THE CULTURAL IDEOLOGY OF BODY IMAGE
AMONG FIJIAN WOMEN
by Erinn Gregg

Chapter 3
The Individual within the Fijian Community

Chapter 3

Healing Practices

Economics

Religion

Childrearing

Kava Circles

Eating

Conclusion

Healing Practices

The practice of traditional healing in Fijian society illustrates well the importance of the community. Each individual in Fijian society is expected to follow a distinct way of living described by Richard Katz, an anthropologist who studied healing in the Lau islands of Fiji, as "the straight path." It is a set of roles and relationships that includes correct behavior and distinct roles within the community. Ideas about sickness illustrate well the Fijian belief that following one's expected role in the community is more important than pursuing individual inclinations or desires. According to Katz,

Straying from the straight path is deviating from cultural ideals. Abandoning the path is not without rewards for certain people, who are thereby released to pursue their own interests at the expense of others. Such behavior is considered completely unbecoming, a violation of the order that is meant to govern Fijian life, and proper Fijian behavior. Deviating from the path usually results in sickness. (Katz 1993: 65)

Thus individuals who stray from the path are not only hurting themselves: they are harming the interconnectedness of the group. They will become sick and must be "healed" by being put back on the straight path. If the community of individuals lives according the norms, their ancestral spirits, the Vu, will give them power and health. However, once a member of the community strays from the path the Vu will curse them with sickness and misfortune. Therefore each individual is reminded by the healing ceremony of their place within the community and the way they are expected to behave within the community. The well being of the community depends on the actions of each individual.

Ideas about healing also reveal the Fijian assumption that it is relationships that are important in preserving individual and group well being. When a member of the community requests a cure or a healing process, he or she will go to healer who will perform a ceremony to cure the individual. Healers in Fijian society are highly revered and even feared for the place they hold in the community. Katz states, "Healers are villagers first and foremost, but in their daily lives and especially in the performance of the healing ritual, they are expected to strive to reach Fijian ideals" (Katz 1993: 60). The place which Fijian healers hold not only reveals the stress on keeping with Fijian traditions and striving to live ideally in accordance with these traditions but also shows the emphasis on the community. As individuals within the community, Fijian healers are assumed to have more mana (spiritual power) and thus are expected to relate more closely with the Vu, the ancestral gods and spirits that ultimately control Fijian life. Thus the healers help individuals within the community by relating to other previous members of the community and strengthening the bonds between the individuals of the community.

A central component of the healing process, as well as many other ceremonies within Fijian society, is the sevusevu ceremony, the ceremonial exchange of yaqona (kava). A healer will begin the process of healing with a sevusevu, "...asking the Vu permission to begin and seeking their blessing on the proceedings" (Katz 1993: 47). The person who is requesting the healing will present the yaqona to the healer. Katz notes,

It is in the healer's acceptance of the yaqona that the healing itself is accomplished. In that moment, mana is said to become available, allowing accurate diagnosis and the selection of an effective treatment. A sacred, spiritual exchange between healer and patient has been completed. (Katz 1993: 55)

The exchange that occurs between the healer and the patient are significant in revealing the bonds within the community. Individuals within the community rely on one another for support in numerous aspects of life, including the process of healing. The power that is bestowed upon the healer is in turn shared with individuals throughout the community for the benefit of the larger group.

The healing ceremony is not only a transformation of the individual but in turn, by healing the individual the community is also healed by the process. Through the contact between the individual and the healer and the healer with the Vu, the community is brought closer to the their ancestral spirits. Furthermore, the healer's performance relies greatly on the support of the community.

The work of traditional Fijian healers thus becomes an intrinsic part of the self-healing efforts of the patient and the community. Healers cannot work without community support; they need the prayers of the people to give them strength. As healers heal members of the community, so the community heals the healers. The community as healer enables the healers to give help. (Katz 1993: 334)

The community entrusts the healer with the power and the strength to perform the healing process. Not only will the community be brought closer to their Vu through the healing process, but in addition, when the healer helps a certain individual within the community, the solidarity within the community is reaffirmed.

