FI INFIJI

 Hey there, Fiji joined us today Bloggets, so I wish to welcome them and hope they return again soon.

Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as formidable warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific, but not great sailors. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known.

art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled before or around 3500 to 1000 BC, although the question of Pacific migration still lingers. Across 1000 kilometres from east to west, Fiji has been a nation of many languages. Fiji's history was one of settlement but also of mobility. Over the centuries, a unique Fijian culture developed. Constant warfare and cannibalism between warring tribes were quite rampant and very much part of everyday life. During the 19^th century, Ratu Udre, who was a Chief.  

is said to have consumed 872 people and to have made a pile of stones to record his achievement. But, who counted the people he ate? We don’t count how many meals we eat, so I wonder if this is a general guess, though it is said that every  body he ate, he himself placed a stone and when he died, they were all placed next to his toom.

According to  Udre’s son, the chiefs of Rakiraki would go to the battlefield along with Udre Udre and they would each give him every body part of their victims, especially the head, preserving what he couldn’t eat in one sitting for consumption later.

Interestingly, if that was any western country and he were to do that now days, he would be jailed! According to Deryck Scarr ("A Short History of Fiji", 1984, page 3), "Ceremonial occasions saw freshly killed corpses piled up for eating. 'Eat me!' was a proper ritual greeting from a commoner to a chief." Scarr also reported that the posts that supported the chief's house or the priest's temple would have sacrificed bodies buried underneath them, with the rationale that the spirit of the ritually sacrificed person would invoke the gods to help support the structure, and "men were sacrificed whenever posts had to be renewed" (Scarr, page 3). Also, when a new boat, or drua, was launched, if it was not hauled over men as rollers, crushing them to death, "it would not be expected to float long" (Scarr, page 19). Fijians today regard those times as "na gauna ni tevoro" (time of the devil). The ferocity of the cannibal lifestyle deterred European sailors from going near Fijian waters, giving Fiji the name Cannibal Isles; in turn, Fiji was unknown to the rest of the outside world.

The British subjugated the islands as a colony in 1874, and the Brit Arthur Charles Hamilton, brought over Indian contract labourers  to work on the sugar plantations as the then governor and also the first governor of Fiji, labour and no interference in their culture and way of life. In 1875–76, an epidemic of measles killed over 40,000 Fijians, The population in 1942 was approximately 210,000 of whom 94,000 were Indians, 102,000 native Fijians, 2,000 Chinese and 5,000 Europeans.

The British granted Fiji independence in 1970. Democratic rule was interrupted by two Military coups

The climate in Fiji is tropical marine and warm most of the year round with minimal extremes. The warm season is from November to April and the cooler season lasts from May to October. Temperature in the cool season still averages 22 °C (72 °F).

palms line the beaches of Fiji

Fiji covers a total area of some 194,000 square kilometres (75,000 sq mi) of which around 10% is land.

Fiji's culture is a rich mosaic of Indigenous Fijian, Indo-Fijian, Asian and European traditions, comprising social polity, language, food (based mainly from the sea, plus casava, dalo (taro) & other vegetables), costume, belief systems, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance and sports.

Indigenous Fijian culture and tradition is very vibrant and is an integral component of everyday life for the majority of Fiji's population. However, Fijian society has also evolved over the past century with the introduction of more recent traditions, such as Indian and Chinese, as well as heavy influences from Europe and Fiji's Pacific neighbours – particularly Tonga and Samoa. Thus, the various cultures of Fiji have come together to create a unique multicultural national identity.^[

Fiji has a significant amount of tourism with the popular regions being Nadi, the Coral Coast, Denarau Island, and Mamanuca Islands. The biggest sources of international visitors by country are Australia, New Zealand and the USA.

Fiji's attraction is primarily because of its white sandy beaches and postcard perfect islands with all year round tropical weather. In general Fiji is a mid-range priced holiday/vacation destination with most of the accommodation in this range. It also has a variety of world class 5-star resorts and hotels.

Thanks to - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia