AN OBSERVATION OF FIJIAN SOCIETY:
THE CONFLICT BETWEEN INDIVIDUALITY AND COMMUNALISM
by Apryle Pickering

Extended Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Note on the Pronunciation of Fijian Words

Introduction

Methods

Chapter 2 - Social Structure and Organization in a Fijian Village

Kin Terms and Relations

Name Avoidance

Social Structure of the Village

Vitawa Village

History of the Bua Yavusa

Marriage

Schooling

Religion

Chapter 3 - Economics

Household Surveys and Background Information

Sources of Income

Family Expenses

The Cost of Kinship

Opinion and Personal Feelings

Chapter 4 - Life Cycle Rituals

The Sevusevu

The Funeral Ceremonies

Tenth Night Ceremony

One Hundredth Night Ceremony

One Year Ceremony

Chapter 5 - Life Histories

Life History Interview #1

Life History Interview #2

Life History Interview #3

Chapter 6 - Religion in Fijian Society

The Methodist Church

The Holiness Revival Church

First-Hand Comparison of Methodism and AOG Affiliations

Conclusion

Works Cited

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank a number of people that made the research and compilation of this ethnography possible. First I would like to thank my Fijian family. This includes Nana, Tata, Semi, Pudgy and Tila. They were more than willing to answer any questions that I had and were very interested in helping me to learn more about their culture. They treated me as their own daughter and for that I will always be grateful. I also would like to thank the people in my village for making me feel so welcome as well as my American family: Mom, Dad and Molly, you were consistent with letters and very supportive. Lastly, I would like to extend my thanks to the other students and Professors Karen Brison and Stephen Leavitt. They were a crucial part of this experience and without them it would not have been possible. Thank you.

NOTE ON THE PRONUNCIATION OF FIJIAN WORDS

Fijian orthography generally follows an pattern that fits with an English speaker's intuitive understanding, but some distinctive devices have been used to render Fijian in a systematic way.

More conventional orthography:

"a" as in "father"
"e" as in "bed"
"i" as the "ee" in "beet"
"o" as in "hope" but with no diphthong
"u" as in "tube"

The unconventional features of Fijian orthography are as follows:

"b" refers to the sound "mb" as in "tomboy"
"d" refers to "nd" as in "find"
"c" is a voiced "th" as in "the"
"g" is the "ng" as in "singer"
"q" is the "ng" as in "finger"

INTRODUCTION

The Fiji Islands are a compilation of over one hundred inhabited islands that lie in the South Pacific. The largest, Viti Levu, is the most populated and was the site of my incredible research experience. I was located in the northern section of the island along the coast in the province of Ra. Within this area is the district of Rakiraki where the only town, Vaileka, is located and just to the west of that lies the village of Vitawa where I have spent the last two months.

The village of Vitawa is one of the largest in the vicinity with over seventy households including a church, a community hall, a "kantin" or store and a kindergarten. The village sets back from the road but is easily seen by passers by. It is located at the foot of a large rock structure, Ului-ni-Navatu and the houses are scattered along a sloping incline. There are two main driveways into the village, one headed straight into the middle ground and the other that follows a path up into the center. My house was located at the foot of the hill next to the village kindergarten. It was fairly spacious and although it contained no furniture it was extremely comfortable and inviting.

My host family consisted of my tata ("father") who spent his days in the house sleeping and relaxing out doors, and my nana ("mother") whose days were spent cooking, washing, and making handicrafts. One sister, Iliseva (also known as Tila), was twenty-four years of age and taught at the village kindergarten next-door and two brothers. One of my brothers, Usaia (Pudgy) was twenty-seven years of age and working in Suva as a police officer while the elder, Semi, was twenty-nine years of age and remained at home with his wife, Reapi and two-year-old daughter, Vani, making his living as a fisherman. I was lucky in that most of my family members were able to speak English, it was only my Nana with whom I had to use other forms of communication. My family was incredibly helpful and more than willing to accept me into their family. My sister acted as my confidant as well as spending her time helping me with my research and answering any questions that I had about the culture. It was not just my family that accepted me into their home, however. It was the whole village who went out of their way to make sure that I felt welcome. The longer that I spent in the village the more I was able to learn about the culture and make friends with the villagers. In no time at all I was able to think of Vitawa village as my home.

My research in the village involved studying various topics such as the social structure and organization of the village, economics, the life cycle of Fijians, ritual ceremonies and religion. After devoting a portion of my time to these topics and assessing their significance to the culture I began to notice reoccurring themes. Fijians pride themselves on their duty to help others, whether it is outsiders or family members. Their traditional beliefs have always emphasized a strong sense of community and sacrificing your own needs. The relations between kin are determined on a scale of respect and the mannerisms when dealing with certain family members must be extremely defined. This theme, however, has been increasingly questioned in the villages and now the concept of individuality appears to be more appealing to most although they are reluctant to admit it. The struggle has been developed between the autonomy of a person in Fijian society and the pressure to follow tradition.

