Sienkiewicz - Week 4 Notes

Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Stephanie Sienkiewicz Week 4 Field Notes excerpts - Economics and more

Researched 9/28/99, Typed 9/28/99
Summary

This morning I surprised my family when I left my bedroom. They didn't know I had come home last night since they were all sleeping and I came in through the kitchen. After breakfast, Nei and I washed my clothes in the sink attached to the outside the house. One of my Nana Levus (my Tata's elder brother's wife) had given my brother a baked good to bring to me. After lunch I sat under the mango tree to do some reading. We had tea again later in the afternoon under the tree. My Nana asked me if I wanted to go to the tete with them; tete is the Fijian word for garden. Nana, Nei and I walked down to the water to look at the level of the tide. When we came back, I finished my laundry. A 17 year-old girl who lives in the village, Solei (spelling?), came over after school. Nei, Solei and I were talking. I then went to Solei's house, looked at photographs, and had some mango. We went back to my house so that I could show Solei pictures of my family. My Nana told me that there was a village meeting going on. She wondered if I wanted to take some pictures of it with the digital camera, so I took some photos there. We had dinner when we returned which my Tata missed as he remained at the meeting.
Livestock

On the way to the sea, we passed cows tied up along the railroad tracks. I didn't think my family had a cow. I was asking why people have cows, if they are only to eat. My Nana told me that yes they were to eat. "When someone dies, you have to give your cow." I asked where and if people then get another one. She told me yes, you have to go out and buy one. My family actually has four cows, my sister Nei told me. They keep them up at Tata Levu's house in Naivuvuni. There are three pigs on the premises of my house. Two of these are female and one is male. Their pen is made of bent corrugated metal sheets. My Tata puts on his large rubber boots when he takes the hose to the pen to clean the pen or give the pigs water. The lid on the pen consists of some metal and an old rusted spring mattress. There are also various chickens and roosters in the yard. I am not sure who these all belong to. In a breadfruit tree next to my house, my family's tree, a broken off tree limb leans on a branch still attached to the tree. The dead wood serves as a ramp up into the branches of the tree. This has other pieces of wood nailed into it to form steps. There is a shelter for the chickens in the tree branches.
A Fijian's image of Fiji

At breakfast this morning my Tata told me, "Fiji is not like overseas. Here we don't use guns, we just use smiles. In India they might use knives or something like that."
Body Images

Today Soko came into my house. This is a woman in the village that I have interviewed. I've also eaten dinner at her house. She told me, "I told Neni (my Nana)...I think you've gained some weight since you've been here."
Photographs

While I looked through the photos with Solei, she explained to me the relationship she has with the people in the pictures: cousins, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, tourists, friends of cousins, other relatives. The content of the photos included sitting in front of a house or inside. These were generally of women and children. I found that in most of the pictures of men, they were standing up. There were also many pictures of women standing up. The pictures of women often contained children as well. Some of the photos were of people after they had recently graduated from primary school or college. There were also some photos of tourists and locals together. Solei told me that Narewa used to perform traditional dances for tourist which came through. One of the photos was of Solei's cousin and this girl's "friend", as Solei called her. This friend was a tourist. There were some pictures in which Solei and her family were living in Rakiraki. Solei told me that they moved to Narewa after their grandfather (from Rakiraki) died. Her grandmother was living in Narewa and lives with them now. All of the photos contained images of people.
Ambitions of a Form 6 student

Solei is 17 years old and in form 6 at Penang Sangam School. She told me that at the end of this year she could go onto one of the colleges in Suva if she chose. One can leave secondary school after form 6. She is going to finish form 7 however. Form 7 is the highest grade. She wants to go to F.I.T., the Fiji Institute of Technology, in Suva and get her degree in culinary arts. She is in the school of arts and commerce at Penang. Ultimately she wants to be a hostess, she told me. By this she meant airline steward.

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Researched 9/29/99, Typed 9/29/1999
Summary

I went to town this morning with Nei and my Tata in the family car. Our first stop was the post office. Then Nei and I walked to a store called Kumar's [presently my favorite store in Vaileka.] I bought flip-flops, or slippers, there since we are planning on walking to the island of Cumba (pronounced thumba) during low tide tomorrow. After purchasing these, we found Tata near the market and Nei received some money from him to do the family shopping at Adam's Supermarket. Tata was going to buy market goods on his own. We parted then and went to Adam's. After finishing there we got onto a bus to take back to Narewa. Tata would be longer than we wanted to stay in town. [And I wanted to try out the bus system for the first time.]

