History and Culture | A visit to Fiji’s earliest human settlement

The people of Vusama Village in the district of Malomalo in Nadroga/Navosa are richly endowed with nature and history.

According to information passed down orally through countless generations, their ancestors were regarded as Fiji’s first traditional salt makers.

They produced salt by cooking seawater in large handmade clay pots and used it as a barterable commodity and traditional item of value.

Today, the saltwater wells that used to provide the raw material for salt production sit idle on the maqa, the expanse of mangrove mudflats located over a kilometre outside the village.

The barren brine pits remind villagers of the past and their former glory days.

In olden times, the area may have possibly been a region that bustled with activities.

But salt and salt making are not the only popular features of Vusama.

Archaeological excavation in Bourewa. Picture: WIKIEDUCATOR.ORG

A few kilometres from the village, adjacent to a beachfront on what is called the Rove peninsular, is a place villagers call Bourewa, believed to be the first place to be settled in Fiji before the birth of Christ.

In the local dialect, the word bourewa translates to two words, ‘bou’ meaning a bure post and ‘rewa’ meaning high rising.

“Bourewa was where we used to go to catch fish using fishing nets,” said former village headman, Saula Nadokonivalu.

The place rose to prominence in 2003 when local archaeologists led by University of the South Pacific professor, Patrick D. Nunn, discovered at Bourewa the oldest human settlement in Fiji.

Then, it was part of a sugarcane field.

Through radio carbon dating, experts believe Bourewa was established about 3100 years ago, that is, 1150 BC, on what was then a smallish island off the coast of Viti Levu.

That island has since joined the mainland.

According to Nunn the first people who arrived and settled at Bourewa had “probably travelled across at least 950 kilometres of open ocean from the islands of what we now call Vanuatu”.

“Attracted to Bourewa by its massive and pristine fringing coral reef, the people built stilt platforms across the inner reef and lived there for a few hundred years before the sea level fell and the amount of food obtainable from this reef declined,” Nunn said.

Why the Lapita people favoured living in structures built on stilts on the reef rather than simply living on one of the hills, 30-40 metres away, was a mystery that baffled Nunn and his team.

Vusama Village elders have no recollection of traditional dances (meke) or specific stories that explain how Bourewa came to be.

However, they said that according to old stories passed down from their ancestors, in the days canoes arrived at Vuda, smoke was first spotted rising from Bourewa, suggesting people already settled there.

“All those stories connected with the excavations and discoveries by Patrick Nunn and his team in 2003,” Ms Nadokonivalu said.

Nunn and his close colleagues, Sepeti Matararaba and Roselyn Kumar, spent six years excavating the Bourewa site.

In December 2008, through a grant from the Government of France, a series of six posters illustrating different aspects of the Bourewa discoveries were published and displayed at the 18th Annual Conference of the Pacific History Association in December 2008.

The Sunday Times team was invited to visit Bourewa in late August.

Bourewa is today covered by an undergrowth of shrubs and coastal trees.

The original settlers of Bourewa lived largely on seafood such as seashells and fish and were amazing potters.

In fact, pieces of pottery excavated from the area showed designs consistent with other Lapita settlements and potsherds.

They featured intricate repeated geometric patterns that occasionally included faces and figures.

The patterns were etched into the pots before firing with a comblike tool used to stamp designs into wet clay. Lapita pots were not formed using a potter’s wheel but by the use of bare hands.

Nunn’s archaeological team also found stones believed to be tools for “woodworking, shaping and smoothing”.

“That’s where the remains of a woman holding her child were dug out from,” Mr Nadokonivalu explained.

“Here a bowl of jewellery pieces was found.”

The early settlers of Bourewa seemed exceptional jewellery designers.

They made ‘bracelets’ and other jewellery using conus shells (which is suited for making rings and pendants), dilled beads and were able to carve shells and drill fine holes in them.

In January 2008, Matararaba discovered an upturned base of a pottery bowl and along both sides, in a parallel manner, was a line of three conus shells.

When he turned the bowl, he saw that it was filled with a collection of shell jewellery.

The excavators concluded the jewellery was a prised collection that had been deliberately buried, perhaps belonging to a Lapita princess.

Looking out to sea, one cannot stop wondering what lured the first settlers at Bourewa to chose the place.

“Was it the weather, the vegetation, an abundance of food, water source or the natural asthetics?” I asked myself.

Information gleaned from text on the Bourewa excavations between 2003 and 2009 trochus shells (tovu) and two local species of extinct clams or vasua were also found at Bourewa, suggesting they were exploited as sources of food protein by early settlers.

Note: This article was written using information sourced largely from the site https://patricknunn.org/ and interviews with Vusama elders.

