Tribewanted: Vorovoro

Oh me oh my, the vibes are flying high. Reaching out to all the blog readers in this digital age, this is Tribewanted Gapper FM in association with the almighty Hammock Society. Here we are in glorious Vorovoro, a little microcosm of wonder and I have a big hitter with me here chillaxing in the hammocks… introducing to the whole wide world if he can stop laughing for one second… Poasa

Bula-hahahaha-sia-hahahahaha. That is what I’m saying. Bula sia.

Easy the Poasa. It is an honour to have you here today, chatting to a global audience. Can you believe the President of the Hammock Society and convicted frog bomber will be the new Project Director in Year 3?

Hahahahahahahahaha!

It’s been a crazy adventure but that’s enough about me, we’re here to talk about you. You are the landowner of Vorovoro and husband to Francis who keeps the tribe well fed in the kitchen. I’m not going to ask who wears the sulu in that relationship but I am going to ask your age because someone said you’ll be 100 this year. Is this true?

What is this? Hahahahahaha. No. So next year I’ll be 65. So this moment now I’m 64 years of age born 17 August.

Wooohooo. Birthday party for you soon my friend, we’ll hire the Chemical Brothers for you?

Who? What? Hahahahaha…

Or perhaps not, maybe a nice mellow affair as we push on in the years. In Fijian people speak of elders, what age does one become an elder?

I have five grandchildren when I was 45. In Fijian you are an elder about this age, 45 and on. Some types of work you cannot do past this, that is what we call elders.

There seems to be great respect for elders in your culture so I better offer advance apologies if I cause offence in this little chit chat. I notice you have you right index finger missing. Was this a shark attack or did Francis chop it off because you were picking your nose too much?

Hohohohohoho. No no no. You know fingers, I was working outside. I got a lawnmower, different from the types now, not like new ones, old one had a starter motor. It wasn’t working. I took the head off, tried to fix the thing, started the engine, thing started vibrating and the tank fell out and spill the fuel. I put it back in with some rope. But no rope, only wire, so I use wire. When I started it up the fly wheel caught the wire and took my hand in. The skin and flesh taken out, bleeding everywhere.

My stomach is feeling funny.

So much blood. I shout three times to Francis but I go into shock.

I‘m going into shock.

She come and see my hand hang like that. This was 2 o’clock. We left Vorovoro and go to Malau by boat. We wait at Malau till 5 o’clock. We have no money. We ask people to take us to hospital but they make excuses. I arrive at the hospital at 7 o’clock night time. When I reached hospital there were no doctors, only nurses. When one doctor finally come, he was from Burma.

Whow! They flew a doctor in from Burma for you?

No no no. The nurse wanted to send me to some relatives with some tablets. I ask to make a phone call to my brother who’s a doctor and then the nurse find one in the hospital to see me. He ask me “what about your fingers, we can stitch them?” I tell him to take my index finger out. He says “Why? Only the flesh is damaged.” But I don’t want crooked finger. They stitch it back but it’s crooked, I don’t like that. I ask them to take it off.

Let me get this straight… they could save your index finger, it wouldn’t be a complete recovery, but you decided to amputate it anyway. Why?

I used to work in Malau Saw Mill for ten years. I was a supervisor of three departments, I saw many injuries, I don’t want crooked fingers like that.

I can only presume the doctor was in fact the local tailor moonlighting. Hospitals in developing countries do not have the facilities like the UK so that probably affected your decision, plus a phobia of crooked joints.

It’s silly. I know an important finger is lost now. I have to hold everything differently – my knife, my fishing rod.

You mentioned a brother who’s a doctor, how many siblings do you have?

Siblings?...

Brothers and sisters…

Myself, Tui Mali, Bale, Asaeli and one sister.

You were born into a chief’s family but in 1987 your father passed away and your elder brother was away working overseas so you inherited the chief position – the Tui Mali. What did the responsibility feel like?

I was chief from 1987 to 1999. In that time very difficult. No finance. Have to think for the people, make them united for what we develop up. Only words you say. I am happy my older brother come back in 1999. I give him the responsibility. We go to Mudwater Provincial Office, explain to them that this is my eldest brother. He was working overseas and I looked after the post for him – that is my culture.

And that gave you more time to spend with your family. How many children do you have?

Bogi, Miriama, Rajieli, Miliakere, Anaseni… five. Bogi and Miriama are both married.

What would you do if a tribe member approached you with whale’s tooth and asked to marry one of your other daughters?

