Viti levu, Fiji

Cannibalism and Hair, Fiji Islands' Old Pastimes


capillary helmet
The lush hair of Rockodage Bello, owner of a kind of antique dealer in Pacific Harbour.
ready to eat
Boys from a scrubland on the banks of the Navua river grate fresh coconut.
about the bow
William, a native guide, leads a small expedition down the Navua River towards the highlands of Namosi.
Samu Sakelago
Fijian boy exhibits artisan skills.
capillary power
Historical image of Fijian warriors with the long traditional hairs of this Melanesian archipelago.
Namosi tropical jungle
Close vegetation at the foot of the Namosi Highlands.
Fijian trio
Mosese S. Jnr, Herry Danford and Samu Sakelago pose in their village.
Vegetation Wall
Verdant scenery from a slope on the bank of the Navua river.
Hairy Warriors
Historical photo shows Fijian warriors with full head of hair.
Welcome Choreography
Young performs a dance, after the kava ceremony of reception of the guests of the clan.
bamboo raft
Native takes visitors along the Navua River.
Mosese S. Jnr
A young man from the Navua side, with the dream of playing ragueby in New Zealand or Australia.
to the mat
Natives of a clan on the banks of the Navua River complete another typical dance.
Luxuriant Trail
Nativo takes a levada along a tributary of the Navua River.
For 2500 years, anthropophagy has been part of everyday life in Fiji. In more recent centuries, the practice has been adorned by a fascinating hair cult. Luckily, only vestiges of the latest fashion remain.

Bula, the Fijian national expression simultaneously means “hello” and “welcome” and is usually uttered with a smile on the lips.

In Fiji, all contact starts with her and friendship passes through kava, a kind of serum obtained from the roots of the homonymous plant. It didn't take us long to try it out.

Arriving at the mouth of the Navua, we join a group about to go upriver to the enigmatic Namosi Highlands. The first part of the expedition includes a visit to a scrub (typical village), and, as tradition dictates, includes a reception ceremony with sharing this drink.

On the village side, Chief Tui conducts the protocol. On behalf of foreigners, there is a leader of convenience chosen by the local guide, with the agreement of the rest of the delegation. The two are seated face to face, flanked by the other elements of their representation.

The Fastidious Fijian Kava Ceremony

There is, then, an endless exchange of words between Tui and the guide William – his son and heir to the position – from which, by repetition, numerous stand out naka, diminutives of the Fijian thank you, which, in full, is pronounced vinaka.

Once the dialogue is over, Chef Tui squeezes the roots of kava for cooper – a large carved wooden vessel. The drink, alcoholic and bitter, is finally served to the participants and generates different reactions ranging from disgust to indifference.

Accustomed to the discomfort of outsiders, the hosts begin exhibiting traditional dances With who, first male and female, then graceful female.

Woman carries out movements of a traditional Fijian dance.

After lunch, the charismatic William takes the floor again and describes the distant past of his village and the chilling tribal life of the Namosi Highlands. 

It is without contemporary reasons for fear that we return to Navua, with the plan to overcome the flow to reach the highlands of the mountain range. Unusual in the vicinity of the ocean, the river quickly changes its appearance.

And, when you least expect it, it appears flanked by impenetrable “forests” of morning glory, bamboo and rival vegetation that create bleak scenes. The fog thickens from the margins and retouches the environment for William's chilling new narratives.

Rio, Fiji, Viti Levu, Cannibalism and Hair

Nativo walks along a tributary of the Navua River

The Long Past of Fiji Islands Cannibalism

This one takes advantage of the enigmatic surroundings and recalls that cannibalism was part of Viti levu and of much of Melanesia for over 2500 years and that the most sophisticated form of revenge for a tribe in Fiji - the epitome of insult to rivals - was, until less than a century ago, on those very shores, to eat their enemies .

Spare the entourage to truly macabre details.

The gorge that welcomes the river tightens as we advance inland and pass long waterfalls that precipitate from the cliffs. At the same time, the forest thickens and aggravates the semi-scary environment that seemed ideal to the director of “Anaconda 2: The Black Orchid”, to shoot another film about escaping the famous reptile saga.

We survived the expedition. As soon as we return to navua, we get in the car, drive to Pacific Harbor and peek at the local market, a peculiar commercial stronghold, stagnant by apparent lack of invoicing and below the plastic refinement of the surrounding resorts. 

There, we find the perfect example of another Fijian historical hobby: hair. 

Mosese S. Jnr, Fiji, Viti Levu, Cannibalism and Hair

m young man from the Navua side, with the dream of playing ragueby in New Zealand or Australia.

