Fijians

Last updated

iTaukei
Indigenous Fijians
kaiViti
Fijian Dance (9623237739).jpg
Fijian dance
Total population
c.615,000
Regions with significant populations
Flag of Fiji.svg  Fiji 475,739 [1]
Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia 96,960 [2]
Flag of the United States.svg  United States <40,000 [3]
Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg  Canada 25,180 [4]
Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand 19,722 [5]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom 4,500 [6]
Flag of Norfolk Island.svg  Norfolk Island 47 [7]
Languages
Majority: Fijian and English
Minority: Pidgin Hindustani
Religion
Christian (Methodist 66.6%; Roman Catholic 13.3%; Assemblies of God 6.2%; Seventh-day Adventist 5.1%, other 8.8%).
Related ethnic groups
Papuans, Ni-Vanuatu, other Melanesian peoples, other Austronesian peoples, Indo-Fijians

Fijians (Fijian : iTaukei, lit. 'Owners [of the land]') are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and English and share a common history and culture.

Contents

Fijians, or iTaukei, [8] are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands of Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago and are the descendants of the Lapita people. Later they would move onward to other surrounding islands, including Rotuma, as well as settling in other nearby islands such as Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. The original settlers are now called "Lapita people" after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward.

As of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total population of Fiji. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture.

Australia has the largest Fijian expatriate population, according to the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. According to the Australian census, the largest ethnic backgrounds that Fijians identified with were Indian/Indo-Fijian and Indigenous Fijian origins. [2] Fijians were also the fifth largest Pacific ethnic group living in New Zealand; a decrease of 8 percent between 1996 and 2001. In 2001, the estimated Pacific Islander population size is 231,800 Fijians comprising about 7,000 of that (Online numbers and side table disagree). [9] [10] Outside Oceania, a notable Fijian diaspora is found in other Anglophone countries, namely Canada, United States and the United Kingdom.

The Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs) once passed laws and regulations governing the indigenous Fijian people. Until its disbanding by the Military of Fiji following the 2006 coup, the Great Council of Chiefs met yearly to discuss native Fijian concerns. The council, which was formerly responsible for appointing Fiji's president, was composed of 55 Fijian chiefs selected from the 14 provinces. Included in the council were three appointees from the island of Rotuma and six appointed by the Minister of Fijian Affairs. The Minister of Fijian Affairs consulted with the President as part of the selection process. Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was given a lifetime appointment on the council.

Culture

19th-century Fijian couple in traditional dress. Fijian man and woman, 1884.jpg
19th-century Fijian couple in traditional dress.

The native Fijian language belongs to the Central Pacific (Fijian – Polynesian) branch of the Austronesian family. [11] The Fijian traditions are centred around ceremonies and events, that bond the community.

Yaqona (pronounced Yang-gohna), otherwise known as kava – another important traditional custom – is an infusion prepared from the root of Piper methysticum, a type of pepper plant. The plant itself is also often referred to as yaqona or the kava plant. Yaqona is extremely important in indigenous Fijian culture – in the time of the 'old religion' it was used ceremonially by chiefs and priests only. Today, yaqona is part of daily life, both in villages and in urban areas and across all classes and walks of life. 'Having a grog' or 'drinking grog', as drinking kava is sometimes known, is used for welcoming and bonding with visitors, for storytelling sessions or merely for passing time.[ citation needed ]

The Tabua is a much revered whale's tooth which is used in both public and private occasions or ceremonies. The tooth is considered sacred. [12]

About 86 percent of the land in Fiji is owned by indigenous Fijian people. [13] In 1876, Sir Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, the British colonial Governor, prohibited the sale of Fijian land to non-ethnic Fijians. This policy continues today, and in 2014 the sale of freehold land to foreigners was further restricted. [14] [15] The Governor also banned the employment of native Fijians as labourers, and in 1878, began importing indentured labourers from India to work in the sugarcane fields. The effects of this immigration created an ethnic polarisation and rampant Anti-Indian sentiment, which has proven to be politically challenging to Fijian race relations. [16]