I came home to do some reading. We ate lunch and I took the Fijian style post-lunch sleep. Upon waking I went to two houses in the village to work on a census and an economic survey with them. This all lasted until dinner time. The power went out briefly before dinner, but it came back on shortly. It has been an extremely windy week.
Selling out of the Home

Some of the items that Nei bought at Adam's Supermarket include, painkillers (ibuprofen I believe) and individually wrapped bubble gum pieces. My Tata told her to get these things for the house. My family sells small items to the villagers who come to the door asking. There is a large locked trunk in their bedroom to store these things while they are for sale. Aside from painkillers and bubble gum, I have seen people purchase packs of cigarettes and packages of yaqona powder. Children also come to the door to buy small bags of some sort of snack. I know too that they sell candies, or lollies, because my Nana offered to sell me some this morning as I have a sore throat. They are ten cents apiece. [My brother asked me for painkillers when he hurt his knee playing rugby. Today my Nana asked me to buy her cigarettes, with my money, when I went into town.]
Receiving Presents

In one of the houses that I went to today to do the census and economic survey, live a grandmother and her 16 year-old granddaughter. During the interview, the woman made me tea and served biscuits. Also during the interviews (I was not directly talking to her but to her granddaughter and her son), she brought out a purse saying it was her gift to me. She also then brought out a necklace made of shells as a present.
The Fijian schooling system

I had a discussion with Mari (Marian) who is the granddaughter referred to above. I saw her in town today; she was with her cousin Joji's wife Soko. Mari had skipped school today to go to town. We compared the Fijian school design to American schools. Fijian primary school consists of classes one through eight. Some villages have kindergartens while others do not. Children are not then required to have gone to kindergarten to enter class one. Classes seven and eight are also forms one and two in secondary school. Students might change schools after class six then to go to a different secondary school where they will take forms one and two which are the same as classes seven and eight. Some switch schools at this time and others stay in their primary school for classes seven and eight and then switch. Secondary schools usually contain forms one through six. Penang Sangam School is the only school in Rakiraki to hold a form seven class. This is the highest level possible in secondary school. After form six students take a leaving examination. Mari explained to me that she wants to go to nursing school. She is presently in form five. If she achieves high marks on the leaving exam after form six, then she will leave the village to go to nursing school. If she doesn't however, she will stay at Penang and enter form seven with hopes of higher grades the next year.
Indian to Fijian ratios in schools

Mari told me that there are only six Fijian students in her form five pure science class; the rest of the 40 students are Indian. The students are divided into two sections for each class, pure science or arts and commerce. Penang is an Indian school; it is taught in English. It is also the most prestigious school in the Rakiraki area.

Lusi, Michelle's host sister, is the only Fijian in her form seven pure science class. (I am presently unaware of the total number of students.)

Puni told me that there are eight Fijian students out of 32 total students in his class. He is in class three at Penang Sangam Primary School.
Economic Survey #1

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: ANE LIKUTABUA TOUA (Toua is her surname)

HOUSE LOCATION: LOGANA

Residents in the house:

Ane Likutabua = grandmother

Marian Toua = granddaughter

(Tevita Toua = deceased husband/grandfather)
How they spend their days:

Ane does domestic work. She cleans the house and cooks the meals. Marian is in form five at Penang Sangam School therefore she spends her days there. She sometimes cooks at the house.
Sources of income:

Ane's son, Marian's uncle, is a lecturer at F.I.T., the Fiji Institute of Technology. He sends money back to Narewa to support his mother and niece. Also Tevita, Ane's former husband, was a soldier. She gets a check from the government since he died. This check amounts to $40 Fijian per month.
Debts:

Ane and Marian have no debts. They have no bank loans or mortgages to pay back. One of Ane's daughter and her son, the lecturer at F.I.T., shared the expense of building her house. It was built in 1997; it was then that she gave it its house location name. Ane used to live in the house next door to hers but gave it to her son once he was married.
Expenses:

The household spends around $15 per week, or $ 720 per year (based on a four week month), on food at the grocery store. They primarily eat food that has been planted or get their food from the sea. They need supplies such as sugar and flour at the store.

