Final Reflections

The final days of my three weeks in Fiji were very crazy- lots of work both at the National Trust and for our course, sad farewells and gift- buying. Doing an internship with the National Trust and the various events associated with the program has allowed me to gain an insight into the country, people and culture that I could never have imagined from just simply travelling. Interestingly, my next door neighbours were in Fiji at the same time staying in a resort on one of the outer islands. It was a perfect family holiday for them, yet it sounded very similar to our last night in Nadi when I know that many of us were frustrated by the ‘Fijian dance shows,’ the endless souvenir shopping and the lack of activities apart from lazing on a beach. It made me realize how different my experiences were from the initial idyllic expectations that I had from our pre- departure sessions back in Canberra.

Farwell Dinner on the Monday Night

Farewell Party at the National Trust

The most memorable part of the experience was the people- how welcoming everyone was; the smiles and the genuine caring nature of the people from work, the Colonial Lodge and the Conservatorium of Music Students. The pride and passion for their work whether it be traditional dance or environmental conservation has been something I have been very impressed with. Of course there were some negative aspects. I was at some points frustrated by ‘Fiji time’- the endless waiting, the lack of organization in the work place which I felt lost a lot of resources and work hours. However this was part of the experience and I felt I have learnt a lot about ‘going with the flow.’ The past three weeks have been intense, but full of amazing experiences and memories. I have enjoyed getting to know the other ANU students, Nikki, the National Trust staff and the Conservatorium of Music students. I am still very much in denial about returning to reality even though I have been back in Australia for nearly a week now!

Vinaka vakalevu

Trip to Levuka

At the end of our third week in Fiji we went on a trip to the old capital, Levuka. I was particularly excited about this visit as I had learnt about this site last week at the National Trust Workshop from the Levuka Community Centre site managers. It is currently on the World Tentative List earmarked to be a World Heritage Site. Most recently it was rejected from the listing due to the large space that was proposed to be protected, therefore the current work on this project is reducing the protected areas to four or five key sites including the MH building (now the Community centre), the Sacred Heart Church, the old Marist College school and two of the shops. I initially thought that the request to reduce the size of the protected area was illogical, as I thought it would reduce the ability for conservation, however the impetus behind this is to ensure that it is a manageable project for the available staff.

On Friday morning I met up with the two park rangers who I had met last week- Tombassi (my apologises for the spelling!) and Lydia at the MH Community Centre. Despite being quite out- dated in terms of displays and books, it is well- looked after and very interesting. It includes a small museum, a large space for events such as Library Week Book Parades, a library and a reading corner. It is primarily targeted at school- aged children for after- school activities and holiday programs, however when I was visiting there was also a group of businessmen having a meeting in the centre illustrating that it is a central point for all Levuka people.

The rest of the trip was spent exploring the streets and swimming in the ocean. I found that there was a very stark difference between Levuka and Suva- it is much smaller, safer and even more friendly, if that was possible! The town is very small, consisting of one main street and a huge fish factory. It felt like stepping back in time with the colonial influence clear in the old shop fronts. We were staying at Mary's Lodge, which is run by Suzie's sister. It was great to see Mossi again- we have missed him!



Apart from the time we spent in Levuka, the bus and boat trip was fascinating. Watching out the window during the bus rides through villages provided so many examples of the initiative and resourcefulness of Fijians- houses decorated with shells, gardens made out of old tyres, beach volley ball courts made out of bamboo.

I was also fascinated by the endless amounts of trucks and buses exiting what looked like a tiny ship. At one point there was chaos with four buses reversing at the same point, yet magically they ended up in a line of four perfect reverse parks. I feel like this has been my entire experience in Fiji- an appearance of chaos and disorganization yet the final product has order.

Watching the sunrise on Saturday on the ship returning to Suva was a moment that I was will never forget. We were all exhausted with a busy weekend ahead of us- but it was just so beautiful!

Christmas Party with the Conservatorium of Music

One of the most memorable experiences of the trip so far was the Conservatorium of Music Christmas Party this Wednesday at Vadrai Village. It was a very relaxing day full of water games, rugby, volleyball and, of course, music!

