselves all the presents found in the house occupied by the newlyweds. Some of these wedding customs and traditions are no longer followed.

But the majority are still practiced today adding to the pomp and ceremony of the Fijian wedding.

The origins of Fiji's red prawns

The origins of Fiji's red prawns

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The prawns are called ura-buta [cooked prawns].

The origins of the red prawns in Fiji is said to have begun on the island of Vatulele, which is also known for the exquisite taoa designs. Story goes that long ago on the island, lived a beautiful daughter of a chief.

She was so beautiful that every eligible chief who visited Vatulele wanted her as his bride.

Yalewa-Ni-Cagi-Bula, however, was hard to please and scorned all their approaches.Not far away on Viti Levu, lived a handsome Chief's son - heir to the thrown of mainland tribes.

He heard of Yalewa-Ni-Cagi-Bula and decided she was the one for him. After much preparation, the bold young chief set off, laden with gifts, to seek Yalewa's hands.

He was welcomed by the Vatulele Chiefs and confidently, he produced the special gift which he had personally carried from Viti Levu.

This gift was Fiji's greatest delicacy, a bundle of giant prawns from the coastal streams of Viti Levu, cooked to perfection in coconut milk.

Any other maiden would have melted at the sight of this gift but Yalewa-ni-Cagi's heart was cold.
She got very angry and commanded her servants to capture the young Chief and throw him off Vatulele's highest cliff into the sea. As he tumbled down the cliff, his gift of bright red prawns fell from his hands into a rocky pool at the base of the cliff, and the leaves in which they were wrapped fell among the rocks around the pool.

Fortunately the young chief survived the fall and returned home heartbroken. And his spent his days pining for his lost love. Everyday he went down to the sea and look towards the South where on clear days, he could just make out Vatulele on the horizon.

And what of the red prawns? They came alive where they fell into the rocky pool, and today, the pools under Vatulele's cliffs are filled with bright red prawns. The prawns are called ura-buta [cooked prawns].

Considered sacred by the people of Vatulele, who believe that anyone who harms them will surely be shipwrecked. Their respect for these prawns are so high that no one is allowed to catch it or eat them.

Ratu Mara Book Launch

Regional leaders at Rt Mara book launch

www.fijilive.com - October 09, 2009

Three prime ministers from the region will be in Suva on October 10 for the launch of a major biography of Fiji’s late “founding father” Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara.

Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare, head of the Papua New Guinea Government, and a close friend to Ratu Mara for many years, is to be the principal guest at the function, which coincides with the 39th anniversary of Fiji’s Independence.

Also expected at the launch, at the invitation of Sir Michael, are Solomon Islands premier Dr Derek Sikua and Vanuatu Prime Minister Edward Natapel.

Sir Michael will be honoured on Saturday with rare and elaborate Fiji ceremonies by the ‘Vanua ko Lau’ of Suva.

According to a press statement, the ceremonies were last performed for Ratu Mara at a meeting of the Lau Provincial Council in 2000. Similar rituals were staged for Sir Michael when he visited Ratu Mara’s home at Lakeba, Lau, about 35 years ago.

Historian Dr Deryck Scarr, the author of the biography, Tuimacilai: A life of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, said Sir Michael regarded Ratu Mara as “the pillar of the Pacific” because he was a great champion of the region in international affairs and a believer in co-operation between South Pacific States.

The biography is the first substantial account of Ratu Mara’s life and career since his death over five years ago.

Ratu Mara, a former Prime Minister, President and paramount chief of Lau in the eastern Fiji Islands, was Fiji’s pre-eminent political figure in the lead up to independence and in the first decades of nationhood.

Ratu Mara has close links to the current administration. His daughter Adi Koila is the wife of Acting President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau.

Ratu Mara’s eldest daughter Adi Ateca is the wife of Ratu Epeli Ganilau – current Acting Prime Minister, Minister for Defence, former military commander.

Lieutenant Colonel Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, his second son, is the head of the Fiji military’s 3rd Infantry Regiment, responsible for much of the military’s “clean-up” of the Laisenia Qarase-led Government in 2006

Giant whale dies, villagers share 34 tabua

post by Matavuvale.com

VILLAGERS of Kubulau in Bua watched a 53-foot male whale die after it swam aground at the mouth of the Yanawai River early this week.

Hundreds of villagers witnessed the monstrous mammal try unsuccessfully to free itself.

Kilaka Village headman Manueli Pita said on Tuesday a villager from neighbouring Dawara, on the border of Cakaudrove and Bua, spotted the injured whale.

"We tried to help by digging around it in the sand, even attempted to free it using an outboard but all our attempts failed," he said.

"The whale was just too big, in all my 56 years I have never seen a fish so big.

"We called the authorities because we felt so sorry because it was trying to get free. It was injured with bites visible over its body."

Early on Thursday, the big visitor rising 11 feet high, heaved its final breath with a shrill wail in a sad moment witnessed by people from Nakorovou, Kilaka and Dawara.

"It was really sad, some of the villagers even cried when they saw the whale crying," he said. "Seconds before it died it flapped its tail repeatedly and let out a sad cry like the sound of a davui (conch shell).

"It was as if it was making a final attempt to get free, then it stopped and we somehow knew it was dead.

"The spot in the sand where it had dug its tail had become deep and we all felt sad knowing the whale had tried so hard." Fisheries Department officials and those from the World Conservation Society arrived shortly after the whale died.

Mr Pita said the whale brought good fortune to the villagers. "After it died we cut some meat and ate it, and shared about 34 tabua," he said.

The first whale ran aground near Kilaka in 1986.