My previous post, Volcanoes and Legends: Part 2, linked volcanic activities on Vanuakula Island, west of Dravuni, to its own legend of Ravouvou and Raluve iVanuakula. My narration of the legend is contained under Legends. The legend has it that when Naitotokowalu’s waqa titi (sailing craft) arrived back on Dravuni, after Naitotokowalu (the vu of…
Category: Dravuni Legends
Solo Lighthouse: Beams light to ward off mariners from its treacherous rocks; hides secrets from the past
Solo Lighthouse was built in 1888. The lighthouse stands on a massive rock surrounded by the circular Solo Reef, also known as the North Astrolabe Reef, adjacent to the Great Astrolabe Reef and Lagoon. The Solo Reef is actually the crater of a distinctive volcanic system, now extinct, and the massive rock in its centre…
History in the Making in Children’s Books Soon to be Published
Previous blog posts: “Benefit from the Exhibition Continues,” published on 12.02.17; “The Legend Abridged,” published on 15.04.17; and “Reviving the Dravuni Dialect,” published on 14.12.17, all referred to the various developmental phases of this book project – in English and in the Dravuni dialect, written for children between 7-10 years old. The books’ titles are:…
Reviving the Dravuni Dialect
In the previous blog post, “Benefit from the Exhibition Continues,” published on 12.02.17, had referred to the two planned publications arising from the ‘Dravuni: Sivia yani na Vunilagi – Beyond the Horizon’ exhibition. The illustrated publications are based on the legend: ‘Tanovo and Tautaumolau’. The Dravuni children provide the illustrations. The publications are essentially children’s…
Re-visiting ‘My Origin Story’
‘My Origin Story’ narrates the first settlement of Dravuni Island by Ravuravu and his clan members. Ravuravu and his entourage started their long journey of land/island settlement from the foothills of the Medrausucu Range in what is part of Naitasiri Province today. My Origin Story does not proceed beyond that point. It ends there. As…
The Tale of Ravouvou and Raluve iVanuakula
The news of Raluve iVanuakula‘s beauty spread to all corners of Fiji and even to the royal courts of the King of Tonga. The King was very impressed and wanted the young beauty to be the bride of his prince. Tongan warriors kidnapped Raluve iVanuakula and took her forcibly to the Kingdom for the grand…
The legend of Taunovo and Tautaumolau
The first post in the Legends section is about Taunovo and Tautaumolau, two vu of Kadavu… Peeved at seeing his own mountain, Uluisolo, being dwarfed by Delainabukelevu (Mt. Washington), Taunovo set out to make amends to poach soil and rocks from the latter and lower its height. Tautaumolau was equally peeved by this intrusion into his…
kaidravuni 