TM Republic of

CultureGrams
Kids Edition 2017 Fiji
Matanitu ko Viti

Fiji sits on the International Date Line (the imaginary line that runs from the North to the South Pole across the
surface of the earth and separates one calendar day from the next). On the island of Tavueni, a marker indicates
a spot where you can stand with one foot in the current day and the other foot in the day before!
Fiji was once known as the Cannibal Islands because the locals had reputations for being fierce warriors and
cannibals.
Fijian tradition holds that a coconut falling on you brings bad luck.
Fiji is one of the top surfing spots in the world.
Fijian water is famous around the world for its purity.
The Garden of the Sleeping Giant, north of Nadi, is home to more than two thousand different kinds of orchids.
According to Fijian legend, the great chief Lutunasobasoba led his people across the seas to the new land of Fiji.
Meke is a very popular traditional Fijian dance that combines dance with songs and storytelling.

Flag
The flag of Fiji was first flown on 10 October 1970. The flag includes the Union Jack
flag of the United Kingdom in the upper left-hand corner and the Fijian shield on the
outer half. The Union Jack represents Fijis ties to the United Kingdom, while the blue
background symbolizes the Pacific Ocean. The shield displays symbols of Fiji, including
sugarcane, bananas, a coconut palm, and the dove of peace.

National Image
The hibiscus is the national flower of Fiji. First introduced from Africa, this brightly
colored flower is used by Fijians in decorations and food as well as to make dyes and
medicine.

Land and Climate

Area (sq. mi.)

7,056
Area (sq. km.)
18,274

Fiji is an archipelago (island chain) made up of more than 300 islands. Only around 110
of the islands are inhabited. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand,
Fiji is just smaller than Israel or the state of New Jersey. The land is very mountainous,
made up of volcanic rock and surrounded by some of the most beautiful coral reefs in
the world. Some of the most famous are the Great Astrolabe Reef, Rainbow Reef, and

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Great Sea Reef. Tropical forests cover the southeastern sides of the islands, while the
northwestern sides are mostly dry, grassy plains. Sugarcane plantations are common in
the western part of Fiji. Most of the population lives on one of three main islands: Viti
Levu, Vanua Levu, and Taveuni. Viti Levu, meaning Big Fiji, is the third largest island
in the Pacific and home to the capital city of Suva. Bau, a small island east of Viti Levu,
is the ancestral home of the high chiefs of Fiji.

Fiji has a tropical climate, and there is very little change between seasons. It is warm
and humid year-round. The rainy season lasts from November to April, and cyclones
can tear through the islands from November to January. The average annual
temperature stays somewhere between 72 and 86F (2230C).

Population

Population
915,303

The largest cities are the capital of Suva, Lautoka, and Nadi, all of which are located on
the main island, Viti Levu. A little more than half of Fijians live in one of the main cities.
The rest are scattered across more than a hundred islands. Most of the population is
made up of native Fijians and Fiji-Indians. A small percentage is made up of other
Pacific Islanders, Chinese, and Europeans. Fijis population is a young one, with the
average age being 27 years old. Close to a third of the population is under the age of
15.

Language
Both English and Fijian are official languages in Fiji. Some people speak Hindustani, which in Fiji is called Fiji Bat or Fiji
Talk and is slightly different from the Hindustani spoken in India. The English that is spoken usually has some Fijian
and Hindustani words and phrases mixed in. Almost all Fijians are bilingual (able to speak two languages) or trilingual
(able to speak three languages). Most government and business matters are conducted in English, although outside of
the large cities it is done in Fijian. In Fijian, some letters are pronounced differently than in English. For example, the
letter b is said with an m sound before it like mbah, and a q is pronounced ngg.

Can You Say It in Fijian?

Hello Bula (MBOO-lah)
Good-bye Moce (MOE-they)
Please Kere kere (CARE-ee CARE-ee)
Thank you Vinaka (vee-NAH-kah)
Yes Io (EE-oh)
No Sega (SANG-ah)

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Religion

Source: The World Factbook 2017. Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency, 2017.
Most Fijians are Christian since the king of Fiji converted to Christianity in 1854. Almost half the population is
Protestant, and a smaller percentage is Roman Catholic. Around a third of the population is Hindu. Hindus believe
peace is found by living a good life. The remaining Fijians are Muslims, Sikhs, Buddhists, or are not religious. Almost
every village has a church or temple in a central location, and people attend church regularly. Most Hindu families have
a small shrine(holy place) in their homes for personal worship.

