WHAT'S BEAUTIFUL?
BODY IMAGE AND THE SOCIOCENTRIC SENSE OF SELF IN FIJI
by Emily Sparks

Chapter 5
Cultural Scenarios: A Window into the Fijian Ethos

Chapter four showed how ideas about attractiveness as well as the Fijian idea of "a good person" were different for younger and older people. We learned from this past chapter that different age groups of Fijians had different opinions about putting the community before oneself. That is, younger Fijian women think a good person is someone who treats people (and especially the ego) well, while older women emphasize a good person's characteristics as one who puts the community's need before one's self. This chapter will further examine differences in values concerning the individual and the community by looking at information collected through administering a series of hypothetical scenarios to people of different ages.

By using cultural scenarios or offering informants (of different generations, in this case) a hypothetical situation or story, whereby he or she gives his or her opinion and finishes the culturally-situated story, the interviewer may get a sense of how Fijians of different generations think of their own role, and of others' role in society.

Two groups of women were interviewed using cultural scenarios designed to elicit their ideas about individuals and the community. The first consisted of five young women between the ages of eighteen and thirty, and the second consisted of five young women between the ages of fifty and sixty. The same questions were asked among both age groups.

Here is a list of the questions that were asked:

1) A young man is in form six (grade twelve) and is about to sit for his exams. He wants to finish studying, but the night before the exam an unexpected visitor arrives, bringing a sevusevu for the boy's father. The boy's father asks the boy to serve yaqona for the night. Is this right of the father to do? [Traditionally, the son is supposed to sit with the father and guest to serve the yaqona. This first question was used to give an introduction to the idea of what I was asking the informants to do.]

2) A young woman has been living in Suva and attending the Fiji Institute of Technology, and is now looking for a job. While she is at home a boy's parents present a tabua. What should her parents do, what should she do, what should have the boy's parents done? [A tabua is a whale's tooth, and is sacred in Fiji. It is reserved for highly important presentations, including asking for a daughter to marry one's son. Traditionally, one does not refuse the tabua, because it would bring embarrassment to both families.]

3) A girl comes back to the village from Suva and does not want to wear a sulu (a long skirt). Her mother tells her to put on a sulu over her pants, but she refuses, and goes out into the village anyway. What should the mother do? What should she do? [Most villages require by law that girls cover their knees with a skirt, and do not wear long pants in the village without a sulu wrapped around them. Ignoring this traditional rule is disrespecting the village rules, as well as the Vu.]

4) There is a young wife with two small children. Her husband beats her a lot. Should she run away back home, or stay with her children and abusive husband? [In Fiji domestic abuse is common, and almost expected during the early stages of a marriage. Certainly, it is not frowned upon by mainstream society.]

5) A young woman wants to lose weight, and she is invited to her husband's vasu (mother's people) for a feast. She does not eat the meat or cassava on the plate, and explains that she is on a diet. Is it right for her to refuse most of the food offered to her? [Traditionally, when one is offered food as a guest they should eat until they are full, for the host has gone through the trouble to provide the food -- and an unlimited amount at that!]

6) A young mother wants to lose weight, and has a very young infant at home. The only time that she can do her exercising is before the day really starts, early in the morning. However, in order to do this, she must wake up her mother-in-law to look after the baby while she is out. Should she do this? What is the right thing for her to do? [In rural Fiji, a new bride usually moves into her husband's family's house, and should take on doing the work of this household. Her individual endeavors are often frowned upon.]

Although more scenarios were offered, these get at the root of the different views young and old Fijians have of their place in society. The goal of each question was to help understand what Fijians of different generations expect their peers, as well as their elder or younger counterparts, to do in the given situations. I wanted to continue to test the idea of whether young women think of "a good person" differently than do their elders. In other words, based on the idea that Fijians of different generations have different ideas of attractiveness and being a good person in the community, perhaps they have different ideas about their role in the community -- if they like or dislike it, and if they fulfill this role. Interestingly, these results mirrored the results discussed in chapter three, of how young and elderly Fijians think of "a good person." Young Fijian women were concerned with protecting themselves and not being pushed around while older women were more concerned with conforming to communal ideals.

There were a couple of scenarios which produced similar answers from everyone, which I argue reflects similar values among those interviewed. All informants replied that in the first scenario, the young boy should finish studying for his exam before helping his father serve yaqona. They insisted that there could be someone else willing to serve yaqona. This would make sense, since the Fijian web of kinship is quite far-reaching.

One scenario which both young and old Fijians agreed on concerns the story of a young girl returning to the village from Suva. The basic question is whether or not she should wear a sulu to cover her knees. Because this is the rule of the village, not wearing a sulu would not only show disrespect for the rules of the village, but the Vu as well, the ancestors who watch over the vanua of where the village is a part. This elderly woman's comments reflect most responses:

The girl should put her sulu on, because she is in the village, not in town. In the village you cannot wear that, because you have relations in the community which you have to uphold and respect. Many in the people in the village you have to respect, and by disobeying the rule, you will disrespect them. That's Fijian culture. You cannot wear shorts or jeans, you have to wear a sulu or long skirt in the village. If the girl refuses this, even out of request from her parents, then she will bring the family shame, and the family will be shy within the community, they will be ashamed because everyone in the village will point her out. She will have embarrassed the family, and disrespected the Fijian way.

Here, this fifty year old woman describes how not wearing a sulu in the village, and thereby disobeying not only the village rules but her parents as well, will bring the family embarrassment and shame. One thing that is important to note in this passage is the statement, "That's the Fijian way." By saying this, the informant defines Fijian culture with the notion that one should obey and respect the rules in the village, and thus play out one's proper role within these village rules. Thus, she is emphasizing the idea that this hypothetical girl must wear a sulu in the village because that is her role in society. This comment also reflects how the behavior of one individual reflects on the whole family. This shows the sociocentric sense that each person's actions do not just reflect their own personality but also what they were brought up to believe -- that everyone is dependent on everyone else.

In response to the same question, a Fijian of the younger generation also agreed that the girl returning from Suva should take off her pants or shorts and wear a sulu while in the village. She said:

She should take her pants off and wear a sulu, because that is the Fijian custom. If she is wearing shorts or pants, she should stay in Suva, because there she can do what she wants! It is all right for someone to wear shorts or pants, as long as they are not in the village. If she wants to come back to the village she must be in a sulu. If she is in the village and wearing shorts, someone will tell her to go back in the house and put on a sulu. If she does not do this, she will bring her family shame, and the turaga ni koro, or the village spokesperson, will call a meeting and tell the parents that she should not wear shorts around the village, because this is disrespecting the Fijian way.

This similar passage also alludes to the idea that the girl should wear a sulu based on the idea that this is "Fijian custom" or "the Fijian way." Again, the informant, though of the younger generation, emphasizes a role that the girl must play in the village. This informant also gives the option that if the girl does not agree with this rule, that she should "stay in Suva," where she has more personal autonomy, and does not have the pressure to adapt to the role that the village expects her to respect, obey, and act out. Thus, in this scenario, both young and old Fijian women believe that it is important to respect the village rules, and one who does not do this will bring shame to her family. They define "Fijian custom" through the young girl's actions, and what the girl does has repercussions throughout the community, according to these two informants of different ages. However, the younger informant suggests that if the girl does not want to live by these rules, if she wants personal autonomy, that she should live in Suva, for disrespecting Fijian custom in the village is defying one's role, and thus Fijian culture.

Another scenario to which both young and old Fijians reacted similarly was the case in which the young woman asks her mother-in-law to look after her infant early in the morning while she exercises. In both cases, the informants of different generations felt that an elderly mother-in-law should not be woken from her night's sleep because the new mother wants to get out and exercise when she has an infant to look after at home. Here, an older woman says, "The woman should not leave the baby with the mother-in-law. She should look after her children, because they are still small. If she wants to lose weight, she should try and eat less!" Her role here is not to go running for herself, and bother her mother-in-law, she should be looking out for the baby. Here, this woman explains that this young woman should take care of her new baby, because this is her role as a new mother. According to this informant, it does not matter if the young mother in the scenario wants time during the day to herself so that she can exercise. What is important is the young mother's being there for her infant, and not putting the responsibility on an elder. This woman both expresses the view that one should have concern for others and the view that people have a role they are supposed to be performing in society.

Here, a Fijian of the younger generation has a similar view, but extends the scenario so that soon, the hypothetical young mother will have time to herself. The informant remarks:

The young mother should look after her child. If she wakes someone else up out of their rest to look after the baby, it is not good. If her baby wants milk then who will feed the baby? What will they do when they cannot give the baby milk, and the baby will start crying? A very young infant needs the mother around, this is the mother's job to be close to the baby in case of things like this. At this age, the mother should just want to stay at home with the baby. When the baby is over a year old, or maybe two years old, then we can leave the baby with our parents for things like this -- for fishing, or going for firewood, then we can leave them wit our parents, with bubu (grandparent), because bubu love to do that sort of thing. Our parents like to stay with grandchildren. Once the babies start to grow up, the grandparents would be proud to look after a small one for a holiday or something like that. But in the beginning the mother must stay with her baby.

This informant agrees with the first -- that a mother of an infant's role is to be around for her baby at all times, and not leave the baby with relatives at such a young age. She talks about this in part in moral terms (she should want to be with the baby because this is her job), but also talks in terms of practicalities (the baby may need to nurse). She sees the practicalities as the most important thing since once the baby is older she feels it is fine to leave the baby with someone else. It is important to note that this young woman is not married and expresses a view typical of many young unmarried people: older people just want to do things to help young younger people. This view is less typical of young married women who have the new and different experience of living with their in-laws who are less nurturing than parents. However, this younger informant builds on this scenario, implying that once the infant has grown, the mother should be able to do what she wants to, if this means leaving the child with grandparents. The elderly informant did not suggest this, and closed these possibilities by abruptly saying that the mother should stay home with the child. The fact that the younger informant had this idea of having some autonomy suggests that this is a concern that young Fijians face.

In an example pertaining to accepting or refusing food, young and old Fijians differ in their opinion. In asking the question whether or not a woman visiting her husband's vasu could refuse the food, the older Fijian commented that she does not have to eat all of it, but should eat some, for as the wife, she is supposed to be gracious in accepting what her husband's vasu offer her. One woman comments, "The wife should take some of the food, but she does not have to eat the entire thing. If she does not have any of the food that her hosts have made her, that is not right, she should eat some of what the hosts have made for her." Thus, this older woman believes that the young woman's role in this case is not to please herself, but to please her husband's vasu, or mother's side of the family. This elderly Fijian is saying that she should not be selfish in putting her personal desires before the role that she is expected to play in the community.

Young Fijian women, however, have a different view of what their role should be among their husbands' vasu. While the older generation agrees that the woman should not have to eat all the food presented to her, but should certainly have plenty of what is offered to her, a young Fijian has a contrary view. She says, "The girl should not have to eat something that she does not want to eat, even if it is offered by her husband's vasu." Clearly, here, this young woman is responding to the role which young Fijian women are expected to play. She reacts abruptly by suggesting that the wife should not have to do what is expected of her in society. The informant continues:

For me, if I imagine that this is me, if I want food, I will eat when I am hungry, but if I do not want to eat, if I am trying to lose weight, I will only take a bit. I should tell them in the beginning so that they know that I will not be taking a lot, this way they know that I will not be taking all the food that they prepared for me.

In this case, the young woman does not want to be rude to her husband's vasu, for she considers telling them beforehand that she is on a diet. However, she certainly acts in a way that pleases herself before acting in a way that fulfills the role that she is supposed to play -- which is to graciously accept what her husband's vasu offers her.

From the next two scenarios, we may notice an even bigger difference in views between what a young and an older generation of Fijian women think and feel about their roles in society, as well as each other's role in society. Looking at the scenario involving the young girl who has just graduated from the Fiji Institute of Technology, and is now looking for a job when someone presents her father with a tabua to ask her to marry their son, we see varying view points on what the girl is expected to, and should do. A young woman continued this scenario by strongly urging the young woman (in the story) to make her decision based on what she wants to do, not what her proper, traditional role in society is. She comments:

The girl's parents should ask the girl what she wants to do, it should be up to her, because she is studying, or looking for a job. But some parents will not ask her, and will accept the tabua without asking. This happens a lot in Fiji, but this is not fair to the girl. It is all right for the boy's parents to present the tabua, as long as they understand that the girl might not want to get married right away. They would have to understand that if she is in school, or looking for a job, marriage can wait until she is ready.

This informant focused on the fact that the young woman in the scenario should do as she pleases, for her education, that personal career pursuits come before getting married. This shows that a young woman rejects the traditional idea of automatically accepting a tabua, and marrying, when she has her own aspirations. However, perhaps the most interesting point introduced by this informant is that fact that she says that the parents "should ask the girl want she wants to do," for this gives the young woman in the scenario a choice. Because the final decision is whether or not to accept the tabua is traditionally a father's, the fact that this informant brings up the idea that the parents should ask her shows that the parents care about her individual self, and are considering her autonomy, before succumbing to society's expectations. This is an important point, for clearly this young informant values the idea of having autonomy, and suggests that "the parents should ask the girl what she wants to do." This notion of the parents asking the daughter what her preference is for marriage as the right thing to do goes along with what young Fijians think of as "a good person" -- that is, someone who takes into account their individual feelings. Therefore, the right thing for the parents to do, in a young Fijian woman's mind, is consider her individual autonomy, and give her a choice.

Responses from older Fijian women demonstrate a different conclusion to this scenario. They seem to understand what the girl might be feeling, but all believe that a young girl's responsibility to her father, and thus to the community, is more important than the young woman's autonomy. Although they do say that she should marry, they also sympathize with her and suggest that she could get a job after marriage (which does not happen very often in village life). Here, one Fijian of the older generation explains:

If the girl does not want to marry this boy, but the father wants her to, then she should do what the father wants, because the boy's family brought the tabua, and that is the Fijian way, so they must respect that. The parents should ask her want she wants to do, and maybe she could get a job after she is married, because if the father says get married, she should get married; because it is difficult to refuse a tabua. Sometimes the girl's family feels obligated because they are presented with the tabua.

Here we see that an older Fijian woman's view of what a young woman should do is quite different from that of the a young woman. Where the younger Fijian woman expresses, through the conclusion to the hypothetical scenario, a need and appreciation for those who care about her autonomy over society's expectations; the older generation concentrates on what the hypothetical young woman should do, in order to fulfill her role in society. In this brief passage, we see that the father (and thus the daughter, according to this informant) is subject to doing what the society expects of him, because of Fijian culture, or the world view Fijians have; the informant says, "That's the Fijian way, so they must respect that." Hypothetically, this does not give the young woman or the father autonomy to base a decision on what the individual wants, but rather on what society deems as proper. The father should respect the traditional Fijian way rather than consider individual desires.

The final scenario, about the young wife with small children who is married to a husband who is physically violent towards her, also elicited different responses from the younger and older generations of women interviewed. While the younger generation of course finds it important to retain autonomy, the older women stress the importance of staying with one's family, despite various hardships a new wife may face.

The response from a young Fijian woman which I will share is a meaningful one, since this particular woman did in fact face the problem of abuse during the early years of her marriage -- as many and perhaps most young Fijian wives do. When asked what the young woman in the scenario should do when abused by her husband, she comments:

If she can afford to go, she should go back to her house, her home, where her parents are. If she has children then she should bring the children with her, and leave the husband. After a while, the husband will come back and apologize, they almost always do. He will come back when he is sorry for what he has done. Like with me, when my husband beat me, I went home, just up a few villages, where I come from. Each time we got in a big fight he would come back to my parents' house and bring one tabua, or yaqona to my parents, and tell them that he wants me to come back. But the girl should get away from all of that if she can afford to.

This young woman shared with me her sentiments on what a young married Fijian woman should do. She emphasizes the idea of leaving her husband if he does not treat her with respect, even though a new wife is now a part of her husband's family and should work, and support them. Nevertheless, this informant believes that a young woman should leave, and even take her children with her, even though this is a patriarchal society and the children are a part of their father's people, defined by his mataqali name.

While the young woman wants to protect her autonomy and is not concerned with carrying out her proper role in society, the older women clearly deem this as very important, even if the young wife must sacrifice her autonomy and physical health. One older woman states:

The young wife should stay with her husband because her children are there. She should stay and raise her children. But nowadays, when couples fight they split up, and the wife will just leave the children and her husband's family. This is not right, because she should stay with her children every time. The woman should listen. Sometimes the woman wants to leave the husband, she wants to be on top, be more important than the husband, but that is not good, because the man is above us, eh?

Here, this older woman clearly feels that a woman's place in society is more important than her individual desires or her autonomy. She goes so far as to explain that a woman's role in Fijian society is below a man's role, and this is why she should not flee her husband and his family. This informant also puts a great emphasis on taking care of her children, for they must stay with the father's family, and it is her role to stay and care for them.

Again, this scenario provoked responses that shed light on the different views younger and older generations of Fijians have about their roles in society. The pattern continues -- the younger women found it important for the young woman in the scenario to protect herself, and her autonomy, even if this means not playing the role she is expected to play in society, while the older generation expressed the importance of committing one's self to this role which she is expected to play. Thus, older Fijian women place a higher value on acting out a prescribed role in society, while younger women focus on their individual preference, and say that others should consider the needs of the young women in the scenarios.

It is inevitable that times are changing in Fiji, and that younger women may be influenced by Western ideologies to a greater extent than older women. However, another possibility is that women's views are influenced by the role they are playing in society. Younger women have little autonomy and so are not entirely satisfied with Fijian culture. Older women on the other hand have experienced this part of life. They have been young married women, expected to work for and serve their husband's family. They have been beaten by their husbands. They have moved to a new village, lived with no autonomy, and have survived, and now they have a relatively a good deal of autonomy in their lives. They see that living according to traditional Fijian values, accepting one's role in society, offers positive attributes later in life. The next two chapters will look at younger and older generations of Fijian women and show how one group has an oppressed, difficult life, where they are searching for autonomy, for their role in society (as society prescribes them to a servile lifestyle), and the other group -- older women live a life with more personal freedom.

On to Conclusion...