Many Fijians today live in typically modern houses that you might expect to find in any warm tropical country. There are also beautiful resorts and hotels; but traditional Fijian architecture still exists in many rural areas of the country, as demonstrated by the following collection of Fijian houses at the Polynesian Cultural Center:
Lali hut: Visitors entering Fiji are usually greeted at a small shelter which protects the lali, a large wooden gong or drum that is used to signal events, call villagers together, announce the arrival of important guests, warn of emergencies, and gather people for religious observations. A similar lali is located at the front entrance of the Polynesian Cultural Center. Traditionally, the largest lali were beaten day and night for certain funerals until all observations were completed. Smaller lali are often used with derua or bamboo musical instruments to accompany singing and dancing. Other Polynesian people use similar wooden gongs, such as the Samoan lali and the Tahitian to'ere.
Fijians and other Polynesians also use the conch shell as a trumpet to signal events. For example, fishermen use the conch shell to notify people of a good catch. The Fijians, unlike many other Polynesian cultures, always cut the hole for blowing the conch on the side of the shell rather than at the end.
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Bure Kalou — literally the "spirit house" or temple: Because this structure traditionally housed the ancestral gods, it was always the tallest building in a Fijian village. Strings of white cowry shells hang from the peak of the roof to indicate the highest form of respect. In the bure kalou, the bete or priest would sit at the bottom of a long strip of white masi or bark tapa cloth hung from the ceiling. He was the only person allowed there, and was considered a medium through whom the god spoke via the masi cloth. When a chief wanted to be successful in leadership or in battle, he would take food offerings and sacrifices to the bure kalou regularly and consult with the priest. |
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Vale Levu: The chief's "great house" always occupied the most prominent position in a traditional Fijian village. It was also the largest structure, and was elevated above all other buildings except the bure kalou. Its chiefly stature was further marked with white cowry shells on the doors and at other various points, both inside and outside the house. The high and steep-pitched roof is designed to drain rainwater quickly and efficiently. It also allows for good ventilation and air circulation, important factors in warm and humid climates.
Of the four doors in the vale levu, commoners and servants used the front one to enter; the chief's wife and family used the two side doors; and the back door was reserved for the exclusive use of the chief. Anciently, any person beside the chief who entered through that door was put to death. As a remnant of that tradition, it's still common to see Fijian men standing guard with war clubs at important events.
The chief's house was also the most decorated in the village, with finely crafted masi or tapa cloth used extensively. The masi features typical Fijian geometric stenciling and motifs patterned after nature. Many patterns are associated with the particular village where the masi is made. Anciently, the patterns often had genealogical significance and were used as a recording device of a family's progenitors.
The chief's bed is made of piled-up pandanus mats topped with masi. Frequently, a bamboo frame was utilized, again filled with layers of mats to ensure softness. The headrest on the bed was typically made of bamboo or hardwood and was designed to keep the head elevated above the body. This was necessary because Fijians believed the head was the location of the chief's mana or power. The lower bed was used by the chief's wife and children. If the chief practiced polygamy, the favored wife and her children slept there. The other wives and children were sometimes provided separate sleeping quarters.
The chief would receive his guests and entertain them at the opposite end of the house, which also featured his artifacts and weapons.
Vale ni Bose or "Meeting House": A building of this size would serve a Fijian community as a ceremonial center for both official and private occasions. Ceremonial use might include the welcoming of another chief, discussing official matters, or carrying out the yaqona or kava ceremony. During any official meetings, women and children were forbidden to enter. Only the chief and his counselors were permitted inside. At other times, women and children could use the vale ni bose as an arts and crafts center. Baskets and other useful household items would be woven here using pandanus leaves. The thinner and closer the weave, the more valuable the crafted product.
Vale ni Qase: The "old folks home" is where grandparents stay during the daytime with grandchildren so they can pass along the oral traditions they learned from their grandparents...for this is the way island cultures without a written language traditionally passed knowledge from one generation to another over the centuries gone by.
Na Bure or simply, the "house": This structure is a typical family dwelling patterned after those along the humid coast of the Viti Levu group of islands and represents the finest example of Fijian workmanship found anywhere in the world outside Fiji. Because Fiji consists of over 300 islands spread across a wide expanse of ocean, Fijian house structures differ from location to location due to local customs and the availability of building materials.
The na bure is constructed with layered reed walls lashed together with coconut fiber magimagi or sennit. As in all Fijian structures, the use of masi or tapa cloth dominates the interior. Fijian masi differs from the rest of Polynesia tapa in its fine geometrical and symmetrical designs. The masi design colors are also usually darker in hue.
The roof is thatched with sugar cane leaves. To keep the thatching free of insects or animals which might otherwise feed on the leaves, the Fijians often light a fire which lasts for a number of days that causes clouds of smoke to rise into the thatching. This long-lasting fumigation method keeps the thatching pest-free.
The salusalu demonstration hut features the making of Fijian neck wreaths, or salusalu. The basic circle of the salusalu is made out of the bark of the vau or wild hibiscus plant. Women prefer to use natural-colored strands. They cut the bark into 10-inch lengths which are then folded in half and tied at the fold resulting in a half-inch thickness and forming a tassel. Approximately 22 tassels are needed to complete a salusalu. The tassel is refined by stripping it into fine threads using a t-pin. More tassels are added to braided lengths at appropriate intervals until a desired size is completed.
To decorate the salusalu, the women add flowers, leaves and feathers. Sometimes they will attach a bow or streamers to further enhance the salusalu, which are worn during festivals, birthdays, anniversary celebrations, holidays, and other special occasions.
The vale ni kuro or kitchen area: Like other Polynesians, Fijians traditionally prepare their food in a lovo or earth oven, which is essentially a steam cooker that uses pre-heated rocks and the moisture from leaves and/or banana stumps. After the rocks are heated and any remaining charcoal removed, leaves and pieces of banana stumps are laid on top of them, then the food, followed by more leaves to seal in the steam. In cases of large items such as pigs or turtles, heated stones are also sometimes put into the body cavities to ensure thorough cooking. Lovo - which are the Fijian equivalent of the Hawaiian imu, the Samoan umu or the Maori hangi (they call the food cooked there umu) - usually take several hours to cook a family-sized meal, and longer for bigger meals.
Fijians traditionally eat a variety of fruits and vegetables such as breadfruit, sweet potatoes, bananas, tapioca, taro, and papaya. Edible sea life such as fish, turtles and shellfish are boiled, grilled or baked in the lovo along with other meats such as chicken, pork, beef, etc. Wild pigs and free-running chickens are found throughout Fiji.
In Fiji the usual day began very early with work on the plantation. By mid or late morning, the men were through weeding and planting in the plantation and began preparing the lovo and its food. The day's main meal was served at mid-afternoon, after which each person returned to work or participated in some form of recreation.
Fijian cooking also makes liberal use of coconuts - the most versatile and useful of all Polynesian plants. In addition to food and drink, for example, the fibers of the coconut husk are braided to make sennit, which the Fijians call magimagi, that can be used as lashing cord for houses and canoes. Pieces of husk fibers can be used as a scrubber not only for kitchen utensils but also lathered with soap as a body cleanser or loofah. Fijians and other Polynesians also use the fibers wadded together as a strainer to extract milk from grated coconut meat. They hollow out and polish coconut shells to use as drinking cups, soap dishes, water bottles and containers plus a myriad of other purposes; and they make charcoal from the shells.
Like the Samoans, Fijians commonly extract the "milk" or white oil from mature coconut meat. This coconut milk is sometimes put in air-tight containers to which flower petals and fragrant leaves are added. The containers are left in the sun for several days, with new petals and leaves added daily, until the coconut oil clarifies. Then it's ready to use as moisturizing lotion or soap.
One of Fiji's main exports is copra from which coconut oil is extracted commercially. To make copra, skilled islanders remove the mature coconut meat from the shell and then leave the pieces to dry in the sun on mats, sheets of corrugated iron or other available materials. When thoroughly dried, copra is bagged and shipped to other countries for use in making candles, soap, cosmetics, confections, etc.