Economics

The ideology of community is also apparent in economic ideology. The Fijian communal ideology is exhibited in the ritual exchange that occurs within the communities; an exchange of goods is not usually inspired by material needs but rather intended to preserve social harmony. "Through the exchange of gifts, the relationship between groups is affirmed and the identity of each group within itself strengthened. In Fiji, one is not alone; the group is one's life" (Katz 1993: 43). Thus the ritual exchange which occurs in the various Fijian ceremonies, from the first entrance of a visitor into a village to the marriage of a man and a woman, are expressive of the importance of maintaining good relations within the group and the emphasis on the community.

Fijian economic exchange is intended to build social relations not to build individual wealth. According to Nayacakalou, economic relations have to be based on the existing social network.

The Fijian economy is characterized by a smallness of scale; production is direct; there is no large-scale accumulation of wealth, no complex mechanism of exchange, and traditionally no money. Economic relations therefore tend to be organized around the existing framework of social relations, compensations are governed largely by other factors than precise exchange of equal values; they tend to be directed more by concepts of social obligation, and therefore to have final sanction in a basic system of reciprocities which permeates the whole group within which economic relations are effective. (Nayacakalou 1978: 121)

The goal of exchange is to build stronger relations not amass personal wealth. Economic considerations are not the incentives for people to earn money but instead responsibility to the group is the primary concern. In his book, The Fijian Way of Life, Asesela Ravuvu states,

In an economy which is still very much subsistence based, the idea of caring and sharing with others is an important aspect of the value systems of the Fijian people. The members of the community often depend upon one another for their various needs for survival. Although this expectation has a strong biological basis, it is further enhanced and extended through the exigencies of social living and the need to cooperate and live together in a context where people have to depend a great deal on what their physical environment could provide for the satisfaction of their needs. (Ravuvu 1983: 81)

The economic support that individuals provide for one another forms a reliance on the community and further enhances the idea that individuals are embedded in the community.

An example of the communal ideology governing economics within Fijian villages occurred in the village of Drana. The information from six households supports the notion that the social structure regulates the economic organization of the community. The incomes of the six households vary greatly; the only household with a source of income from a full time job outside the village was that of the village chief. One woman in the village noted, "There are a lack of jobs in Fiji and that is why many people if they do further schooling they return to the village because they cannot find jobs." Within the village they will always have some access to money no matter what the source of income. Living in the village lessens the pressure to find a source of income because you will have the economic support from those around you.

The Fijian ethic of sharing one's prosperity with other members of the community exemplifies the disapproval of people building personal wealth instead of helping the community. In the village of Drana, it is the households with the largest income that contribute most to the community while those with less money may not contribute at all. This is in keeping with the ideology that people should not attain individual wealth but distribute their wealth with the group. A young woman, the daughter of the village chief, stated, "We always get requests for money and we have to give it if we have it. Us children if we are to ask my father for money we will not get it but if someone from outside the household were to come in and ask my father, he would give them the money." The assumption is that if a family has money to give away and a member of the community is in need, the money must be given rather than saved for personal accumulation of wealth. Another daughter of the chief explained, "My dad had been trying to build another house for us, one that is bigger, since 1995. But he cannot save money because he is always giving it to other things." Presently there are nine family members living in the two-room house, but nothing can really be done because the family cannot accumulate the wealth they need to build a larger house. In the Fijian economy, people's willingness to live without larger houses is only one example of the negative attitudes towards personal wealth. If a member of the community has a sufficient amount of money they are expected to share it with the community.

The sources of income and expenditures in one of the households in the village, a widow and her three children, exhibits the substantial amount of redistribution that occurs in Drana. It seemed in fact to be true that people were willing to give away money to help relatives instead of improving their own standard of living. The widow's estimated expenditures on food alone per week totaled $30, which is more than the reported income per month. If in fact she were only receiving the income she claimed the family would not be surviving with the expenditures of the household. She received economic support from the wealthier households in the village that distribute their larger income to other members of the community. Family members may ask other relatives for money at any given time and if the relatives have the money to give, they are obligated to provide the needed support for their family. The ways of living are shaped by an economy where wage labor is scarce and uncertain so people need to "invest" in kin relations to maintain a way of life.

Religion

The religious faith and strong commitment to religion within the Fijian village are another example of the communal ideology within the community. Religion emphasizes the oneness of the community and the idea that everyone has a role to play within the community--your correct role and following the straight path are more important than pursuing individual desires or expressing individual personality. Fijians use religion as a form of strength to help them follow the correct way of living and not commit sins. Those who sin are pulling away from the community and hurting not only themselves but also the group. The group of people gathered together under the belief in one God affirms the notion of the community as one rather than many individual selves. The belief is further strengthened by the gatherings within the religion, which reaffirm their oneness as a group committed to the religion and to God. Ravuvu notes, "[The] social pressures to belong are reflected in the way some members of the congregation check upon one another's presence and at times ask each other why they do not attend regularly" (1983: 98). A member of the congregation who does not attend services is considered to be rejecting the community support that the religion provides and not living a "straight" life as defined by the community.

The structure of the Methodist Church service emphasizes the community all getting together and everyone being in their proper roles. At each service, the men, women and children are all situated in positions that clearly define their roles within the community.

In the centre of the church, from the main door right up to the pulpit at the other end of the building runs an aisle. On each side of the aisle are separate pews for men and women. At the top of the aisle close to the pulpit are two pews facing each other, one for the choir and the other for the children. Behind the pulpit and against the wall on either side are more pews facing the main body of the congregation. These pews are for chiefs, elders and visiting dignitaries. Together with the pulpit they are often on a raised platform. Even in church, one can still observe the extent to which the social hierarchy of the village is reflected in the sitting arrangement. (Ravuvu 1983: 97)

The gathering together as a community under one God not only reaffirms the individual's place within the community but the seating arrangements serve as a reminder of the each person's place within the community. Those people with higher status in the community are seated in front of the congregation while others are placed either to the side or back of the church. In addition, the preachers and high ranking men enter through one door of the church while the congregation enters through another. Again this reminds each individual of their place within the network of relationships and the respect which should be given to each member of the community.

Childrearing

The practices associated with child rearing among Fijian families show the way children are prompted to think of themselves as part of a network of relatives and to place personal desires after respecting the desires of relatives. An example is the rather informal process of adoption, or giving away young children for extended visits to relatives, that occurs frequently in the villages. Children move frequently between the household of their parents and those of other family members. This establishes for the child at a young age that he or she is embedded in a network of community relationships while at the same time reaffirming this ideology for the adults involved in the adoption. In Becoming Tongan, Helen Morton says, "As if they themselves are remittances, children are a bond of love and living confirmations of kinship" (1996: 57). Thus the adoptions which occur emphasize the interelatedness among the group when the child is very young.

In addition to the emphasis on the community, through adoption children are reminded of their status in the community. They are taught to place the interests of the community above their own. The similar process of adoption in Tonga "...is yet another instance in which [the children's] needs and wants are subordinated to those of higher status; adoption is another feature of children's low social status even as it reflects their high social value" (Morton 1996: 57). Children are taught that they must respect their elders, emphasizing the ideology of thinking about the community before their selves.

For instance, a common practice is to "give away" even very young children to relatives without children. One woman explained her experience with giving her two year old son away as well as with her younger sister's absence at a young age.

