Sienkiewicz - Week 5 Notes

Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Stephanie Sienkiewicz Week 5 Field Notes excerpts - More Economics, Wedding in Nadi

Researched 10/5/99, Typed 10/5/1999
Summary

Today was my sister Nei's eighteenth birthday. After eating breakfast, doing work, and eating lunch, the family went into town. Tata Lai Lai from Nadi drove us in. Also in the car were one of Tata Lai Lai's wife's relatives from Taveuni, Apryle's Tata (name?), my Tata, Nana, Nei, and Siteri. My Nana, Nei, and I went to the post office and grocery store and a few other shops while the others waited in the car. After coming home from town, I did some reading, went for a walk, and ate dinner.
Nei's eighteenth birthday

Nei cooked all of the meals today, as she does everyday. I believe I was the first person to say "Happy Birthday" to her this morning, although everyone else in the house was up. She seemed surprised when I said it. Other relatives didn't know it was Nei's birthday. I told her tovale that comes to the house everyday. The only thing unusual about the day, marking an occasion, was that my Nana prepared grog for us to drink. The preparation and drinking are not unusual, but Nei does not usually drink yaqona. I was asked to come out and have some also which is sometimes but not always the case normally. Nei and I were served at the same time, the first bowls. The serving was done in twos.
Puni's place in the family

My Nana says that she has a grandson named Puni. Puni calls her Nana and my Tata, Tata. He calls his father Makete, a nickname.

Researched 10/06/99, Typed 10/07/99
Summary

Yesterday was Andy's birthday so we attended his birthday feast in Nokorokula. We sat around the feast mat while Andy sat at the head. His family had gotten him a birthday cake. He blew out the candles and we sang Happy Birthday in English. Then we ate fish, mutton, salad, tapioca, and taro. After clearing our plates, the women ate. After cake and another dessert, we entered the next room, the sitting room. Here we had yaqona and eventually two of the men in Andy's village started playing the guitar. We later moved to the community hall to listen to the Fijian music and dance.
Fijian attitudes about Indians

One of the men who ate dinner with us and sat drinking grog with us was very vocal about his views on the Indian population. I believe he started with the topic when asking about America, saying there were too many Indians there. He said that the Indians have too many children. Fijian families are now having around two children while Indian families are still having eight or nine. When someone told this man that I have been to India, he began asking me questions. He said he thought that there were lots of poor people there who had no where to live and no food to eat, begging for money; he wondered if this was true. He I replied that I saw that in cities, as in many major cities in the world. He said that Indians won't stop having children even when they're poor and can't afford food. This man said that he thought there were more Indians in the world than any other type of people. He said he thought that they were in every place except the North and South poles and that that is really where they should be.

Researched 10/7/99, Typed 10/7/99
Summary

After returning from town in the morning/early afternoon, I did some work and then went to a fundraiser. This was in the community hall in Narewa. After dinner, I went with my brother Samisoni, sister Nei, cousin Rosi, and two other teenagers in the village, Buna and Jay to Naivuvuni. We watched people practice singing/playing the songs that accompany the Meke and men performing the Meke.
Women's Group Fundraising

The fundraiser in the community hall was put on by the women's group. There were women from four villages: Narewa, Vitawa, Naivuvuni, and Vunitogoloa (the next village past Naivuvuni). The money which was raised goes to the Narewa village fund. If the fundraiser made over $100, $20 would go to the women's group. The fundraiser made approximately $70. Last month, the group went to Vitawa for its fundraiser. Next month, the women's group will go do a fundraiser in one of the other two villages. My brother, Samisoni, told me that each woman that comes gives $1. There was an announcement of the earnings. Vitawa had the most (it has the most people), around $30. Narewa made $10. (I am not sure how much exactly Naivuvuni and Vunitogoloa made.) A woman from Vitawa had kept track of the total amount of money from each village. She had a bowl in front of her that people came up and put money in as they entered. She also went around to people who did not come to her. The woman from Vitawa announced how much the villages had made. Then a woman from Naivuvuni spoke followed by a woman from Narewa. They were thanking each other.

I entered the community hall through the kitchen. I saw many plates of rice lined up on the table in the kitchen. I went into the large room then. Women sat lining the wall that the door I came in through was in (the end wall). They also lined the two perpendicular walls, to about the middle of the hall. There was a line of people sitting, making the fourth side of the square, facing me as I walked into the room. I was invited to sit up there. My Nana, brother, and the turago ni koro sat up there. There was a large kava bowl, which my Nana was tending to. After the women all sat and had rounds of kava, one woman from Narewa served food to all of the people. The women lining the walls were served first. I was served after them and then the turago ni koro and my brother (who I think was at the fundraiser because he is the vakatowa). I asked my Nana if the women were served first because it was the women's group. She said that was the reason. I noticed the chief had not been served however, and so asked my brother why he was not served first. But since the chief was drinking yaqona, his portion was brought to his house before anyone else was served. After eating, I went to the kitchen to help masi masi, or wash dishes. There was no water in the village this afternoon however, so we could not do the dishes then.
Meke practice

My brother played an instrument which consisted of two boards nailed together, a much smaller one nailed to the top of a larger one (this bigger one looked like a 2x4), and two sticks. He beat the sticks on the wood to keep the beat to the music. The people in the community hall, where the practice was, clapped along as well. At the beginning of the session, only three men were making music; one of these was my brother. Later women from the village came in and started singing. There were two notebooks with words written in them; the people shared these around the group. A circle in the center of the hall made up the music section. They practiced the songs over and over again, approximately 45 minutes. Then a couple of young men arrived to do the dancing. They practiced this for around 30 minutes. They were practicing three or four different dances.

