Pickering - Weeks 6 to 8 Notes

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Apryle Pickering Weeks 6 to 8 Field Notes excerpts - Life Cycle, Marriage

Ulamila Naega
Childhood in Fiji -

Grew up in Suva with parent from class 1 to class 4. Then came to Vitawa village. In village she attended Navatu Primary School. Came to the village with mother, while her father was working in Suva. After class ? she went back to Suva to finish her schooling. When she got married she returned to the village again.

She met her husband in a Methodist Church group, it was very social. They knew each other in primary school, however she was with him for a short time before they were married.

Wedding: The wedding took place at her husband's house with only his family. She was very scared. She was twenty-two. His father was working at the Fiji Sugar Corporation and they had a house on the grounds there. That is where the wedding took place. It was very short and small. Few people attended and there was a ceremony with a meal. His family gave them some mats. After they were married they stayed with her father-in-law for a while but her husband was working so she told him that they could not stay with his parents, that they needed to have their own home. Her husband works as a welder. They have three children.

... [personal interview deleted]

Her mother lives in Vitawa and her father passed nine years ago. She has two sisters, one older and one is younger. She does see them a lot and has a good relationship with them.
Special Event -

The death of her father: She cannot forget it. She was working happily in a hotel, "laughing here and there" when the call came. He had high pressure and was in the hospital and she didn't even know. She was shocked when she got the call, she cannot describe how she felt. Very bad news. She immediately came home to Vitawa to attend the funeral.

During the day she looks after the children, 13-year-old boy, 6-year-old boy and 4-year-old girl. She must look after them when they come home from school, getting them juice. She also washes clothes, tidies up the house and cooks. She likes it that way; she enjoys her married life with children. If she goes back to work it would be like having two jobs in one day. She would get too tired if she did this.

For fun she used to play volleyball, but she doesn't anymore she is "a bit heavy". She trained with Debbie. This makes her body feel good.

When she was a child she used to play with her friends after school. They lived just outside of Suva. If given the choice she would stay in the village, time for relaxing. In Suva there is too mush commotion. People are too busy; they run when they are late for the bus. In the village they just mind their own business and do their own work.

...
Childhood Story:

When she was nine years old she and her cousin brother walked to Narewa. They went to their uncle's house and saw two watermelon's sitting on the table. They were meant for the children in the village and the church group; however, they took it upon their selves to eat one while their uncle was sleeping. The uncle woke up while they were cutting it up and chased them out of the house with a large stick. Today when she sees her cousin brother they laugh about it and he says that if they were to do it today he would give the uncle a big punch!

Life Cycle Interview #2

Kelera Uqe Uqe

Eldest daughter of Mr. And Mrs.Uqe Uqe, in Vitawa village. Born on March 12, 1967, she is 32 years of age. She has six sisters and three brothers. Four of them are working and five of them are still schooling. She works in the Education Department as a typist clerk. Brother, 28 (second oldest) is a police officer in the Ba compound. Next is a sister, married with one daughter, 25 years of age and working as a dental therapist in Tai Levu. Next, another sister working as a senior clerical officer at the social welfare office in Suva. She is married with only one son.
Occupation Information -

She works at the Education department which looks after 41 Primary schools, five secondary school and ten registered kindergartens. She started as a relieving typist in 1989 and got confirmed in 1991. It has a very hard workload, looking after all the teachers, a population in primary school of 6,000 and a secondary population of 2500 children. She does not know much about kindergarten. Before she joined the Education Office she was a relieving typist at MPI for three months in 1988 (this was her first job), and then she was called by the public service commission to take a relieving post at the Nandi Courthouse for six months and that same year she was called again to relieve at the Fiji Department Bank in Rakiraki for three months. From there she spent a few days at home then she was called back by the public service commission again to relieve the typist at the Education Department on June 6, 1999. She still works there today.
Schooling -

Attended Navatu Fijian School from class one. At this time she lived with her Uncle because her father was working for the agriculture department and her parents were on transfer. She was left behind to stay with her father's older brother in Vitawa. She then attended Penang Secondary School and afterwards she joined Rakiraki Public High School for further studies to obtain her certificates in 1986, in 1987 she worked as a volunteer typist in the agriculture department and was then called to work as a relieving typist.
Childhood/Adolescence -

As a child she joined her friends from Sunday school and she played with them and ran anywhere she wanted. Wandered around the village. She played "Pani" ( a game where you are separated into groups and each group has to knock over tin cups with a ball and run away). She also played volleyball and basketball.

