Contexts - Rough Guide to Fiji - page 319

SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Fijian society is essentially split into two groups: indigenous or ethnic Fijians, and
the large Indian or “Fiji-Indian” minority. Ethnic Fijian culture is a unique blend of
Melanesian and Polynesian tradition influenced by rigid Methodist Christianity intro-
duced in the nineteenth century. Fiji-Indians maintain Hindu, Sikh and Muslim cus-
toms that were brought to the islands by indentured labourers from the Indian sub-
continent. Other smaller minority groups include the Chinese, as well as other Pacific
Islanders such as the Rotumans and Banabans.
Indigenous Fijians
Indigenous Fijians are bound in a strict hierarchal order based on a loyalty to their home vil-
lage and tribe, an attachment which connects them in a broader sense to the land or vanua . At
the pinnacle of ethnic Fijian hierarchy sit the chiefs or ratu , whose titles are inherited through
the paternal lineage.
The tribal structure
Fiji is split into three confederacies or tribal unions: Burebasaga (southern Viti Levu and Ka-
davu); Tovata (northern Fiji and the Lau Group); and Kubuna (eastern Viti Levu and Lomaiv-
iti). Kubuna is traditionally considered the most powerful as it was once ruled by Ratu Seru
Cakobau (see Lavena Coastal Walk ), who became King of Fiji in 1871. Tovata is the smal-
lest but has been the most politically successful, contributing two post-independence prime
ministers (Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara and Laisenia Qarase), while Burebasaga is the largest, in-
corporating Suva, Lautoka and Nadi; Burebasaga is also the only one permitting a woman to
be its paramount chief.
Each confederacy is made up of a collection of yavusa or tribes. Each tribe usually lives in
one village and is sub-divided into mataqali or clans. There are usually between three and
six mataqali in a tribe. Each has a prescribed role within the village - the chiefly mataqali is
known as the turaga and it is from here that the yavusa is high chief is selected. The final or-
der in the hierarchy is the tokatoka , or extended household, which binds closely related fam-
ilies. Within the tokatoka are individual households known as vuvale , and these are presided
over by the senior male. All ethnic Fijians can thus define their position in society by declar-
ing their family name, tokatoka , mataqali and yavusa .