Bula Vinaka,
Today my Fijian adventure began with a full day of travelling including some very long queues, multiple ‘schoolies’ groups and a speeding taxi ride. I caught a flight to Nadi with Hannah, Kanya and Bronwyn then a taxi from Nadi to Suva with Kanya and Elle.
Having never visited Fiji or completed any Pacific studies before I found the basic introduction to the islands in the in- flight magazine titled “Fiji Islands” very useful! Fiji includes 322 islands across 32km squared (there is some variations of the number of islands ranging up 330 islands). Suva is the capital yet Nadi is considered to be the tourism hub and presumably the destination of most of the tourists (couples, schoolies groups, families) on the plane with us today. The in-flight magazine was an interesting read as it captured some of the typical ‘tourist’ images of Fiji- island paradises, surfing, diving, rugby, textiles and pearls. It will be interesting to find out how these images compare to my experiences!
The magazine also provided a very brief insight into the different cultural groups that live in Fiji with the article “Dipping into the Cultural Melting Pot.” From the article “We are Fiji” by Jennifer Cattermole it is clear that the Fiji islands are home to a multicultural population. The statistics quoted by Cattermole were taken from the 2007 consensus-
- · Indigenous Fijians (taukei) comprise 57.3% of the population.
- · 37.6% of the population are descended from the Indian indentured labourers imported to Fiji to cultivate sugarcane from 1879- 1916 and subsequent Gujarati and Punjabi immigrants.
- · The remaining 5.1% consist of minority cultural groups including Chinese, Europeans and other Pacific Islanders.
This article referred to some groups of minority Pacific Islanders who despite their small numbers have a distinct culture and identity. For example Banaba Islanders relocated to Rabi Island after being displaced by British phosphate miners in pursuit of guano (used in the fertilizing industry). The article also looked at survivors of the WWII Japanese invasion that were sent to the Caroline Islands to serve as labourers prior to moving to the Rabi Islands. The history of the minority groups within Fiji is an area of interest that I would like to look into further and hopefully develop in my final essay.
The central notion that Catermole is addressing in her article is that of ‘national unity.’ We had the perfect introduction to one of the key examples that she uses- rugby. With Fiji winning the Rugby Sevens the day we arrived in Fiji we quickly saw that rugby was a strong passion of all Fijians. The taxi driver was intently listening to news reports on the drive between Nadi- Suva. Mosi the friendly ‘grandfather’ at the Colonial Lodge also very proudly gave as a play by play of the game when we arrived. As Catermole describes in her article “rugby, particular Sevens, holds a special place in the national psyche.” From the in-flight magazine I could also see the influence of rugby with rugby legend Waisale Serevi included in an advertisement for Tourism Fiji- a clear use of national symbol.
The taxi drive from Nadi- Suva was mostly in the dark, however it was possible to see that there is a stark difference between the tourist areas of Nadi to the more everyday life and towns of Fijians. This is something that I hope to get more of an insight into with our weekend trips.