Time Line
1500 BC
1500 BC Early Polynesians settle what is now Fiji
AD 1000
AD 1634 Dutch explorer Abel Tasman becomes the first European to visit the
islands

1800
1822 European settlement begins at Levuka
1830s Christian missionaries arrive from the West

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1840s50s Chief Cakobau converts to Christianity and gains control of most of
western Fiji while Maafu from Tonga, another Christian convert,
controls the east

1868 Cakobau sells the city of Suva to an Australian company

1871 European settlers at Levuka organize a national government, and
Cakobau is named king of Fiji
1874 Fiji becomes a British colony

18751876 A measles epidemic kills one-third of the population; British forces and
Fijian chiefs put down a rebellion
1876 The Great Council of Chiefs is established
18791916 More than 60,000 indentured workers (workers who sign a contract to
work for a certain number of years in exchange for their passage to Fiji)
are brought from the Indian subcontinent to work on sugar plantations
1882 The capital is moved from Levuka to Suva
1900
1920 Fijians win the right to vote
1970 Fiji achieves independence
1987 The military stages a coup (government takeover) and several
countries stop sending aid to Fiji
1989 Thousands of ethnic Indians flee Fiji
1990 A new constitution is adopted giving native Fijians more political control
2000
2000 Businessman George Speight and retired major Ilisoni Ligairi stage a
coup, storm Parliament, and take the prime minister and his cabinet
hostage; Speight is later arrested

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2006 Military chief Frank Bainimarama stages a coup

2007 Bainimarama takes the role of temporary prime minister and

announces plans to hold elections in 2010; he later suspends the Great
Council of Chiefs after they refuse to support his government
2008 Bainimarama declares himself the chairman of the Great Council of
Chiefs
2014 The government unveils a new constitution; Bainimarama resigns
(quits) but is later elected prime minister
2016 Fiji declares a state of natural disaster after being hit by Cyclone
Winstonthe strongest cyclone ever recorded in the Southern
Hemisphere; Cyclone Winston leaves over 50,000 Fijians homeless;
the Fijian men's rugby sevens team wins the gold medal in the rugby
final of the Summer 2016 Olympic Gamesthe first Olympic medal in
Fiji's history
PRESENT

The Lapita
The first people to come to Fiji arrived thousands of years ago. They were Polynesian
sailors thought to have come from Southeast Asia, though there are no written records
of their journey. The descendants of these original settlers became known as the
Lapita. The Lapita were known for their pottery, which was decorated with complex
geometric designs. They built canoes, fished in the coastal waters, and left behind
petroglyphs (rock drawings) on nearby limestone cliffs.

Various other Polynesian groups came to the island in later years. They came from
what are now Tonga and Samoa, and they named the islands Viti. The different tribes
were led by chiefs who passed on their titles from father to son. Tribes lived together in
small communities and planted crops such as taro, or dalo (a root vegetable). They
went to war with each other regularly and occasionally achieved peace by arranging
marriages between members of different tribes.

European Arrivals
The first Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, came to the region in 1634. He was on his way
to Indonesia, and the descriptions he sent back home of fierce warriors and cannibals
kept other Europeans from venturing to Fiji for the next several decades. Eventually,
Captain James Cook landed on the islands in 1774. Other Europeans did not follow
until the 19th century, when sandalwood was discovered, and traders flocked to Fiji to
plunder the forests and sell the precious scented wood, which was used in carving and
cabinetmaking.

Soon, sailors from Australia, China, Europe, and the United States arrived. They traded
with the native Fijians, bringing guns and diseases along with their ships. An outbreak
of measles seriously reduced the Fijian population in the space of just a few years.
Christian missionaries came as well and began converting the native population. As
more and more outsiders made their way to Fiji, the native kingdoms banded together.
Chief Cakobau, from the small island of Bau, converted to Christianity and later united

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the tribes, organizing a confederation of chiefs. He later proclaimed himself king of Fiji.