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Researched 10/8/99, Typed 10/8/99
Summary

I went into town this morning. My Nana and Tata wanted to find a gift for my Tata's brother's daughter's wedding (niece/daughter). We also purchased mutton at the grocery store to sell. There was a parade in town, the Penang School marching band. I performed one economic survey today.
Village Women Making Money

My Nana and another woman from the village cook this as well as dalo (taro root) leaves and tapioca to bring to Rakiraki village every Friday (most Fridays). They also make a salad of cabbage, carrots and "Fijian mayonnaise." Mili (the other partner) told me that they use condensed milk and lemon juice since they don't have mayonnaise. They sell all this for $2 per plate. My Nana and Tata buy the meat. Mili and my Nana prepare the food in large pots hours before it is time to leave; the meat marinates. They go to my Tata's sister and her husband's house in Rakiraki. They barbecue the mutton there and heat up the other food. The people that buy the food are basically just my family's relatives and a few other nearby villagers. The men sit inside the house drinking yaqona and watching television while the women make the food.
Economic Survey #4

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: VILIAME SADRUGA (Sadruga is his surname)

HOUSE LOCATION: NATAVASARA

Residents in the house: Viliame Sadruga, "Vili" = husband/father

Miliana, "Mili" = wife/mother

Josateki = eldest son living in the house

Adi Laite, "Rubi" = daughter

Lekima = son

Asena = daughter
How they spend their days:

Mili spends her days doing housework, cleaning and cooking. During her spare time she crochets and spends time reading the Bible.

Vili cuts sugar cane during the day. He wakes at 5:30, has his tea, and leaves the house by 6 a.m.. He comes back again by 8 or 9 a.m. to have his breakfast. He goes back by 10 and breaks again for lunch at 1p.m.. After lunch he goes to a different field; he cuts in the morning and plows/farms in the afternoon. He plows and pulls weeds in the afternoon or he might spread fertilizer. This is his routine Monday through Saturday; Sunday is his day of rest. He does these things during the cane cutting/harvesting season. This runs from May to November. During the off season he sometimes gets carpentry work. If this is the case he will spend his days doing that, Monday through Friday, and will go to the farm on Saturdays.

The children all attend school.
Sources of income: Sugar Cane:

Vili and Mili's main source of income comes from cane harvests. It is Vili's father's land which he tends to. This land belongs to the Turaga ni qali, the head of the mataqali. Vili's father is the Turaga ni qali (he is also the Tu Malake (chief) of Narewa. When he dies, Vili will inherit this land.). Vili and his father split the profits; Vili's father told Vili to take a larger portion of the profits because he is the one that works the land.

They get four checks per year from the sugar cane. Fields are usually harvested two times per year. Each time, men cut until they have 40 tons of cane. Gangs of men cut. Each man who owns land/farms a field is required to help other men cut their field; they are formed into gangs to do this. They bring the cut cane to the sugar mill and in fourteen days receive payment for it. They only get some of the money from this however. The government keeps the rest of the money. The first harvest from this year was $378; Vili received $200 from this while his father received $178. They will get another check similar to this as well. This will be during the season (in two weeks since Vili just cut his field on Tuesday).

Once the season is over, the Sugar Board, a department of the government, determines what the world market price is and then determines how much money a farmer should receive for his X number of tons of sugar. Once this total is determined, they subtract money from this total. They subtract the amount of the two checks the farmer has already received during the harvesting season. They also subtract the cost of things that the government supplies to farmers; this includes fertilizer, sugar, and rice (they only get sugar and rice if they harvest at least 20 tons of sugar cane). Sugar and rice are approximately $30 per bag. After the season is over and the mills close in November, they will get another check in December. This is the smallest check which they will receive in one year. The reason it is the smallest is that the government takes out the cost of fertilizer and the other things which the government provides to the farmers. They might get $80 or $100; this is $40-$50 for Vili. Some years they may not get anything. At this point Mili told me, "Last year we had only 28 cents in the bank." The money for this check and the next, the last of the year (cycle), comes from the money that the government withheld from the original payments and what the Sugar Board has determined it should pay, based upon the world market.

Farmers get one more check then, in March. This is usually bigger than the December check yet smaller than the combination of the two received during the cutting seaon. Mili said that the March check last year was approximately $300; Vili's portion would probably have been $175. Mili's estimates lead to an income of around $725 per year, from cane.

Vili sometimes gets carpentry work during the sugar cane harvest off-season. Mili told me that if he builds a whole house he will take about $10 per day. Mili called him a "veivuke vakaitaukei." This means he is 'helping them through courtesy.' Vili rebuilt my family's house after it burned down last year. They paid him $200 for the job. "Because us Fijians are very generous like that." Mili said Vili usually makes $50 per week doing carpetry. "But it's up to them, who want to build the house, the quicker they bring the materials the better. The house will be completed." If someone needs a job, they ask him. Some off-seasons he doesn't get work, unless he goes and works somewhere. Most years he makes around $200 per year doing carpentry.

Mili's crocheting is another source of income. She makes four piece sets for lounge seats and charges $60 for the set. One takes her about three months she said, because she can do it only when she has spare time. She said that there are women in Naivuvuni who have orders piled up for she and my Nana. She makes about three a year and so earns $180 per year.

A third source of income is remittances. Mili's brother who lives in Australia sends money back. He does this if Mili asks him for money or if he "just thinks of [her]." He usually sends $300 or $400 each time, three times per year.

Mili told me that she sells brooms some time. She makes them from coconut tree fibers and will bring them to the next village to sell. They cost $3 each. She does this when she needs money for something. "When really in need...when you need to feel money in your hand (laughing)."

Vili also receives money from his mataqali's land lease. This is every six months. How much money the mataqali gets is up to the people leasing the land however. The average is $100 plus at each payment. The head of the mataqali, the Turaga ni qali, gets more money than and separately from the rest of the mataqali however. What is left is divided among ten houses. Mili told me that the mataqali even shares this money with sisters who have married out of the mataqali. Each of the ten houses in the village gets approximately $3 each time they receive a paycheck.
Debts:

Mili told me that she and Vili have no debts. They paid for the building of their house with the money that Vili received from the National Providence Fund. This is a pool made of money deducted from the paychecks of government workers. Vili was a police constable and then retired. When he built the house he asked for his money from the fund. They gave him 2/3 of his money which equalled around $400. He did not have to take out any loans to pay for the house then. All of their appliances have already been payed off.
Expenses:

Mili and Vili get tapioca and coconut from the farm. Vili's father also has a plot of land next to the village that is his as the Turago ni qali. Vili works this farm. Mili and Vili buy food from the market as well. They go around once per week and spend about $10 each time.

They go to the grocery store once every two weeks, spending about $10 per week there as well. They buy all household supplies here.

They are paying school fees only for their son Josateki. This is $30 per year. He only has to buy exercise books/ledgers; he does not have to buy textbooks as he is taking a vocational course. The younger children have free schooling. They have one son who attends school in Ba. He lives there with Mili's sister/cousin. Mili told me, "You know, that's what's wonderful about us Fijians. My sister just told us not to worry about paying anything." Mili's sister pays his school fees.
Mili and Vili's electricity bill is approximately $15 per month.

Mili told me , "it's only Vili. When he really wants to get down to drinking...it's only $5 a night. He doesn't drink every night. Mostly once a week. When they have so many functions like that, if it happens tonight and tomorrow again, he takes his grog tonight. He has to take it. That's our Fijian custom, he has to take it. But if not, then it's only once a week, maybe Friday or Saturday nights. So we just relax on Saturday, mostly Saturdays. And that $5, is not every Saturday, it's only when he's got something, money there in his hand." When Vili drinks yaqona, he spends about $5 per night or else "goes for a free ride."

The household gives $250 per year to the Adi Narewa festival. This includes both the church and koro donation. Every Sunday at church the family gives a total of approximately $2. Mili gives $1 per month at the women's group meeting, which raises money for villages (described in fieldnotes from Thursday 10/7/99).

Vili's mother died last year. Therefore, Vili spent $850. Other members of the mataqali gave one cow and food for guests to eat. When Mili goes to other funerals, she collects money from people around the village to try and help out the family that has to pay for the funeral. She told me that the closer to the deceased you are, the more you give. Cows are much needed at funerals and weddings. If your daughter gets married, you have to give something big. One has to buy leaves to make mats as well. The leaves cost $20 because they don't have the trees around the village anymore. Mili estimated that she and Vili spend an average of $200-$300 per year on ceremonies, "because us Fijians, we have so many."
Attitudes about economic issues:

Mili told me that I need to remember, whenever I hear that people have received money for what they've made or done, that the price should always have been higher. "Always remember, when a Fijian person says, 'I bought this from one Fijian,' this is the veivuke vakaitaukei." This phrase, as previously described, means helping through courtesy. The price should always be much more.

Mili told me that "a person who doesn't see his or her relatives, is not a Fijian. I have to see everything you need, I have to do something to fulfill you, to help you. Because if I don't help you, when I am in need, you won't help me. It's like kere kere, sole sole. Kere you ask for, sole you give. That's just how we live. I was in a girls' boarding school. And every morning out principle would say 'No more kere kere, No more sole sole.' Because you have to stand on your own two feet. They tried to teach us to be independent, not to be too dependable. Because, most of us just pay money like hell, and then kere kere, because she'll help me. If she's my friend she'll help me...It's a Fijian habit to borrow. If we don't give we feel guilty. And, to us, we give things anyhow. We just don't care. So you just accept it. It's no big deal."

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Researched 10/9/99, Typed 10/10/99
Summary

Yesterday I rose at 4 a.m. to get ready to go to a wedding in Nadi. This was the Tevuvu Ki Waimilika (Seriwaia). Tevuvu means wedding. Waimilika is the village of the bride. Seriwaia is her name. She was marrying Jone Ramasiloa Jr. of Vutua Levu (also near Nadi).

The bus was supposed to leave Narewa at 5 a.m., but left at 7 instead. Many people from the village were on the bus. We arrived at a village outside of Nadi, called Waimilika. We all went into the village to go to my Tata LaiLai's (Tata's younger brother) house. It was his daughter that was married yesterday. After arriving we drank tea and ate bread with butter and jam. Women served and cleaned up while other women piled up gifts for the wedding. Most of the men sat away from the women. They had a sevusevu and started drinking yaqona. Other men were preparing the lovo (earth oven) and the grounds, cutting banana tree leaves, etc.. After talking through the morning and doing other jobs, women prepared and served the lunch. This was fish heads, tapioca, beef stew, beef curry, and bele (a leaf like spinach). We ate lunch and then got ready to go the wedding. Some of us walked to a different house to change and bathe.

We all met back on the bus and rode to the groom's family's house in Vutua Levu. We got off the bus and sat on the mats in front of the house. The women arranged the gifts. There was singing and various presentations. The men separated from the women and joined the men of the groom's family to drink grog. The women from the two families remained separated the whole time we were in Vutua Levu. We later walked to the church for the service. After this we walked back to the house for more presentations. The bride sat on her mother's lap and the groom on his mother's for three bites of food as part of the ritual. A man representing the groom's family invited us to eat so we went back to the church again to eat. The food was laid out under a shelter next to the church. Again we walked back to the groom's family's house for more presentations. After leaving on the bus back to Tata LaiLai's house, we had tea and bread there. We stayed here for two hours (approximately 9:30-11:30 p.m.). We came back to Narewa on the bus after this.
The layout and scene upon arrival at Tata LaiLai's

When we arrived at Tata LaiLai's house in Waimilika, there were shelters made in the yard next to the house. These consisted of mats on the ground and tarps, held up by poles, overhead. The women immediately began to prepare the tea and bread. The men had a sevusevu and started drinking yaqona. Men were cutting up food for the lovo, sitting in a circle near the lovo site. Younger men were cutting banana leaves off the trees to use in the earth oven. After eating breakfast, the men moved to a separate mat outside of (where they had been). They continued drinking kava there. The women piled up mats, pillows, blankets, and mosquito nets on a mat under the shelter. Other women were cutting up pumpkin and preparing other foods. Soon the men started cleaning and cutting up a pig in preparation for the lovo. The bride's parents bought this pig.
Getting the Bride Prepared for the Wedding

It is the duty of the mother's family to get the bride ready for the wedding. They must put coconut oil on her body to make it shiny. They have to put lasi in her hair. This is a yellow powder made from ground up coral. Emi (a daughter of a woman who belongs to the Yavusa Tabua mataqali) told me that the bride would wear a tabua because she is the eldest child. Women ironed the masi that the bride would wear. The bride and maid of honor (as well as the groom and best man) wore a kind of necklace. This was made from a plant called sisi.
Arriving at the Groom's Parent's House