...
View on Single Mothers -

In Fijian society they say that it is not legal, however, Fijians must care for everyone so they do not treat them poorly. They will help them in all that they need. In Fiji single mothers are not a problem. When a woman becomes pregnant before she is married they usually stay in the village with their parents. (Miliana in the village got pregnant by a police officer and now lives in the village with her family and her small child). Most Fijian women have the same problem they must act a certain way and no matter what they do they must gain the respect of the elders. It is hard for all women, not just single mothers.

Life Cycle Interview #3

Iliseva Tilatila
Schooling -

She was born in the Lautoka hospital on August 30, 1974. She went to primary school at an Indian school (Lautoka Andra Sangham School) because her father was working in Lautoka at the time. She then had to switch schools and went to Tavua Andra Sangham School because her father found a new job at the Gold Mine. In 1986 she came to Rakiraki and attended a Baptist school in Narewa where she finally finished primary school and went on to Rakiraki Public High School. From form three to form six she had a secretary studies focus. After that she was then doing her practical job at the education office then after two weeks she began her job as a relieving typist. This lasted for one month then they needed a volunteer at the Rakiraki Hospital so she worked there doing typing, filing and secretarial work, they did pay her thirty dollars a week though. After one year she returned to the education office as a relieving typist for another month. She then applied for further studies in Fiji Institute of Technology and was accepted into the office systems program for one year. She stayed in Suva for one year to look for a job but was unsuccessful so she returned to the village and continued her past job as a relieving typist in the education office for two months until Debbie came. She worked with Debbie for the time that she spent here in Vitawa and then she applied to be the Vitawa kindergarten teacher. She had the most schooling out of the four applicants from the village so she was hired. The old teacher could not keep her job because she needed more money than the committee was willing to pay so she left. Tila's paycheck comes from a grant by the government and the village. She makes $700 per year; half is paid by the government the other half by the village committee. Before actually beginning to teach she had to practice and observe in other kindergartens and she still has to due part time typing in Navatu Fijian School.
Childhood -

When she was a child she liked to play household games with her friends in the village. They used to just wear panties and run around in the village. They used to play in the mud and make sand cakes but now things have changed. The children must try to stay clean and be clothed all the time. Inia once chased Vani home because she only had pants on and no shirt. It did not used to be like that. She also played volleyball until she received a black eye from one of her cousins and she used to play "Pani" as well. Also during the night by the light of the moon the children used to play outside in the village, now ... the times are changing.

... [personal interview deleted]

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Friday, October 22, 1999 (written Sat.Oct.23)
SUMMARY

I awoke this morning with Tila on the floor in my bedroom due to the fact that we had a visitor sleeping in the front room with Semi. The man is a tavale who came yesterday to bring some cassava and fish and to go fishing last night with Semi. He is from Namuaimada village above Navolau and he is referred to as Tamain Drua (father of twins). The fishing trip did not work out because our boat is broken from the other night when Nana and Tata went fishing, the engine fell off!. He and Semi had to come back early and the tavale stayed the night. When I first woke up everyone was still sleeping so I went back to sleep to wake again two hours later and find everyone having breakfast. I sat down with them to eat; it was a larger breakfast than usual due to the company. We had rice with pumpkin curry and cassava. After breakfast I was able to do a large quantity of work while Tila was at the kindergarten. When she came home we had lunch quickly and set off for town so that I could mail a package to my parents. While in town we saw Selai who did some shopping with us then we all got ice cream before heading home. I find it very interesting how you can see so many people that you know in town any time you go. We also saw Michelle, Stephanie and Erin who were at the post office as well. We took the bus home which was full of High School children and I was able to meet Selai's boyfriend for the first time. It is very common for the adolescents to see their boyfriends or girlfriends only once a week on the bus or in town. When we arrived home Selai and I decided to go running for about a mile or so then we joined the volleyball crowd. I did not enjoy volleyball today, however, because the team that I was on never let me touch the ball. I became very frustrated and left the game early, better luck tomorrow. Selai and I then went to her house to "have a rest" and sat outside while Nana received a call from Pudgy on the telephone there. We decided that we wanted some Mangos so we climbed up the tree next to their house but were quickly called down by Nana. (Another activity that I as a white girl am not allowed to participate in I guess!). I then went home to find Semi drinking kava outside with some friends so I joined them in their circle for a while before dinner. After dinner Selai, Tila and I went out into the yard to set of the two firecrackers that we bought in town. The young boys helped us and they made quit a show. It was very exciting for the children but somewhat dangerous I think. When we were finished Selai's sister Arieta called me over to their house to drink some Kava. Tila told me that I should go so I did. There we about six people there but only three of us were drinking. I became very tired, however, after a short amount of time and went to find Tila. She was watching a gospel concert on TV with Selai so I joined them but quickly fell asleep and had to go home. It was a very full day for me but one that I enjoyed. There were many unusual happenings which made the day much more exciting.
Semi's Kava Circle

