Highlights of Namatakula Village Homestay

Highlights during my stay in the village were many and entailed:
1. Learning more about Fijian history & culture over meals with my homestay hosts, Judith and Simon, noting several similarities between village life & that of traditional African, Native American, & my N.C. hometown.
2. My first yaqona ceremony (communally drinking kava, the national drink [which the herbal supplement kava kava is derived from], amidst Fijian-recited prayers and a formal ceremony including a specified type and series of claps)
3. An interesting primary school visit (though quite poorly equipped & built in comparison to ours, they seemed to be learning some things that are taught in our high schools in the states)
4. Enjoying a lovo meal (cooked underground beneath banana leaves though some groups there prepare it in various other ways, including inside bamboo vs. covered in banana leaves [As my mother later explained later, much to my surprise and delight, some members of my family in our hometown used to also cook underground at times])
5. Watching and then joining in a meke (traditional group dances, including warrior ones, accompanied by communal singing & drumming); note that “meke” is also a Kiswahili word meaning “mat” and I noticed a few other signs of linguistic connections between this 2nd most widely spoken language in Africa (after Arabic), and Fijian, despite tourist guides making no links between Fijians and any origins besides Polynesian
6. A firewalker ceremony by a group from the island of Beqa where Fijian legend says they inherited the powers (of walking across hot stones [reminiscent of my own walk across hot charcoal yrs. ago with a spiritual group I once belonged to]); this practice is also a spiritual part of some other cultures. The Indo-Fijians (Indians of Fiji) have their own firewalking ceremonies.
7. Shopping, chatting, drinking complimentary coffee, enjoying beautiful views, and learning more history (about traditional weapon usage and cannibalism) at the only Fijian-owned handicraft store, Baravi Handicrafts (owned by the village across the street from it unlike most businesses in Fiji which are usually either owned by the Indo-Fijians, Chinese of Fiji, Japanese of Fiji, or foreign European and a few U.S. companies)
8. Checking out the lovely Mangobay Resort & Warwick Resort (www.mangobay.com and www.warwick.com), within minutes of my village, while paying by the minute to use their Internet access &/or watching free shows performed by some members of my village. Yes; I did claim membership; this is encouraged of visitors who do village stays.
9. Getting my finger slammed between an ultra large & heavy door at the Kula Eco Park www.kulaecopark.com shortly after entering; right after being whistled at by a parrot and holding snakes, iguanas, & other birds.
10. Climbing the Sigatoka Sand Dunes, an UNESCO World Heritage archaeological and eco-tourist site consisting of beautiful views of forests, the ocean and beach, meadows, and valleys, plus skeletal remains of the Latoka people (ancient Fijians), while climbing and descending mountains made of sand at www.nationaltrust.org.fj -- just in time to see a rainbow and sunset at the peak!
Fijians, a Melanesian (Black) people, have a well-deserved reputation of being amongst the friendliest people in the world. I really took to the youngest family member, a two-year old named nicknamed “Boo” (as are so many in the African-American community).

I will post photos of each in subsequent postings.