British Colony
Cakobau soon ran into trouble governing, and he eventually arranged for Fiji to become
a British territory in 1874. The British began building sugar plantations, and they soon
brought in workers from India to labor on them. These workers were indentured,
meaning that in exchange for the government paying their passage to Fiji, they had to
sign contracts promising to work on the sugar plantations for a certain number of years.
Indentured workers were not treated very well and had very few rights. When the world
wars broke out in the 20th century, thousands of Fijian soldiers fought alongside the
Allies in the Solomon Islands and other places in the Pacific. They were known for their
particular skill in jungle warfare.

Independence
In 1970, exactly 96 years after the British took control of Fiji, it achieved independence.
The new government set up a constitution similar to the British one, and Fiji became a
part of the British Commonwealth (an organization made up of former British colonies).
Ratu Kamisese Mara, a hereditary chief, was the first Fijian prime minister. At this time,
the Indian population still did not have full voting rights, and tensions between the
Indians and the ethnic Fijians continued to be a problem. These problems came to a
head in 1987 when a new government took power. People disagreed over how much
power the chiefs should continue to have and how many important government
positions should go to ethnic Fijians and how many to Indians. People began
protesting, and some government offices were bombed.

Just a few weeks after the elections, Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka led two coups
(government takeovers). He set up a new government and set about making sure
ethnic Fijians had control. Rabuka eventually declared himself head of state and was
elected prime minister in 1992. In order to repair some of the damage he had done to
Fijis reputation with other countries, Rabuka promised to ease up on some of his
policies. A new constitution in 1998 restored full rights to Indians.

Modern Fiji
In 1999, Fiji saw its first Indian prime minister when Mahendra Chaudhry came to
power. The following year, however, rebels stormed Parliament and took Chaudhry and
other leaders hostage. The military took control of the country a few days later and
declared martial law (a government-declared emergency in which military forces
administer the law). For months, the rebels and the government tried to come to some
form of agreement. Eventually, the hostages were released, and the military set up a
temporary government until elections could be held. But in 2006, Commodore Frank
Bainimarama led another coup (government takeover) and made himself prime
minister. Bainimarama refused to hold elections. His government strictly controlled what
the media was allowed to publish and limited travel within the country for many Fijians.
Fiji has since created a new constitution, and Bainimarama was elected prime minister.

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Games and Sports

Fijians love sports. Rugby is the national sport, and Fijians of all ages love playing it
and watching the national team play teams from around the world. Rugby is similar to
American football and involves two teams of seven, ten, or fifteen players each. Each
team tries to score points by touching the ball down between the other teams goal
posts. The season lasts from April to September.

Surfing, scuba diving, and other water sports are particularly popular as well, and
people from around the world come to Fiji to dive and surf in the beautiful waters.
Volleyball is a favorite sport in the countryside, while soccer is popular among all
Fijians.

Holidays
Among Christians, Christmas is the most popular holiday in Fiji. Families go to church
on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day. The congregation sings carols along
with the choirs, and children look forward to opening presents and taking part in feasts
with their family and friends. Christmas Day is a day for having picnics at the beach.

Diwali is the Hindu festival of lights. On this moonless night, which usually falls
sometime in October or November, Hindus celebrate good triumphing over evil and
light over darkness. Families clean their homes and fill small clay pots or oil lamps in
preparation. Then they dress in their best clothes and share fruit, cake, and candies
with their friends and neighbors. They also make sure to leave some treats as an
offering for the goddess Lakshmi, believing that she visits the earth on this night and
enters the homes of those who are clean and have lit their lamps. People gather at the
local shrine(holy place) to offer prayers that evening. Children have red powder dusted
on their foreheads, while their mothers draw designs outside their doors for good luck.

Food
Fijians enjoy a wide variety of foods from all over the South Pacific, Asia, and the West.
Tropical fruits such as pineapples, bananas, and mangoes are found everywhere. Rice,
fresh fish, and baked or boiled root vegetables such as yams and cassava (similar to
tapioca) are eaten with many meals. Cabbage, eggplant, and taro (a leafy vegetable)
are common vegetables. In the villages, people usually eat meals with their hands while
sitting on a cloth mat on the floor.

For special occasions, such as a wedding or the formal introduction of a new chief,
villagers prepare a feast cooked in a lovo (earthen oven). A favorite dish cooked in a
lovo is palusami, which includes chicken mixed with onions, tomatoes, and coconut
cream, all wrapped up in banana leaves and packed under hot coals and stones in the
lovo. Indian and Chinese curries are also popular. Kids love to drink coconut water.

