Fiji Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Early settlement=== [[File:Chronological dispersal of Austronesian people across the Pacific (per Benton et al, 2012, adapted from Bellwood, 2011).png|thumb|center|upright=2|Map showing the migration and expansion of the [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesians]], beginning {{circa|3000 BC}} from [[Taiwan]]]] [[File:Fijian mountain warrior, Kai Colo.jpg|thumb|left|upright|A Fijian mountain warrior. Photograph by [[Francis Herbert Dufty]], 1870s]] [[Pottery]] art from Fijian towns shows that Fiji was settled by [[Austronesian people]]s by at least 3500 to 1000 BC, with Melanesians following around a thousand years later, although there are still many open questions about the specific dates and patterns of human migration. It is believed that either the [[Lapita culture|Lapita people]] or the ancestors of the Polynesians settled the islands first, but not much is known of what became of them after the Melanesians arrived; the old culture may have had some influence on the new one, and archaeological evidence shows that some of the migrants moved on to [[Samoa]], [[Tonga]] and even [[Hawaii|Hawai'i]]. Archeological evidence also shows signs of human settlement on [[Moturiki Island]] beginning at least by 600 BC and possibly as far back as 900 BC. Although some aspects of Fijian culture are similar to the [[Melanesia]]n culture of the western Pacific, Fijian culture has a stronger connection to the older [[Polynesian culture]]s. The evidence is clear that there was trade between Fiji and neighbouring archipelagos long before [[Europeans]] made contact with Fiji. In the 10th century, the [[TuΚ»i Tonga Empire|Tu'i Tonga Empire]] was established in Tonga, and Fiji came within its sphere of influence. The Tongan influence brought Polynesian customs and language into Fiji. That empire began to decline in the 13th century. Fiji has long had permanent settlements, but its peoples also have a history of mobility. Over the centuries, unique Fijian cultural practices developed. Fijians constructed large, elegant watercraft, with rigged sails called ''[[drua]]'' and exported some to Tonga. Fijians also developed a distinctive style of village architecture, consisting of communal and individual [[Bure (Fiji)|''bure'']] and ''vale'' housing, and an advanced system of ramparts and moats that were usually constructed around the more important settlements. Pigs were domesticated for food, and a variety of agricultural endeavors, such as [[banana plantations]], existed from an early stage. Villages were supplied with water brought in by constructed wooden aqueducts. Fijians lived in societies led by chiefs, elders and notable warriors. Spiritual leaders, often called ''bete'', were also important cultural figures, and the production and consumption of [[kava|''yaqona'']] was part of their ceremonial and community rites. Fijians developed a monetary system where the polished teeth of the [[sperm whale]], called ''tambua'', became an active currency. A type of writing existed which can be seen today in various petroglyphs around the islands.<ref>[[#Gravelle|Gravelle]]</ref> Fijians developed a refined [[Tapa cloth|''masi'' cloth]] textile industry, and used the cloth they produced to make sails and clothes such as the ''malo'' and the ''liku''. As with most other ancient human civilisations, warfare or preparation for warfare was an important part of everyday life in pre-colonial Fiji. The Fijians were noted for their distinctive use of weapons, especially war clubs.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Fijian weapons & warfare|last=Fergus.|first=Clunie|date=2003|publisher=Fiji Museum|isbn=978-9822080063|oclc=55604396}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Brewster|first1=Adolph|title=The hill tribes of Fiji|date=1922|publisher=Seeley|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/hilltribesoffiji00brew}}</ref> Fijians used many different types of clubs that can be broadly divided into two groups, two handed clubs and small specialised throwing clubs called ''ula''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.new-guinea-tribal-arts.com/fijian-war-clubs/|title=Fijian War clubs {{!}} Native weapons from Fiji {{!}} sell club {{!}} sell native weapon|date=19 March 2018|website=new guinea tribal arts|access-date=28 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115195040/https://www.new-guinea-tribal-arts.com/fijian-war-clubs/|archive-date=15 November 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> [[File:Le Tour du monde-01-p200.jpg|thumb|Bure-kalou or temple, and scene of cannibalism]]With the arrival of Europeans in the 17th century, and European colonization in the late 19th century, many elements of Fijian culture were either repressed or modified to ensure European β specifically, British β control. This was especially the case with respect to traditional Fijian spiritual beliefs. Early colonists and missionaries pointed to the practice of [[Human cannibalism|cannibalism]] in Fiji as providing a moral imperative justifying colonization.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Williams |first1=Thomas |title=The islands and their inhabitants. |date=1858 |publisher=A. Heylin |page=[https://archive.org/details/fijiandfijians00calvgoog/page/n223 205] |url=https://archive.org/details/fijiandfijians00calvgoog}}</ref> Europeans labelled many native Fijian customs as debased or primitive, enabling many colonists to see Fiji as a "paradise wasted on savage cannibals".<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Banivanua-Mar|first1=Tracey|title=Cannibalism and Colonialism: Charting colonies and frontiers in 19th century Fiji|journal=Comparative Studies in Society and History|date=2010|volume=52|issue=2|pages=255β281|jstor=40603087|doi=10.1017/S0010417510000046|s2cid=145307937}}</ref> Authors such as Deryck Scarr<ref name=Scarr>[[#Scarr|Scarr]], p. 3</ref> have perpetuated 19th century claims of "freshly killed corpses piled up for eating" and ceremonial mass human sacrifice on the construction of new houses and boats.<ref>[[#Scarr|Scarr]], p. 19</ref> In fact, during colonial times, Fiji was known as ''the Cannibal Isles''. Modern archaeological research conducted on Fijian sites has shown that Fijians did in fact practice cannibalism, which has helped modern scholars to assess the accuracy of some of these colonial European accounts. Studies conducted by scholars including Degusta,<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Degusta|first=David|date=1999|title=Fijian Cannibalism: Osteological Evidence from Navatu|pmid=10502244|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=110|issue=2|pages=215β241|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199910)110:2<215::AID-AJPA7>3.0.CO;2-D}}</ref> Cochrane,<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Cochrane|first=Ethan|date=2004|title=Culturally Modified Human Remains Recovered from an Earth-Oven Interment on Waya Island, Fiji|journal=Archaeology in Oceania|volume=39|pages=54β59|doi=10.1002/j.1834-4453.2004.tb00559.x}}</ref> and Jones<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Jones|first=S|date=2012|title=Kana Tamata or Feasts of Men: An Interdisciplinary Approach for Identifying Cannibalism in Prehistoric Fiji|doi=10.1002/oa.2269|journal=Freshwater Biology|volume=10|issue=2|pages=127β145}}</ref> provide evidence of burnt or cut human skeletons, suggesting that cannibalism was practised in Fiji. However, these archaeological accounts indicate that cannibalistic practices were likely more intermittent and less ubiquitous than European settlers had implied; it appears that the cannibalism may more often have been nonviolent and ritualistic.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page