Rugby on the beach

Relaxing in the shade

We also met Master Lai’s brother who came walking out of the ocean carrying a HUGE supply of lobsters and fish in preparation from a celebratory feast for a relative arriving from America the following day. This celebration of kinship and family is something I find very special in Fiji.

The Conservatorium of Music students have been a big part of our adventure here in Fiji. From the beginning they have been welcoming and always ready to join us for a night out or invite us to a musical performance. Each of the students major in a particular instrument or voice; they participate in the dancing as they believe in and our proud of the traditional dances of Fiji. From talking to the students money does not seem to be the main impetus, as the majority of the fees for their concerts are reverted back into the Fijian Arts Council. The commitment was also astounding and goes against the common conception of Fijians as relaxed’ and, in some respects, lazy or at least not worried about deadlines. These students have class from 8am- 1pm and then dance rehearsals all afternoon! These students and the dances that they learn and perform for both local and international audiences are also a key example of combining ‘culture’ and ‘development’ as espoused by Hooper. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Conservatorium dancers have performed at the Shanghai Expo, in Canada, in Hong Kong and they are planning a trip to Australia next year- combining traditional dance and culture with a source of income.

Work at the National Trust Headquarters

This week at the National Trust we will be working at the headquarters office writing up our proposal for educational program at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. It is nice to have some time to finally get our ideas down on paper as we spent our first week in Sigatoka and the second at the NT workshop. Today was, however, the first time I felt frustrated by ‘fiji time.’ It is quite difficult to see the lack of organization regarding archiving. After working all day on a potential education program one of the staff members found a past project on the Sand Dunes and gave it to us in an off- hand manner. Also during my internet research for education programs I had come across an article in 2007 written by a British exchange student who had spent 6months recording the oral histories of the surrounding villages. When I asked about these stories the staff were unable to find them. It is frustrating to see these resources being under- utilized or poorly organized, especially when I have overall found the staff very positive and resourceful and full of initiative. Despite this, I am also starting to wish we were here for longer than three weeks. A lot of the projects I am hearing about are very long term and I feel sad leaving before I can seeing many of the projects being put in place.

The BeachHouse

This weekend we had an insight into what most tourists experience in Fiji- the island paradise. We were staying at the BeachHouse a luxury backpackers resort with sole travellers, groups of backpackers, schoolies, surfing groups, couples and a Fijian shipping company Christmas party which annually celebrates at the BeachHouse- quite a mix!



I believe these are the images that Fiji largely portrays to the world in their travel brochures and travel advertisements:






Apart from being a great comparison for our course here in Fiji, It was also a perfect time to have a relaxing two days- it was a chance to reflect on the past busy two weeks and realize we only have one week left!

National Trust Workshop 2011

This week is the 2011 National Trust Annual Workshop. The idea of this workshop is to bring together the many branches of the National Trust across Fiji for a week to present their achievements and challenges for 2011. This is important for a bigger picture understanding of how the National Trust is organized and the links that exist between the different projects. It is also a chance to share ideas so it is quite an exciting and enthusiastic atmosphere. In relation to our work project, it is useful for myself and Hannah to see what educational programs there are in, for example the Levuka Heritage Site, which could be utilized at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes in their new education centre. Our role for this week is to take minutes and prepare a report on the presentations by the end of this week to determine the key gaps in each site using the NT Strategic Plan for 2008- 2012 as a yardstick. It is quite a time- consuming task; however it is giving us a very comprehensive introduction to the NT.

Doing fire emergency planning Learning how to use a fire extinguisher

NT Staff relaxing at lunch time Park Manager (Jason) and Ranger (Salome) with the Sigatoka Sand Dunes Display

