In the blog post: ‘Romanticizing Village Life’, published on 08.10.16, I had reminisced about the bounty of the sea and reflected on the annual visitations of shoals of small fishes: daniva and sara. I also commented on how village culture was necessarily adapting itself to welcoming and accommodating these annual visitations, specifically on how to…
Early Schooling was Fraught with Loneliness and Drudgery
In my blog post, ‘Benefit from the Exhibition Continues’, I referred to Dravuni Primary School (classes 1-4 only) and the kindergarten. These are learning institutions on the island that did not exist at the time when I was attending primary schooling. There certainly was no pre-schooling opportunity at the time. I attended Naqara District School…
Revisiting Romanticizing Village Life
‘Romanticizing Village Life’, published on 08.10.16, attracted thought-provoking comments from commentator Peni T. He identified and discussed the critical changes that are needed as far as indigenous Fijians are concerned, their communities and cultural/traditional structures. These changes are critical for the optimization of gains from development. I complimented him and offered some supporting thoughts of…
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…
Benefit from the Exhibition Continues
The exhibition: Dravuni – Sivia yani na Vunilagi – Beyond the Horizon closed on 10 October 2016 at the New Zealand Maritime Museum (NZMM) in Auckland. The benefit from it, however, continues to flow to the Dravuni community, especially to the primary school (classes 1-4) and to the kindergarten. Three boxes of much-needed school and…
Thinking of Once was the Heyday of Respectability
In an earlier blog published on 17.04.10: ‘Dravuni victorious at the Canoe Race during HM Queen Elizabeth’s Coronation Visit 1953’, I had marveled at the beauty and the picturesqueness of the largest number of outrigger canoes from Kadavu (similar to those pictured) that I had ever seen, when they were setting sail for Suva on…
Researching Livai Veilawa
As a member of the Fiji History Community, I have started to research my Grandfather Livai Veilawa. My initial enquiry has been: What was happening in Fiji, in the region and internationally, when my Grandfather Livai Veilawa entered the second half of the third decade of his life, with effect from 1914, and was seeking…
Re-visiting earlier blog post: ‘Livai Veilawa (Senior) joined Fiji Labour Corps – 1917-1919
This is a statement of intent (SOI) to re-visit an earlier blog post: “Livai Veilawa (Senior) joined Fiji Labour Corps (FLC) – 1917-1919” – published on 03/11/11, for the following reasons, viz: (i) to commemorate the hundred years of the FLC that left Fiji for Calais on 19 May 1917; (ii) this exercise is to…
Romanticizing Village Life
“There are commentators in Fiji’s media today that tend to romanticize village life. I beg to differ.” I wrote the above under the ‘About’ Page, referring to a picture of three Dravuni young men standing in the crystal sea and with the caption: “Having pushed the visitors’ boat out to sea after their fun-filled visit,…
To See a World in a Grain of Sand
The picture of ‘Children on the beach’ used in this blog’s ‘About‘ section carries the additional caption: “Their natural playground and the biggest sand pit at their leisure.” The corresponding text below it tantalizingly introduces the reader to two related experiences that the sand, sand pit and the beach in general conjure up in the…
2014 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2014 annual report for this blog. Here’s an excerpt: A New York City subway train holds 1,200 people. This blog was viewed about 3,900 times in 2014. If it were a NYC subway train, it would take about 3 trips to carry that many people. Click here to…
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…
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