About History & Culture, Fiji Islands

Fijians will hail you on the streets of Nadi and Suva and towns and villages in between, they will invite you to their native villages, and they will welcome you to their churches where song and music ring out above all else--for Fijians are nothing if not musical). On busy streets, in village markets, at home in their villages, many will be dressed in traditional garb. It is no show; it is the daily wear. Of course there are rousing events that tap into the culture, such as the kava ceremony in which you down a cloudy liquid to cement your welcome, but this is just as genuine. If you come to Fiji to throw yourself into the culture, fine; if what you most want is an exotic escape, a posh version of the deserted life Tom Hanks led in the movie "Castaway," which was filmed on a deserted Fiji island, then you’ve also come to the right place.

There are native villages scattered all across the islands. It’s an edifying experience, whether you are traveling as a couple or as a family, to pay a visit to at least one of them. Most villages on the main roads announce themselves with a series of speed bumps reminding you to slow down (80 kilometers, or about 50 mph, is the speed limit in Fiji). Organized tours can be arranged, but it may be just as satisfying to meet a Fijian villager and be taken home on a personal visit. At some, you’ll be able to buy hand-woven baskets and mats. Here and there are villages of traditional thatched cottages. The noblest structure--high peaked and set back from the others, on a village green--is occupied by the village chief. If you are admitted to his house for a kava ceremony or a short tete-a-tete, by all means accept. After ducking through the low door, you may be asked to sit down on the straw flooring opposite the chief. Talk as you would to any friendly respected personage, and don’t forget to greet the chief with a hearty ’Bula’.