Indigenous Fijians overwhelmingly report as being Christian, with the Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma claiming the loyalty of 64.5% (2007 census). Other significant denominations include the Roman Catholic Church (9.1%), the Assemblies of God (5.7%) and the Seventh-day Adventists (3.9%). 10.4% belong to other churches from a large number of denominations. Only about 0.8% report as following non-Christian religions or no religion. [17]

Approximately 70% of indigenous Fijians are farmers, many of which are sustenance farmers. They commonly grow such crops as sugar cane, cassava, rice, sweet potatoes, and bananas.[ citation needed ]

Fijian policemen in Suva, 1967 Fijian policemen, Suva July 67.jpg
Fijian policemen in Suva, 1967
Guard outside the presidential palace in Suva, 2003 Fiji guard.JPG
Guard outside the presidential palace in Suva, 2003
Group of Fijian children, 2008 Fijian children DSC 0024.jpg
Group of Fijian children, 2008

History

Historically, Fijians were known as the canoe building experts of the Pacific, using them to trade with Tonga. They were usually large double-hulled canoes, called a Drua (pronounced nDroo-ah), with each side being similar except one was shorter and served as a type of outrigger. These were united by beams, with a platform on it that extended beyond the sides. [18]

The article on the History of Fiji offers a timeline of events.

The Lapita people, named after their distinctive pottery style, were the first people to inhabit Fiji in about 3000 BCE, and evidence of their settlements exist throughout Fiji – particularly around the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. They were followed by the Melanesians in about 500 BCE, and trading with Tongans and Samoans since Fiji was founded, has added to the cultural mix. In the Later years, there was active commerce between Tonga and Fiji, and later in the history of this relationship, the Fijians in the Lau Islands (Eastern Fiji) became vassals to the King of Tonga. One particular reason Tongans and Samoans came to Fiji was to build the Drua (large double-hulled canoes) which they could not build on their own islands because of the lack of proper timber.

From the early 19th century, both European and Chinese traders (dishsant visited Fiji for its sandalwood, hardwoods, beche-de-mer, marine life and, more recently, gold). [19] The British ruled Fiji from 1874 to 1970. In 1970, Fiji became a fully independent nation with constitutional arrangements to ensure that traditional Fijian interests were preserved.

His Royal Highness Prince of Wales, Prince Charles, presented the Instruments of Independence to Prime Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara on 10 October 1970 at a massive gathering at Albert Park in Suva. In 1972, the first general elections were held using the 1970 constitution. In 1987, two military coups were staged. The first coup was bloodless, and the second coup severed ties with the British Monarchy. A controversial and racially divisive new constitution was adopted in 1990, and in 1992 the first general election was held under the auspices of the new constitution.

The constitution was revised again in 1997 and was deemed to be more equitable by the many racial groups in Fiji. Free and peaceful elections in 1999 resulted in a government led by an Indo-Fijian, Mahendra Choudhary, but a violent coup in May 2000 ushered in a prolonged period of political and racial turmoil. Parliamentary elections held in August 2001 provided Fiji with a democratically elected government led by Prime Minister Laisenia Qarase. Re-elected in May 2006, Qarase was ousted in a military coup on 5 December that year, led by the Commander of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces(RFMF), Commodore Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama, who initially appointed himself acting president, but in January 2007 assumed the position of interim Prime Minister, promising a return to democracy in the near future. This did not eventuate, however; elections were not held until 2014. [20] [21]

Traditions and ceremonies

A traditional music show Music show in Fiji.jpg
A traditional music show

The Fijian traditions and ceremonies are based and share commonalities throughout time.

Folk Music

Like their Polynesian neighbours, modern Fijians play guitar, ukulele and mandolin along with a variety of indigenous instruments, most commonly lali drums, which are now used to call the people of an area together. Lali drums were an important part of traditional Fijian culture, used as a form of communication to announce births, deaths and wars. A smaller form of the lali drum (lali ni meke) is used as a form in instrumentation. Meke is a kind of spiritual folk dance, in which dancers bodies are said to be possessed by spirits. Other percussion instruments include the derua, which are tubes made of bamboo which are stamped on mats or on the ground. Other dances included the women's dele or wate, which humiliated enemy prisoners sex, and the men's cibi, which uses spears and clubs [1].