I found the article by Hau'ofa to be very insight with his assertion that development should occur from a grass- roots approach as 'only when we focus on what ordinary people are actually doing, rather than on what they should be doing, [that] we can see the broader picture of reality.' I found this particularly important when learning how the NT heritage sites are initially established. Often the NT sites are government imposed with little community involvement. This is the case for the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, which is only now, several years after its establishment, moving towards incorporating community input in initiatives such as school outreach, community workshops (on waste management and fire control) and community safety patrols. Another three NT sites Bouma, Koroyanitu and Waisali rainforests offer an alternative approach. These are 4yr long projects designed to be eventually run completely by local communities thus from the beginning the NT attempts to convey a sense of ownership upon the local landowners. The problem with the imposition of heritage sites is that whilst the conservation is aimed to preserve the unique Fijian environments for future generations this long- term planning is often not a priority for those who use the natural environment as a source of income and livelihood. The tension between conservation principles and traditional land use is most evident at the Fijian Creseted Iguana Sanctuary. The presentation by the site managers identified that the introduction of goats has become a significant threat to the iguana population, however they are also a source of livelihood for the goat- owners. The solution was very tricky! Essentially financial compensation was provided with each goat owner given $150 for each goat that was eradicated. Whilst this was the solution preferred by the goat owners I find it hard to believe that this is the most sustainable solution. I think that more research should be undertaken in maybe providing initial financial compensation, but also skills workshop to ensure that the goat- owners have alternative avenues of income.

From my experiences this week I can see myself supporting Langi Kavaliku assertion (which is supported by Anthony Hooper) that the “conceptually flawed contrast between culture and development” (pg 11) should be cast aside. The fundamental problem is when ‘development’ is reduced to only economic growth, measured by indicators such as gross national product. Instead 'development' should be incorporated by integrating culture with the economic. Joeli Veitayaki in a later chapter of the book "Culture & Sustainable Development in the Pacific" uses Fiji’s fish management as a positive example where the government has endeavoured to take culture into account in its fisheries management, marrying it with research and grass- roots participation.

Cruise ship in Suva!

On the weekend a cruise ship docked in Suva for a day with the 2000 tourists on board heading off to Gloria Jeans and buying big at the handicraft markets. It made me very appreciative of the Fijian experience that we have been lucky to have through our jobs, our course and the people we have met.A brochure image for a cruise around the Pacific- a tourists' conception of Fiji!

One incident of the day that stands out was when a Fijian man approached a group of us shopping near MHCC and encouraged us to visit a particular Fijian shop. He told us that they were the only Fijian markets where the money goes directly to the Fijians, and not 'to the Indians.' This is quite a blatant example fo racism in Fiji, however I have also noticed many subtle references to this disharmony everywhere. The source of this tension stems from the historical social structure where "the indigenous Fijians provided the land, the Indians the labour and the Europeans the capital and the management (Teaiwa)." The workplace is overwhelmingly Indigenous Fijian— the park manager at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes is Indo- Fijian, however this appears to be very rare in government and head positions from talking to the other students at the Fijian Arts Council. However outside of the work environment, Indo- Fijians are very visible: driving taxis, working at the shops, at the restaurants. The article by Katerina Teaiwa “Popular Kinship” is particularly useful when looking at this issue. I found our tutorial on this reading very helpful as it was a difficult and dense article with many new ideas and concepts! The value of this paper is that it is a such a new and quite creative perspective on studying the Pacific with her central idea being that pacific cultures can be understood and brought together through the lens of popular culture. Katerina argues that by using popular culture as a tool you provide common experiences for a large mass of people who are then able to accept and interact with more diverse groups, thus providing a way of reconciliation and an ability to be involved in the national identity.

Trip to Bau

On Saturday we travelled to Bau village, where the highest ranked chief in Fiji lives. It was an insight into the more formal, traditional indigenous Fijian culture- we had to assemble ourselves into a straight line with boys leading and girls at the back, we had to carry our bags by our sides instead of on our shoulders, we were bare foot and we weren’t allowed to wear sunglasses or huts (so I was as always very sunburnt at the end of the day!)

The Kava ceremony was strangely relaxed compared to what we had witnessed at our welcome ceremony on Monday. The chief of Bau was very involved and interacted directly with us, asking questions and laughing alot.

The tour of the village provided an interesting insight into the conversation of Christianity that occurred in Fiji. I have been reading a book titled “Fiji Times: A History of Fiji” by Kim Gravelle which details the conversation to Christianity using a range of archeological sources and local myths. The conversion was very much a top- down conversation, as Gravelle describes “Cakobau’s religion became the people’s religion.” On Bau it was possible to witness the very visual changes that occurred as a result of this conversation. For example, all the ‘heathen temples’ on Bau island were destroyed with only one remaining as a meetinghouse. Symbolically, the island’s first Minister was the only person allowed to live in land above Cokobau’s house. Another example is the use of an original killing stone transformed into a baptism stone.