[My son] went to Vatukoula with my uncle. He wanted to take him because they have no little kids and they wanted to play with him so they asked me take my son with them. And I gave him away but yes I really missed him. I didn't want to let them take him but it was my husband who said, "Oh let him go just for a week and we can get him back if you miss him a lot." Then after a week I got used to it so I didn't go. I talked to them saying, "Bring Richard back, bring Richard back." And they said, "You wait, you wait until next week we will bring him back." He was there for a month. We do that - Fijians do that because some of them have no kids and like my sister - one of my aunties she had no kids so when my sister was young she used to take her all the time for two or three weeks at a time and then bring her back. We do that to help them because they do want to have kids but they can't so what we do, we help them. They love so we give our kids away to them because we feel it is safe to. We do that a lot Fijians because we trust one another - to our relatives, our close relatives not just to anybody.

This practice of "lending" children to other relatives from a very young age is not uncommon among Fijian families. The justification is that from a very young age children will learn the importance of the relationships around them. Rather than the parental influence taking precedence in the child's life it is the influence of many relatives which shape the child's upbringing.

Although it is a common practice, this is not to say that all Fijians are happy with the notion of giving their children to other relatives. However, there exists an obligation to the community and thus many people will adhere to the practice so as not to diminish the importance of the relationships. As one woman told me,

Mostly when someone does not have children they will come and if the mother knows that this person will keep their child nicely they will give it to them. I don't think I would give [my daughter] away. If I know they do the same way that I do then I would but if not I don't think so I would. If I know that someone really wants a child because they don't have one then yes I would give her.

Although this woman was not sure she would give her child away, in the end she agreed that she would give her away to someone who wanted children and had none of their own. Her obligation to the community and to the relatives around her outweighs her personal reaction to giving her child away and overall she would "share" her child for the benefit of those around her.

In situations where children are given away at a young age there are two important messages relayed about the network of relationships in Fijian society. First the children are made aware at a young age of the existing relationships and the respect which each relationship deserves. Secondly the importance of the relationships is reemphasized to the parents of the child who must be willing to cooperate with relatives who would like to keep the child for a period of time. The trust that is established and strengthened through this interaction is a central feature within the community and helps to serve as a reminder on the focus of community.

Kava Circles

The ideology of community is also evident in the ever-present ritual of yaqona (or grog) drinking. While I lived in Drana, the members of the community got together several times a week starting after dinner and often continuing through the small hours of the morning. Sevusevu are also a key element of all Fijian rituals and social occasions. A sevusevu, the presentation of kava, occurs for numerous occasions including entrance into a village, in order to give thanks, as an apology between two parties. It generally marks any exchange between two people or groups of people within the village. In addition the men and women of the village will join together throughout the week to drink grog and talanoa, share stories, within the grog circle.

Similar to the practices involved in child rearing, the weekly grog sessions among villagers display the focus on community and respect for tradition. One woman living in the village expressed her willingness to drink grog only out of respect for those around her. "Sometimes I just go up [to the chief's house] and sit and have a few bowls an then come back because even though I am not willing I know that I should go and sit with them and respect others around me." Respect for those within the village community is expected from all those present, as is the upholding of traditions. It is a long held tradition in Fiji to sit around the kava bowl and tell stories, and thus for one to express his or her commitment to the community it is necessary to participate. As well as serving as a reminder of the respect for the community, sharing grog with other members of the group reminds each individual of the place they hold within the network of relationships. The obligation that the individual feels to attend the sessions accentuates the commitment to the community. The exchange that occurs during a sevusevu, the seating and actions of those involved all represent the role of individuals within the community. Those present are seated according to social status, the chief at the top of the circle, followed by the men in order of respect and the women. The drinking order emulates the positioned seating. The individual is, therefore, reminded of his/her status within the larger group and the focus on the individual and their positioning within a more important community. The person who is presenting the sevusevu will arrive with the waka (kava root). The kava is presented to the chief of the village and an explanation is given for the presentation. Once the explanation has been given and the sevusevu presented the men and women will wait for the cigoma, the agreement, of the chief. He will "tara tiko" (touch) the yaqona to let the visitor know that everything is good and the sevusevu has been accepted. Following the presentation and acceptance of the yaqona, the kava is ready to be mixed and in a sevusevu ceremony, one of the men present in the room will announce, "Sa vakarau lose na yaqona vakaturaga", (the chiefly yaqona is ready to mix). He will clap three times and start mixing. The first bowl will be served to the chief, who will cobo, clap, once before taking the bilo, cup, followed by three claps from those present to express their respect for the chief. The person who receives the next cup will clap once but those who are present will clap only twice when he or she drinks to show that this person is the herald and thus below the chief.

