On Fiji Islands -- The Spirit's Way-- Chapter 3.43

The Tuka continued to make sporadic reappearances long after the death of its founder. It surfaced again in 1914, and rites involving the "water of life" were reported as recently as the 1970s. But the Tuka's most significant legacy was the influence it had on a new movement that arose in western Viti Levu and spread throughout Fiji just before the First World War.

The early years of the twentieth century were difficult for many Fijians. The old paternalistic rule of the Gordon to Thurston era (1875-1897) had frozen the sale of native land and allowed Fijians to pay their taxes to the government with produce instead of cash. Neither policy was popular with Fiji whites, who were loud advocates of free enterprise and individual land tenure-ostensibly to promote Fijian advancement along the lines of Adam Smith liberalism but in reality to open up native property to European 

settlers and middlemen. It was the classic strategy by which indigenous, communal societies have been dispossessed everywhere (notably in the "liberal" republics of the Americas), and it was a wolf easy to clothe in the sheepskin of Progress.

Governor Sir Everard Im Thurn (1904-1910) was persuaded to unravel the cocoon sealing the Fijian economy from the outside world. He was not without native allies-frustrated minor nobility, enterprising commoners, and a few unscrupulous chiefs who stood to profit by selling off their mataqali's land. The Taukei, as Fijians call themselves, a word synonymous with "native" and "proprietor," saw their ownership shrinking while a handful of foreign planters and storekeepers grew fat. The land sales were eventually halted, but not before deep anxiety had been aroused.

In this climate a bizarre but timely leader emerged: Apolosi R. Nawai, prophet and entrepreneur. He was born near Nadi, a commoner, physically unimpressive, but a powerful speaker:

For I alone am the only chief of Fiji: it is the will of God .... You know who I am, Apolosi R. Nawai.... In times past I was not known while Bau and Rewa were renowned, but wait and you will see.... God predestined me to be your chief and to bring into'being a new scheme by which Fiji would be independent in future and free from Government control. . . 

Photos courtesy of Jane Resture

Historian, novelist, and essayist Ronald Wright is the award-winning author of nine books of nonfiction and fiction published in 16 languages and more than 50 countries. Much of his work explores the relationships between past and present, peoples and power, other cultures and our own.  On Fiji Islands, was published in 1983 to critical acclaim. He has graciously allowed Fijiguide.com to serialize his work for your enjoyment. We welcome your comments. (For more information visit http://www.randomhouse.ca/newface/wright.php)