Suva, Fiji -1 of 3 Background, Long Boat, Village

Today we went to Suva, Fiji. Fiji is a country and an archipelago (group of islands) of 300 islands, and 540 islets scattered over about 1,000,000 square miles with about 100 of them inhabited. The current population is 937,300 of which 300,000 live in urban areas where there are stores, museums and a “busy city” environment. The capital, Suva, is on the southeast coast of the largest island, Viti Levu and is 4,000 square miles (half of Fiji’s land area). YES, Fiji Water bottles their own water from Fiji and ships it overseas and it is actually sourced from Yaqara, on the north shore of this island. Good water!

The indigenous Fijian people are ethnically Melanesian although their social and political organization is more Polynesia. “I’Taukei” refers to the indigenous people of Fiji (approximately 56.8% of the population) the term translates to "owners of the land". Their culture emphasizes communal land ownership, traditional, and social structures. English, Fijian, and Fijian Hindi have equal status as official languages and the most used Fijian language, of course, has 14 dialects (at least one for each clan). Bauan Fijian is the Eastern dialect and serves as a standard used by many in education and trade. While Suva has a very mixed population, the largest sugar-producing regions have predominantly Indian populations. We love the fact that there are no guns at all in Fiji and everyone lives in relative peace. We learned some things about the years of cannibalism here … the most important fact is that it has not been practiced since 1873.

In 1874, Fiji became a British crown colony. The policies of the first governor, Sir Arthur Gordon, shaped the history of Fiji as he was the protector of the Fijian people but also made an investment by Australian Colonial Sugar Refining Company, to establish sugar plantations and processing mills. Although Suva is the political, economic, and cultural center, with a mix of colonial architecture, and modern buildings, we opted to spend our day here with a visit to the see, meet and understand the people that live in the more remote places … a bit of a trip by van and then by long boat.

We enjoyed a full day tubing tour today (with our guide Leon Rao) who worked for a real locally run tour company with a great history. River Tubing Fiji is a locally owned family business with great insights into the local’s way of life, and it has its roots firmly established in the rich history and culture of the Namosi Highlands. The company owner, William Danford, is the great great great grandfather of John Humphrey Danford, the lone Englishman who lived in the Namosi Highlands amongst the cannibal hill tribes in the 1800s. He fought alongside the Namosi High chief, planned all attacks against enemies and advised the chief on his dealings with Europeans. For the many years of service to the chief of Namosi he was given a piece of land called Raiwaqa along the banks of the Navua River, where he later settled. During his time in Raiwaqa he also led many foreigners on expeditions up the Navua River and began this company who employs only his future generations of relatives. Wonderful group of people … family.

Fiji’s interior has great dramatic peaks, forests, remote villages and history. First, we took an 11 miles longboat ride up the scenic Navua River, passed some rapids, waterfalls, saw waterfalls on the way, a tropical rainforest, and deep gorges and some beautiful scenery. Then, we visited a Fijian village (Sabata under the provision of Serua) to observe how the locals live. We learned more about the culture and traditions directly from the people. Their simple but productive, healthy and happy lives (without technology) was wonderful to experience. They farm and trade their produce for goods at villages down the river. No phones, TVs, or any communication and their only transportation are long boats. Interestingly, this river tubing company is a big supporter of the local community. The native landowners provide benefits directly to village life in an effort to encourage their support of sustainable tourism. This typical little village of about 40 people and 7 generations live off of the land and buy sugar from others through trade. The children go upriver all week (M-F) to school and are taken care of by local families (a mother from local villages rotate to stay with the children) until they are 19 years old. Teachers are trained by the government and are excellent. Not surprisingly, many children these days leave the villages for further education and then don’t come back.
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