Anthropology Terms Abroad

AN ETHNOGRAPHY OF A FIJIAN VILLAGE by Sarah Ahart Extended Table of Contents Acknowledgments Chapter 1: Introduction Methods Chapter 2: Social Structure and Social Organization in Rewasa Social Structure Descent and Clan Affiliation Kinship Table of Kin Terms Avoidance Relationships Joking Relationships Displays of Respect Social Organization History Family Composition Breadth of Marriage Relations Religion Chapter 3: Life Cycle Events Sevusevu Birth Firsts Marriage Death Reguregu (Tribute to the Dead) A Funeral Post-Burial Feasts: Namiti and the 100 Nights Tabu (Taboo) Chapter 4: Village Economics Daily Activities Income Expenses Donations Attitudes Family Versus Money Chapter 5: Religion The Vu - Ancestral Spirits Conversions - "Finding Jesus" Chapter 6: Conclusion References Ahart Table of Contents | Fiji Term Abroad ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The modern education system in Fiji is dealing with conflicting theories and ideologies concerning modernism and traditionalism. These issues are sensitive and complicated. I was able to collect a significant amount of information on the subject with the help of several people. My interests in children and education have stemmed from my parents. Both have been very active in the education of their children and in the education system in general, my mother on a primary and secondary level and my father on a tertiary level. Their support, along with my sisters and brother, have given me the interest, strength and travel to come to Fiji in order to enhance my education. Steve Leavitt and Karen Brison, both professors at Union College where I am a student, have not only provided me with the opportunity to come to Fiji, but also with the interest and excitement of anthropology. They have also given me courage to continue my studies in Fiji and the chance to find the anthropologist in me. Debbie Cederbaum and Amber Johnston gave me a taste of home, companionship and support as we made this trip together. In addition to this support, my research could not have been conducted without the help of the Ministry of Education and the Senior Education Officer of Ra province, Mr. Cakacaka and his wife, "Nana Ili". They were responsible for finding me a homestay in Rewasa village and were always there with encouragement and help. Finally, I cannot thank Rewasa village and my host family enough. Nana and Tata, Semi, Jone, Bola and Yaca (Sera) were wonderful and provided me with everything I needed to feel a part of their family. Naulunivuaka, our mataqali, and Rewasa as a whole made me feel as though I was true member of their family and village, as did the Rewasa Methodist church. There are too many people who helped me to name them all, but I especially appreciate the help of Mr. and Mrs. "FunnyGuy" and their sons Vuli and Vula. They were the only ones who made me speak Fijian and taught me to relax and have fun with the language. And, I must mention Kacaraini (Kaca). Kaca was my best friend in Rewasa as well as my guide and translator. She became a Fijian sister to me and was a tremendous help and great friend. Without all of these people, especially my American family and my Fijian family, my trip would not have been such a great success. Ahart Table of Contents | Fiji Term Abroad Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION As in any country, there are similarities and differences in the ways of life according to where one lives. In Fiji, not only are there differences between city life and village life, but also between living in different villages. There are physical land differences which determine the staples of the village and the economics of the village and how often the villagers go to town or the city. There are dialectical differences which unify villagers with a common language and identify them with or separate them from other villagers. There are educational differences as well as religious differences. Despite all of these differences, common themes can be found. Every person lives his life based on cognitive models set by himself and the people around him. In Fiji, each village has its own separate set of ideals and models by which the people place themselves conceptually in the village, the country and the world. While different factors influence these models in each village, there are some common ideals to be found throughout village life. These ideals determine the actions of the villagers and are constantly renewed and slightly rearranged with each generation. Some of the stronger ideals include with respect, patriarchy, and the value of exchange and social ties. The following information is based on informants from Rewasa village in Ra province, located on the north eastern coast of Viti Levu. Respect is a cognitive model that directs almost every action of a villager's life. In Asesela Ravuvu's book The Fijian Way of Life, the first chapter is dedicated to "Some Key Principles." There are nine subheadings in this chapter: Male emphasis; Residence with the husband's group; Siblings must cooperate; Kinship ties are very extensive; Cousins are of two opposed types; The brother-sister taboo; The importance of age and seniority; Sex differences and the division of labour; Reciprocity (Ravuvu 1983: iii). None of these subheadings can be discussed, or can be relevant to village life, without recognizing the underlying influence of respect. This paper will have similar themes, especially of exchange, patriarchy and cementing social ties, all of which are dependent upon the strength of the ideal of respect in a Fijian village. Respect, which governs most actions in a Fijian village, is evident in everyday life. The way in which a person walks, the words spoken and who they are spoken to is all dependent upon respect. There are certain relationships, joking and avoidance for example, which are based on respecting specific family members. While these are recognized as special relationships, any relationship one has with another is guided by understood rules of respect. Family members are treated differently according to their position in the family and the village. Age, position and gender all influence the actions of others towards them and the respect demanded. One of the guiding principles of respect in a Fijian village is patriarchy. History books tell that many societies around the world were patrilineal at some time. Today, so many Western countries are in a era of political correctness and equal rights that the idea of a male dominated society is frowned upon. However, there do no seem to be many people in Fiji who are unhappy with this way of life. The man is the head of the household, the official leaders of the mataqali (extended family system traced through the male lineage) and the village. Women traditionally eat meals after the men and usually leave her family at marriage to live with her husband in his village. All of these things are done out of respect to the man and his family. However, most men respect women as well. While the men are the heads of the household, most consult with their wives when making decisions. Women can be a chief if her family situation calls for it. Most women do not seem to be unhappy with their status. They accept the way in