The groom's parent's house is where the couple will live after marriage. When we arrived there for the tevutevu (exchanging of the gifts), the women from the groom's family were singing. These songs were from Lau and therefore called polotu. They stopped singing after a couple of songs. There was a shelter of mats on the floor and tin held up by poles for a roof. The women of the groom's family had already set up a display of their contributions to the wedding. The women and men at this house were separated from one another. The women were sitting next to their showroom of gifts. The men were centered in front of the house; they were in a circle drinking grog. The men in our party joined the kava circle. The women camped across from the women of the groom's family. The groom and his best man were dressed in their wedding attire. The best man had masi wrapped around him. The groom had mats with sisi (the plant which made the bride's necklace) them wrapped around him. These two also had the sisi necklaces. Emi told me that only the groom's brother or cousin may be the best man and only the bride's sister or cousin can be her maid of honor. All of the wedding guests waited for the bride to arrive then. Next to the entrance of the house compound sat the groom's father and the Turago ni mataqali (head of the bride's father's mataqali). (The bride's father was with her.) When the bride arrived she stayed in the street and the groom walked down to meet her. This was 3 p.m.. The wedding guests crowded around them. The procession to the church started then, down the street.
The Church Service

The church had tin walls and a tin roof; there were mats on the floor. People took off their shoes as they entered. Everyone sat except the preacher at the front of the church and the couple, the best man and maid of honor who faced him. There was a prayer for all. The preacher said something in front of the couple. He handed them rings. They held hands and turned to look at one another. The husband said his vows, then the wife said hers. They put their rings on. The choir sang in Fijian and English. The child of the couple was baptized then. She was wrapped in masi. A woman brought her to the groom to hold. When the baby cried they took her out of the masi. The maid of honor and the best man sat in chairs while the husband and wife remained standing. Each of them had to repeat something after the preacher. The preacher held the baby then. He dipped his hand in a glass of water and touched the baby's head and kissed her. He gave her back to her mother then. All prayed. The bride and groom sat in chairs then while the preacher spoke. During the Fijian sermon, the preacher said in English, "We are making a covenant with God." The choir sang after this long speech. The preacher spoke again and the choir sang as all left the church. The bride, groom, and the rest of the wedding party left the church first. People shook their hands as they left the building.

The following is a translation of the preacher's sermon during the marriage and baptismal. I tape recorded the service and had friends listen to it later. This is not a direct translation:

We must think about marriage. Is it really true that you want to be married. A boy and a girl must help each other when forming a family; make good decisions. They must teach their child correctly, teach tradition. Relatives of both sides are sitting here in the church and are witnesses that you are here in front of God. Love each other no matter what. Carry your child in a respectful way - he should be like the disciples. [The changing of vows:] Will you love and protect her? [...the same to the bride.] Will you leave all those young men and take only Jone? [..the same about the bride.] They are shaking hands which means they are really getting married. When God has planned something, no man can change it. [Blessed them.] [Prayer:] Please God help them because they are forming a family which is new and it will be difficult because they are still young. It is not easy but very hard. When husband and wife marry they separate. The man will sit at the back of the bus and the woman in the front. They no longer talk. They do not go around together all the time anymore like they used to when dating. It should not be this way; they should talk.

[Baptism:] Lupe Ramasiloa is the name of the baby. It has been written in the Bible that we have to baptize this child. We have to baptize two times in life, now when she is small. Then when she is bigger, we have to baptize the whole body, [when she is a teenager]. Her sin will be washed away. [Pouring of the water.] You parents have to teach your child properly. Show her the right way to go spiritually. She'll have to go to Sunday school. [He asked the parents if they were going to bring her up in a Christian manner.] You are making your vows in front of the Lord and everyone. [He asked the audience if they witness the baptism of this baby.] [Pray, bless baby.] If you are going to attend church then Lupe will see how to behave and try to follow your ways. [To the groom:] It doesn't mean that you came today and say you love her and then will neglect her when tomorrow comes. You have to see your differences and make up what is wrong so that your children will see the right thing. It is not that easy. It is not like you want to wear a coat and then put it away. [To both:] It means you have to love each other forever, until death, in sickness, in poor condition, whatever. You have to be truthful to God. You are making a covenant to God. [Said again in English.] If you destroy this, you are sinning against God. When you are being baptized it is true that your sin will be washed away and you will be born again. This doesn't mean that you are truly dedicated to God though. You have to keep trying, you will face temptations. Sometimes women say their children need not go to church because it is for adults. But we don't know the real situation between children and God. When children grow up they tend to commit crimes. The parents are to blame. They have to show a good example. The way people grow up signifies their family background. People will look down on parents when kids commit crime. When a child is still young you should teach it not to shame its parents.
Gifts

The Friday night before we went to Nadi, many people came to my house to stay the night (since the bus was coming early in the morning). The men sat outside, under a shelter attached to the front of the house, drinking yaqona. The women were inside taking stock of the gifts each of them had brought. The women either made the mats they brought or else they already had them in their homes. The other gifts were purchased from stores. My Nana made a table in a notebook to keep track of the things people brought. I recorded this the next morning (All names are as recorded in the notebook; parentheses after a name indicate where that person (or mataqali) is from):

-1. Taraivini Ranadi brought one tutuvi (wool blanket) and one lokoloko (pillow);

-2. Tubui Tarai brought two delanas (bed mats) and one lokoloko (pillow);

-3. Mere (Tinai Lisi) brought one tutuvi (wool blanket);

-4. Tinai Rapeka brought two lokolokos (pillows);

-5. Tubui Iso brought one delana (bed mat), one tutuvi (wool blanket), and one lokoloko (pillow);

-6. Mereadani (of Vunitogoloa) brought two tutuvis (wool blankets);

-7. Yavusa Tabua (Narewa) contributed one delana (bed mat) and four lokolokos (pillows);

-8. Rejeli brought one delana (bed mat);

-9. Leba Caucau brought one coco (big floor mat), one delana (bed mat), two lokolokos (pillows) and one taunamu (mosquito net);

-10. Naqova (Bui Jo) contributed one delana (bed mat), one tutuvi (wool blanket), four lokolokos (pillows), one taunamu (mosquito net) and one vakabati (small bed mat)

-11. Radini Talatala (Narewa) contributed one delana (bed mat)

-12. Vani (Moi) brought one coco (big floor mat), one delana (bed mat) and one vakabati (small bed mat)

-13. Mualele brought one coco (big floor mat) and one vakabati (small bed mat)

-14. Ema brought three taunamu (mosquito nets)

-15. Tinai Ava Bulou (Rakiraki) brought one tutuvi (wool blanket) and four lokolokos (pillows)