I found this to be very unusual because it was located just outside the house. I know that due to their strict religion they cannot drink kava or smoke inside the house but I did not know that they could sit next to the house and drink. I did notice, however, that Tata was not pleased with the situation. The men were located just in back of the door on the right side of the house and there were two cars surrounding them. One was a truck with a Fiji Telecom logo which belonged to Semi's friend from Lautoka that I had never seen before and the other was a white car that belonged to one of our tavale in the village. There was also a man with one arm that I had seen before on numerous occasions at the ceremonies always drinking grog. Another tavale was sitting with them who was a police officer at the Nandovi station and he brought a picture of his first wife from Rakiraki village that passed away to show everyone. There was another younger cousin brother that arrived later and whom they would send out when they needed some water or more grog and a man that I had just recently seen in the village who talked with me while I was there. He used to be in the military and told me of his travels to many different countries. He had been to Alaska, Hawaii, California, Egypt, London and Lebanon. He wanted to know if I liked it in Fiji and how long I was staying for. After we discussed my reason for being here he wanted to know if there was any difference between Fiji and the US. I assured him that it was very different and he told me that he wanted to go back to the US at some point if it was possible. He was very talkative and made the situation a little less uncomfortable. Semi had asked me into the circle knowing that I would not drink the kava but he insisted anyway. He had been drinking for most of the day and the affects of the grog were definitely showing. When you drink grog for long periods of time you cannot feel you lips and he was having trouble talking and could not control his facial expressions. I also noticed that all the men had sweets with them that they would suck on between rounds to help their taste buds. I have yet to understand the attraction to kava drinking since I find the taste rather repulsive but there is still time I guess.
Kava Drinking with Selai's Sisters

After we shot of the fireworks today Selai's sister Arieta asked Tila and I to join them while they drank Kava. I usually do not find the chance to venture outside of the house at night so I jumped at this opportunity. Tila, Selai and I entered the cooking house next to Selai's house and found six people inside in the dark. We entered and sat in the back but they called me into the circle. I then realized who the people were: Selai's sister Arieta, another of their sisters Lala, Ulamila from the lifecycle interview and her husband Tanoa along with two other women that I did not know. They told me that they did not want to light the lamp because of the bugs and I assured them that this was ok. They began the first round with Tanoa mixing the grog and Arieta serving but I noticed that only Arieta, Tanoa, Ulamila and myself were drinking. Tila cannot drink due to her religion and the others refused as well. Tila and Selai then informed me that they were going to Selai's house to watch a tape and I was then left there by myself. It was a good change of events. Most of the women along with Tanoa were smoking and they laughed and talked in Fijian ignoring my presence. I was able to just sit and observe. Ulamila then found a tape recorder and set it too "Love songs after dark" which was a medley of Vince Gill, Olivia Newton John and Bryan Adams. Her four-year-old daughter Lewa was running in and out and each time she entered the women would tell her to go to sleep but she paid no attention. After about the third round of drinking Arieta went into the other house to get some cards and they finally turned the lamp on. Her and Tanoa then played cards together while the others watched. At that point one of the women that I was not familiar with said that her chest was paining so Arieta massaged her back while she was laying face down. This did not help, however, and she had to go home. When she left the card playing resumed again. At that point I tried to start some conversation with Lala and she told me a little bit about their family. She is 31 and has two small boys but she lives with her mother, I do not know where her husband is I think that she left him. Arieta is 24, has no husband or children and spends most of her time drinking kava and smoking. She has an unusual relationship with Tanoa, Lala said that they are "married to the kava bowl". They seem to be very good friend and Ulamila does not appear to have any problem with this. They have one more sister besides Selai she has a small child but lives in another house in the village, she was not present at the circle. Selai is the youngest and is adopted but she never speaks of it. After about the sixth round I became very tired and excused myself to the washroom and to go and find Tila. I can only drink so much kava at one time. Tila was inside Selai's house watching a video of a youth group in Suva singing gospel songs and doing skits. I attempted to watch it with them but quickly fell asleep so Tila woke me up and we went home. I have to say that I do not like drinking kava but I enjoyed the opportunity to leave my house and meet some other people in the village. Arieta said that they would love to have me again and that she would send for me next time they drank together. I hope they do because I learn a lot about the people of the village this way and the structure of the kava drinking society.
Personal Reactions

