Degei
In the book Creation Myths of Fiji by John Black, in the beginning there was only water and twilight everywhere. Only the island of the gods existed. The god Degei existed with a female hawk named Turukawa. She could not speak, but spent her time flying around the earth. It is said Turukawa laid two eggs which Degei found and took it for himself. Degei made a bed and kept them warm with his body. When the eggs hatched, two tiny human beings came out. He built a shelter, fed them and raised them as his own children. He planted trees around them so they could find food. Degei showed them how to harness the power of the fire to cook dalo and yam— the food of the gods.
According to the legend, Degei then established the first village in Fiji, Viseisei Village. He himself is said to have gone into the mountain ranges of Nakauvadra where he is said to be living in a cave.
Dakuwaqa
The legend of Dakuwaqa, the ancient shark god and supreme protector of the province of Cakaudrove and its paramount chief, the Tui Cakau has been passed on from generation to generation. The village of Rukua in Beqa has a cave where Dakuwaqa once lived with his two daughters. According to old stories, Dakuwaqa was formerly called Cakaubalavu, the leader of the village’s gonedau or fishermen’s clan. One day Cakaubalavu and his men went on a fishing trip. As was the tradition then, a special dish of qalu (a dessert made from grated root crops and coconut milk syrup) was prepared and wrapped in banana leaves for them. Upon their return, Cakaubalavu and his fellow fishermen learned that the qalu that was reserved for them had been eaten up.
Cakaubalavu went into a fit of rage and dived into the sea. He overturned three times before transforming into a shark.
Resentful of how he was treated with disrespect, Cakaubalavu vowed to leave Beqa together with his fellow traditional fishermen in search of another land. He finally reached Taveuni. In the village of Buca, Natewa in the province of Cakaudrove, age-old stories of how Dakuwaqa was born in Natewa territory are still alive among the conversations and storytelling of the elderly.
The Floating Island
Outside the village of Waqadrua in Macuata is one of the province’s natural wonders – the floating island.
Legend has it that floating islands were once used by ancestral gods for long distance traveling.
While supernatural beings in other cultures used carpets and brooms to travel, according to story books, the gods of the vanua Nubu used waqa qele or earthen boats.
During olden days the lake was connected to the open sea through a mysterious river passage that only ancestral gods mastered well.
The earth boats served as vessels for ancestors of the people of Nubu, which they used to travel in while trading, going on fishing safaris and waging war against enemy tribes.
Growing Snake Stone
The Naag Mandir, a few kilometres outside Labasa Town, is home to the famous growing snake stone.
It is believed the stone was first worshiped by a man named Algu at the same place where the impressive Hindu temple now stands.
While rock scientists agreed rock can become bigger, heavier and taller, incremental changes takes thousands and millions of years. This makes the growing rocks of Nagigi and Nukuloa a baffling phenomenon. Believers from all over the world flock to the Labasa site each year for prayers and blessings, making the stone a popular place of religious pilgrimage.
To prove its growth, devotees say the temple roof has been extended a few times to house the burgeoning stone formation which looks like a snake head.