They spend money on certain household items also. They buy soap about every two weeks, spending $4 each time; this is $96 per year. When they get money they sometimes go to town to buy clothing. Marian said, "Sometimes, when we get money like that, we usually go to town and buy it." She estimated that they buy clothing items one at a time. "We don't just go clothes shopping; we never do." The items they buy cost between $5 and $10 each. Marian told me they get approximately one new thing each month. They therefore spend between $60 and $120 per year.

School expenses include bus fare, books, and school fees. The bus costs $0.50 per day; this is $180 per year (based on a thirty day month and the assumption that she goes to school everyday, which is not the case) . Books for the year cost $30. The school fees, what Marian must pay to attend Penang, are $40 per term. She told me that there are three months in one term and three terms in one school year. They pay $120 per year. This expense is covered by Marian's uncle in Suva however and should not be included in the household expense list for the year. She explained that her uncle is still single, he does not have a family. This is the reason why he can pay these bills.

The household, like all of the houses in the village, does not have to pay water bills. They get water for free. They must pay electricity bills however; these are dependant upon the amount of electricity used per month in the house. The average electricity bill in Ane and Marian's house is $15 per month; this leads to an average of $180 per year.

They have no other bills. Ane and Marian spend no money on yaqona or beer. Marian told me no with a laugh.

Church donations include "the amount of money you can give for the church." This is whatever a person can afford, once a Sunday. Ane usually gives about $2; this is approximately $24 for the year. There is also a festival coming up in October. This festival is "just for the village." Each house in the village must donate $250. There will also be another festival in November, this time for the lotu lotu, or the church. The festival is shared by six villages; each must contribute $3000, which will last for the whole year. The $250 per house goes toward this goal. These festivals are an annual event. A $250 annual contribution is required then.

For other village or kin ceremonies, people must contribute money. Marian told me that the amount of contribution is dependant upon how much money a person or family has. One must bring mats however. They told me that for a funeral of a closely related person, such as one's mother, each of her children have to spend $1000 or $2000 dollars. This doesn't happen frequently in every family. Marian told that their family has never had anyone that close to them die. They estimated the amount of money that Ane spent on last years ceremonies. This was approximately $300.

The total maximum household expense for the year is approximately $1870. (The approximate minimum is $1810.)

Attitudes about economic issues:

Marian said that "sometimes it does make it hard for living" to give money for ceremonies. "But we have to do it because it is cultural."

I asked Ane if she thinks that these pressures to contribute were more burdensome before, maybe 30 or 40 years ago. She thought they were then because, as Marian said, "now she doesn't have to look after her children or anything like that." She has more money to spend because the children are out of the house.

Only family would ask for money, Ane and Mari told me. Only the certain members that don't have jobs could do this. I asked where people usually get money if they need it. They told me that if Ane died, "Those who are working, they usually go to the FNPF, [the Fiji National Program Fund], and get the money from there. This is only for the government workers. They usually get their pay and it is always deducted from their salaries. If someone died, they can get the money from there. Only the mother and father...of the government workers." I asked if any of Ane's children are government workers. Mari told me three are. "They don't have to pay it back because it's their money; it's taken from their salaries."

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Economic Survey #2

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: CHRISTOPHER MILLER

HOUSE LOCATION: VATUKOULA (English translation = gold mine)

Residents in the house:

Christopher Miller (husband/father)

Meraseini Miller (wife/mother)

John Miller (son)

Mereani Miller (daughter)

Adi Marica (daughter)

Sitiveni Miller (son)
How they spend their days:

Christopher and Meraseini both go to the sea to go fishing in their boat. They go out with the tide, either day or night. They usually stay out approximately six hours at a time, doing this Monday through Saturday, not on Sundays. Meraseini told me that they bring their kerosene stove out with them and take their meals out on the sea. They bring the fish back and sell them at the market. Only Christopher goes to the market; Meraseini stays home when they come back. The fish have to go to the market in the morning, even if they have been fishing during the night; otherwise the fish will go bad. Sometimes the younger son goes to the market with his father as well. Also if Christopher is too tired, Sitiveni will go alone.

Mereani and Adi (called Buna) stay home during the days. Mereani said, "We clean the house and...relax. [Laughter] I sweep the compound, do the dishes."
Sources of income:

The family's main source of income is selling fish. They estimated this income to be between $100 and $200 per week, or $1200-$2400 per year. They sell fish at the market in Rakiraki. They don't sell it along the road at all. But sometimes they do within the village, mostly in the market though.