I cannot figure out why people spend most of the night sitting in a circle cross-legged on the floor drinking a substance that strongly resembles muddy water. I believe that it must be for the social setting because I know that they don't think it tastes good and it does not have a very strong affect on you when you drink it besides making your stomach hurt and your mouth numb. It is a very important part of Fijian culture but one that I fear I may never understand. I can only participate and respect their way of life. I have to say that the people in the circles are always more than friendly and seem enthusiastic about my joining. It must be unusual for them to see a foreigner participating in such a sacred ritual. I wish that we had a similar event in American society that we could call our own and take pride in as they do. It is definitely a part of Fijian culture that attracts tourists and one that everybody should experience during their trip to the Fiji Islands.

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Field Notes Week 8

Monday, October 25, 1999 (written Wed. Oct.27)
SUMMARY

Semi woke me up this morning at 7:00am because his cousin Seru (Nana's sister's son) was here to take us to cut sugar cane in his settlement in Vunitogoloa. He had spent the weekend in Vatukacevaceva and was just returning home. I quickly got dressed into my jeans and long-sleeved shirt and we all had some tea and bread before we left. The three of us walked to the bus stop and caught the 8:00am bus to Vunitogoloa. When we arrived the men were on break and the women were preparing the lunch. Semi and I walked up in back and started to set a block of cane on fire. Instead of standing in the burning cane Semi told me to go and sit under the mango tree for a while and a Fijian woman that lived next to the field came out to talk with me. She asked me about America and how I liked my stay in Fiji then she had to return back to work, cooking cassava. Seru joined me later so that Semi could go back to Vitawa for some water since they were worried about me drinking the water in the settlement. Seru and I watched the cane burned then when the other men came up we began to cut the cane. Tila, Semi, Api and Vani arrived shortly after we began and Tila and Semi joined us in the field while Api and Semi stayed back with the women. Tila, however, sat and watched as I cut the cane with the men. When we were finished Seru and I rode back to the settlement on his horse and we had time to relax before lunch. For lunch Api had brought sandwiches from home and juice. The rest of the men had roro leaves with lamb and cassava. Seru had been riding around on his horse and saw Megan just down the road at Nina's parents house so when he finished his lunch we hopped on his horse again and went to look for her but before we even got to the house someone on the road told us that she already left so we turned around and went back. I was very disappointed because I wanted to tell her about the 100 nights ceremony in the village tomorrow. When we returned to the settlement again we began to load the cane onto the two trucks that were there. This lasted for about three more hours before it was time for tea and bread. After tea we returned to the field to load the rest of the cane. Before it was finished, however, Seru took me for another ride on his horse into Vunitogoloa village and back and when we returned the loading was finished. We were all able to catch a ride back to Vitawa on the cane truck; Semi and I sat on the top and Api, Tila and Vani sat in front. It was a great ride and I waved at all the villages as we rode by. When we returned home I was finally able to get cleaned up from all the burnt black cane that was on me. After I showered outside I had some dinner and then I tried to do some work but quickly fell asleep. It was a very long day but one that I enjoyed tremendously!
The Cutting of the Cane

