Month: August 2013

Church Day in the Village (Fulaga, Fiji)

August 25, 2013

Sunday morning we met up with our friends from Bright Angel, Tiger, and Kailani on the beach before walking to the village. Before we got there, everyone made sure to put on their sulus (pictured below).

Everyone had gifts for their host families. Rich and I had put together an array of things in a nice cloth bag: chisels and sand paper (that Sake had mentioned he needed), a machete, chocolate chip cookies, a tube of antibiotic ointment (they can always use this in the villages), and a few other assorted goodies that we hoped they could enjoy.

The cruisers all sat together in the church, following along as best we could since the service was in Fijian. I don’t know what all the minister said, but it seems in their religion God gets pretty pissy, and since he’s not in attendance, the minister serves as his yelling representative. Perhaps someone should tell their God about Lexapro. Oh well, what can you do?

After church, Rich and I headed over to Sake and Ba’s home for a lunch feast. Everyone sat on the floor in front of a low table, and various dishes were served. We had different kinds of fish: one cooked with coconut milk and taro, the other in a sort of red sauce, and a fish curry with noodles. We also had sweet potato, cassava, a starchy item made with coconut flour, and a dish of giant clam. It was all pretty good, although frankly we could have done without the rubbery giant clam. We were urged to keep eating, and we complied, but thankfully they were gracious about letting us stop before we got explosively full. Some people (in any culture) are insistent that you eat until it’s gone or die trying.

We ate, we talked, and eventually it was time to go. I was given leftovers, which meant we’d have to come back to the village the next day to return the pot they came in. We planned to head to another anchorage tomorrow and this would delay us, but we couldn’t graciously refuse. (Note to other cruisers: bring your own containers in case you’re offered leftovers.)

We quietly walked back to the anchorage on our own, and I got to look around more than usual. The path was filled with darting swallows, while small black and white butterflies were abundant in the greenery. The sea is definitely the star attraction here, but the land is quite pretty, too.

Below, a gallery of photos from this day, including the group changing into sulus, Sake and Ba’s home, a few pictures around the village, the path back and our anchorage beach. –Cyndi (Click to enlarge and scroll).

A Neighborhood Dinghy Ride (Fulaga, Fiji)

August 24, 2013

There are so many areas in Fulaga to explore by dinghy, and a person could get lost among the little islands for days. We were about to take our first ride, and the choice was easy. We’d been swimming around the our pyramid motu and noticed that behind it was a maze of islands to explore.

And so we headed in, weaving amid the islets to different areas of the lagoon just north of our anchorage. The clusters of little islands, the clear aqua water, the sand spits and beaches make this place seems like something out of a dream. We’ve never seen anything like it, and already we’d would put it in the top four places we’ve seen on our cruise.

Below, a gallery of photos from our dinghy ride. (Click to enlarge and scroll). –Cyndi

Muana-i-cake Village (Fulaga, Fiji)

August 24, 2013

The walk to the village starts by the beach, going over a low hill to the other side, taking about 15 minutes or so. Once there, lush green vegetation gives way to a village with dirt paths, expanses of lawn and widely-spaced trees. Small tin-roof cottages are spaced along the paths, somewhat centered around the church building in the middle. It’s simple, clean, and well-landscaped. Behind the village is a long expanse of white beach that lines an impressive blue bay.

On the walk, we’d met our Turaga ni koro, Sake, and his wife, Ba, and they’d invited us over for lunch after church tomorrow. We’d hoped to avoid the whole church thing, but we didn’t feel we could gracefully turn down the offer. Church is important to Fijians, and the idea that someone might rather go snorkeling is an alien concept to them. Plus they’d invited us for lunch, and it would have felt rude to say no.

After a quick visit to Sake’s home, we followed him over to the chief’s bure (small home). We took off our shoes before entering, then sat on woven mats on the floor. The 85-year-old chef sat in front of us, and Sake sat near his side. Sake presented our kava and our $50 and translated for the Fijian-speaking chief, who thanked us for the offerings and coming and showing respect for their Fijian traditions. He welcomed us, and they completed the sort of chant-like speaking and clapping ritual. After the ceremony, there was some small talk before we all adjourned. Both Rich and I were pretty stiff-legged after sitting on the floor.