The first chapter in my ethnography discusses the social structure of the village and how the various sections and families are organized. This underlines the elaborate rules in the kinship system and emphasizes strict mannerisms and methods of respect that must occur according to Fijian tradition. The second chapter that I have written evaluates the economic system in Fiji, especially in a rural setting as well as the constant debate between individual wealth and kinship obligations. Next are the chapters on life-cycle rituals and life histories. This section of my ethnography gives the reader a sense of what it is like to experience the various rituals in Fijian culture as well as evaluate the obligations that Fijians must fulfill in respect to their families and community. The concentration in the life history section is on younger Fijian women and the roles that they play in their household as well as in their marriages. Lastly, the chapter on religion examines the pressures to conform to the dominant Methodist religion and one man's experience of conversion. All throughout the chapters, however, I have portrayed the common theme about the pressure to conform to Fijian tradition and the struggle to become an individual in a society based on communalism.

Methods

The completion of the ethnography required various approaches and techniques of observation. The first two weeks that I was adjusting to village life I had the opportunity to complete a map of the village as well as a map of my house and begin my censusing work. Getting oriented in a visual manner to the village and household is a great way to understand further the dynamics of the village and obtain a sense of the social divisions. The census information is crucial in all anthropological research and includes such information as the names of the people in specific households, their children and place of origin. This exercise provides an opportunity to gather solid and systematic information on a wide number of people in a short period of time. Also from this information I was able to make reliable estimates about the demographics of the village as well as obtain valuable information in kinship relations and social organization.

The second and third weeks that were spent in the village were devoted to collecting genealogies from two people in the village and drawing up the genealogy diagrams. I also derived list of kin terms and studied the formal relations between family members, focusing on the significance of avoidance patterns. These constant displays of respect are a huge part of Fijian culture and one aspect that I found very intriguing. It was important to collect genealogies and family trees to add to the census information so that I could further understand how the people of the village were related. After completing this exercise it was then easier to supplement my social structure and organization chapter with the information that I had obtained and gain a better understanding of the kin terms and other material.

The fourth and fifth weeks of the term were spent obtaining six economic surveys so that I could use the information to analyze their standard of living and include the statistics in my ethnography. The interest was in the assessment of the economic activities that were participated in such as village functions as well as sources of income and expenditures. As well as asking them about their expenses and income I also tried to incorporate such issues as the importance of money and the burden that the kinship obligations had on one's financial situation. These questions were then useful in evaluating the central theme of the ethnography and further chapters.

Throughout my stay in Fiji it was also crucial that I attend as many life-cycle rituals as possible. I was fortunate in that I was able to witness a funeral as well as five post-death ceremonies. When observing these rituals I was careful to pay attention to details and ask questions when I did not understand what was happening. These rituals are an important part of Fijian culture, especially the methods of mourning and entering the different stages of life. From observing such ceremonies and participating in the sevusevu I could further understand the respect for the authoritative figures and the bond of the community as a whole. This was also an opportunity to evaluate the obligations they hold for the different families and their reactions.

The following weeks were devoted to personal interviews discussing their life history as well as their perspective on Fijian tradition. I was able to interview four young women who allowed me to assess their role in society and their opinion of conforming to elders. This was imperative in the write-up of the life cycle chapter, and the information gained was also useful in many other respects. I was able to understand their childhood and feel closer to the culture as a whole. When doing interviews such as these it is an incredible experience once you are finished to be able to go back and review the material, realizing just how different their culture is. This was definitely a learning experience for me and one that I enjoyed. Fortunately I was able to become much closer with the informants and value their friendship.

Lastly, in the final weeks of the term I was able to focus on the various religions in the village and the differences in worship methods. I attended both a Methodist church service as well as a service for the Holiness Revival Fellowship and was able to evaluate the distinct differences between the two. Also I was able to interview a man who converted from Methodism and assessed the pressures by the community to conform to the dominant religion and this man's struggle to convert. Religion in Fiji is such a crucial part of society, and those that follow out of the norms are sometimes ridiculed and set apart from the rest. This too follows the reoccurring theme throughout my ethnography and emphasizes these concepts.

Fijian tradition is a very powerful force among the villagers and the pressures to follow these traditions and customs and be overwhelming at times. I have found in my stay in Vitawa village that most people do not totally adhere to these traditions and many would choose to be more autonomous in nature. This is the concept of focus that I was able to observe throughout my research expedition and will portray in the following chapters.

On to Chapter 2...