Personal Kaleidoscope

After living in Suva for 3.5 weeks, it is quite peculiar that I have never felt that Suva is a foreign place at all. Everything is very familiar and similar to what I have seen back home in Indonesia. I grew up in the vastly-developing capital city, Jakarta. Social classes and income gap in Jakarta was, is, very wide that you can find everything from Chinese made coarse cloth to the top-notch haute couture gown from Valentino. Since I was young I have been spoiled with western exposure, particularly children entertainment. After I got into university, I just realized that the impact of globalization is very strong on me.

Strolling over the CBD area streets of Suva feels like walking on the lower-middle shopping areas in Jakarta or any other smaller cities in Java. From my view, Suva has, indeed, been influenced by globalization. This could be seen from the amount of imported products available in the market. Shops full of Chinese imported products, hectic and crowded pavements, heat and humidity, and distinctive ways of interaction. I cannot really explain the last bit but the similarities are indeed visible. However, since Suva and Jakarta are incomparable in terms of size, it is plausible that Suva only resembles some parts of Jakarta. Suva is indeed on a stage of development that Jakarta once had been. At first, I was questioning why the Suva is not as susceptible as Jakarta.

However, after 3 weeks living in Fiji I understand that Fiji has a strong traditional culture base. Jamba, kava, and strict family protocols are common conversation topics for me and the Fijians. Most of the people in the Suva are still having roles in their villages, such as Master Lai, the director of Fiji Arts Council, is still have a responsibility to continue the family tradition as the chief of the village. This is uncommon in Jakarta although I know a family that is still continuing the chief tradition in one of the village in Padang, Sumatra. I can say that the strong cultural root slows down the penetration process of globalization in Fiji—as the society demands both global advancements and local solidity.

Thanks to the Fijian, I am now respecting my cultural root more than ever.

The Tale of Molituva

Last Wednesday I went to Molituva to see the workshop project of the arts council. I met two same trainers with the one in Kaba, the ladies were giving trainings on weaving mats (tali ibe) and screen painting. Semi, the marketing officer of FAC, told me that they have an ecotourism site in Molituva, I was interested in it so he asked the chief’s son to guide us because only with permission from people of the village (or tribe) outsider can enter the site. Thus, Semi and son of the chief guide us for a brief tour of the old village.

Molituvu Tribal Village, Kuku community based tourism project was officially launched in 2009. It was an old village of indigenous cannibal Fijian prior to the age of Christianity; as they call it ‘the dark times’. The story about their old ring ditch fortified village was on a TV program called ‘Na Noda Gauna’.

The old village of Molituva had 4 rings of protection of ditches filled with spikes made from bamboo. Apparently, enemy might come anytime and the people had always to be on guard. Like any other villages in Fiji, Molituva also composed of different roles of people; each role had its own area in the village. Thus, Hester, Yifan and I walk through the areas of the Chief, Spokesperson, and Warriors which were mostly covered with tombs.

The guide was also telling us about some mystical, supernatural, experiences and local beliefs of the village. There was a magical bamboo tree that has a static size; it is taboo to cut the tree. The locals believe that if someone cut the tree, his/her daughter will be lack of skin melanin or albino. This happened few years ago when someone cut the tree and his daughter is now albino. The guide also forbid us to go to the old spokesperson area because they believe if someone surpass the area without permission from people of the tribe the person will be affected by skin disease. The last one was a sacred tomb of a premature baby; the baby died soon after it was labored and no one was allowed to go to the area. Three years ago someone accidentally walk through the tomb and he was not able to stand, so he was crawling until the chief of the village presented a sevusevu ceremony to ask for forgiveness from the spirit. The site closes at 12am and 6pm because during those hours the atmosphere of the place changes; become more humid and spooky—Semi said it was ‘uncomfortable’.

The ecotourism site was nice and clean, Hester, Yifan and I enjoyed our brief tour so much. Few days later I interviewed Semi about his past work experiences for the FAC website. Surprisingly, he was the one who discovered the potential of the ring ditches of Molituva to be an ecotourism site. I was impressed with the development through culture approach of the village—to preserve and to promote.

Molituva reminds me of various tourism sites in Indonesia which also embodies supernatural and local belief. The tombs of Walisongo (Wali means guardian and Songo or Sanga means nine), the nine most influential saints of Islam in Indonesia, particularly in the island of Java. The members of Walisongo were buried throughout Java. I have been to some graves of Walisanga and just like Molituva they also full of supernatural and metaphysical tales. The locals (and numerous domestic tourists) belief that the Walisongo were the 'Friends of God' so if they pray and ask for something it would be come true. I always thought that this is very normal practice in Indonesia. However, after I converted to Islam this fact became interesting because this is certainly not inline with the islamic teaching which requires a Muslim to pray directly to God. This might be the case of varied interpretation of the Koran (Al-Qur'an) and Islam itself. This is a very sensitive issue as people are bias and very judgmental--A belief can be stronger than the thing itself.