-16. Beti brought one tutuvi (wool blanket); Timoci Vunisa brought one delana (bed mat); (these two were listed together)

-17. Neni (my Nana) brought one coco (big floor mat) and one latilati (curtains)

-18. Lewaseni brought one tutuvi (wool blanket)

-19. Variseva brought one delana (bed mat)

-20. Naio brought one tutuvi (wool blanket) and two lokolokos (pillows)

-21. Lolo (Tavua) brought one tutuvi (wool blanket) and three lokolokos (pillows)

-22. Nei (Lovo), [my Tata's elder sister Vinaina], brought one delana (bed mat), one tutuvi (wool blanket), four lokolokos (pillows), one taunamu (mosquito net) and one vakabati (small bed mat)

-23. Nei (Barotu) brought one coco (big floor mat), one tutuvi (wool blanket) and three lokolokos (pillows)

-24. Nei Kini (Rakiraki), [my Tata's younger sister, Solo's wife], brought one delana (bed mat), one siti (cotton blanket), two lokolokos (pillows) and one taunamu (mosquito net)

-25. Elenoa brought one delana (bed mat)

(I plan to ask my Nana how each of these people are related to the bride.) Not all of these women were present in my house the night before. As of the bus ride to Nadi, there were only 21 listed; the others arrived separately in Waimilika. The mataqali from Narewa (Nasaba mataqali; that is the mataqali of the bride's father) also brought masi. They bring this for the bride to wear during the wedding. The mataqali brought two pieces of the fabric, her dress to be. They received this masi from a funeral exchange/redistribution. When the mataqali has some masi they hold onto it for a wedding; it is an essential component of the ceremony. My family had this masi at our house. The bride's mother's family also brought masi for the bride to wear when they arrived.

When we arrived at Tata LaiLai's house, the women piled the gifts in one corner of the mats under the tarp. While the younger women and the women that were already in the village when we arrived prepared the tea and bread for breakfast, the older women from Narewa again took stock of the gifts with their notebook. They piled the things neatly. Later in the morning a party from Rakiraki arrived with more gifts (my Tata had come with these people instead of on the bus). These pepole were Nei Kini (my Tata's younger sister), Nei Vinaina (my Tata's elder sister), and another Nei. (The women said "Mai na vaka dua" as the approached the tarp. The women underneath this shelter called "Oh e dua" in reply, welcoming them. The newly arrived women piled their gifts in a separate mat away from the other women's pile. Then they soon brought their gifts over to join the large pile. The women who had been keeping track of the gifts (my Nana included) piled these gifts with theirs and noted the contribution in the notebook.

Later in the morning, the bride's mother's family brought their gifts. They first piled theirs away from the gifts from the father's side of the family. The mother's side of the bride's family also brought bedspreads in addition to the kinds of things that the father's side brought. In the afternoon, before going to the groom's house, they combined all of the gifts, from the mother's and father's sides, into one pile. My Nana told me that she was putting all of the gifts from everyone together and then divided the sum into three. One of these would go to the daughter, the bride. One will go to the new mother-in-law, the groom's mother. And one will go to the groom's mataqali; this means to the women at the groom's house that also purchased and piled gifts. The groom's side of the family (women) were also doing this combination and separation at the groom's house. Some of the mats would be used in the church service, for the bride and groom to stand on.

My Nana told me that the bride and groom should get a lot of these gifts, more than the mother-in-laws or the mataqali. Since they keep track in the notebook, the mataqali knows who gets what things to take back. One informant, Emi (a daughter of a woman in the Yavusa Tabua mataqali in Narewa), told me that the mother's side of the family will receive back meat and maybe some tinned fish as well as mats. When I asked her if people would get back the same things they gave she told me that if a woman gave, for example, three pillows and one blanket, she might get one ibe, mat, back. Emi told me that this exchange is based upon value, that is why people keep track and know how much people spent. They will not get the same things back but will get something of similar monetary value.

The giving of all of these gifts is called the tevutevu. When we arrived at the groom's house, his family had already set up their display of gifts. As we entered the house compound, to our right, immediately after the entrance, was a 'room' of gifts. I call this a room because there was masi and patterned fabric hanging from the ceiling at right angles to each other. It looked like a room with three walls. There were mats and masi piled up on the floor. There were mosquito nets hanging from the roof (a tarp over the whole shelter outside the house).

After lunch at Tata LaiLai's (the bride's father's) house, women had piled all of the gifts into a carrier (truck with tarp on the back). Men had driven these to the groom's house then. When we arrived from the bus at the groom's house, the women began arranging all of the gifts so that they were displayed similar to the way the groom's mataqali's gifts were displayed in the 'room.' The gifts from the mother's and father's side of the bride's family were intermingled. The women hung the mosquito nets up. The piled the mats on the floor (the mats of the shelters) and arranged the pillows and blankets along the outer edge of the shelter.

After the church ceremony, one of the women from the bridegroom's mataqali took one of the masis off the best man. (This coincided with the presentation of the tabua to the bride's Nei.) They gave this masi to the bride's mataqali and refastened the other masi that the best man was wearing back onto his body. The bride's mataqali also gave him a piece of fabric which was then wrapped around him Soon the bride and maid of honor emerged from the house with the bride's new mother-in-law. They came over to the side of the bride's family where she changed her clothes. Women held the masi up around her as a makeshift closet. They also kept this masi.

After the women handed the fabric down a line, singing, piling fabric in front of the bride, the women of the groom's family started to separate the gifts they had brought. The gifts which the bride would keep remained in the 'room' where the things were originally. The women made a large pile between where the where they had been sitting and where the women from the bride's side sat. This pile was either for the mother or for the mataqali, "they will tell us," my Nana explained (I could see the exciting curiosity in her face). The women of the groom's family, especially the man dressed as a woman, were performing funny dances. This man fell into the big pile of presents. Another of the women laid down on a mat as they were trying to carry it to the pile; they carried her in it then. The vocal woman from the bride's father's mataqali, Bulou from Rakiraki, got up and started dancing with these women from the groom's side. At some point after this someone must have told the women of the bride's father's mataqali that the pile was for them. After the tabua presentation, the reverend representing the groom's side presented to Masi, the Turago ni mataqali (head of the mataqali), and Masi presented back to the reverend, the women went for the pile. They took things from the pile and arranged them near their seats (they did not yet decide who would receive which gifts though).

Before the final tabua presentation came the presentation of gifts to the mother-in-laws. The mother of the bride received her pile first. Then the head of the bride's father's mataqali, Masi, spoke and the women collected and gave gifts to the mother of the groom.

After leaving the groom's home and returning to Tata LaiLai's house, the women divided the mataqali gifts back up. The women also divided the lovo food up for guests to take home. This was the lovo food from the groom's house. The bride's family had brought the food from their lovo to the groom's house, so the groom's family had to give one back.

She put on a different dress which was made of the same fabric as the maid-of-honor's dress (which she put on in the same fashion after the bride) and the shirts that the groom and best man would later change into. The bride and maid of honor still wore the necklace made of leaves and flowers which they had on throughout the ceremony.
Presentation of Tabuas

There were various presentations of tabuas, or whale's teeth throughout the day. When we came back to the groom's house from the church, the best man removed his masi and gave one tabua to Nei Vinaina, the bride's aunt (her father's sister, younger than him but the eldest sister). The best man also gave the masi he was wearing to the women of the bride's family. The women gave him fabric and presented him with a different tabua. The men drank grog this whole time.

After the women from the groom's family piled up their gifts for the bride's family, the reverend representing the groom's family presented a tabua to Masi, the head of the Nasaba mataqali (the bride's father's). The reverend made a speech while doing this. He closed this with "Edina. Oh, dua. Dua. Dua." and all clapped their hands. The reverend had mentioned that the tabua was in honor of the Tui Navatu. Masi then presented a tabua back to the reverend.

The reverend immediately presented another tabua after the women picked up the gifts laid out by the groom's family With this he said that the bride's family had given them food from the lovo and that the groom's family was going to give food from their lovo back. Masi presented a tabua back then. A spokesman for the groom's family then invited all of the guests to eat.

After eating and resting for some time, Seruwaia's mother's uncle (the bride's grandfather), from Vanua Levu, presented a tabua to the groom's family. This signified that the father was leaving her here forever. He said that she can't cry to her father or mother any longer. She belongs to the husband and the husband's family now. Her problems are your (to the groom's family) problems. If she wants to eat, you give her food. He was speaking very forcefully during this, on the border of yelling. Because we are giving her to you, you must think of us. The new father-in-law (the groom's father) took the whale's tooth with a speech. He said that they will be thinking of her mataqali. If she cries or wants to eat, we will be here to help her, just like at her father's place. Then the same spokesman for the groom's family gave a speech. He said that this is a family gathering. They all hope that she will not cry or want to eat (this means go hungry). They will all be gathered around her.

After the presentation of the gifts to the mother-in-laws, the groom's family presented a tabua back to the bride's mother's family (who had presented the last tabua). My Nana told me that this was the vakatale which is thanking guests for coming and thanking them for going back home. Nayacakalou, in Tradition and Change in the Fijian Village, called this "that with which to send the bride's party back to their village" (Nayacakalou, 39).
Competition between Women of the Groom's Family and Women of the Bride's

Emi told me that there is a kind of competition between the women of the groom's family and the women of the bride's at every wedding. She told me that this situation was escalated at this particular wedding because the groom's family is from Lau and the Lau and Ra provinces have a competitive relationship. The women of the groom's family were singing when we arrived. One of these women got up and started dancing during one of these songs. One woman from the bride's side got up then to start dancing as well. This was all followed by much laughter and cheering. The women of the bride's side were talking loudly during the songs of the groom's side. There was some verbal competition as well. The women from the groom's side asked why we had come so late. The women from the bride's side said, "just for fun." The women of the groom's side replied then, "We've been waiting for you for a year." Emi told me that when people dance at weddings the women try to drag men from the other side out to dance with them.

While the women handed fabric down a line of women from the door of the house to the bride and groom (on their mother's laps) in the 'room' of gifts from the groom's family, they sang. One of these women in the line started dancing then. The bride's side retorted by 'decorating' one of their women with leaves in her hair, etc.. Another of the women, Beti, on the bride's side stood up and started dancing. One of the women on the groom's side stood up and started singing and doing the meke.

After the women from the groom's side piled up the gifts to give to the bride's side (the mataqali), they started dancing and one person fell back into the pile of gifts. A woman from the bride's side (Bulou from Rakiraki) got up and started dancing with those women. She started dancing close, almost hugging them and the man dressed as a woman (from the groom's side) put his foot up on the two women. The audience roared with laughter at this scene.

As we left the groom's place on the bus, the women sang very loudly clapping and dancing.
The Groom on his Mother's lap and the Bride on her Mother's lap

After we came back from the church and the first tabuas had been exchanged, and after the bride and maid of honor had changed their clothes, the bride and her mother put on masi. The groom and his mother also put on masi. The four of them went over to the 'room' that the groom's parents had set up mats and masi in. The two mothers sat on the floor and the groom sat on his mother's lap and the bride on her mother's. The reverend said the masu (prayer) before the meal. Three women came out of the house. They each gave the groom and then the bride one bite of food. This is Lau style.

After this, the groom sat on a chair in the corner of this 'room.' The mothers moved and the bride remained on the floor. Women from the groom's family brought out fabric to the bride then. The women stood in a line from the door of the house to where the bride sat. They passed along the length of this fabric down the line until there was a large pile of fabric in front of the bride. Then it was announced that we could go eat.
A Man Dressed as a Woman

When we entered the groom's house compound, the women from his family were singing. I noticed that one of these women looked a lot like a man. I asked Emi but she said that it was a woman. I could tell it was not however. This man sat and sang with the women the whole day and walked with them to the church. He was the person who got up first to dance in front of everyone and then fell into the pile of pillows, mats, and blankets that the groom's family gave to the bride's. He had his ears pierced and wore women's clothing, a woman's sulu and scarf around his neck. Emi later told me that this was a man. My Nana said something about him at some point as part of the casual conversation.

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Researched 10/11/99,

Typed 10/11/1999
Summary

This morning my Nana told some things about the lease arrangements in my Tata's mataqali. I performed one economic survey during the daytime. I was supposed to meet with an Indian man who lives next to the village in the later part of the afternoon but he told me he was busy and had to cancel.
Nasaba matanqali leases

My Nana told me that people from Suva (land lease officials) come to Rakiraki to distribute the lease checks to the local villages. My Tata has to go to Rakiraki and pick up the money for the Nasaba mataqali. He will bring it back to the village and split it amongst the mataqali then.

My Tata and all of the members of the mataqali that receive and split land lease money are called lewa ni mataqali. This excludes the turago ni mataqali, as he gets his own share. People/households that are the lewa ni mataqali for the Nasaba mataqali are:

1. Jone Waqa (Tata, Narewa)

2. Sarevi Nauvi (Tata Levu, Narewa)

3. Samisoni Waqawua (Tata Levu, Naivuvuni)

4. Paula Naivoce (Tata LaiLai Manueli Naivoce's son, Narewa)

5. Mikaile Camaira (Tata LaiLai, Nadi)

6. Vinaina Salawaqa (Nei, Lovo)

7. Kinisemere Nateru (Nei, Rakiraki)

8. Serai (Nei, Tata's cousin/sister)

9. Lewaseni (Masi, the turaga ni mataqali's sister)

10. Ulamila (Masi's eldest brother Sainivalati's daughter; his brother is deceased)

11. Luse (Ulamila's sister)

12. La (Masi's second eldest brother Vunigasau's daughter; this brother is deceased also)

13. Mereseini (Masi's father and she were brother and sister) (Solei's grandmother)

Masi is the turana ni mataqali which means the head of the mataqali. The reason he has this title rather than Tata Levu, who is older, is because Masi's father was older than Tata Levu's (and my Tata's) father Seremiah. Masi's father's name was Paula. My Nana told me that Masi gets the most money out of the mataqali lease and that if he receives a lot then the mataqali knows they will be getting a good check. It is the same land that the other members of the mataqali lease out but Masi gets his own separate chunk of money.
Living with one's land

I asked why Tata Levu Samisoni Waqawua lives in Naivuvuni rather that Narewa. He lives there next to the lease land of the Nasaba mataqali.
Economic Survey #5

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: Sarevi Nauvi (Tata Levu)

HOUSE LOCATION: Nuisilandi

Residents in the house:

Sarevi = husband/father

Leba = wife/mother

Sarai, "Rosi" = eldest daughter

Vani Vikoka, "Senekau" = daughter

Vani Lewatu, "Lotu" = daughter

Mereseini = daughter

Lavenia Finau, "Fi" = youngest daughter
How they spend their days:

Leba sells in the market. She does this Monday through Saturday, except on holidays. Every morning she wakes up at 3 a.m. and starts cooking; she sells cooked food in the market. She goes to town at 8 a.m. and comes home when she has sold everything; this is usually around 5 p.m.. She rests on Sundays.

Tata Levu, Sarevi, stays home with Fi, who is four years old,, during the days. [He is usually sitting under the mango tree.]
Sources of income:

Selling in the market is the family's main source of income. Leba picks kasava and bele in their garden, the land allotted to them by the village for planting. She buys fish in the village and coconut at the market. She cooks fish and bele in lolo (coconut milk) and kasava at her home and brings it in containers to the market where she sells this prepared food. She buys fish everyday. On Mondays, the slowest market days, she buys two bundles. Tuesday through Friday she buys three bundles. And Saturday, which is the busiest day at the market, she buys four or five bundles. Fish costs $5 per bundle. She buys this from Christopher Miller, a local fisherman in the village who also sells in the market. She buys coconut in the market for $3 or $4 a dozen; one dozen will last her one week. She has 20 plastic containers which she brings to the market; these are single portion containers. She sells each container full of food for $2. She usually sells all of them. Sometimes she has three or four left over. Leba keeps these containers to take home, wash and reuse everyday.

Leba also sells bananas and papaya sometimes. This is food that she gets from their garden. She doesn't sell these everyday, that depends on when they are ripe. She makes approximately $10 per week selling papaya and bananas; she makes more money selling the cooked food.

They also receive money from land leases. The mataqali land leases provide money every six months. This amount is divided between eight families Leba told me. She said they usually receive $50 per family each time. This is about $100 per year.

Leba also told me that they have personally owned sugar cane fields which they get money from three times per year. This is still technically the mataqali's land; it is in the mataqali's name. But Tata Levu is the only person who receives money from it. He has access to this land because he is the eldest of his brothers. There is a boy living on the farm, Leba told me. This is like a share farm, she explained. The boy living there is a member of Tata Levu's mataqali. When he harvests and gets money he splits this total evenly with Leba and Tata Levu. The average amount that the harvest brings is $300, meaning each party gets $150; this is three times per year.

Tata Levu also gets some money from the government. The reason for this is his age, he is retired and not working, and that his children who are still in school. This is from the welfare office. The check each month is worth $78. The amount depends upon the number of children one has in school; when these children are no longer in school, they will no longer receive the money. Tata Levu and Leba have four children in school presently (Fi is too young).

Leba sometimes also makes money by going to the sea and fishing. If she catches a lot she might sell a bundle. She also sometimes collects beach-de-mers (sea cucumbers) and sells them. She only does this about once per month. The two activities bring in approximately $10 per month.
Debts:

Leba and Tata Levu have no loans to pay back. They do make some payments on appliances however. They pay $52 per month for their refridgerator; the deposit was $250 and the total price is $1040. They pay $30 per month for the stove. They pay $38 per month for the bunkbeds which the Courts van just delivered last week. Leba told me that she only had to pay a $2.10 deposit because she was so good on her payments for the t.v. and v.c.r..
Expenses:

The family gets most of their food from their plantation, as Leba calls it. They plant kasava and bele; they buy meat and fish. They buy meat once a week, every Saturday, and spend about $30 every time. Leba said that they go to the grocery store once a week as well. She spends $30 each time; this shopping includes soap, sugar, etc. (They do not buy tea but instead use lemon tree leaves.)

They get new clothes once per month. Only the kids get new clothes. The family spends about $40 per month on clothes.

School fees are $45 per year for two of the girls, so $90 per year total. They only have to buy books because the government pays the term fees for them. Only the daughters in form three and form four have to buy books. Bus fare is $2 per day; Leba told me that she sometimes gives Tai Adi (who's grandfather is Tata Levu's brother; he lives in Australia) bus fare as well. Leba buys her children four new school uniforms every year, two each for the girls in the higher forms. These cost $15 each for a total of $60 per year.

The electricity bill is $20 per month.

The family belongs to the AOG church and so spends no money on yaqona, alcohol or cigarettes.

They give a tithe each week to the AOG church. This is one tenth of their weekly income. They give an additional offering of $2 per week.

Leba told me that the mataqali keeps a bank account. Every time it receives money from land leases, it keeps some in the bank for mataqali functions. Where there are ceremonies to attend, they use this money and then each family also has to contribute some, $5 or $10 each. Leba estimated that the family spends $50 a year on ceremonies and functions such as weddings, funerals, when the mataqali celebrates a birthday or a family has a new baby.

Leba told me that families are now paired up by houses to donate to the Adi Narewa (festival). The average amount each family should give is $50.

There are also sometimes bazaars in school. The family will donate about $20 per year for these festivals.

Attitudes about economic issues:

Leba told me that she doesn't mind paying money to the mataqali or to the school because that is her responsibility. "It is your responsibility when in the village; it is not a burden." She confirmed that it is getting a little bit harder to keep up with now as things become more expensive though. She said she doesn't mind giving to the schools either because it is for the kids. Again she said it is her responsibility.

Top of Page | Note Index | Stephanie Sienkiewicz

Researched 10/12/99, Typed 10/12/99
Economic Survey #6

HEAD OF HOUSEHOLD: JONE WAQA

HOUSE LOCATION: ANDUA

Residents in the house:

Jone Waqa = husband/father

Neni = wife/mother

Samisoni Waqawua, "Makete" = son, eldest child

Vinaina, "Nei" = daughter

Vunigasau, "Puni" = Samisoni's son
How they spend their days:

Jone is retired from the PWD, the Public Works Department. He spends his days at home. He weeds the garden, tends to the pigs, and does the shopping in town.

Neni stays at home during the day as well. She weeds the garden also and does some of the shopping in town with Jone. She does some of the cooking and cleaning in the house.

Nei does most of the cooking and cleaning in the house. She too stays home in the daytime. She might tend to the garden as well. She does the laundry and gets firewood from the bush.

Makete sometimes goes to the cane fields to cut or he tends to he garden as well. He is one of the vakatowas in Narewa, so has to attend meetings sometimes as well.
Sources of income:

The family's main source of income is the pension which Jone receives since he is retired from the PWD. This is $83 per month.

They also receive money from Jone's mataqali's land leases.

They get a check every six months, in March and December. This last March, the check was only $40. Neni told me that the March check is usually less than the December check and that the amount of the December check compensates for the small March check. The average amount of both checks is $100, for a total of about $200 per year.

The family also sells things out of their home. They sell yaqona, snacks, cigarettes, beans and lollies. After three or four days, their supply of these things is gone and they go to town to buy more. They buy kava in the market and the other things at the grocery store. Yaqona costs $15 per 1/2 kilogram. They sell the same amount for $25, making a $10 profit every three or four days. They buy cigarettes for $15 per 10 packs. They make a $1.50 profit every three/four days. They buy beans in large bags containing small packages inside. A big bag is $2.20 and they sell the small packets for $0.10 each. They make a $3 profit every three/four days on the beans. Neni told me that they can't calculate the profits for the other things because the family members always just take them without paying.

They also receive money from abroad. Jone's younger brother who lives in Australia sends them money. This is $200 every three or four months. He also sends them packages of goods.

Neni crochets for profit as well. She sells her pieces for $20 each and sells one every three months.
Debts:

All of the family's debts have been paid. They have finished payments on all of their appliances.
Expenses:

They go to the grocery store once per week. They spend about $20 each time on sugar, flour, rice, tea, fish, meat, salad oil and other household goods such as soap.

The family goes to the market about once a week as well. They buy cabbage and tomatoes there. This costs around $5 per week.

Jone's brother who lives in Australia also sends the family packages. These include clothes, toothbrushes, bags, perfumes, and other items. The family doesn't spend money often on clothing therefore. They told me that they probably spend $20 every six months on clothing.

Their electricity bill is in the range of $15 to $18. Last month this was $18.

They spend money on yaqona. Jone and Neni told me that they might buy 3,4, or sometimes 5 bags per evening when they have guests over. The cost is $1 per bag. They told me they do this about three times per week, therefore spending from $9 to $15 per week on yaqona.

Puni attends school but does not have to pay school fees yet (he is only in class three). They do pay $10 per year for the school building fund however.

They also give money to the church. Neni told me that families should give a total of $50 to the collection plate over the course of one year. Jone tries to give $5 every Sunday; if he doesn't, then he gives $2. This amounts to $112 to $180 per year (based upon a 56 week year).

The family is required to pay the $250 per year for the annual Adi Narewa, or Narewa festival. Each house in the village must contribute this.

Neni gives $1 or $2 each month towards the women's/mother's club of the village. She also told me that each woman must give an additional $3 or $4 every three weeks toward food for a barbeque. They sell this food to raise money for the women's club who contributes $10 per month to the church.

There are also mataqali functions to contribute to. Neni told me that there is a mataqali bank account but that it is empty right now. When this is the case, men contribute money at their mataqali meetings. They have these meetings every six months and give $20 or $50 each, depending on the state of the mataqali bank account. When lease money comes, some is shared among members of the mataqali and some is kept in this band account. The mataqali uses this money to buy gifts for ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. At the wedding that the mataqali attended recently, they spent around $300 total. Neni told me that their family also spends about $100 per year on mataqali functions aside from what Jone contributes at the men's meetings.

Attitudes about economic issues:

Neni told me that she thinks that Fijians do have to spend more money on ceremonies and for the mataqali now than in the past. She said the reason for this is that prices of things are rising. And Fijians have to go to these events because they are for their relations. They have to take something with them when they go as well. If they should but cannot buy a bull, then they should buy tinned fish. They have to bring something, whatever they can afford.

Neni told me that she didn't mind spending this money because, "That's part of our life." "You feel shy if you don't give anything. So we have to look for it and give it."

I asked Neni if she ever felt bad for spending money on yaqona. She told me that she didn't because she doesn't buy yaqona from others. She buys it in the market to sell out of their home and so she is buying it from herself. She doesn't mind because the money stays in her home.

The reason the family sells things out of the home is to make extra money. They do not put the money they make from selling out of the house in the bank. They keep it to have. When Jone wants to go buy something, then he is able to. He doesn't have to go to the bank to do it. Neni called this extra money.

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