The drinking order in the grog circles is decided according to respect. In the village of Drana if a sevusevu is presented to the chief when the first cup is poured the chief will say that it should be given to the guest who has presented the sevusevu. The second bowl will go to a young man in the village. On the next round the first bowl will then go to either another guest who is present or the chief. All those who are given the highest respect will drink for the three claps while others will be chosen to drink for the two claps. The claps emphasize the role of the individual within the community; every high status person must have a representative who drinks after. It is a mark of high status that you should have someone to represent you so you don't have to do this yourself. Women who are present, unless they are guests in which case they would drink first will be chosen to drink last. When all the men and women present have each received one bilo, cup of yaqona, they will clap to show that they are finished with one round of drinking. When the entire bowl of grog has been finished the server will rub his hands around the rim if the bowl and the group will chant "ama dua" (one voice) stressing their oneness as a group united to the loyalty of one chief. The sevusevu frames every individual event as an interaction between two groups and suggests to those present the correct hierarchical relations within the group. By coming together and sharing the sevusevu as one group they are reminded that they are like one united by their allegiance to one chief, one God and one cultural tradition.

The tatau is a sevusevu done to ask permission for someone to leave a village. The following tatau was done when a fellow student was leaving her village of Narewa. It was presented by a man named Solo and then accepted by a man named Tamai Apakuki. The presentation by one man and the acceptance by another man emphasized the interconnectedness between two groups of people. In addition, the ceremony stresses the exchange between one village under their head, the Tui Navitilevu and another four villages under their head, the Tui Navatu. Solo began:

In the chiefly way to my inside the house in Narewa the village in the chiefly way to the big house of Navatu to the young chief the Tu Malake and the young chief the Tui Navitilevu in the evening today we come up here from and journey inside of village of Rakiraki like the two came here, the couple Steve and Karen, see the yaqona carried here in front of your face this day it is her tatau, Stephanie, her living and her being taken care of inside this family maybe then leaving on Saturday, the two think, the couple, that they present her tatau thank you for the looking after and the receiving (her into the family), thank you for the helping taking care of her course inside our village of Narewa. It's just small and we ask for your forgiveness, she is going back again, the young girl Stephanie, to America, she goes with good health, goes to achieve her work. That is the message able to be said inside your chiefly house, the offering from my village Navuavua from the young chief the Tui Navitilevu, the offering again of those two the couple Steve and Karen, our offering of those who support (he means himself and his wife) the going her, my offering the man I am the voice (literally neck), the small yaqona of the tatau. And the thanks from Stephanie, look straight to the village to my big house of Navatu, of Malake and the inside the house (may the chief have a willing following).

Iei -

Solo finished his presentation and Tamai Apakuki was ready to accept the sevusevu:

I welcome Touch sir the chiefly yaqona of the land and for being concerned for each other, for the taking of what has happened to the young girl, for the family and her having had someone like a father and like a mother, it is a big thing, the respecting and honoring (meaning the way they respected and honored her), I know it is not an easy thing, the receiving inside the family the chiefly way of the tatau (hard to receive a tatau for someone inside your family to leave), yes, like one time we welcome (a guest) and another time we say goodbye to each other, one time we are sad another time we're happy, the yaqona presented from the chief Tui Navitilevu and the yavusa (clan) of the two, the chiefly couple Steve and Karen, inside the government of American yaqona given to the big God sends here the blessing, blessed is the girl, and the two are blessed, the chiefly couple who are leading the school children who came to take the course in our place. A blessing to just confirm our way of being related, straighten the road of the yaqona of the tatau...

