Kaunitoni, according to Fijian ancestral story, was a canoe which sailed from an ancient homeland in the West, carrying the ancestor gods Lutunasobasoba and Degei, who are variously considered the ancestors of the Fijian people. [1]
They travelled in the Kaukifera or Kaunitoni, and the canoe landed in the western reef of Viti Levu, just north of the village of Viseisei, between Nadi and Lautoka. Here the crew split, with one faction making a home on the island with Lutunasobasoba as a chief. The Kaunitoni then sailed eastwards along the coast of Viti Levu under the leadership of Degei, landing at Rakiraki and going up to the Nakauvandra Mountains.
This particular story has come under much criticism and scrutiny from some anthropologists and linguists[ who? ] who suggest that the story is in fact of “missionary parentage” owing to a competition held in the late 1870s by the district office at the time who was looking to develop a more fanciful story than that which existed in Fijian circles at the time. The winning story tells that the gods, Degei and Lutunasobasoba, were from Lake Tanganyika. A widely accepted theory is that Fiji's first inhabitants were Proto-Polynesians of the Lapita culture, whose ancestors were from South East Asia.
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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 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.
Viti Levu is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
Located in the central Pacific Ocean, Fiji's geography has made it both a destination and a crossroads for migrations for many centuries.
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.
Bau is a small island in Fiji, off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu. Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji's dominant power; until its cession to Britain, it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji. Due to its sacred nature, foreigners have to apply for a permit to visit.
Moala is a volcanic island in the Moala subgroup of Fiji's Lau archipelago. It has an area of 62.5 square kilometers (24.1 sq mi), making it the ninth largest island of Fiji. The highest point on the island of Moala, at a maximum elevation of 468 meters (1,535 ft), is called Delaimoala which has rich vegetation and consists of dark thick forest. The population of around 3000 live in eight villages. The chief village of Naroi, whose population is over 500, was formalised during the colonial era to entertain those that would not be entertained elsewhere. Economic activities include coconut farming, cocoa production, fishing and yaqona (kava) production.
Viseisei is a village at Vuda Point on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji.
Nadroga-Navosa is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji and one of eight based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is about 2,385 square kilometers and occupies the South-West and Central areas of Viti Levu, Fiji's principal island. The province includes the Mamanuca Archipelago,Malolo Islands, off the west coast of Viti Levu, Vatulele, as well as the remote Conway Reef in the southwest. The population at the 2017 census was 58,931, being the fifth largest province. The main town in Nadroga-Navosa is Sigatoka, with a population of 9622.
Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous province, with a population of 247,708 – more than a quarter of the nation's total – at the 2017 census. It covers a land area of 2,634 km2 (1,017 sq mi), the largest of any province.
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.
The Fijian double canoe was the largest and finest sea-going vessel ever designed and built by natives of Oceania before contact with Europeans.
According to the most recent census in 2007, most people have a Christian background, with a sizable Hindu (27.9%) and Muslim (6.3%) minority. Religion tends to split along ethnic lines with most Indigenous Fijians being Christian and most Indo-Fijians being mostly Hindu or in some cases, Muslim.
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Lauwaki is the second largest village in the Vuda district, Ba Province in the Western side of Viti Levu, Fiji.
Naosara was a Fijian High Chief, an ancestor of Fijian royal family.
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In Fiji, Turaga na Roko Tui Bau is a vassal chief of the Vunivalu of Bau. From his seat at the residence of Naicobocobo, the Roko Tui Bau rules the Vusaratu chiefs and has relationships with the Roko Tui Dreketi, Ratu Mai Verata, Roko Tui Namata, Roko Tui Veikau, Tui Vuya and other members of Fiji's House of Chiefs.
Camakau are a traditional watercraft of Fiji. Part of the broader Austronesian tradition, they are similar to catamarans, outrigger canoes, or smaller versions of the drua, but are larger than a takia. These vessels were built primarily for the purposes of travelling between islands and for trade. These canoes are single hulled, with an outrigger and a cama, a float, with both ends of the hull being symmetrical. They were very large, capable of travelling open ocean, and have been recorded as being up to 70 ft in length.
Navatu is a sub district in Cakaudrove; one of 3 provinces situated in Vanua Levu, the second largest island in Fiji. The sub-district, or "tikina" as it is known in the iTaukei language, comprises nine villages mainly occupying the eastern peninsular of the Natewa Bay. While Copra has been the main source of income for villages in the Navatu tikina, kava or yaqona is also becoming a fast growing commodity for villages within the Navatu sub-district.
The Ndakunimba Stones are the remains of a 50-foot-tall monolith carved with petroglyphs, located in Dakuniba, a remote village in Cakaudrove Province on Vanua Levu, Fiji. They comprise about 14 stone fragments of various sizes, with deeply carved angular figures.
Lutunasobasoba is considered to be one of the ancestors of the Fijian (iTaukei) people, along with Degei.