Taken from the Fijian coat of arms, these two warriors have the traditional haircut, which is still worn by many men and women, although straighteners and relaxers are now also popular.
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| Adapted from the coat of arms, wikimedia.com |
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| Traditional hair dressing amongst iTaukei in Fijian. |
However, Fijian indigeneity is not expressed homogeneously; it is diverse in appearance. Fijian artist Torika Bolatagici is currently in Barbados to present her art, which is an important conversation in race and identity - http://www.bolatagici.com/news/:
excerpt from news release: "With shared histories of British colonization, cannibal mythology, indentured labour, tourism and a declining sugar industry there are as many parallels between the two countries as there are differences. Torika is interested in how contemporary artists from these respective regions respond to, reflect and represent the island cultures of Melanesia and the Caribbean."
In the photo taken above, we see students of the Earth Science program at the University of the South Pacific enjoying their breakfast in a village in Vanua Levu. Students left to right: Melanesian (Solomon Islands); South Asian (Indo-Fijian); Polynesian (Tonga); Micronesian (Kiribati); Micronesian (Kiribati); Polynesian (Tonga); and Melanesian (Indigenous Fijian child, officially referred to as iTaukei since 2010). Indians arrived in Fiji as indentured labourers to support the British sugar industry in the 19th century, and many remained making Fiji their home. Some people of Indian descent can speak and understand native Fijian and, likewise, some iTaukei speak Fijian Hindi. Fijian Hindi is a simplified Hindi that is spoken to unify the diverse populations that settled from the Indian subcontinent.learn more about Fiji Hindi.
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