*my camera charger is hiding somewhere in the lodge, I will post the pictures ASAP after I charged my camera

Fiji Arts Council

Fiji Arts Council (FAC) was established in 1964 as a charity organization focuses on the preservation, development, and promotion of all art forms particularly visual and performing arts. It is one of three heritage agencies under the Ministry of Education National Heritage, Culture and Arts. FAC has a small, artsy, office filled with artworks and crafts from all over Fiji. FAC runs annual artwork competition and keep the winners pieces. So, in an instant I can see the best artwork and crafts of Fiji.

FAC manages several cultural festivals and exhibitions such as the Wasawasa and Hibiscus Festivals. It also works with UNESCO on some long-term projects such as Education for Sustainable Education (ESD) and Living Human Treasures (LHT). In addition to that FAC also supports the only professional traditional Fijian performers from the Fiji Conservatorium of Music (COM). The group has been travelling the globe to perform in several festivals and events. They were all very nice and exciting.

My favorite artwork, apparently, it is as old as me

After two weeks of interning, I have become familiar with the loud music from one of the store on the street (most of the time Indian music) and relax (yet sleepy) atmosphere of the office. Despite the importance of FAC as one of the mains culture preservation institution in Fiji, FAC has a small number of staffs who were loaded with massive projects and multiple roles. I am working with Yi Fan on the FAC website. The website has not officially launched yet so updates were flexible. We were planning to put new pages and load it with important information about FAC such as the staff profile, projects, and news. At first, we wanted to set an online shop with Paypal as the payment system, but apparently Paypal does not accept Fijian Banks and currency.

Views from the office

The other exciting part was choosing where to go for lunch. As I spent the first week of eating curry and roti so I wanted something new, particularly Asian and Fijian delicacies.

The Drua

My fourth day in the Fiji was very exciting. Selai, the coordinator of our internship program, set a new role for me as the photographer of the Fiji Arts Council (FAC) for Mataisau Talanoa (Discussion of the hereditary boat builders) event at the University of South Pacific (USP). The event was hosted by Fiji Island Voyaging Society in association with the Oceania Centre for Arts, Culture and Pacific Studies at the USP. The Mataisau are indigenous boat builder of the pacific, Drua.

Drua model

Drua is a double-hull sailing boat (although also translated as canoe) and known as the fastest boat in Oceania. The Fijians say that it is still the fastest canoe/boat in the world. It has a unique U-shape symmetric hulls and use magimagi (a string made of coconut husk) to keep the parts intact instead of nails. I was very impressed with the technology. Fiji is surrounded by water and has small landmass, thus the geographic characteristic supports the development of maritime technology.

A man drinking Kava served in coconut shell

The relax session

Ana's note

 Mataisau Talanoa is a rare event in Fijian history, I was very excited. A team of researchers from USP and Voyager Society crew conducted a thorough research on indigenous knowledge of the Drua. They gather the elders or descendants of legendary Drua makers from Lau Province. Lau Province is located quite far from Suva and is formed of approximately a hundred of islands and islets. Thus, it was a knowledge transfer session from the Drua makers to the researchers and Voyager Society. The session was in full Fijian, I was thankful Ana was sitting beside me and willing to explain the whole discussion. Only certain people from Lau can make the Drua because of its complicated features. The discussion mainly covers techniques, material, preparation and also some suggestions in building the Drua.

The discussion was relax and flexible; involving lots of Kava, laughs, and music. Every 15-20 minutes of conversation, one of the elder would ask for another bowl of Kava or music. The music was played by a group of Fijians with ukulele and guitar. The knowledge transfer process was in oral form, Nikki told me that it is a common traditional way of knowledge transfer in the pacific. From my point of view, this was not a typical ‘serious and important discussion’. However, the relax atmosphere helped to maintain the convenience of the people so that the transfer of knowledge was smooth. This is a new spectrum for me, as ‘important’ is commonly associated with ‘nervousness’. I also noticed that the indigenous Fijian has a very strong culture embodied in the modern Fijian society.

Colorful Edge

The Screening

The other interesting part of the event was the screening of the recent sail video by the Voyager Society, called Maiden Voyage. Apparently, it was a preview of the sail movie. I am looking forward to watch the whole movie.

