Climate change is a significant global challenge that is affecting various regions, including island nations such as Fiji.
Rising sea levels, changing weather patterns, and extreme weather events pose significant threats to coastal communities.
Village relocation is one adaptive strategy that some communities in Fiji and other low-lying areas are considering in response to the impacts of climate change.
In Fiji, many villages are situated in coastal areas, making them particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise and extreme weather events such as cyclones.
Rising sea levels can lead to saltwater intrusion, affecting freshwater sources and agricultural land.
Cyclones and storms can cause extensive damage to infrastructure and homes.
As a response, some villages in Fiji are exploring the option of relocating to safer, more elevated areas to reduce their vulnerability to
climate-related risks.
However, village relocation is a complex and multifaceted challenge that involves various social, cultural, economic, and environmental
considerations.
Vunidogoloa Village was relocated in 2014 while Cogea Village in Bua was moved to a new location in 2022.
A new report titled, Culture-GenderRelocation Nexus in iTaukei Villages released recently sheds light on how the iTaukei culture can be affected when a relocation occurs.
The vanua has eyes
RELOCATION is a secular State intervention or response but stakeholders need to bear in mind that indigenous communities are spiritual people,” states the author of the report, Simione Sevudredre.
“There is always an awareness and connection that is part of their existence and must be foregrounded, acknowledged and respected. Moreso because many actors and stakeholders connected with climate induced relocation in the local scene are indigenous people who need to empathise and recognise this as it is enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People which the Fiji Cabinet adopted in March 2023.
“In the case of Vunidogoloa Village, stories from Vunidogoloa during the 2014 relocation recounted the case of the first truck to depart Vunidogoloa for the new site Kenani (from the Biblical story of new Canaan), the engine of the truck died when trying to ascend a hill. Elders said that the vanua was not pleased because proper itatau (departure protocols) were not observed for the vanua.
“In the case of Cogea Village, Wainunu, Bua, similarly, anecdotes from Cogea mention how their portable sawmill mysteriously refused to run when they had to mill timber for their new houses. In the eyes of the elders, they maintained that this was due to the vanua not being informed the traditional way. Only when their plans were articulated traditionally did their portable sawmill was up and running again.
Generic loss and voluntary immobility
Author Simione Sevudredre states when a community opts to not move despite increasing climatic risks to their homes and lives, it could be due to their conscious and sub conscious having the sinking feeling that it will be losing their traditional identity of the clan which is tethered to the geography and natural landscape, the values and ethics are also tied to the tangible and intangible aspects of the vanua, be it a grove of trees, a stone shrine, old habitation sites (koro makawa), old gravesites of forefathers.
“Some clans play roles as traditional elders to a senior chief, being relocated negates or diminishes the mana in their role as it is tied to the geography and natural ecosystem of the place.”
The beliefs and spirituality of the clan are both drawn and passed individually and collectively from the past.
This would include certain supernatural abilities (e.g. walking on fire, or healing), states Mr Sevudredre.
“For implementers of relocation, there is a critical need to develop an acute sensitivity about the vanua and its cultural, spiritual and social dimensions.”
Relocation is not about taking inanimate objects and placing them in a box.
It is about people who have cultural, spiritual and social layers tied to them as attachments to their vanua.
Sau or mana misalignment and its loss in today’s relocation context
The author states the indigenous spirituality holds that an individual or community’s notions of success, creativity and fate is influenced by the unseen.
“Nothing happens as a coincidence or by mistake. There are norms, values and relational aspects that must be constantly maintained, appealed or aligned to correctly in the unseen world before its consequence manifests in the physical world,” states Mr Sevudredre.
When this is maintained, the mana or sau stands (tu) tall like a communications tower emanating positivity (sau-tu).
If there is an imbalance or misalignment, negativity emanates.
The negativity causes the sau to teeter lashing out negativity called sau-ti.
“This negativity can range from simple malaise, physical and mental conditions to environmental catastrophes such as droughts, cyclones, pestilence, famine and deaths.”
Mana and sau are the indigenous parallels to the oriental ying/yang notions of duality that are held by indigenous people to impact both the seen and unseen world, states the author.
The itatau
When a whole village relocates it needs to leave in a culturally sensitive manner with the appropriate traditional protocols observed.
“This protocol is usually called na itatau. This departure protocol is part of iTaukei culture and spirituality,” states the author.
It is observed when a visitor is about to depart a host’s house or village when the purpose of the visit is over.
It is also when a person is about to leave his/her home or village for an indefinite time period.
“It is observed when a national sports team or delegation is about to depart Fiji. It is also the final speech a dying or aging parent or grandparent gives before they breathe their last.
“Implementing agencies need to recognise and be sensitive regarding departure protocols and consult with communities on their protocols.”
The influence of “lotu” on culture
Religion is not just a spiritual aspect, but often a central part of the Fijian way of life, influencing cultural practices, rituals, and social norms, states the author.
The vanua is of immense significance in Fiji.
In many traditional Fijian societies, land is not merely a commodity; it is part of their identity and heritage.
The concept of vanua includes land ownership, ancestral connections, and the responsibility to care for the land.
Land disputes and issues related to land ownership have been central to Fijian politics and social dynamics.
Lotu kei na vanua underscores the intertwining of these two critical aspects of Fijian life and culture.
It acknowledges that religion and the relationship to the land are interconnected and central to the Fijian way of life, shaping not only spiritual beliefs but also social, cultural, and political aspects of the society.
Lotu kei na vanua can also negatively impact traditional roles and responsibilities particularly certain Christian denominations bent on
demonising traditional culture or the vanua.
“Relocation must be done in a manner that accounts for the rebuilding of local livelihoods, with sustainable adaptation solutions that centres culture and the inputs of the women as dauniveisusu,” states Mr Sevudredre.
Good and sympathetic leadership is important for addressing the needs of the people.
“Leaders and chiefs of relocated communities have the mana/sau to make such decisions.”