THERE is a weight in Seci Waqawai’s eyes that is hard to ignore — they tell the story before he speaks.
“Something is not right,” he says, the heaviness in his voice tinged by decades of watching his surroundings shift.
At almost 70, he remembers a time when certain mussels and fish could be found in abundance in the rivers near Wailevu Village in Macuata where he grew up.
He also remembers a time when the land produced without struggle, and how the forest foretold the weather even before the clouds formed.
But those signs, he says, have faded over the years, replaced by changes that have now forced people to leave their ancestral grounds and relocate to safety.
Seci speaks with the wisdom of someone who has carried responsibility for his district. He served as mata ni tikina (district representative) for Wailevu and later as turaga ni koro (village headman), roles that required him to monitor land use, support decision-making and uphold the balance between people and their environment.
“Our elders had practices that might seem like a joke when we recall them today.
“When a visitor came to a village, they were asked to announce or introduce themselves. They would have to call out who they are – their name and where they come from, and there was a deeper meaning behind this.”
The land and waters you belong to recognise you. They know your voice and even your scent – it is that very connection between people and the environment that determines how the land produces.”
It is a belief he still holds, one he says framed how earlier generations farmed and moved through the forest.
“In earlier days, when logging companies used to come here, we would just give away our trees without thinking because we didn’t know their importance.
“We realised that all the activities happening in the valley — and now moving up into the mountains —are causing the disappearance of the things that enrich the land. These are insects, plants, trees, small organisms and local birds.”
In addition, Seci says they also observed the hills of Delaikoro, a water source for most of Vanua Levu, turn dry. The rivers changed, soil runoff collected on the riverbed and the waters no longer behaved in familiar ways.
He believes these challenges depict what happens when the connection between people and the land breaks down.
“When development enters, the relationship between people and the environment weakens. This creates a form of poverty and we start losing resources we once had.”
He says some of the current difficulties, from poor harvests, unreliable water sources, erosion, and disappearing food, stem from abandoning knowledge passed down by elders.
“When we start to face hardship, we must look for ways to bring back the abundance our ancestors once knew. I believe these must be revived and we can find a balance between them and modern practices to help us.”
“We have to stop practices like cutting down trees and burning without thinking. We need to plan better and factor in our planning how we protect the resources we have left. We need to be mindful of the changes in the health of our land,” he said.