My first fijian meal

USP Campus

Sometimes I regret I don’t have sufficient background in pacific studies, but I think I got better insights by learning it on the spot; by directly interacting with the people and environment. After being transferred from one institution to the other for 3 times, I got the idea that this is not Australia and I have been using my Indonesian ‘go with the flow’ way to expect surprises rather than actual things. It is a very flexible and relax way of living, mostly influenced by my religion and beliefs of existence of Supreme Being who controls my life. Just go with the flow and grab every opportunity available, in the same time you have to always be prepared to grab the opportunity. This is how ‘not knowing’ become very interesting.

The keyword is curiosity.

The Orientation Day

People from Fiji Arts Council and students of Fiji Conservatory of Music came for a short cultural briefing. One of the students, Jeff, explained some basic local manners for the suva suva ceremony that we were going to attend. For example, sulou, we have to bend or bow when we walk through people and said tulou (excuse me) and clap three times after we sit down. This reminds me of a conservative Javanese custom, where we have to bend whenever we want to walk through sitting people during ceremonies or events.

The ceremony was held at the Fiji Museum. I have never seen any pacific ceremonies before so it was a very interesting experience. The ceremony was presented by the students from the conservatory of Music, they were dancing (meke) and singing. I found that the songs are similar to catholic gospel songs. It was very fascinating. The main item in the ceremony is Kava (traditional alcohol drink) made from the root of Kava plant.

The male dance is more energetic than the female dance; I recorded some parts of both dances. The dancers are wearing Masi (internationally known as Tapa cloth) made from bark of tree. It was traditionally used for clothing but the modern Fiji people are now using cotton or any other textiles.

The Choir

After the ceremony and performances done, we were separated into groups based on our placements. I was assigned to the Fiji Museum, so I sat together with Jia Kai, Lauren and the representative from the museum. The food was nice and they also, surprisingly, served milo.

During the tea time, the performers were playing Fijian music and asked all of us to dance.

Then we went to the Flea market to get some Jamba (female traditional clothes) and Sulu (male traditional clothes).

Hester was measured

fascinating view from Tappoo City Mall foodcourt

Note: I recorded some videos of the ceremony, performances, and the dancing session but the file size is too big, for my current internet speed.

Blackberry and Rugby

We spent the second day to shop all the basic needs to work such as the mobile broadband, phone credits, and also some modest clothes to go to the Welcoming Suva Suva (Kava) Ceremony on the next day. I realized that Vodafone is a major cellular provider in Fiji with its massive advertisements and number of stores. It is also the only blackberry internet service provider in Fiji, which I found is interesting. The ones in Indonesia and Australia are focusing on the use of blackberry as a business gadget. However, the Fiji blackberry advertisement focuses on lifestyle; it mentioned zumba and young people dancing as the background. I think this reflects the relax lifestyle of the Fijian people that Vodafone decided to target lifestyle more than business needs.

The only reading I have partially done before the departure was We Are Fiji by Cattermole (2008). Therefore, I was aware that Fijians are very fond of their national sport—Rugby or Sevens. Staying in Fiji definitely helps me to understand the reading. I saw some advertisements featuring Rugby on the Air Pacific in-flight magazine, the ANZ board at the airport, and Vodafone television commercial. Our host also couldn’t stop talking about the winning of the Fijian team in the Gold Coast Sevens Fever Pitch tournament few days ago.

I lost my vodafone blackberry flyer and I can't find it on google, but I will post it once I got another one :)

The Departure

Canberra was pouring when I hopped into my bus at the Jolimont Station and it was raining all the way to Sydney. Sydney Airport was hectic as usual, however, I didn’t expect the longest line to check-in was for my flight to Nadi. There were a lot of young families, couples, and, possibly, schoolies queuing. The flight was better than expected as Air Pacific offers private multimedia entertainment. I have never been to Nadi before so I did not expect it to be as familiar as it was. The modest airport, long tourist lines, taxi offers and humidity all reminds me of Bali or any other local airports in Indonesia. The noticeable differences were the language and people, not to mention the singing Fijian waiting for us in the arrival hall. It was both familiar and foreign for me.

I’m glad Nikki had already arranged taxi for us to go to Suva because it was already dark when I, Elise, and Elle finally managed to get out of the airport after the long immigration queue. Suva is four to five hours drive from Nadi if we follow the maximum speed limit. However, as expected and been told by Kati, the taxi drivers was speeding. He pointed at the speeding limit sign on the road and said ‘We will get in Suva at 3 AM if we follow that sign’. This sounds very familiar.

We were all relieved when the taxi finally reached Colonial Lodge in Suva.

Finally.