“THIS (place) is very important. It’s a pity it’s not what it used to be,” said my two guides for the day.
The place they were referring to is the cultural centre at the Arts Village in Pacific Harbour, a 10 or so minute drive from Navua as you travel down the Queens Rd to Sigatoka.
Many will be familiar with Pacific Harbour and where it is but not all will know of the goings on, or from the perspective of some, the lack of it, at the cultural centre.
My two guides, Iosefo Kaliova and Dausiwa Mucunabitu, are two long-serving employees at the cultural centre.
When arranging to get some information about the cultural centre, those in the office had given me Siwa’s, (as Dausiwa is commonly known) number. When contacted, he said he would have someone else who outranked him in terms of years of service — inform me.
So it was — we sat in the cultural centre’s viewing pavilion on Wednesday morning. Iosefo and Siwa took turns with the sharing of information.
Iosefo started off by saying work at Pacific Harbour began in 1973. In 1975 work began at the site which is now known as the Arts Village. Work was done by PDC or the Pacific Harbour Development Company at the behest of a gentleman from Hawaii and another from mainland US, my guides recollected.
The cultural centre, Iosefo said, was opened on November 20, back in 1978. It was known as the Cultural Centre and Marketplace of Fiji.
Manoa Rasigatale came in with the idea to use the centre as a place in which traditional iTaukei knowledge could be preserved and shared. In the process of preservation, this unique body of knowledge could also be transmitted not only to tourists, but also to locals.
As we sat in the pavilion, the chief’s residence is clearly visible across the moat on the man-made island which is named Na i tekivu (In the beginning). It is on a hill slightly to the left of the pavilion.
The bure kalou, or the temple in which the priest used to communicate with the tribe’s ancestral god is now no more. It used to also sit on a small hill straight across the moat from the pavilion. As the hill rolls down to the moat, there’s some space on flat land just beside the water.
“This is where we have the war sketch,” said Siwa as he took up the story. It is between two “chiefs” using clubs. One dies and his body is taken away.
“As that is happening, another warrior rushes into the front of the pavilion and issues a challenge. This is accepted by the “winner” of the previous skirmish and the challenger plunges into the water to do battle on the other side.
“Eventually, the winner from the previous contest prevails. As the “body” of the loser is taken away, the winner rushes to the pavilion to claim his “prize”.
Siwa, who is the turaga ni koro or village headman at the centre, said this “prize” was usually a tourist who would be then informed she would not be returning to her homeland as she had been won in battle. It has happened that this piece of news is not well received by the “prize” not realising this is an enactment of what transpired in Fiji prior to the arrival of Westerners and the enlightening influence of the Gospel and education.
All this together with traditional dances or meke, usually takes an hour.
As part of his contribution, Iosefo who is a tour guide at the centre said, when a group of tourists who had booked arrived at the centre, they were greeted by a group singing a welcome song.
The arrival of the visitors is also heralded by the beating of the lali and the blowing of the conch shell or davui.
There is then a 45-minute shopping excursion to the various outlets within the shopping complex at the Arts Village.
They said when there was a change in ownership, tourists were allowed to walk through the island on guided tours. Previously, they were taken around the island in a boat. This would usually take an hour.
The boat’s first stop was just past the drawbridge connecting the island and the pavilion side to allow for the guide to get on. He has last-minute instructions from the priest, who is perched on top of a boulder, to present to the visitors the facts of how our iTaukei ancestors existed. There are several stops around the island. Each depicts one aspect of life in an iTaukei village.
The first stop is at a bure housing some weavers. Visitors are shown the pandanus plant whose leaves are used to weave mats. There is another small island close by on which grows the kuta. This grass is also used for mats. Beside the bure is a plant used as a dye to darken the pandanus leaves to produce somo, the dark coloured strips used alongside the fairer strips to produce patterns on a mat.
At the next bure, visitors get to see traditional boatbuilders at work.
They then get to see potters at work. While some are fashioning pieces from the clay, some are engaged in the firing of the pots and other vessels being produced.
After the firing, the pieces are then glazed with makadre (resin from the dakua tree) to give them their shiny look.
There is a lololo or a small hut in which the fruits of the yearly crop, usually yams, are stored. Asked on whether these fall prey to rats, the guides replied that rodents are kept away by the use of charcoal.
Given that we all have to eat, next up there is a kitchen. Not far from it is the workshop where traditional craftsmen ply their trade.
There is also a bure dedicated to the plant of life in the Pacific, the coconut tree. In it, visitors get to see the various uses of the coconut, not only the shell and the flesh, but also the other parts of this tree.
In the chief’s house, they are treated to a traditional welcome ceremony as they witness the presentation of a sevusevu.
Also while still in the chief’s residence they get to see what happens when things go wrong. A messenger arrives and the tidings which he bears are not pleasant to the chief. In return he is clubbed.
Throughout this trip everything which visitors see must be of indigenous origin. Siwa and Iosefo both said care was taken so that there wasn’t a stray piece of plastic lying about.
As visitors are ferried from stop to stop and hearing about life in the Fiji of old, they come across men in small canoes returning from fetching firewood who sing a vakalutuivoce, an unaccompanied chant. Women can also be seen using oranges as juggling aids.
Visitors also have the option of a full-day tour. This can be with or without lunch.
Those who opt for lunch are then invited to partake in preparation of their lunch which is cooked in an earth oven or lovo. After the covers of the lovo have been lifted and its contents shared by the visitors, there is an hour of shopping at the Arts Village.
They then return to the pavilion to watch several meke and see men walking on hot stones or as it is known in the iTaukei language, the vila which is short for vilavilairevo.
Visitors on a full-day tour pay $60.
Those on a full-day tour but have prepared their own lunch can eat this at the Yatu Lau beach which is just across the road from the Arts Village.
Iosefo and Siwa said schoolchildren also visited the centre as part of their end-of-the-year trip. Schools from the maritime area, among them children from the Yasawa Group and Moturiki in Lomaiviti, had visited the centre.
The two guides said teachers and children alike would, after the tour, tell them of their being grateful to have taken the time to visit the centre.
Children pay $10 each and teachers and whoever else is accompanying them also pay $10.
Iosefo said the late prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi, visited the centre when she visited Fiji in 1981.
As we parted ways, the two men who are now employees of Yatu Lau Company Limited which now owns the shopping complex and cultural centre, said they hoped for the return of the day when there would, once again, be boat tours around Na i tekivu Island.
Until that happens, they will continue doing their bit to show visitors to our shores what life was like in our island home.
