Come to think of it, visiting Fiji Culture Village was Jik’s idea, and I said yes to it with no hesitation.
Saying yes to each other, with no questions asked, has been our way of navigating friendship for the longest time since forever. I’d even go so far as to say that’s why we are best friends. We enable each other ━ good and bad.
Back to Fiji ━ the following day, right after dawn, I plopped myself beside her in the white van that would be taking us to the so-called Fiji Culture Village. On the way, we picked up other guests from other resorts in other parts of Nadi.
Once the van was full, I nudged Jik and said, “We are the only brown people in the group“. She replied with a mouth full of chips, “So?“. With that, I drifted my attention back to the road. The ride to the village reminded me of the road trips to Cirebon with my parents decades ago.
But the houses here are way bigger than the ones back home. And I spotted a handful of miniature Hindu temples inside some of the houses’ compounds. It was interesting since we don’t have miniature temples in our houses in Indonesia, nor have I seen them before in Australia. The only time I saw temples inside people’s houses was in the movies – and now in Fiji. I also saw plenty of Fijian Kava shops, even a few Chai stalls, amalgamating of two cultures on the roadside! The latter part excited me so much that I woke Jik to show it to her.
Eventually, we reached Fiji Cultural Village.
The first order of business was drinking welcome tea and munching on biscuits while listening to Nemani, one of the village authorities, giving us safety instructions because we would be getting into the water. Well, that was a nice surprise, thankfully I wore my swimsuit inside as was Jik because, well, we were in Fiji.
Navua River and Magic Waterfall
With our floaters on first, we ride along the Navua River on a boat to the famous Magic Waterfall, as the tour guide referred to it. On the way, we waved to the locals kids playing by the river, seemingly living the best time of their lives.
Meanwhile, the waterfall was magical indeed. We swam, took pictures and left with a sinking bamboo raft. By the time we reached Fiji Culture Village, we had started to get hungry. Thankfully I could smell food, not only see – we get to experience the iconic Fijian Lovo lunch preparation. Soon after, we were invited to enter the village’s main Bure.
Inside Fiji Culture Village Bure
Here we were officially welcomed by the village head with a Fijian Kava Ceremony. Someone from the tourist picked to represent all of us, the visitors, to have Kava with the village head. A beautiful Fijian dancing performance then followed the welcoming ceremony. Once done, we were invited to eat. The meal, indeed, was an extension of the heartwarming welcome. When invited to try some Kava, we both didn’t miss a chance to do it and managed to get videos of us stumbling with the number of clapping, which was a part of the Kava ceremony ritual.
The next activity possibly was the key cultural part of the Fiji Culture Village visit. We sat outside in a covered hut and learned many fascinating Fijian culture and symbolism aspects. From the importance of turtles in the Fijian culture to how to weave the mat; from making the ink to draw to the traditional wedding wear in the Fiji culture. I could even pick up the frustration in Nemani’s voice when he shared his worries regarding the sustenance of Fijian culture and traditions as more and more youngsters chose to leave the village for a life in the city.
Back in the Bure, the dining tables had been removed and transformed into a makeshift marketplace. I got a freshwater pearl necklace from here which I intended to give to Amma (but didn’t).
A Second Home
Eventually, it was time to leave. We said our goodbyes and thank yous. That’s when Nemani said to remember once we drank the Kava from the village, we were essentially a part of the village. That, wherever we go, we must know we have a second home there, and we will always be welcomed with food and a place to stay.
I always pride myself on being stonyhearted, but even I got teary-eyed when those words sank in. On the way back, Jik and I made a pact to return someday for another Fiji Culture Village visit.
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