What! Hahahahahaha. In our culture, it used to be the parents decision to who marry who but now it is the children who choose. Me, I cannot do anything, it is their choice.

What would you do if you found out the whale’s tooth was actually a cow’s horn?

I hold the thing and I throw it. They can’t do that. They must respect you. Some times nowadays, whale teeth are made up from plastic or something, the government stop this. The whale’s tooth is important in our Fijian culture. Before our grandfathers, if I want to make war I take a whale’s tooth to another village and ask for their help. Whale’s tooth is tradition for many things, not just marriage. If I’ve done something bad to another village, burn something down, they can call the police and I get arrested. But if I go with a whale’s tooth, present it, they accept it, I’m sorry, then it’s finished. Mana ei dina – it means no more. No police.

Some people have whale teeth, but you have a whole skeleton behind your house. Tell me more…

The whale washed up on Mali. All the teeth were taken, I only got one. My Pastor told me to collect all the bones because there are no whale skeletons in Fiji. We collect it, keep it safe with me. We use the internet to learn how to put it together. We got sent a design from California University. We make it. Now Mariah, our July chief, is a marine biologist and she has helped buy the materials to help clean the bones. When it is clean, we can glue it and drill it together. After that, we ask the tribe to help make a bure to protect it. Soon as there is a bure, I’ll catch a bat, a rat and a frog to make a museum. Hahahahahahaha.

Nice. I sleep in your village and every morning I wake up to see this skeleton crawling out of the coconut trees – Jurassic Park styleeeee. I notice your blue house is built upon mini pillars, raised off the ground, is this to stop snakes coming in?

Don’t know. Maybe. The government says we have to build house like this so wind can blow underneath. Don’t know why. But you see the foundations they is cracking.

Ahhh yes. I believe the tribe is going to help repair ‘em.

I hope so. You see, I use sea water in the cement thirty years ago, now it is cracking, falling apart, needs to be fixed. Better to use tap water this time.

The tribe would love to get stuck in on this project, what’s it like sharing your island with them? It must have been quiet before Tribewanted rocked up?

Before, we were lonely. Now we meet together with people, not natives, people from overseas. I left school in class 8, not much education, very poor, so now the tribe teach me many things like English. I like to know the language. I like people to be staying here together. I appreciate people coming. They learn about Fijian culture and tradition.

Some parts of the culture people adore and some elements they find a little upsetting. For example, recently we went to a wedding in Nakawaqa and turtle was part of the feast. How do you balance tradition and the protection of endangered species?

Well, you see turtle is part of our culture for many years. The sea is where we get our food and in our tradition it is part of the ceremony to use the turtle in the lovo. That is the way of our culture.

So you can hunt and eat as much turtle as you like?

Oh no. Government control this. It is for special ceremony only. We have to go through correct system. Write a letter to the fisheries department and if they say yes then OK. The government knows the numbers which is allowed. Many people apply from the mainland and their applications get rejected. They have land to graze animals like cow or pig but island people have no land, only the sea, we have to get permission to do this. It is very special meat, you try some? It is delicous.

Goodness gracious kick me in the ghoolies! Nope, I’m a vegetarian so I passed on the cultural experience. It’s worth noting our Sustainable Manager’s comments on this hot topic: Plastic bags kill far more turtles than Fijian traditions. The turtles feed on jelly fish and plastic bags floating in the sea look like jelly fish. The turtle eats the plastic, suffocate and drown. The destruction of the turtle’s habitat by pollution and plastic bags kill way more.

So plastic bag tradition is bad hahahahahahaha.

Yeah, plastic ain’t fantastic. But, moving on from plastic… for many tribe visitors, Vorovoro is heaven. What is your idea of heaven?

My heaven… even myself, I never been to your place but I am very happy here. You people are searching, myself, I don’t like to go to other place, I enjoy my island.

Sounds to me like you appreciate when you have, a content man, but do you enjoy the mosquitoes and sand flies?

There’s not many now in the dry season. They smell you people. You smell sweet. They like you more hahahahahahaha.

They certainly do, but I’ve been here a while now so they’re a bit bored of my blood. I can see Pupu waving a machete at us, that’s the sign for bamboo weaving unless he’s about to attack us. Any last words to the readers out there Poasa?

Just only say thank you for coming to spend time here in Vorovoro. Enjoy your life, and if God willing, come back to help develop the island. My door is always open to you so you can come and escape to Vorovoro anytime.

You know that makes sense. Let’s bounce.