Cannibalism apart. Fijians' Obsession with Their Hair

Rockodage Bello dusts his antique shop when we ask if we can photograph her. From inside the blue dress to the flowers, the lady seems to swell with vanity and just begs for a few seconds to get ready.

Through a half-open door, we see her brushing her thick hair over and over again in front of an antique mirror. And just when we think the beautification is over, Rockodage brings us a chair and reminds us, with innate grace, that no one is in a hurry.

Two more minutes pass until, at last, he tucks a small plumer behind his ear and presents himself, radiant, for the photograph. 

capillary helmet

The lush hair of Rockodage Bello, owner of a kind of antique dealer in Pacific Harbour.

The weight of its symbolism has faded over time, but hair has come to play a central role in Fijian society. The size of the wigs marked the masculinity of the bearer but also the social hierarchy of the villages.

It was known that the hair of an ordinary man could not be longer than that of the chief and the hair of women would have to remain inferior to that of their husbands.

Taking these conventions into account, some indigenous people spent hours at local hairdressers looking after their huge hair helmets (sometimes 30 cm long) that they dyed in their favorite colors and patterns.

Historical Hair, Fiji, Viti Levu, Cannibalism and Hair

Historical photo shows Fijian warriors with a full head of hair.

Fashion has faded. Today, despite huge capillary balls still being found, specimens as voluminous as Rockodage's have become rare.

Those that remain, fulfill, in perfection, their function of impressing.

Longsheng, China

Huang Luo: the Chinese Village of the Longest Hairs

In a multi-ethnic region covered with terraced rice paddies, the women of Huang Luo have surrendered to the same hairy obsession. They let the longest hair in the world grow, years on end, to an average length of 170 to 200 cm. Oddly enough, to keep them beautiful and shiny, they only use water and rice.
Viti levu, Fiji

Islands on the edge of Islands

A substantial part of Fiji preserves the agricultural expansions of the British colonial era. In the north and off the large island of Viti Levu, we also came across plantations that have only been named for a long time.
Viti levu, Fiji

The Unlikely Sharing of Viti Levu Island

In the heart of the South Pacific, a large community of Indian descendants recruited by former British settlers and the Melanesian indigenous population have long divided the chief island of Fiji.
Colónia Pellegrini, Argentina

When the Meat is Weak

The unmistakable flavor of Argentine beef is well known. But this wealth is more vulnerable than you think. The threat of foot-and-mouth disease, in particular, keeps authorities and growers afloat.
Malekula, Vanuatu

Meat and Bone Cannibalism

Until the early XNUMXth century, man-eaters still feasted on the Vanuatu archipelago. In the village of Botko we find out why European settlers were so afraid of the island of Malekula.
Navala, Fiji

Fiji's Tribal Urbanism

Fiji has adapted to the invasion of travelers with westernized hotels and resorts. But in the highlands of Viti Levu, Navala keeps its huts carefully aligned.
Okavango Delta, Not all rivers reach the sea, Mokoros
Safari
Okavango Delta, Botswana

Not all rivers reach the sea

Third longest river in southern Africa, the Okavango rises in the Angolan Bié plateau and runs 1600km to the southeast. It gets lost in the Kalahari Desert where it irrigates a dazzling wetland teeming with wildlife.
Annapurna (circuit)
Annapurna Circuit: 5th- Ngawal-BragaNepal

Towards the Nepalese Braga

We spent another morning of glorious weather discovering Ngawal. There is a short journey towards Manang, the main town on the way to the zenith of the Annapurna circuit. We stayed for Braga (Braka). The hamlet would soon prove to be one of its most unforgettable places.
Architecture & Design
Cemeteries

the last address

From the grandiose tombs of Novodevichy, in Moscow, to the boxed Mayan bones of Pomuch, in the Mexican province of Campeche, each people flaunts its own way of life. Even in death.
Tibetan heights, altitude sickness, mountain prevent to treat, travel
Adventure

Altitude Sickness: the Grievances of Getting Mountain Sick

When traveling, it happens that we find ourselves confronted with the lack of time to explore a place as unmissable as it is high. Medicine and previous experiences with Altitude Evil dictate that we should not risk ascending in a hurry.
Military Religious, Wailing Wall, IDF Flag Oath, Jerusalem, Israel
Ceremonies and Festivities
Jerusalem, Israel

A Festive Wailing Wall

The holiest place in Judaism is not only attended by prayers and prayers. Its ancient stones have witnessed the oath of new IDF recruits for decades and echo the euphoric screams that follow.
Key West Wall, Florida Keys, United States
Cities
Key West, USA