Remaining 'heathen temple' used as a meeting room.

This adaption of Christainty now influences almost all aspects of indigenous Fijian lives. At work this week I have been amazed by the amount of prayer, singing and devotions that are incorporated into the work environment. During the week at the National Trust workshop (more about this later!) the staff created a Jesse Tree- this is a unique advent calendar to visually show the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Each staff member was provided with a symbol and a biblical passage and they had the task to create the ornament and describe the relevance of the story to the work place- the end result was an emphasis on the biblical values of fairness, equality, justice, loyalty and kinship.

Sorry to be sidetracked! After our tour of Bau island, we went to a village close by, Lagilagi. We have recently found out that we are the first non- Fijians to visit this village- this made the visit even more special! They organized a huge feast for us- one of many examples of how welcoming and generous Fijian communities have been during our trip.

Kava root drying in the sun

The Sigatoka Sand Dunes

It feels very surreal looking back on my past week at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes thinking about the fact that only two days ago I was trekking up and down sand dunes about three or four times a day! It was one of the busiest weeks of the year for the Sand Dunes- it was the last week of term during which the older years sat exams and the young years were taken on school excursions such as to the sand dunes. During our two and a half days Hannah and I were also to brainstorm some ideas for the new educational centre which was to be built at the dunes starting next year. We were able to visit a near- by marine park in order to get some inspiration for the set- up of the education centre and some ideas of fun games for early school- aged children.

Some quick information about the Sand Dunes- the sand dunes cover an area of 650 acres with 390 acres protected as Fiji’s first National Park since 1989. It is protected for the combination of geomorphological, ecological, cultural and aesthetical attributes it holds. Hannah and I learnt about the geomorphology and the history of the dunes on our first tour of the dunes early on Wednesday morning when we were showed around by one of the park rangers. We were also given an introduction to plant and animal life which I found fascinating as I have little knowledge or background in environmental studies. The Park rainforest is home to over 35 species of birds, 8 of which are endemic to Fiji.

With my love of history I found the archeological history of the sand dunes the most fascinating. On the second day at the dunes we went on the longer walk to the archeological sites where burial sites, pottery shards and other cultural materials have been found. These are believed to be of Lapita origin which is dated to approximately 2600 years ago. I am hoping to visit the Fiji Museum next week one afternoon after work as many of the unearthed artifacts from the sand dunes are on display at the Fiji Museum in Suva.

The beautiful Fijian environment is a key image used to draw tourism to Fiji. In the article “We are Fiji” Cattermole analyses the film footage of We are Fiji (watch it on youtube!) in which Fiji is promoted as a “pristine, pre- modern, unspoilt paradise.” (pg 100) There are in facts images of Fijian warriors dressed in traditional garb running through the Sigatoka sand dunes with carved wooden war clubs in the film club. This traditional and militaristic projection of Fiji creates a national identity which appears to prioritise the cultural and historical significance of environmental sites across Fiji. I believe it would be an interesting essay topic to compare this to the reality of the environmental protection scheme within Fiji as it appears that the direction of Fiji is increasingly focusing upon the economy with recent ventures into mining with Newcrest. It is interesting that alternative directions such as eco- tourism, which could be equally economically viable in the long- term, have not been fully explored.

I feel like I was provided with an invaluable insight into Fijian life and culture through meeting the staff of the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. It was interesting to juxtapose this against my experience so far of traditional Fijian culture. This was clear on the final night in Sigatoka when we went to a school carnival hosted to raise money for a school renovation. Children from about ten villages were sent to this school so each village had a food stall to contribute to the fundraising. Each village also entered a year seven girl into a beauty contest. The girls were dressed in beautiful traditional outfits- the diversity of the outfits provided a visual depiction of the range of backgrounds of each of the villages with some having clear Tongan influences, some were Polynesian and others were similar to the outfits in the photographs above from the ceremony on Monday. My camera unfortunately ran out of battery so I can’t share these outfits with you!

