A Sneak Peek into Fijian Village Life

Written on Monday September 27, 2010 – by Kim

After a very relaxing and thoroughly enjoyable tour of the Yasawas, we took a bit of a gamble by heading back to the main island and 2 hours south by car to the Coral Coast and a village called Namatukula.  After reading great reviews on trip advisor, I decided that this was a must-do for Austin and I while in Fiji.  We really didn’t know what to expect, but from the moment we were met at the port by our host’s brother, Danny, and his daughter Ty, we were immediately happy with our decision to do a homestay.  Danny was very friendly and outgoing, and on the short trip from Nadi south to Namatakula, Austin and I acquired a lot of facts and insight into the Fijian people, as well as Fijian customs and way of life.  What we learned from Danny was only half of what we would learn after spending only three days with his family in the village.

When we arrived to Namatukula, even though it was quite late (9pm), we were met by our host, Tupoe with a hug, a huge smile, and a fantastic meal with her family.  One of the highlights of our stay was definitely Tupoe’s cooking.  There was so much variety and ample amounts.  From curried chicken and lamb, to coconut fish, breadfruit, rice, and salad - we were never able to finish all that was presented.  This was not only true of our first meal, but of every meal we shared with Tupoe and her family.  Here are some pictures of our accommodations while in Namatukula.

Our little bure...

 Inside our bure...

 Our outhouse washroom/shower...

 At look at our facilities from the beach...

 A picture from the main house at sunset...

 Our companion and security, Posh...

Our first day in Namatukula was spent exploring the village with Tupoe’s daughter, Luica.  We went to the primary school where they were having their annual sports day.  We watched and marvelled as every student performed track and field events without any footwear.  In fact, while in Fiji we discovered that most people opt not to wear anything on their feet.  This was true of people we saw in the village, walking on the side of the highway, and even of the boys we saw playing in a rugby game.  If we did see people wearing footwear, it was simply flip-flops.   

The school gathered on Sports Day...

 The students were diveded into four teams - blue, yellow, red & green...

The flag waves proudly above the all the action...

 The boy's relay race (notice the footwear?)...

While at sports day, Austin and I were invited to join in a kava ceremony with some parents who were also there as spectators.  We learned that it was customary to say “Bula!” (Fijian word meaning many things including, hello, I’m well, you’re well, be well, etc.), and to clap three times before drinking the entire cup given in one gulp.  To me, drinking it all down at once was much easier than sipping it as it’s chalky taste and lip and tongue-numbing effects were less noticeable when ingested quickly.  Austin found it interesting that most of the men had mobile phones and were using them during the kava ceremony.

Gathered with the parents for some kava!

 One gulp and it's gone!

The rest of our day was spent exploring the village and relaxing before having dinner and attending an open-air church service in the evening.  We were fascinated by the passion and enthusiasm this particular community demonstrated for their religion.  The service was performed in Fijian by an overly animated pastor, and it was extremely long.  The service itself was reminiscent of a southern evangelical service, complete with several healings including breast cancer and immobility!  It was an experience, to say the least.

Sporting my sarong that stated "The Lord is my Shepard" (oh boy!)  for a wander around the village...

 Taking advantage of some outdoor plumbing and giving their teeth a good scrub...

 The site of our outdoor church ceremony...

 A look inside the school's classroom...

Our final day in Namatukula was spent exploring the beach that was at our doorstep.  We walked east to a  neighbouring resort, The Mango Bay Resort.  Like the rest of Fiji, our village homestay on the coast presented us with clear blue waters and shores which were fun to explore.  Our host family's dog, Posh, came with us on the excursion and enjoyed the chance to run and play with us on the beach.  As it was Saturday, there were many local kids also out enjoying the ocean and sea life and even having a fun game of touch-rugby on the beach.

The beach out front our homestay... Sa-weet!

Some fun sealife we found...

 Some local boys that were playing rugby on the beach....

 Local kids enjoying the beach on Saturday...

Though we had to tear ourselves away from the beauty and relaxation of the Yasawas, both Austin and I were glad we had the opportunity to do a village stay and to get a sneak-peek into what village life is like in Fiji.  Though the homes in the village lacked most of the amenities we are use to in North America such as hot showers, reliable electricity, screens on windows, washrooms inside instead of outside our homes, furniture, cable, internet, carpet/ hardwood flooring, etc., there was something very enviable about the Fijian villagers.  It was my impression that everyone seemed happy and content in the simplicity of their lives in the village, and in my opinion it seemed like a great way to be.  We are also glad for our homestay because it gave us the opportunity to sit and chat with locals and ask a lot of the questions we had after spending a week in Fiji.  It would be difficult to share all of the information we acquired about life in Fiji, so I’ll provide you with some interesting highlights of what we learned:

·         In Fijian villages, tradition says that brothers are not allowed to talk to each other’s wives.  Sounds like it may solve some problems, but it may bring some awkwardness to Christmas dinner conversation.  But hey, whatever works for them!

·         Curry is a favourite food of many Fijians.

·         It is required that women wear long skirts, or sarongs, to cover their knees whenever they are out and about around the village.

·         A lot of men also wear longs skirts and this seems to be customary even in the larger city centres.

·         Both women and men love to dance in Fiji and there is not an ounce of self-consciousness when they’re in their element.

·         In Fiji sugarcane is still cut by hand and without the use of any modern machinery, which is why you can see and smell many sugarcane fields burning in and around Fiji.

·         The traditional kava drink of Fiji is prepared like a tea.  The kava root is first peeled, then dried and crushed before being placed into a cloth that is tightly tied and dipped into the water and steeped.  We presented kava to our hosts in the form of dried and crushed sinlge serving pouches, which seemed to be the way it is sold in modern-day Fiji.  This process is what creates the cloudy looking drink that is had most afternoons by many of the Fijian villagers.  It is not considered taboo to drink kava every day.  Here are some pictures of the process:


Emptying the dried, crushed kava root into a cloth...

 Tying it tight and soaking it...

 The "high tide" is the caldron they put the final product in and serve from...

 
-         An interesting fact that seemed very strange to us, but was completely normal for Fijians was the tradition to bury loved ones in front of their house in an above ground grave with a large monument, and a homemade canopy to protect the monument. In some cases the monuments and canopy were so large they block the houses view from the window. 

·         Christianity is HUGE.  In the village, church was the centre of their social lives.  Apparently this is common and widespread throughout Fiji.  There is also a large Hindu population.  Our hosts assured us that the very large majority of Fijians are faithful and that they are all accepting of each other’s chosen faiths and practices, whether it be of Hindu or of Christian origin.

·         There are approximately 130 dialects of the Fijian language.  The government has made one dialect common throughout the school systems in Fiji so that the people across the country can communicate.  However, the traditional dialect of some of the smaller villages is at risk of being lost.  Learning English is also a requirement for students in Fiji.

While hanging around the south pacific I’ve learned some other things that aren’t exclusive to Fijian culture, but are still discoveries for me.  For example:

·         Cold showers are fantastic!

·         Footwear is overrated, at least at tropical temperatures.

·         Sunshine is good for the soul.

·         Sand and dirt are really no big deal.

·         Who needs make-up!  It’s not worth it when you sweat buckets every day, all day.

·         Hangovers suck twice as bad in the heat.

·         I could totally live in the South Pacific. Go figure :)

That’s all for now folks.  Stay tuned for our stories from Samoa, another magical place in the South Pacific.

xoXox

The Knotty Travellers