Fiji (Pacific Islands), by Dr. Tarisi Vunidilo

This book is perhaps one that the author might not want to brag about on her c.v. To be sure, most people would probably not brag about writing a book for young readers, but this particular book combines the usual basic approach with something more unsettling, a focus on “authenticity” from someone who is viewed as a cultural insider–this author holds numerous positions in academia as a grifter who deals with human remains from colonial contexts, and various anthropology professorships in the United States and New Zealand. This book, in its own modest way, is all about the grift involved with the contemporary Polynesian population of which the author is a part (as a Maori academic). That doesn’t make this book worthless or useless, to be sure, but it does indicate that there are severe problems with this book that relate to questions of identity and identity politics. One of these problems, and the one that threw me for a loop, was that the author claims not to know who the Fijians are, even though DNA evidence (which the author would surely be aware of given her German position dealing with native remains) indicates that the Laptia culture of which the Fijian iTaukei people are a mix between Melanesians and Polynesians–meaning some kind of combination of Austronesian and Papuan background. That’s all that would have needed to be said, not an expression of total ignorance about their background.

The author’s professional interest in corrupt identity politics makes itself known in other ways throughout the book as well. The author strongly emphasizes the position of chief as well as the place of the iTaukei people and minimizes the importance of Christianity to those people (focusing instead on their heathen traditional cultures) as well as the importance of Indo-Fijians to the nation of Fiji. The author does not comment on Fijian identity politics being the reason for the political coups of 1987, 2000, and 2006 that the author considers to be bloodless. She doesn’t comment on the fact that the majority status of the privileged iTaukei is largely due to the emigration of many Indians after the political problems because of a lack of confidence in their ability to live in a Fiji where they are treated with respect and are able to rule based on their demographic strength. These are serious problems, and though the book certainly provides some information in a narrative as well as lovely photography and some interesting anecdotes, the author’s perspective keeps this book from being as good as it should be.

This book is a short one at 48 pages and is divided into four chapters. The book begins with a short welcome to the island group. This is followed by a brief discussion of the history of Fiji, most of which is spent talking about the teeth of sperm whales and what is made from them, which seems to be a strange misstep. after this comes a discussion of Fijian island traditions, including clothing and cannibalism. This is followed by a discussion of Fijian culture that talks about friendliness, family, traditional homes, celebrations, food and Pacific pageantry, as well as various holidays brought by immigrants (for some reason the author spends as much time talking about Chinese festivals as the Indian festivals brought by nearly half of the population. The fourth chapter of the book talks about Fiji today, which includes references to surfing. The book then ends with a glossary, where to read more about the Pacific Islands, as well as an index. Admittedly, there was a lot more about the island, including a thoughtful examination of the Island’s history, that this book could have done were it longer and written by someone who wasn’t trying to hide all of the bad while talking up what she thought was good.