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Schools

Adult Literacy
93.7%

School is free but not required in Fiji. Most schools are run by local communities or religious groups. Boys and girls go
to class together, and each school has its own uniform. The school day begins at 8 a.m. and lasts until 2:30 p.m.
Students study English, Fijian, math, science, social studies, health, music and art, and physical education. Elementary
students have two breaks in their day: a short, 15- or 20-minute lunch around 10 a.m. and a longer, larger lunch from
12 to 1 p.m.

Elementary school lasts for six years, and secondary (high) school is another six years. In elementary school, students
learn in their native language or dialect (way of pronouncing or speaking). When they move on to secondary school,
most classes are taught in English. Fiji is home to a few universities, including the University of the South Pacific, which
is owned by several small island nations in the Pacific.

Life as a Kid
Kids in Fiji stay busy with school throughout the week and look forward to the
weekends, when they can relax and play. Saturdays are usually spent at the market
shopping with the whole family. After the shopping is completed, kids often go to a
beach and enjoy the tropical weather. Both boys and girls like to watch cartoons, read
comic books, play video games, listen to music, and play outdoor sports like rugby,
soccer, or netball (similar to basketball). On Sundays, kids join their families at a church
or a temple to pray. After the service is over, they like to go for a picnic with their
parents. Fijian kids often shower before dinner and then eat their meal before going to
bed for the night.

Government

Capital
Suva
Head of State
President George Konrote
Head of Government
Prime Minister Commodore Frank Bainimarama

The Fijian constitution states that the country is to be led by a president and a prime minister. The presidents role is
mostly an honorary one. The president used to ask for advice from the Great Council of Chiefs on whom to appoint to
the Senate, but the Council was done away with in 2012. The prime minister works with the parliament (lawmaking
body)to make laws and run the day-to-day affairs of the country. There are 50 members of parliament, who are elected
to servefour-year terms. The voting age is 18.

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Money and Economy

Currency
Fiji dollar

The majority of Fijians farm or fish to make their living. Farmers grow everything from
bananas and rice to coconuts, pineapples, and cassava (similar to tapioca). Sugar
processing was the main industry on the islands for many years. Fiji still sells much of
its sugar to European Union (EU) countries, but tourism also brings in a lot of money,
with hundreds of thousands of tourists coming every year. Many of them come from
nearby Australia and New Zealand, but others travel from as far away as the United
States. Fish processing (mostly tuna and mackerel) and lumber are other important
industries. The history of coups (government takeovers) in recent years has hurt Fijis
economy, and the EU has cut off aid until the government is more stable.

Getting Around
Open-air bus services cover most of the island and most people take them because
they do not cost very much and are usually on time. Not very many people own cars,
though taxis are common in the cities. Some of the taxis carry groups of passengers,
who then share the cost. Vehicles travel on the left side of the road like they do in the
United Kingdom. Ferries carry passengers back and forth between islands. Air Pacific is
the national airline. Several smaller airlines operate seaplanes within the country.

Yaqona Culture
Yaqona, or kava, is a plant in the pepper family. The word yaqona (pronounced
yang-GO-na) comes from the Fijian god Degei, whose name means from heaven to
the soil and through the earth. Legend states Degei gave his sons sacred plants to
help them learn wisdom. Yaqona was one of those plants, and the sons passed it on to
their friends and families. Today in Fiji, yaqona is the national drink and is made by
mixing water with the ground-up root and lower stem of the plant.

Yaqona drinking is a very important Fijian tradition or ceremony that brings people
together. People drink it for special occasions and to help settle arguments and make
peace, as well as when making business deals, laying the foundations of homes,
welcoming visitors, sending village members on journeys, and christening boats.
Offering yaqona is a sign of good will. The drink is a dark brown color, tastes bitter, and
often numbs your tongue and can make you feel relaxed. Yaqona is usually prepared in
a tanoa (special wood bowl) and poured into a bilo (coconut shell) to drink out of. The
plant itself is often bundled up and given as a gift or used as a decoration.

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Learn More
Contact the Embassy of Fiji, 1707 L Street NW, Suite 200, Washington, DC 20036; phone (202) 466-8320; web site
www.fijiembassydc.com. Or contact the Fiji Visitors Bureau, phone (310) 568-1616; web site www.fiji.travel.

TM

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