See also

Related Research Articles

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Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about 1,100 nautical miles north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island group is Ono-i-Lau. About 87% of the total population of 924,610 live on the two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in the capital city of Suva, or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi or Lautoka. The interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited because of its terrain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Tonga</span>

The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make up the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Fiji and Samoa, the area served as a gateway into the rest of the Pacific region known as Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Islander</span> Person from the Pacific Islands

Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of Oceania or any other island located in the Pacific Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotuma</span> Island on Pacific Ocean

Rotuma is a self-governing heptarchy, generally designated a dependency of Fiji. "Rotuma" commonly refers to Rotuma Island, the only permanently inhabited and by far the largest of all the islands in the Rotuma Group. Officially, the Rotuma Act declares that Rotuma consists of Rotuma Island as well as its neighbouring islands, rocks, and reefs across the entire Rotuma Group. The dependency is situated around 500 km west of the French islands of Wallis and Futuna and a similar distance north of the Fijian mainland. Its capital is Ahau, a hamlet consisting of a number of colonial-era buildings. Rotuma exists as a dependency of Fiji but itself contains its own socioreligious pene-enclave known traditionally as Faguta where the chiefs and their villages adhere to the practices of worship, festival dates, and French-based writing system of the Marists, based at Sumi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesians</span> Austronesian ethnolinguistic group

Polynesians are an ethnolinguistic group comprising closely related ethnic groups native to Polynesia, which encompasses the islands within the Polynesian Triangle in the Pacific Ocean. They trace their early prehistoric origins to Island Southeast Asia and are part of the larger Austronesian ethnolinguistic group, with an Urheimat in Taiwan. They speak the Polynesian languages, a branch of the Oceanic subfamily within the Austronesian language family. The Indigenous Māori people form the largest Polynesian population, followed by Samoans, Native Hawaiians, Tahitians, Tongans, and Cook Islands Māori.

Polynesian culture is the culture of the indigenous peoples of Polynesia who share common traits in language, customs and society. The development of Polynesian culture is typically divided into four different historical eras:

The culture of Fiji is a tapestry of native Fijian, Indian, European, Chinese and other nationalities. Culture polity traditions, language, food costume, belief system, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance, and sports will be discussed in this article to give you an indication of Fiji's indigenous community but also the various communities which make up Fiji as a modern culture and living. The indigenous culture is an active and living part of everyday life for the majority of the population.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill</span>

The Reconciliation and Unity Commission was a proposed government body to be set up if the Reconciliation, Tolerance, and Unity Bill, which was introduced into the Fijian Parliament on 4 May 2005 was passed. The legislation proposed to empower the commission to grant amnesty to perpetrators of the Fiji coup of 2000, and compensation to victims of it from 19 May 2000 through 15 March 2001. The Fijian President would retain a veto over the granting of amnesty.

Bulou is a title used by Fijian women of chiefly rank, in the Provinces of Nadroga-Navosa and Kadavu, and parts of Serua Province, in Fiji.

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The Tu'i Pulotu is believed to be the head of an ancient group of people that settled in Pulotu (Fiji) during the Lapita period. The Tuʻi Pulotu are believed to have originally come from the Fiji Islands and ruled the islands from late BC to 800 AD. Some anthropologists believe there is an association between Pulotu and Burotu, the term for the paradise underworld in Fijian religion. This is because of the different pronunciations within Tonga, Samoa, and Fiji. Burotu in Fiji was the Burotukula which, according to Fiji's religion, is near Matuku in the Lau Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Drua</span> Double-hull sailing boat

Drua, also known as na drua, n'drua, ndrua or waqa tabu, is a double-hull sailing boat that originated in the south-western Pacific islands. Druas do not tack but rather shunt. Both ends of each hull are identical, but the hulls are of different sizes and the smaller one is always sailed to windward. The main differences, compared to proas, are that the hulls have a symmetric U-form profile, and a second hull is used instead of an outrigger. When a float (cama) is used in place of the smaller hull, the craft is called a camakau.

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Fijian tradition and ceremony is a living way of life that has evolved as the Fijian nation has modernised over time, with various external influences from Pacific neighbours, and the European and Asian society. This general overview of various aspects of Fijian tradition, social structure and ceremony, much of it from the Bauan Fijian tradition although there are variations from province to province, uses "Fijian" to mean indigenous Fijians or I Taukei rather than all citizens of Fiji, and the Fijian terms are most often of the Bauan dialect. Many social intricacies depend on one's inherited social position and the occasion one is confronted with: each will have a particular social etiquette.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rotumans</span> Indigenous peoples from Rotuma

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Languages of Fiji</span>

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Taukei ni Waluvu is a Fijian phrase for "Owner of the Flood." It is the traditional chiefly title of the warrior hill clan Siko-Natabutale of Nairukuruku village. The history of the clan from the mid- nineteenth century, represent the social structures of the chiefly system, religion and western culture that supported colonialism in Fiji. Tradition, Christianity and British indirect rule were combined to legitimize what was accepted as the right way to govern. Condemned by some modern day critics as exploitative, the Fijian chiefly system was the medium of native social interdependence and a traditional contract shared by the indigenous clans of pre-colonial Fiji, that was utilized for colonial rule. Since Independence the chiefly system has had to adapt to the demands of modernity. Anthropologist Arthur Capell in his study of early tribal migration within Fiji made the point that, "the history of Fiji is the history of chiefly families." The phrase in fact emphasized the hierarchical nature of Fijian traditional society where chiefly power was held sacred. The relationship between Chiefs and Westerners in especially Missionaries thus became a focal point for gathering insight into Fijian culture and tradition in the nineteenth century. James Turner a latter anthropologist found, "The chiefly families of Nairukuruku were the first in the eastern highlands of Viti Levu to declare their allegiance to the central government and as a result of this support their influence expanded throughout the area".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polynesia</span> Subregion of Oceania

Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in common, including language relatedness, cultural practices, culture, and traditional beliefs. In centuries past, they had a strong shared tradition of sailing and using stars to navigate at night.

The early history of Tonga covers the islands' settlement and the early Lapita culture through to the rise of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of the history of Tuvalu</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Fiji</span>

The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermic activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji was settled first by the Lapita culture, around 1,500–1,000 years BC, followed by a large influx of people with predominantly Melanesian genetics about the time of the beginning of the Common Era. Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as the Dominion of Fiji. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d'état.

References

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  2. 1 2 "Department of Immigration & Citizenship: Media – Publications: Statistics – Community Information Summaries". Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
  3. "We the People: Pacific Islanders in the United States" (PDF). US Census Bureau. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2005.
  4. "Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth and citizenship: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts". Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  5. "Fijian ethnic group". StatsNZ. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
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  7. "2016 Census QuickStats: Norfolk Island". Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  8. Since 2010, the word "Fijian" legally also denotes nationality and not ethnicity.
  9. Online numbers and side table differ.
  10. "Fijian People in New Zealand". New Zealand Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
  11. Simons, Gary F. and Charles D. Fennig (eds.). 2017. "Central Pacific", Ethnologue: Languages of the World, Twentieth edition. Dallas, Texas: SIL International.
  12. Official Fiji government site Archived 21 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  13. "Land Rights in Fiji - A Sad Irony : Commentary - Native Land Trust Board". www.nltb.com.fj. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  14. Michael Field (13 December 2014). "Kiwis lose out in Fiji land-grab". Stuff. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  15. "Fiji government amends Land Sales Act to restrict foreign property ownership". ABC News. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  16. "The legacy of Indian migration to European colonies". The Economist . 2 September 2017. Retrieved 2 September 2017.
  17. "Fiji 2021 International Religious Freedom Report" (PDF). US State Department. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  18. Elsdon Best (1925). "Canoes of Fiji". The Maori Canoe. Wellington: A. R. Shearer. p. 348 via NZETC.
  19. Need to finish the sentence
  20. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
  21. "Chronology of Fijian History". www.robinsonlibrary.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)

Other sources