We were relieved our sevusevu had gone well, but in retrospect we needn’t have worried. We’ve since learned that Fijians are generally thrilled to have visitors, and as long as you bring kava and show the proper respect, you’re good. (Note: Another thing we’ve since learned is that kava drinking isn’t really a part of the average sevusevu ritual, but something that you may be invited back to do some evening if someone’s feeling chummy towards you.)

We headed to the beach afterwards, finding our friends. We were relieved to hear several cruisers would be joining us for church tomorrow; so we could go as a group. That made us feel more comfortable, especially since they’d also be doing lunches with local families. Rich and I were still insecure about interacting with the village, and we’d definitely feel more comfortable as a group.

For now, we walked on the beach, taking in the view and enjoying the company of some of the young women from the village. What beautiful, affectionate people they are. After our walk, we said our good-byes and headed back to Legacy. It was getting hot, and it was time for a swim!–Cyndi

Walking to the Village for Sevusevu (Fulaga, Fiji)

August 24, 2013

When you anchor near a traditional village in Fiji, you are obligated to do a sevusevu ceremony. This is a ritual ceremony of presenting kava – the root of a type of pepper tree – to the village chief before being accepted into the village, which in turn will give you permission to anchor, swim and snorkel in their bay and walk onshore.

This ritual entails several steps for the visitor:

1. Dressing modestly and covering your legs, generally with a sarong-like garment called a sulu. Guys can also opt for long pants (although we did see some guys get away with shorts).

2. Bringing 1/3 to 1/2 kilo of kava root to present to the chief. (This is sold in the open marketplaces in the cities and something you need to bring with you when you’re out cruising in Fiji.)

3. Going ashore, beaching your dinghy, and locating someone to serve as your Turaga ni koro (too-ran-ga nee koro): a village representative who will take you to the chief’s hut, make the introduction, and stay with you through the ceremony, helping translate if the chief doesn’t speak English.

4. Removing shoes, sunglasses, hats, etc. and sitting on the floor facing the chief (cross-legged for men, legs to the side for women). The Taraga ni koro or chief will ask you some questions, finding out some basic information about you. The Turaga ni koro presents the kava for you and the ceremony begins, basically with the chief and turaga ni koro doing a sort of chant interspersed by a series of claps. The kava is accepted, and thus so are you.

5. There may be some small talk for awhile, then you will be accompanied and given a tour of the village, or perhaps visit the school. Often you will be given some papaya, and you are welcome to return whenever you like. Depending on the village, you may be invited to someone’s home for tea or even a meal. If it’s near Sunday, you’ll be invited to church.

This is sevusevu in a nutshell, but the islands of the Lau group have an extra step. While they’ve done away with the special permits and big expense to come here, they do charge a fee. In Fulaga, along with the kava, you pay $50, which covers your boat and crew. (In the Northern Lau, you pay a per-person fee).

This would be our first sevusevu, and we were pretty intimated. Curly (the guy who gives the weekly seminar in Savusavu about cruising Fiji) had made this out to be a serious process, saying it’s not a given that you’ll be accepted. It would be pretty tragic to make the 2-day trip to get here and get rejected! We compensated for our insecurity with a large bundle of kava.

He also made it sound like you have to hunt around for a Taraga ni koro to represent you. In retrospect, we’ve found a Taraga ni koro is generally waiting for you when you come ashore. In Fulaga, it’s a bit different in that the village is not within view of the anchorage. Since they don’t see you’ve arrived, you actually do need to go find a representative. It wasn’t a problem, though, as Bob and Linda went with us to show us the way, and along the path we met a nice couple from the village who readily agreed to represent us.

Below a gallery showing the rock formations by the beach, a couple of views of the anchorage from shore, and the walk to the village. (Click to enlarge and scroll). –Cyndi