which their culture, not the men, dictates their actions and can respect the men because of their respect for their culture. Another dimension of village life and respect is the idea of exchange. Ravuvu writes: A high proportion of significant social contact among Fijians is accompanied by gift-giving. Casual visits between friends may call for the proffering of yaqona, tobacco or other gifts as the appropriate and proper way of behaving. It is normal to reciprocate on such occasions, giving yaqona or food or by showing hospitality, honour, respect and acceptance in other ways. [Ravuvu 1983: 11] Exchange is an important aspect of any social occasion in a Fijian village. Funerals, marriages, and other important life events as well as informal ceremonies are guided by what is exchanged. The value and amount of what is given is matched or bettered by the person receiving the gift. The value of the gift is thought to match the social status of the receiver. This is a way to show respect for that person or village as well as proving yourself worthy of respect by following these understood guidelines. Obviously, exchange is very important to village life as the villages are guided by respect of culture and others. By misappropriating gifts regularly, one is showing disrespect and his social status will suffer. Ahart Table of Contents | Fiji Term Abroad Methods As an undergraduate anthropology major, I was presented with the opportunity to spend a term abroad in Fiji with two anthropology professors. I quickly realized that I could not pass up this opportunity as my interests and knowledge in the field of anthropology was growing. I was trying to decide if there was a possibility that I would apply to anthropology graduate school programs and figured being the field would help me make my decision. Two other anthropology majors and I left America to spend the first eleven weeks of our junior year in Fiji. Before our arrival in Fiji, we agreed with our professors that it would be most beneficial and the easiest to learn the culture if we were immersed in Fijian life. The best way to do this was to place each one of us with a Fijian family in separate villages for ten weeks. Our jobs or assignments were to act as professional anthropologists. We were assigned two major projects. One was an independent project. It was up to each of us to decide on and design a research project. The other assignment was an ethnography of village life in Fiji, based on our villages. The ethnography was broken up into four sections or chapters: kinship terms and systems; religion; economics; and life cycle events. These are broad topics to which I have only touched the surface of each in ten weeks. I realized that it would not be possible to complete a full ethnography in ten weeks, so I did what I could to sort out the most general and insightful information. I was constantly learning, mainly through observations. It was not always possible to have an interview or even an informal conversation with many people for different reasons. The language barrier caused problems for both myself and the villagers. So, when we could not talk because of miscommunications or inappropriateness, I would just observe. I also did some formal interviewing. One of my cousin-sisters is seventeen and speaks English very well. She was asked to accompany me on my interviews by my host parents. We became good friends, and she was an informant as well as a translator. We questioned a number of people on each topic in the ethnography. I also had many informal conversations with my family or other villagers during meals or sitting outside. In addition to talking with people, I tried to participate in many of the social events of the village. I regularly attended church and sang with the choir, I joined different groups for tea once in a while, I attended a Uluda festival or chiefly festival in Suva, I spent two days a 'night before' a funeral and the funeral, and joined my village in their own fundraising festival. I did my best to attend sevusevus in the village and any other ceremony held. In doing this, I could get a sense of the typicalities of each ceremony as well as differences according to each situation. The information was constantly being thrown at me and I did my best to take notes or record. I kept a journal and a record of field notes of every day spent in Fiji on my computer. This way, my thoughts and information collected would have some organization and would be useful (and fun to read) later. Formal interviews were recorded for reference purposes and most other information that I gathered during the day was jotted down in a notebook that went just about everywhere I did. Using the field notes, my notebook and my recordings, I was able to complete weekly assignments for my professor building up each chapter to have a complete paper at the end of the term. My formal interviews in Rewasa began with taking a census of twenty houses. In doing this, I collected information about the number of people sleeping in each house, the original villages and mataqali of the members, each members' occupation(s), education levels, ages, and religion. The census did not include all of the houses in Rewasa, but were randomly selected and gave me a broad overview of a typical household. To help me remember which houses I questioned and to help me remember a general layout of the village, I drew a map of the houses questioned and some others. Using a small compass for house angles, I paced the length of walls and distances between houses. Later, using the compass and a ruler, I drew an outline of each house, and some outhouses and cook houses, on a couple of pieces of graph paper taped together. Because the census gathered only basic information, I returned to most of the same houses a few weeks later to do an economic survey. In this survey, I found out the daily activities of household members, who is working and what their jobs are, incomes and expenditures. This also was used as a representation of the economic situation of the village and monthly incomes, annual incomes and monthly expenditures were estimated. In addition to economic and census interviewing, I traced a genealogy with Nana and Tata, my host mother and father, and made a family tree for each. This information is important to many people involved in an extended kinship system, and it helped me understand the different relationship each person shared with their relatives. I also gathered a list of kin terms and explanations of specific relationships such as joking or avoidance. There are certain events in a Fijians life that are traditionally celebrated, so I interviewed a couple of people on their life, allowing them to talk about any matter, and asking them specifically about ceremonies such as marriage, first birthdays and so on. My last formal interviews conducted were about religion. Looking for a connection to traditional spiritual beliefs and modern religion, I asked about the Vu (ancestral spirits) and the church. Many of these interviews were recorded and notes were taken on the others. All of the information was compiled to piece together the following ethnography of life in a Fijian village. On to Chapter 2... Ahart Table of Contents | Fiji Term Abroad