Gestión clínica.

Although Morrison and Naqasima (1999) found the Great Astrolabe Lagoon to be in a healthy state due to its remoteness, destructive fishing practices remain a serious problem throughout Fiji. Dynamiting is prevalent in some areas o f western V iti Levu and western Vanua Levu, and the use o f traditional fish poisons, domestic pesticides and bleach is relatively common in most areas (Zann 1992). Thaman and his colleagues (2001) reported that the community near Yanuca Island o f the Coral Coast area attributed increasing sedimentation to the construction o f a large-scale resort. Furthermore, numbers o f 19 o f 26 finfish species declined over the past 25 years due to an increase in fishing efforts and the use o f more destructive fishing methods.

3.3 Fijian people and their life

3.3.1 Key concepts in Fijian villages

Kinship based social structure

Fijian society is based on a hierarchical structure. The primary unit o f local organisation in Fijian society is the village, o f which there are approximately 1,080. A village can be further divided into social unit groups that are ranked relative to each other (Figure 3.2). According to Ravuvu (1983: 76), the largest and broadest division is yavusa or clan, o f

which the members trace their descent back to a common male ancestor or ancestor god. A clan consists o f mataqali or sub-clans, the second subdivision in the village. A child is

normally registered at birth as a member o f the father’ s sub-clan, which entitles the child to all rights and privileges, including customary land rights (Ravuvu 1983: 1). The sub-clan is

a group of extended families called tokatoka. The unit of extended families is usually composed of a group of adult brothers and their sons' families.

Although Fijians generally claim the hierarchical structure as their tradition, anthropological researchers have argued that this ‘customary’ organisational framework is actually a relatively recent creation. Walter (1978: 352) states that, in order to administer efficiently land tenure which varied locally, colonial governments demanded uniformity in the officially recorded native system o f land tenure. In this process, the colonial government applied the common social unit, mataqali, to the entire country as the official corporate land-owning group, despite the fact that it was used only on the politically dominant island of Bau in southwest Viti Levu (Walter 1978: 352).

Figure 3.2 Fijian Social Structure

Y a v u sa T o k a to k a T oka toka M a ta q a li M a ta q a li V an u a (Tribe) Y a v u s a (C lan) M a ta q a li (S u b 'C lan ) T oka toka (E x te n d e d F am ily ) ... V illa g e Tikina (D istrict)

However, in spite of its recent introduction, it appears that the organised specific model of social structure has become an accepted feature of Fijian national identity. Although people may have different alternatives in their life, such as moving to city or town or even migrating overseas, it is rational for many individuals to remain within villages because they are secure places in a carefully ordered society that encourage a sense of mutual obligation (Frazer 1973: 85). This is especially true for people who do not have much financial capital to invest in migration and/or did not receive higher levels of education or training to find jobs.

In order to enable a village to maintain a sense of consistency among the divergent interests of its members, Nayacakalou (1975:15) states that three hierarchical levels of decision making seem to be the optimal structure. As the head of a village, the Turaga ni Koro is elected or appointed by the villagers for implementing local administrative work. This is such an ingrained element of Fijian society that the tiered system of administration which begins with the Turaga ni Koro, extends from the appointed provincial heads, Roko

Tui, to the Secretary for the Ministry o f Fijian Affairs. In short, the administrative structure at the three levels is set on top of the Fijian social structure that is kin-based.

A number o f clans, or yavusa, are grouped together to form vanua, or a tribe. This is a socio-political association, cemented by social and economic ties, with common allegiance to a chief (Lasaqa 1984: 18). In the modern administrative system, the term tikim or district is used almost as an equivalent to that of tribe. A number of districts collectively make up a province and each of the 14 provinces is governed by a council with an executive head, or Roko Tui, appointed by the Fijian Affairs Board. The Fijian Affairs

Board16 is regarded as the guardian of the Fijian administrative system and many other aspects of Fijian customs. This system of local government is operated exclusively by indigenous Fijians (Fiji Government2004: 15).

Chiefs

Like many other nations in the Pacific, the social significance o f the chiefly system is well known in the social context of Fiji. The chiefly system exists exclusively among indigenous Fijians. It divides the Fijians into two mutually exclusive groups - that of chief and that of commoner. Chiefs are those for whose status is attained by birth and passed on to descendants in a system o f patrilineage. Commoners are the rest o f the villagers. The chief, or turaga, is selected from the highest-ranking sub-clan, or mataqali, o f the village. Other sub-clans are allotted different social roles, such as ch iefs spokesman, warrior, carpenter, fisher and priest.

In the chiefly system, the chiefs and the people cannot exist independently. The bond between the two groups has evolved over time due to their interdependence for survival (Bole 1992: 73). The chief is given certain privileges and responsibilities and generally maintains authority over all members of the village. His/her position and presence is important in village life, expressed by a term denoting ideal behaviour, vakaturaga^1 The idea o f vakaturaga includes respect, deference, and humility, as well as compliance to the various traditional obligations and responsibilities. A chief must show these qualities in his/her actions in relation to all people as if they held positions of

16 The Fijian Affairs Board was established under the Fijian Affairs Act of 1978. It governs all matters concerned with the administration relating the development of indigenous interests.

17 ‘ Turaga’ means a chief and one of the uses of prefix ‘vaka’ is to indicate possession of the followed noun; ‘vakaturaga’ literally means belonging to a chief.

authority and importance or occupied the seat of the chief (Ravuvu 1983: 103; Ravuvu 1987: 18).

At the national level, the Great Council of Chiefs, or Bose Levu Vakaturaga, is the highest assembly o f the traditional chiefs of Fiji which consists o f 55 members nominated from all the provinces. The Council enjoys extensive power as it appoints the President and Vice-President, and, according to a publication o f the Fiji Government (2005: 5), its advice is esteemed by all communities in Fiji. However, in spite o f the common perception, it was created by the British colonial government and many argue that it is a politically ‘invented tradition’ (Ewins 1998).