Living with nature in Fiji
Visitors to Fiji’s traditional communities will not only see the ancient iTaukei philosophy of working with the natural world in action, but can help preserve a way of life in danger of being eroded…
Like many tales of the South Pacific, my talanoa – or ‘storytelling’ – begins on the water, en route from Vanua Levu to one of the 330-plus islands that sustain the iTaukei, the Traditional Owners of Fiji. Leone Vokai, dreadlocks splayed in the breeze, was piloting our wooden boat to a resort on the tiny island of Nukubati. The staff of its six beachside bures (cabins) joined Leone’s wife, Lara Bourke, on the shoreline to sing a melodic welcome. “Bula,” they shouted as one. It is a greeting (meaning hello or good health) that I would hear throughout my time in Fiji.
As I waded ashore, the sand felt soft beneath my feet. In the wooden pavilion, a barbecued tatavu feast was laid out before us. We sat on the matted floor and ate taro leaves with roasted yams, as well as fish caught on the line from beyond the lagoon. The lime-leaf tea had even been picked from the garden…