They also have a small canteen attached to the house. Meraseini runs this. It is open all of the time, one just knocks on the door to get service. She estimated the profit from this to be approximately $2 per day; that translates into $730 per year (based upon a 365 day year).
Debts:

The family told me that they have no debts. The kitchen on the house was built after receiving a bank loan. But that has all been paid back. The front rooms of the house, sitting room and bedrooms, were built after Christopher received $700 when he retired from the gold mine.

They make payments on two things, the washing machine and the brush-cutter. The family told me that the washing machine payment is $45 per month. The brush-cutter's payment is $38 per month. These two items were purchased just last Christmas (1998). These add up to $540 per year for the washing machine and $456 per year for the brush-cutter.

There is no loan on their boat. The one mile long fishing net cost $1500 when they purchased it; they made payments. These payments have been completed however.
Expenses:

The family told me that their diet consists mainly of foods from the farm and the fish that they catch; only sometimes do they eat food from the market. They usually eat fish, kasava and breadfruit. They go to the supermarket usually one time per week. They might spend $40, $50, or $80. The average expense per week is $50 though; this is about $2400 per year (based upon a four week month). Household items such as soap are included in this figure.

Mereani estimated that the family gets some new clothing two times per month. She said they probably spend around $60, for all six people, each time they do some clothes shopping. This means the family spends approximately $1440 per year on clothing.

One of the children in the family attends school now. His bus fare is $1 per day, around $269 per year (this is based upon a 365 day year however, excluding 96 Saturdays and Sundays). School fees, to attend the school, begin after form 3. Since Sitiveni is in form 3, the family doesn't have to pay fees yet; they will start next year.

As with the other houses in the village, this family doesn't pay a water bill. They do pay an electricity bill however. This they estimated to be $15-$20 per month; this is $180-$240 per year.

The family spends no money on yaqona, beer or cigarettes since they are AOG. They must give a tithe, one-tenth of their income, to the AOG church. Each week, the family gives the church an envelop, with their name on it, which contains one-tenth of their week's earnings. This amount fluctuates therefore, as weekly income levels vary. There are also other offerings to the church required of its members. For instance there is an offering to the preacher. In the collection plate, the family usually contributes around $5 per week; this is about $240 per year (based upon a four week month).

They also must give the $250 per house per year toward the village festival fund.

"If we are related then we have to spend a lot." Mereani said this when I asked how costly ceremonies, such as weddings and funerals are. Referring to weddings, Mereani told me that if their family is related to the bride or to the bridegroom, they will spend "One thousand-two hundred or one thousand something, like that...Because we have to buy everything. We have to give a cow." And otherwise, if we aren't closely related, "we just give whatever...because we are all related." Last year the grandmother and grandfather both from the mother's and father's sides died. The family then had to spend about $1200 for each funeral, $4800 total. The family told me that they had this money in the bank; they did not need to borrow it from anywhere. They usually spend $100 per year on other types of ceremonies, the family told me. There are not a lot of ceremonies through their church and their mataqali is not from here so they have a limited number of those functions.

Attitudes about economic issues:

The Miller family donates the more to their church than anywhere else. "Our first priority is to the church."

They told me that other villagers borrow money from them. They have to pay this back then. They told me that they usually pay half back and then the other half at a later date. The family also told me that people borrow from them more than other families. But this is "OK," it is not an uncomfortable situation. They don't ask for money from others though because they feel bad since they are related. People generally borrow only $5 or $10. Sometimes villagers borrow $200 or $500, but never more than $500. The family told me too that they don't care if people ask them for money; they do not try to make it difficult for others to ask.

Mereani told me that "Yeah, of course," she wants to be rich, "why not...I'll try hard." She told me that lots of people move away to make money. She herself would move to a different country to make more money. Yet she also told me that many people want to stay with their family in the village because it is a very easy life.

Researched 10/1/99

Typed 10/1/99
Summary

This morning I had no choice to but to wake up at 7:00 (I usually don't anyway.) The Rugby World Cup was on television. Some people from the village gathered in my sitting room at 6:30. The Fiji game started at 7:00. The crowd in the next room was exceeding excited about the game. They were actively vocal throughout the match. [I have to admit, I enjoyed being ignored as soon as I woke up, rather than the center of attention.]

