Please allow me to contribute to the discussion on the origin of the place — name Nadi.
The idea that it originates from Hindi nadi meaning”‘river” can be discounted in view of the fact that the name existed long before the arrival of Hindi speakers in the country.
The earliest record I have found dates to 1827, when the French explorer Dumont d’Urville recorded it as “Onandi”, in a list of place names given to him by the chief of Nadroga.
The second suggestion, that it is connected with the local word for richness of crab meat, goes against principles of place-naming, one of which is that places are usually named after a more-or-less permanent feature of the landscape, or occasionally a large artefact.
My own belief is that it reflects a Proto Central Pacific (language of the Lapita settlers) word nadi meaning “flint”, or some similar rock suitable for cutting.
Whether or not it is the original name of the place is debatable, since there are oral traditions stating that the Tui Nadi originated from Kubulau in Bua, Vanua Levu, where the name survives in the village name Nadivakarua. Perhaps this could be supported or otherwise by someone who knows more than I do about where flint is found in abundance.
