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.