Countries of the World/COUNTRYS.BIN/dp/0130/01302.txt

Text File | 1991-06-25 | 38KB | 618 lines

$Unique_ID{COW01302}
$Pretitle{294D}
$Title{Fiji
Chapter 1.    General Information}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Stephan B. Wickman}
$Affiliation{HQ, Department of the Army}
$Subject{percent
fiji
fijian
fijians
government
indian
islands
europeans
groups
community}
$Date{1984}
$Log{Figure 3.*0130201.scf
Kava, National Drink*0130202.scf
}
Country:     Fiji
Book:        Oceania, An Area Study: Fiji
Author:      Stephan B. Wickman
Affiliation: HQ, Department of the Army
Date:        1984

Chapter 1.    General Information

Political Status     Independent
                      state (1970)
Population           680,000 (1984
                      midyear estimate)
Land Area            18,333 square
                      kilometers
Currency             Fiji dollar (F $)
Major Islands        Viti, Levu, Vanua
 and                  Levu, Taveuni,
 Island               Kadavu,
 Groups               Lomaiviti Group,
                      Yasawa Group,
                      Lau Group, Rotuma

Physical Environment

     Fiji, a multiethnic society of native Melanesians-called Fijians-and
immigrant Indians, encompasses some 332 islands and islets, about one-third of
which are inhabited. The largest island Viti Levu, accounts for 57 percent of
the land area and for over three-quarters of the population; Vanua Levu has
another 30 percent of the land and 18 percent of the people. The distance from
the northernmost to the southernmost islands is around 1,200 kilometers; that
from the western to the eastern extremities is about 650 kilometers.

     Vitu Levu has four basic kinds of terrain: plateau, mountain, upland,
and coastal. In the center of the island the Nadrau Plateau rises some 900 to
1,000 meters above sea level, covering about 130 square kilometers of dense
and marshy forest. Two mountain ranges running north and south of the plateau
form the major divide, and the northern range contains Mount Victoria, at
1,424 meters the highest point in Fiji. Other mountain ranges above 600 meters
separate the island into four upland areas that are heavily dissected by
rivers. The undulating coastal hills and lowland plains contain most of the
population. Numerous meandering rivers-of which the longest is the Rewa
River-and many coastal streams create a complex drainage system and offer
excellent hydroelectric potential. Reef systems intersecting with those of
nearby islands form barriers around most of the island, sheltering large
expanses of  coastal waters and making good anchorages, especially at Suva.

     Vanua Levu, having several jutting peninsulas, is less regularly shaped
than its larger neighbor to the south. The main mountain range forms one
plateau and two tablelands that have many peaks over 900 meters. The plains
are generally lower, less undulating, and drier than those of Viti Levu, and
the rivers are smaller but about as numerous.

     Two other large islands, Kadavu and Taveuni, are each about the same size
at just over 400 square kilometers. Like the main islands and most of the
far-flung island groups, they are of volcanic origin. Most of the Lau Group,
however, consists of raised limestone structures scattered across some 114,000
square kilometers of ocean and shares more characteristics with Tonga than
with Fiji.

     The tropical climate is controlled by southeast tradewinds, which blow
from February to November. December and January have lighter, shifting winds,
but storms and hurricanes also batter the islands. The temperature varies
little during the year, from about 23C to 27C, dropping some 5C at night
and in the higher altitudes. The hottest months are from December through
April, when the humidity is highest. The eastern and southeastern portions of
the large islands-the windward sides-receive 2,800 to 3,500 millimeters of
rainfall per year; the drier, leeward sides average about 1,800 to 2,000
millimeters.

     The vegetation in Fiji is similar to that found elsewhere in Melanesia.
Herbaceous plants, shrubs, grasses, and mangrove swamps along the coasts give
way to trees, shrubs, and agricultural crops farther inland and on the lower
slopes. The most striking contrast is between the windward and leeward
sides-the former are mostly covered with tropical evergreens and other lush
forest and the latter with low-lying trees and grasses. The rain forests
contain some good commercial species but are not as dense as those in
Southeast Asia. The limestone islands usually have tropical palms rather than
montane species. About one-third of the 3,000 species of plants are
indigenous, some of which are rare and beautiful.

     Most of the animal life is not native, including pigs, rats, and dogs,
which were introduced early in the country's history. Several species of bat,
a flying squirrel, a few snakes (none of them poisonous), some lizards, and a
chameleon are native, as are many of the nearly 70 species of birds. Some
native ground-nesting species, however, have been killed off by the mongooses
that were imported to control the rat population. Insects are abundant but do
not include the malarial mosquito.

     For census and administrative purposes, Fiji is divided into 15
provinces, which in turn are grouped into four divisions (see fig. 3). Rotuma
Province is subsumed in Eastern Division. According to the latest decennial
census, taken in 1976, some 37 percent of the population lived in urban
areas-about 20 percent towns of Labasa, Nadi, and Nausori. The rural
population was concentrated in the sugar-growing areas of Ba, Macuata, and
Nadroga/Navosa provinces, where the Indian ethnic group was in the majority.

[See Figure 3.: Fiji, 1984]

Historical Setting

     The Melanesian settlers who first peopled the islands probably arrived
during the second millennium B.C.; pottery shards found near Sigatoka on Viti
Levu have been dated to 1290 B.C. Divergent dialects and styles of pottery
suggest that related groups from New Caledonia or the New Hebrides (present-
day Vanuatu) joined the earlier settlers some time before the twelfth century
A.D. The oral tradition and the ruins of fortifications suggest that much of
the interaction among these early communities was hostile.

     The importance of warfare and cannibalism in early Fijian history,
however, should not detract from the accomplishments of the early culture. The
subsistence economy produced enough agricultural surplus to afford some
regional specialization and trade in fine handicrafts as well as necessities.
The double-hulled canoes of Fiji facilitated interisland commerce and were
prized by the neighboring Tongans. Large festivals of exchange (solevu) took
place on special occasions and brought together hundreds of traders at a time.

     Political and social organization was hierarchical, headed by chieftains
who contended among themselves for power and status. The dominant chiefs were
the war chiefs of various confederations (vanua) of clan groups and
communities. Almost always male, the chiefs ruled in the name of the ancestral
guardians of their people, although they were usually assisted by priestly
counterparts. The office of chief, which became hereditary through the male
line, was highly ritualized. Although characterized by cannibalistic ritual,
warfare nonetheless brought about the integration of dissimilar cultural and
linguistic groups into larger political entities. The decisive unification
of Fiji, however, did not occur until the nineteenth century, primarily as the
result of the growing influence of the Europeans, who came to the islands in
the seventeenth century.

European Influence and the Cession to Britain

     The early explorers who discovered Fiji for Europe were the least
influential of the newcomers and did not put ashore for long. The first was
Dutch explorer Abel Tasman, who spotted the islands in 1643; the most famous
was probably William Bligh, alleged tyrant of the H.M.S. Bounty, who passed
through in his open longboat in 1789 and returned three years later in a large
vessel. In the early n