• History being the subject it is, a group’s version of events may not be the same as that held by another group. When publishing one account, it is not our intention to cause division or to disrespect other oral traditions. Those with a different version can contact us so we can publish your account of history too — Editor.

https://www.fijitimes.com/history-and-culture-a-visit-to-fijis-earliest-human-settlement/

Why exploring Fiji’s tropical rainforest in Suva is for everyone

 Megan Watts swaps the hustle and bustle of Auckland for the rich rainforests of Fiji - and learns a few life lessons along the way.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/why-exploring-fijis-tropical-rainforest-in-suva-is-for-everyone/KPQZFTCA4VHMPGFYX4ISFIGIJA/

When I arrived at the Kila Eco Adventure Park in Suva - part of a day trip excursion on my P&O cruise - what I was expecting was a walk in the dense rainforest with a few landscape snaps to send to the family at home. What I wasn’t expecting was the longest zipline in Fiji and a 12-metre-high obstacle course - not for the faint of heart.

Unfortunately, my lovely tour group was riddled with back problems, knee pains and severe cases of nerves, leaving a helpless people-pleaser such as myself to brave the course by my lonesome - a task I would never take on if it weren’t for my unwavering dedication to journalism and constant fear of letting people down.

This was going to be great.

What I said “yes” to on a whim led to me being suited up with a helmet and harness, and a safety briefing, that included signing my rights away should I plummet to my death - or worse - embarrass myself extraordinarily.

So, with a big inhale and a few pats on the back, I mounted the ladder and climbed 12 metres up to gaze across the Kila rainforest. There truly is no better place to see tropical Fiji, I thought, before realising that I was, in fact, a very long way up.

Braving the obstacle course - one breath-catch at a time.

Within the next 30 minutes, I was balancing on logs, jumping off frighteningly high platforms, performing mini bungee jumps and facing my fears in the name of peer pressure.

Perhaps, the most shocking of tricks was climbing up one of the tallest ladders on the course and being told to “just step off” at the top, which saw me swing across the valley on a harness, scream like a foul-mouthed banshee and gain a rather large adrenaline rush while doing so.

Though the experience might not sound like it’s for everybody when visiting the tranquil shores of Suva, I couldn’t recommend it enough.

Not only did I win the respect and praise of my tour guide colleagues for days to come, but I truly felt that I could do anything. I was on top of the world, with my head in the sky. What’s more, I treated the rest of my trip around the Fiji islands with a sense of daring and wonder as a result.

The experience allowed me to see Fiji with new eyes and say yes to things I may have felt too scared to try if I hadn’t faced my fears on our first day in Suva. I now think that every trip should start with a 10-metre plummet, if not only for the plot, for the confidence.

A walk through the rainforest

We took the beaten track along the jungle paths. Photo / Supplied

As my adrenaline buzz wore off, we marched into the rainforest to discover what the 50 hectares of land that stretched before us had in store.

We took the beaten track along jungle paths and discovered waterfalls, the rare native flora and fauna of the region - including Fiji’s only linear botanic garden - and were treated to expansive valley and mountain views straight from a postcard.

We smelt sweet citrus lemon leaves, spicy pepper plants and cinnamon trees while gazing at the green paradise that sprawled on for acres.

Our tour guide educated us on the natural flora of the Kila rainforest. Photo / Supplied

The tour guides made the trek. Their immense knowledge of the inbound jungle and inherent connection to its offerings was a really special thing to see - we couldn’t have hoped for better mentors to teach us about the ways of the land.

They pointed out a potato-like fruit used by the locals to dye their hair brown. They showed us a plant that, when cut and boiled for 10 hours, could allegedly cure cancer. They had an understanding of the rainforest that was deeply ingrained in their Fijian heritage and expressed a perspective on life that was refreshing, particularly for someone who had escaped the hustle and bustle of Auckland for a change of pace.

I walked out of the jungle a changed woman with a thought that lingered long after my trip to Fiji - perhaps, life’s biggest lessons could be summed up by a few hours in the Kila rainforest.

I walked out of the jungle a changed woman. Photo / Supplied

Here is what I learnt: experiencing different cultures is a great way to connect to the world around you in a deeper sense. Listening to people and their stories is a privilege, for they show you parts of the world you couldn’t see by yourself. Surprises should be embraced and welcomed, they always make for good tales. A walk never fails to clear the mind and cleanse the soul.

And, most importantly, never be afraid to jump!

Megan Watts is a Lifestyle and Entertainment digital producer for the New Zealand Herald whose passions include honest journalism, star sign columns and doing things for the plot.

https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/why-exploring-fijis-tropical-rainforest-in-suva-is-for-everyone/KPQZFTCA4VHMPGFYX4ISFIGIJA/