With the arrival of the Tongans and their Catholic missionaries to Fiji, a new era of civilisation was about to unfold. The birth of lotu, or Christianity, was to finally tame Fiji’s savage ways. The story of religion and worship begins on an isolated island in the southern Lau archipelago. We’re in Oneata and this is a Taste of Paradise…
On a visit to Suva last week, I was stopped by a Fijian man who loves the new show, but asked “How do you know so much of our history?” It was a reminder that Fiji’s pre-colonial history was not widely taught in school and the important role that broadcasters play in teaching it.
Fiji’s history provides the vehicle to tell the story of Lau, the Yasawas and Vanua Levu, and their links to a time and place when Fijians lived to a ripe old age, providing they didn’t contract disease from the Europeans. The remote outer islands provide a window into a Fiji that still hunts, gathers and enjoys a healthy ancestral diet and active life. The story of religion and the gradual acceptance of Christianity has its roots in tonight’s episode on Oneata Island.
The arrival of the Tongans to Fiji was not entirely a bad thing, as it opened the door to sending the first missionaries to Lakemba where Tongans outnumbered the Fijians. Converting the Tongan settlers was easier because their own country had embraced lotu decades earlier.
FIRST TAHITIN MISSIONARIES ARRIVE AT ONEATA
In 1830, at the height of the internecine wars, two Tahitian teachers from the London Missionary Society were dispatched to Fiji by the “Apostle of the Pacific”, Reverend John Williams, to help tame the heathens, according to historian R.A. Derrick. Initially arriving at Lakeba, Hanea and Atai eventually found themselves on Oneata and would become the first missionaries to a Fijian island. To say their job was difficult would be an enormous understatement.
Not speaking the Fijian dialect and with English still a foreign language, the men would only convert twenty villagers in their decade long mission on Oneata. How would have they attempted to explain the Scriptures when neither spoke their respective language and the Fijian alphabet was still years away from being developed? With powerful chiefs such as Ratu Tanoa relishing the thought of their next war and pillage, the missionaries would need all the help they could muster for their mission to succeed. Despite their struggles and miscommunication on Oneata, Christianity was to receive a boost upon the arrival of the first English missionaries.
FIRST EUROPEAN MISSIONARIES ARRIVE
In 1835, Wesleyan missionaries William Cross and David Cargill had arrived at Lakemba via Tonga with their families. Key to their successful mission was to quickly bridge the communications gap by learning the Fijian language. It was Cross who would eventually develop a system of orthography; the Romanisation of the native language and the creation of a Fijian alphabet.
As far as possible, the spelling was made phonetic so that most Fijian words would sound how they looked with the exception of the letters “d” and “b”, which do not appear in Fijian language unless preceeded with the letters “n” and “m”. So we can blame Cross for creating an alphabet that has Nadi pronounced “Nandi” and Bula is really “mBula”. If only we can educate tourists to say Denarau and not Denaroo; but that’s not Cross’ fault! The creation of an alphabet paved the way for the printing of the first book of Scriptures and a portion of St Matthew’s Gospel, making the English missionary’s job easier and better communicated.
THE LESSONS FROM ONEATA
Back on Oneata, the two Tahitians were later joined by another missionary, and the three were to continue their work for another 10 years before Hanea and Atai were to die dramatically, four days apart in 1846. A monument was erected in their memory at Dakuloa Village and despite their lack of success, Oneata is recognised as the first Fijian island to receive the Gospel of the Word of God.
Today Oneata is one of the growing number of islands that have become self sustaining, with much of their income derived from beche-de-mer, or sea cucumber, that are collected and dried for export to China as a highly prized aphrodisiac food. Some of that money was used to install solar power and build infrastructure in the village, helping to make the island less reliant on government funds and charity. The abundance of fruits, vegetables and lack of shops on Oneata means that villagers are forced to eat healthy. That’s not a bad thing but it will be the introduction of new recipes and sauces that will see an increase in their use to combat disease, and make cooking with fresh foods more appealing and more tasty!
Oneata holds a very special place in history for Fiji, as the birthplace of Christianity and the beginning of a long and difficulty road from one of war and darkness to one of peace and light. Join me tonight as I prepare a very different Sunday lunch with the elders, as I forage through the village garden to discover lots of fresh produce to create my special menu. With my trusty high pressure burner and a few sauces, the Oneata villagers got to experience their own island grown produce in completely new ways.
* Lance Seeto is the award winning chef based on Mana Island, and is Fiji Airway’s Culinary Ambassador and host of Fiji TV’s Taste of Paradise. Sunday 7.30pm only on Fiji One and online at tasteofparadise.tv
