Experience Culture in Fiji

What do you picture when you think of Fiji?  Luxurious palm trees, warm tropical breezes and lazing the afternoon away in a hammock overlooking the azure blue sea perhaps.  But there is a unique experience that should not be missed – touring a local village with the village chief as your personal tour guide.

Set on the Coral Coast of the Fijian island of Viti Levu is the picturesque Beach House Backpacker Resort nestled in a beautiful coconut grove.  My husband and I took a walk with one of the employees here, Ben, to the small village to the east called Namatakula. In Fiji, it is considered rude to wear hats or skirts above the knee so upon entering the village we had to look the part. Fiji is made up of hundreds of villages, all with important and distinct roles with clear social norms. Each has a Chief, a Speaker and six other leadership roles in which they conduct town meetings, solve problems and run events. Ben's father is the current chief of Namatakula and he has five sisters, which means he is Chief-to-be! Recently in a town meeting, it was decided Ben can become chief as soon as he finds a wife. He is able to choose a wife from another village which makes him quite happy, as he says he has no prospects yet. I asked Ben what sorts of problems his village faces: he says sometimes, villagers try and bring alcohol in which is illegal. They way they solve problems between folks is to bring them to the town meeting and let them "argue it out" while the Chief sits patiently and listens. Open communication, Ben says, is the way his village stays peaceful. There are no secrets.

Ben invited us into his home and showed us the local church. It was incredibly humbling to be in this small, poor town with no commerce of any kind. They grow their own fruits and vegetables and their dogs hunt wild pigs in the jungle. There is no furniture in their shanty-like homes, chickens and dogs run freely and smoking pits for cooking food were all around. As we walked past, the villagers young and old came out to their porches, looked us right in the eye, smiled, waved and shouted "Bula!" as we smiled and waved back with another loud greeting in return. I received such a feeling of warmth and pure contentment from these villagers who have a tiny fraction of what Westerns have.  This makes me think happiness does not come from within things, but from within oneself.