I interviewed at one of the houses in the village today. This was my tenth census house and my third economic survey house.
Kinship Respect Rules

Yesterday a woman from my village, Mili, told me a story about a boy and his uncle. She said this boy was "deaf and dumb." His mother's brother, the boy's Momo, was eating at the table at which the boy was also sitting. The Momo was eating some beef. The boy wanted to eat some of this as well. It is forbidden for a person to eat the leftovers of their mother's brother. The boy 'asked' what the man was eating by putting his two fingers up on the side of his head like ears - to indicate a cow. The uncle then made a riding-a-horse gesture to mean it was horse meat, which it was not. The boy didn't want to eat it anymore then. I asked Mili why the uncle wanted his nephew to follow the tabu. Mili told me that the uncle needed to make the boy follow/learn the culture. One has to follow the rules of his/her culture.
Land Lease Issues: Fijians about Indian tenants

While interviewing Adi and Solei to do an economic survey on their household, I asked them about the status of their land lease. They listed this as their main source of income. The money received each year is split 14 ways, these 14 people each live in the village. They lease their land to Indians who grow sugar cane. While asking how much the Fijians get paid each year, Solei told me, "Sometimes when we have a big amount, we share that. Because those farmers, those Indians, they are not working. They don't have that source of income. Because they are just staying in town." [I'm not sure what this statement means.] The family told me that the payment they receive depends upon how much money the people that are farming their land make. Sometimes when this is a big amount, Solei told me, "children too can share that money." She also said that some years, the family doesn't get any money from the leases. "So we are Fijian, if [the Indians] pay in that small amount, you know, we can't just force them to deliver that. We leave it then." "We just can't cut them off, disappoint them." They told me that they will just get more the next year, if the present year the tenants are short. [Subject matter found at 120... on cassette counter.]

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Economic Survey #3

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: ADI LAITE SAMUTA

HOUSE LOCATION: NAVUNIRARA

Residents in the house:

Adi Laite Samuta (mother/daughter)

Mereseini Kutu Waqatabu (grandmother/mother, ~85 years old)

Mereseini Solei Samuta (daughter/granddaughter)

Kalisi Sevu Samuta (daughter/granddaughter)
How they spend their days:

Each day Adi performs domestic work. She cooks and washes clothes. She also cleans the house and yard. She sews clothes as well. Every Wednesday, she attends the women's group of the AOG Church.

Sources of income:

Adi's husband and father of her children left them in Fiji while he went to New Zealand for ten years. He sent money back to Adi while there; this was the family's main source of income. He sent at least $100 per month and sometimes $100 per week, it varied. He has since moved back to Rakiraki Village however and does not send such an amount of money. The family still receives some money from Adi's husband and his family in Rakiraki; it is no longer their main source of income however. Solei told me, for example, that last month her father sold his cow and gave the family $150. Her father's family also sells their animals at times and share their money then. They also get money each year from their land lease; Solei told me that they have a lot of land. She said that "maybe after two months, they give," meaning every two months. They usually receive around $75 or $80 each time.

Presently though, the family's main source of income is from their own land lease. When Adi's father died, she inherited his portion of revenue from the mataqali's land lease. They lease the land to Indians and get a payment every year. They must divide up this money 14 ways however. The payment should be $1000 per year to the mataqali. But Solei told me that they do not receive this amount every year. Sometimes they get a small amount. The smallest amount they might get, according to Adi, is $85 per year, which is then be divided between the 14 people. Solei said "So we are Fijian, if [the Indians] pay in that small amount, you know, we can't just force them to deliver that. We leave it then." When getting such a small amount though, the Fijians expect a big amount the next year. The average payment per year is $450, which is then divided 14 ways.

A second source of income is the pension check which Adi's mother, Mereseini receives each month. Since her husband, Josefa, was a soldier, she gets a $40 check from the government each month.

Adi also supplements her income with sewing. When school begins she sews uniforms, charging $2 per child. She sews other things such as bedspreads too as well as crocheting. Women in Naivuvuni are the target market for this work; they give their orders every two weeks or so and Adi makes their things. It is ultimately up to the buyer however, if she wants to pay Adi or not. She told me that Fijians can't just ask for money for something they've made. "Some people they just come and ask for it. If they don't want to pay, that's fine. Cause we are in the same village and all; we are all related. Fijians are like that. They won't ask money directly to that person. If they just can give it to us, it's up to them whether they want to pay it or not." Each crocheted piece brings approximately $60. The estimated income brought in by sewing per month is $60, or $720 per year.