Following the beauty contest was a dance display which contrasted strongly to the traditional dances performed on Monday by the Conservatory of Music students. It was a mix of Polynesian dances, traditional Fijian dances and fire dancers. Often it was younger students who were learning so there was a lot of encouragement and involvement from the audience. Sweets and money were given to the dancers during their performance as a show of appreciation. Another difference was that rival villages mocked each others’ dances with the beauty contestants joining in and, for example, dressing the boys in a sulu to mock their dancing.

It was a beautiful, if tiring, three days at the Sigatoka Sand Dunes. It has given me a lot of insight into the difference between constructed idea of Fiji and the reality of Fijian life and culture. A fantastic start to working with the National Trust!

Day 3: Welcome Ceremony

Our first official day began with an introduction to the culture of Fiji by our friendly teacher 'Jeffrey.' The central principle of traditional Fijian culture is RESPECT. Already it is possible to see the effect of Chirstianity on the island with the protocols we learnt today being a mix of early Christian teachings and ancestral traditional ways of living. I found it particularly interesting that the protocols had developed out of necessity due to the open and public nature of the original single roomed Bure that traditional Fijians lived in. This lifestyle demanded the introduction of protocols such as the 'observance of silence in formal gatherings' to maintain a peaceful and respectful atmosphere.

We then were able to practice what we had learnt at the formal welcome ceremony hosted for us at the Fiji Museum. The ceremony included welcome speeches from the Director, a speech from Nikki, an I sevusevu, a traditional kava ceremony, homemade cakes and tea and ended with beautiful dancing and singing by students of the Conservatory of Music. The I sevusevu is a traditional introduction ritual in which the root of a kava plant is presented to the visitor. As representative of the group 'Jeffrey' accepted the plant indicating that we are accepted as 'one of the natives' with a responsibility to the 'vanua.' This was followed by a traditional kava ceremony which was an elaborate ceremony in which performers in full traditional attire served kava to Nikki whilst chanting and dancing. It was a very special honour to experience a full kava ceremony, as it is usually reserved for High Chiefs- we all felt very priviledged!

Following the kava ceremony was a series of dances from the Conservatory of Music students. These are too hard to describe with words- I have included photographs to try and illustrate the sounds and movement of the performance: (photos to come!!)

Following the ceremony the performers took us on a shopping excursion to find a formal outfit for our weekend trip to Bua. For girls this consists of jamba and for men it is a sulu and shirt. I was very touched by the warmth and welcoming nature of the music students and staff. Ana was particularly welcoming- ensuring that I had a dark green jamba to match my hair and insisting that I try the many different juices that we walked past along the streets. The experiences of the Conservatory of Music students can be related to the article by Epeli Hau'ofa titled 'Our Sea of Islands.' This article distinguishes between the identification of the Pacific as 'a sea of islands' as opposed to 'islands in a far sea.' The later emphasises the smallness and remoteness of the islands. From this perspective the islands are 'tiny isolated dots in a vast ocean.' (pg 153) I feel, to a certain extent, that this was partly my perspective having never experienced or studied Fiji and Fijian culture. These students clearly showed that the Fijian population are no longer limited to their national boundaries and can by no means be considered as a remote or 'small' culture. In the past year alone the group had performed at the Shanghai Expo, in Canada, in Hong Kong and they are planning a trip to Australia next year illustrating how closely connected and in demand this culture is!

In the afternoon me and Hannah split from the rest of the group to meet the people we will be working with at the National Trust. Saki met us at the ceremony and gave us a very warm welcome. She introduced us to therest of the office (all very lovely!) and gave a quick debrief on what they had planned for myself and Hannah during the next three weeks. We both feel very lucky as it appears to be very organised and busy. Tomorrow we will both be travelling to the Sigatoka Sand Dunes to stay with the Park Manager, Jason, until firday morning. The Dunes were Fiji's first national park and it is a popular tourist and school trip destination. I am not exactly sure what we will be doing, but we were told to bring good walking shoes and lots of sunscreen!

Settling into the Colonial Lodge

Our home for the next three weeks!