The preceding tatau represents more clearly the emphasis on the community and the roles of each individual within the community though the sevusevu ceremony. Solo presents the tatau, first explaining what the purpose is (the leaving of the student) and giving thanks for the kindness of the people in the village of Narewa. Solo is "the voice" of the entire village but he speaks for all those who are present as well as those villagers who are not present. Tamai Apakuki (who accepted the sevusevu) mentions the difficulty of accepting a tatau when someone in the family is leaving, not only emphasizing the bond among individuals but the place which they have given the student in their family. He places an emphasis on the importance of relationships as they affect the entire community. The presence of the student in the village and the preparation for her departure enhanced the relationships between two groups: the villages of the chief that introduced the student into the village and the village of the chief who took care of the student. The concern for relationships was expressed by the way Tamai Apukuki talked about the sadness of a family member, the student, leaving. The student was embedded into the community and the community formed a strong relationship with her. She had a mother and a father in the village who cared for her and they entire community is sorry to see her leave. However, there is an emphasis on the fact that they are now related and the people are thankful for the relationship that resulted from her visit. The exchange between the two men is not merely an exchange of yaqona but more importantly one among the student, the professors, the chiefs, the villagers and God. The interconnectedness of the individuals brings them together for the tatau so that they can give thanks and blessing for the visit and the departure of the student.

Eating

In addition to the frequent drinking of grog another issue of respect is focused on meals within the village. The act of one person feeding another is more a sign of care than the satisfaction of hunger. Once food is offered from another member of the community and one refuses to eat it they will thus be refusing the care of those within the community. One young woman told me about a situation where she could not refuse her cousin's birthday meal but she had a very important exam the following morning.

When I was at the Fiji Institute of Technology my cousin had her twenty-first birthday. The next morning we were having our economics test. So I was really not in the mood of going because I had been preparing for the last two weeks. The birthday was held on Thursday and on Friday it was my first paper, economics. So I went to the birthday party and I came back home after two and so when we came home I tried to open my book and I tried to memorize whatever it was I had been studying for the last two weeks but I couldn't. I was lost. So on Friday morning I went to school and tried to memorize outside the hall before my test but I couldn't even remember anything. I failed my economics test I had to sit for another remedial test and then I passed. There was a big D on my first paper and they told me I had to sit again. I would have said no to the party but my cousin was forcing me to go because it was her twenty-first. And I was feeling hurt because I failed the test and I had to study again and sit for another exam.

In this situation the responsibility which the young woman had to her cousin ended in her failure on the exam which she later had to sit for again. However it is her commitment to the community around her, including her cousin, which is regarded with the highest respect in Fijian society. While her family members were not pleased with the exam grade, they were more concerned that she had attended the birthday celebration. The tone of the young woman relays that she was not pleased about her attendance at the celebration but she is required to fulfill her role within the community. If the woman had stayed at home to study and had not attended the celebration for her cousin's birthday she would have been expressing her individuality as a student. However, by expressing her individuality she would have been rejecting the role that she holds within the group. The notion that the young woman was indebted to attend her cousin's celebration again reemphasizes the idea that each individual has a more important role to fulfill in the larger community.

Conclusion

The above examples demonstrate the communal ideology that structures Fijian society. From a young age through practices such as adoption children are educated about their place within the culture and their status among the group. As they continue to grow as a member of the community, the emphasis on the individual as embedded in a network of relationships is reaffirmed through the economic system, religion and kinship. Individuals are not encouraged to foster their selves but rather to work on improving and maintaining the solidarity of the community.

The ensuing chapters will focus on how the role that each individual is expected to play within the community affects how women treat the issues of weight and body image. The idea of focusing on the community rather than the individual affects women differently according to the role they are fulfilling at a certain time in their lives. Younger and unmarried women who are perhaps less embedded into the community consider the role they should be fulfilling in trying to find a husband and focus more on their appearance while older and married women who are fulfilling their roles as nurturers within the community are less concerned with their appearance.

On to Chapter 4...