Fijian Firewalking

Fijian Firewalkers

Fiji Firewalkers explores Fiji's people, land and culture, with a special emphasis on the legendary firewalkers of Beqa Island. They perform the ancient rituals of the firewalking ceremony in the Fijian culture. This ancient religious ceremony often requires great strength and discipline of the mind, body and spirit. Followed by firewalking there is the meke, and a must have yaqona (national beverage – kava) ceremony which signifies sharing a bowl creates an invisible bond between the participants. Meke is a communal dance/theater combing singing, chanting and drumming. These three subcultures are interlaced by one another and woven tightly into the fabric of the Fijian culture.

The Island of Beqa is the home of the firewalkers, which is located off the Pacific Harbour Bay of Viti Levu, the largest island in Fiji islands. Members of the Sawau Tribe of Beqa have for over 300 years been passed the uncanny ability to walk on scorching rocks from their forefathers. The firewalkers consist of several male chosen from each village. Before the firewalking ceremony they are to observe for two weeks two strict rules, which are there must be no contact with women and eating coconuts is forbidden, so that they do not have severe burns to their feet. The preparation requires digging a pit a meter or more in depth in which a huge bonfire is build and after the stones in the pit are heated, the firewalking takes place. The placement of a long fern tree is laid across the pit, which contains the spirit of god. Nowadays the firewalking ceremony is performed occasionally for Fijians, but most often for the benefit of tourist at various resorts. The performance for the visitors is generally less traditional although the demonstration of firewalking is just genuine.

In addition, Hindus in Fiji as part of religious ceremonies also practice firewalking. The firewalking involves a lot of physiologically and psychologically preparation between the two cultures. However, Indo-Fijian firewalkers abstain from sex and meat that medicate till midnight and wear loose yellow and red robed like clothing because these colors signify spiritual cleansing and the use of turmeric signifies prosperity and power over diseases. On the day of the fireworking ceremony, the firewalkers bath in the river or sea before pundits pierce their tongues, cheeks, and bodies with three-pronged skewers. Again the ceremony has the components of dancing, street chanting and dance. According to Singh, “During the dance and the actual fire walking, the devotees appear to be in a deep trance. Their bodies are whipped before and during the ceremony and they do not appear to register any pain. It is believed that if they focus on the Goddess then they will be free of all harms.” These two events performed by two different populations represent the same components of mind, body, and spirit.

However, the meke ceremony is unique to the native Fijians as it allows expression and transmission of important historical events, stories, legends and culture to be handed down from one generation to another. Since men, women and children all participate in the meke, there are a combination of dance and repetitive rhythmic chanting, telling the stories of everyday life, or of ancient gods or of battles won. Different types of meke include the war dance, men's club dance, men's spear dance, as well as the men or women's fan dance, women's standing dance and the sitting dance performed by men or women. As, all these meke are group dancers in which the overall appearance and group co-ordination are important, it links with the spiritual world, which allows for chanting to begin and swaying of the dancers in the meke group. In meke every motion and act has its significance while the position of the dancers is equally important since, villagers of high birth have special positions in the ceremony, whom to place them in a subordinate spot would insult them. The dancers wear the traditional outfit such as clothes made of bark leaves and coconut shells with intricate designs, which signify stories of the war times and connect with spirituality. Mekes are performed at various occasions such as birth of a child, wedding ceremonies, funeral and festivities of spirituality. The use of war clubs during meke indicates the cannibalism in the historic times, which represents the great warrior gods who were cannibals and required human sacrifice. These stories are well integrated into the meke when done by the meke dances.

Another unique ritual to be observed during the Fijian firewalking ceremony is the drinking of yaqona, the national beverage also known as kava. The significance of the yaqona is also done ritually when welcoming visitors, sending village members on a journey, christening boats, casting magical spells, making deals and settling arguments. Though, men and women can both drink yaqona given the rank among the couples if they are to join an all male group, segregation of men and women is still practiced in the villages and also during the ceremonies. Yaqona ceremony allows one to explore and get to know the Fijian culture and it’s people and their friendly hospitality. It is that invisible bond that has no boundaries and everyone is treated as one as if everybody belongs to the same culture.

The firewalkers of Fiji perform the ancient rituals of the firewalking ceremony. Those rituals of firewalking, meke, and yaqona drinking are indeed unique to the Fijian culture since they are interwoven into the fabric of the Fijian society. Without each component one ceremony would be less ritual to another because they signify and carry a lot of meaning within each one as described above. What make this subculture unique are the traditions, the spiritual beliefs, physiological, and the psychological factors involved in the preparation of each ceremony and the importance it hold to the Fijian society as a whole. When comparing both the firewalking ceremonies between the Fijians and the Indo-Fijians it allows for same goals to occur that is allowing the mind, body and spirit to come together although preformed in two very different styles. As though, they both represent dance, chanting, calling of the spirits, it allows the performers not able to feel the pain associated with the firewalking ceremony, which is unique to audience watching it.

Reflection

The Fijian firewalkers remained me the cultures in the Fiji Islands where I have being born and raised. The fire walking ceremony and the meke dance was usual ceremony that I used to attend and learned a lot about the Fijian culture. After migrating to USA, I did not have a chance to see the fire waking ceremony and the meke dance. Writing this essay remained me of the subculture of the Fijian culture and it’s people and their friendly hospitality. It is that invisible bond that has no boundaries and everyone is treated as one as if everybody belongs to the same culture.

Perhaps nothing is reflects the Fijian reverence for tradition like agony (kava) drinking. Every home in the weekend will probably come upon the spectacle of a family sitting and drinking muddy colored liquid called agony. Kava drinking is also done in US but it is done only on certain occasions.