The men were all very surprised to see me attempting to join them in their everyday labor activities. There were about twelve men who were working but more than half of them were around the age of fifteen. These younger men were afraid to come near me in the beginning and I found it very amusing how they would not speak to me or shake my hand when told to introduce themselves. It was almost like it was a big joke. When we first arrived in the field I helped to burn the cane by spreading the fire around the field then it was just a waiting period until the fire put itself out. When it was safe to walk into the cane field we all went in and Seru proceeded to show me how he cut the cane. We were in a lower part of the field while the others were up higher. He told me to try it but I did not want to at first I said that I would just watch him for a while. Seru told me to sit by the water, which I later found out, was because he knew the boys would not come near me so they could not get water while I was sitting there. Semi arrived shortly afterwards with Tila and he told me to bring water around with him to give to everyone. This was his method of forcing the boys to talk to me and it worked to a certain extent. When I was finished Semi then brought me a knife and I actually helped to cut the cane. You start by cutting the bottom of the stalk in a diagonal motion and then cutting the top off where the leaves are leaving a three or four foot cane section for loading. The stalks were then piled in lines so that the truck could maneuver itself in between them up the hill for easier loading. After about twenty minutes of cutting and one line of stalks cut I then headed to the side to rest with Tila. I had accumulated a lot of suet in my eyes from the cane fire and was covered with black dust. At that point the others were finishing as well and they joined us on the side as they were done cutting their designated sections. Semi had climbed the mountain on Seru's horse so Seru and I could ride down when we were finished. This excited me since I love to ride horses and again the men were very surprised and joked about what I was doing. When we returned back to the settlement I jumped off the horse and rested from a hard morning of cane cutting. I have to say that I did not cut all that much cane, however, standing in the middle of a forest fire in the hot sun for three hours was very energy consuming!
Loading the Cane Trucks

This part of working in the cane fields is the least exciting. The settlement had two trucks that they could fill and three fields of harvesting to complete. I was only present for the loading of the two trucks from the first field. This process began very slowly because the truck got stuck in the mud twice while going into the field and the other truck had to keep pulling it out. Semi told me that this happened a lot when the trucks were empty. When the truck finally made it through the field it positioned itself between the two rows of cane piles and the men separated and went to each side of the truck with two on the top. They then lifted up piles of the cane (each man separately) and swung them over their shoulders and then slapped them onto the truck. It was very crowded and when I attempted to do this I found it had to swing the cane around without knocking someone in the head that was standing next to me. Semi was very adamant about me helping them so I remained in the line with them but only managed to load a few stalks at a time. The two boys on the top were using their knives to cut the cane into smaller pieces and shuffle them around to make more room. I found myself getting many scrapes on my arms so I put my long sleeve shirt on but I still had no gloves for my hands like the men did. I toughed it out, however, and when I was finished my hands were very black and sore. It took a very long time to pick out the slivers that come out of the sugar cane stalk. The men did not take many breaks when doing this, which surprised me since it was so hot out but they had plenty of water and whenever anyone finished his pile before the rest he would sit underneath the truck in the shade. I loaded for about an hour or so but then decided that I had had enough and went to sit in the shade. The whole loading process was split into two sections since we had to break for teatime half way through it and it was still not finished when it became dark and the men had to send off what they had loaded. It was at this point that I got a chance to go for another ride on the horse with Seru into Vunitogoloa village and when we returned the cane truck was about ready to leave. I was told to sit on the top and climbed up there with Semi. He was worried that I might fall off on the way home so he held on to me the whole way. Finally when I was about to leave the younger boys came to say goodbye and shake my hand. They all told me that they wanted me to come back tomorrow to help them again but I had to decline. It was a very long day but I can now say that I have cut sugar cane with the boys!!!
Reactions to the Boys

I could not believe how the boys reacted to me being there in the beginning. They were actually afraid to talk with me. Tila and Semi told me that it was because they were ashamed that they did not know much English because they were still schooling. Seru, however, told me that they had never touched a white person so they were afraid to come and meet me. I think that they were just nervous and did not know what to say to me. They seemed to joke a lot in Fijian about me and at times I heard them say comments in English like, "come over here honey", or "nice work Apryle". When we were loading the cane they loosened up a bit more and were then telling me which side to work on and making more jokes. Semi told me that they talked about me most of the time that I was there but they knew that I could not understand them. This frustrates me sometimes because I want to know what people are saying about me. I know that most of the time they are just "passing comments" and joking but whenever I ask what they are saying they always refuse to tell me. Anyway, I did enjoy myself very much and if I have a chance to cut cane again I am not going to pass it up. I feel like I am finally getting the chance to prove myself to them and they do not see me in the same way they used to. They now see me as a person and not just someone with white skin. It was definitely a learning experience.

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