Adi also sometimes collects sea cucumbers, or beach-de-mers, in the sea. She brings these to Vitawa then, where Indians come routinely to pick up and pay for this harvest. Solei told me that this is Fiji's main export and that Chinese consumers eat a lot of them. Adi does this once a week usually and profits about $10 per week, or $120 per year.
Debts:

The family told me that they have no debts, nor are they making payments on anything. They have finished the payments they were making on their refrigerator, which cost them $975. The house they live in belonged to Adi's parents, so that has been paid for.
Expenses:

The family mostly eats food from the farm. Part of the land which adjoins the sugar cane plantation which they lease out has not been leased. This provides a garden to grow kasava, breadfruit, etc. They go to the supermarket to buy meat, cabbage, tea, flour, sugar, rice, and household products. Sometimes the Indians who lease their land partially pay them in the form of rice and sugar. This is if the harvest is good that year. Solei told me that they usually go to the supermarket two times per week. They spend an average of $60 per week, or $2940 per year (based upon a four week month).

People give the family clothes which have already been worn. They also purchase new clothes approximately once per month; each of the four people in the house buy one new article of clothing per month. They take turns by week getting something new; they don't all get new things at the same time. When they each get something those things cost between $8 and $10. This means the family spends $384-$480 per year on clothing.

Emi, the eldest daughter, lives in Suva with her uncle. He pays for Emi's living expenses then. Solei, Kalisi, and Emi's aunt (their father's sister), who is a teacher in Lau, pays Emi's tuition to F.I.T., the Fiji Institute of Technology. This fee is $300 per term, three terms comprise one year. Solei's school fee is $140 per year. The family fills out forms which they send to the government however, to receive financial aid. Adi only had to pay $20 in school fees this year; the government paid $120. There are also exam fees. This year, since Solei is in form 6, she will be taking an exam to get their Fiji School Leaving Certificate. The exam fee is $40. Solei also had to pay $100 for books this year. She explained to me though, that she may return these books at the end of the year and receive 50% of her money back. Kalisi paid $30 this year for books. She had no school fees but had a $10 exam fee.

As with other houses in the village, the family doesn't pay a water bill. The only bill they pay is the electricity bill, this costs $10 to $15 per month. This is $120 - $180 per year.

Since the family belongs to the AOG Church, they are required to contribute their tithe, 10% of their income per week. Money is not the only means by which one can give a percentage of her/his income. "Actually what we buy, like we just buy flour and give ten percent, no. You have to sweat it, from the farm, like that. Before you use it, before you give it to your family, you should give the church ten percent." Adi could give the church some of her crocheting.

The family also has to contribute the $250 per year that is required of all houses in the village. This goes toward the festival fund, the festival is called the Adi Narewa.

For other ceremonies such as weddings and funerals, the family is required to give. For weddings they give imbe, or mats. They can also give pillowcases, bedspreads, anything. They aren't necessarily required to buy something for the wedding. They could give what they already have or they could make mats. It is the families of the people getting married that are required to supply enough food for every guest at the wedding. If one of Adi's daughters was to get married for example, the family would have to spend more than $1000 on the event. For funerals however, families are required to give food when attending. This is if the deceased person is a close relative of the family. If they are not related, then they can give mats and tambua, or whale's tooth. When Adi's father died six years ago, all the relatives had to give food stuffs, such as killing a cow. They each spent more than $100 dollars. Solei told me that there can be seven or eight deaths per term (referring to the school calendar of three terms in a year). The family estimated that they spend more that $500 per year on various ceremonies.
Attitudes about economic issues:

The family told me that they end up spending more money per year on church donations and ceremonies than anything else.

Solei said that villagers do borrow money from them and each other, but that "just small amounts, maybe 10 dollars" and "it's not a big deal." "They pay us when they've got enough money...because we are staying in the same village, you know."

Solei told me that a lot of people move away to make money and also told me some village news that I was unaware of. Mereani, a member of one of the other families that I did an economic survey on, is moving to Lautoka tomorrow. She is learning computers and is going to apply that to her new job.

[There's nothing like passing out at a funeral to make you homesick.]

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz