Fiji Culture is a blend of fascinating ancient rituals and traditions of Fiji Island. Legendary events says that the great chief Lutunasobasoba came and led his people across the new destination of Fiji but some believe that people from South East Asia visited this Pacific via Indonesia.
The Culture Of Fiji is a great combination of the Melanesians and the Polynesians and they are responsible for creating a highly developed society even before the arrival of the Europeans. The first Europeans to land in the Fiji were mostly the ship wrecked sailors. In 1683 the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman came to Fiji and English navigators did major explorations in the 18th century.
The Tranquil villages of the Fiji along with the traditional languages, food and clothing are sure to catch your fantasy and one has to carry a customary gift of Yaqona or Kaya and it has to be presented to the executive head of the concerned village. Fiji Culture emphasizes on the family unit and a great importance is given to the family. The largest social unit of Fijians is known as “Yavusa” and they are considered as the direct descendants.
Music, Dance and food all forms the very core of Culture in Fiji and the traditional art form is known as “Meke”. Clothes are also the imprints of Fiji Island Culture and their traditional clothing is loin clothes for men and grass skirts for the women.
Fiji Society
Fiji Society is a mixture of culturally diversified peoples and this place is filled with warm hearted and gentle citizens. Fiji Islanders are warm people and the visitors are sure to be charmed by their hospitality.
Fiji Law Society is a strong foundation of Fiji and it has certain objectives and parameters for every individual and it can be considered as the basis of social conditions in Fiji.
All the members of the Society of Fiji work in full collaboration so that all the works are maintained well. Mamanuca Environment Society in Fiji is another organization formed in 2002 to look after the environmental issues related to the Fiji Society. The Mamanuca Fiji Islands hotel and the Tourism association collaboratively formed this Society of Fiji and their main objective lies in the promotion of environmental awareness and taking major protections to sustain the tourism community in the Fiji Island.
Bau Fijian
Bau Fijian is an official language of Fiji and it’s the most widely used Fijian language. As the Fijian belongs to the Austronesian family of languages so variety of local dialects are popular but the Bau Fijian has got priority because it came from the well known Bau Island Fiji.
This Fijian language is the first and the foremost official language of Fiji and the other two are the English and Hindustani. The word Austronesian is derived from the Greek word and it means Southern island. The Fijian language has effect on all the other prevalent dialects of Fiji and its quiet visible in their pronunciation. The English language of Fiji is highly influenced by the Bau Fijian and most of the colloquial terms and phrases are included in the English even.
Fijian Language is the first language of the inhabitants of the Fiji and they mostly belong to the Malayo-Polynesian family and almost cover 350,000 of the population. The Consonant phonemes of the Bau Fijian is different from the English one as the sound of ( p and f) occurs in loanwords and the alphabets (x and h) occurs very rarely in certain regions of the country. The Bau Fijian alphabet is based on the Latin alphabet and among the consonants there is mostly one to one correspondence between the letters.
Fiji Music
Fiji Music is the fusion of the traditional Melanesian and the Polynesian music as Fiji Island is mostly dominated under the influence of these two cultures. Folk Music is another important part of the Fijian music and it comprises of vocal church music accompanied by the traditional dance forms.
The commonly used musical instruments of the Fijian are guitar, mandolin, ukulele along with there traditional indigenous musical instruments. Lali drums are the common one and they are used to call the local peoples of an area for gathering and it can be called as the medium of communication. Several kinds of lali drums are there and they are the announcing instruments of various social gatherings like wars and victories and even to birth and death but all the events follow different rhythmic patterns and they are audible from at least 8kms.Lali is mostly a rectangular block with a tapering end and its 75-100 cm in length..
Fiji Art
Fiji Art is the complete presentation of the Fiji Culture to the visitors or the tourist either in a form of smart souvenir or often in the shape of beautifully crafted wooden handicrafts.
Art and Craft of Fiji is various and really some good pieces are crafted out and are used locally or as presentations in the Fijian ceremonies. The Fiji Art is generally a craft ware of either wood or it is in the weave form as mostly the Pacific Island Art favors either any one of the two or simply a balance between the two products. The weaving material of Fiji Art is done from two sources namely Pandanus and Coconut. The process of weaving is quite lengthy and hectic and it usually takes number of days before the materials are ready to be weaved.
Weaving is an important part of Fiji Art and beautiful variety of mats, everyday baskets, hats etc. are the outcome from these Pandanus and Coconuts. The weaving process also expands to the making of white hats and bags. Another significant souvenir of Fiji Art is “The Tapa Cloth material” and its origin is from the mulberry leaves. The Mulberry leaves are subjected to various processing’s before they take the form of fine traditional clothing of the Fijians. The popularity of the material is expanding and it has also taken the form of fine wall pictures along with wrappings and other dressing ensemble.