The Tropical Wild West of the USA

We've come to the end of the Overseas Highway and the ultimate stronghold of propagandism Florida Keys. The continental United States here they surrender to a dazzling turquoise emerald marine vastness. And to a southern reverie fueled by a kind of Caribbean spell.
Obese resident of Tupola Tapaau, a small island in Western Samoa.
Meal
Tonga, Western Samoa, Polynesia

XXL Pacific

For centuries, the natives of the Polynesian islands subsisted on land and sea. Until the intrusion of colonial powers and the subsequent introduction of fatty pieces of meat, fast food and sugary drinks have spawned a plague of diabetes and obesity. Today, while much of Tonga's national GDP, Western Samoa and neighbors is wasted on these “western poisons”, fishermen barely manage to sell their fish.
Bolshoi Zayatski Orthodox Church, Solovetsky Islands, Russia.
Culture
Bolshoi Zayatsky, Russia

Mysterious Russian Babylons

A set of prehistoric spiral labyrinths made of stones decorate Bolshoi Zayatsky Island, part of the Solovetsky archipelago. Devoid of explanations as to when they were erected or what it meant, the inhabitants of these northern reaches of Europe call them vavilons.
combat arbiter, cockfighting, philippines
Sport
Philippines

When Only Cock Fights Wake Up the Philippines

Banned in much of the First World, cockfighting thrives in the Philippines where they move millions of people and pesos. Despite its eternal problems, it is the sabong that most stimulates the nation.
Bark Europa, Beagle Channel, Evolution, Darwin, Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego
Traveling
Beagle Channel, Argentina

Darwin and the Beagle Channel: on the Theory of the Evolution Route

In 1833, Charles Darwin sailed aboard the "Beagle" through the channels of Tierra del Fuego. His passage through these southern confines shaped the revolutionary theory he formulated of the Earth and its species
Martian Scenery of the White Desert, Egypt
Ethnic
White Desert, Egypt

The Egyptian Shortcut to Mars

At a time when conquering the solar system's neighbor has become an obsession, an eastern section of the Sahara Desert is home to a vast related landscape. Instead of the estimated 150 to 300 days to reach Mars, we took off from Cairo and, in just over three hours, we took our first steps into the Oasis of Bahariya. All around, almost everything makes us feel about the longed-for Red Planet.
portfolio, Got2Globe, Travel photography, images, best photographs, travel photos, world, Earth
Got2Globe Photo Portfolio
Portfolio Got2globe

The Best in the World – Got2Globe Portfolio

Ulugh Beg, Astronomer, Samarkand, Uzbekistan, A Space Marriage
History
Samarkand, Uzbekistan

The Astronomer Sultan

The grandson of one of the great conquerors of Central Asia, Ulugh Beg, preferred the sciences. In 1428, he built a space observatory in Samarkand. His studies of the stars led him to name a crater on the Moon.
Viewpoint Viewpoint, Alexander Selkirk, on Skin Robinson Crusoe, Chile
Islands
Robinson Crusoe Island, Chile

Alexander Selkirk: in the Skin of the True Robinson Crusoe

The main island of the Juan Fernández archipelago was home to pirates and treasures. His story was made up of adventures like that of Alexander Selkirk, the abandoned sailor who inspired Dafoe's novel
Boats on ice, Hailuoto Island, Finland.
Winter White
Hailuoto, Finland

A Refuge in the Gulf of Bothnia

During winter, the island of Hailuoto is connected to the rest of Finland by the country's longest ice road. Most of its 986 inhabitants esteem, above all, the distance that the island grants them.
Kukenam reward
Literature
Mount Roraima, Venezuela

Time Travel to the Lost World of Mount Roraima

Persist on top of Mte. Roraima extraterrestrial scenarios that have withstood millions of years of erosion. Conan Doyle created, in "The Lost World", a fiction inspired by the place but never set foot on it.
Nature
São Nicolau, Cape Verde

Photography of Nha Terra São Nicolau

The voice of the late Cesária Verde crystallized the feeling of Cape Verdeans who were forced to leave their island. who visits São Nicolau or, wherever it may be, admires images that illustrate it well, understands why its people proudly and forever call it their land.
Sheki, Autumn in the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Autumn Homes
Autumn
Sheki, Azerbaijan

autumn in the caucasus

Lost among the snowy mountains that separate Europe from Asia, Sheki is one of Azerbaijan's most iconic towns. Its largely silky history includes periods of great harshness. When we visited it, autumn pastels added color to a peculiar post-Soviet and Muslim life.
View of La Graciosa de Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain
Natural Parks
La Graciosa, Canary Islands

The Most Graceful of the Canary Islands

Until 2018, the smallest of the inhabited Canaries did not count for the archipelago. Arriving in La Graciosa, we discover the insular charm of the now eighth island.
One against all, Sera Monastery, Sacred Debate, Tibet
UNESCO World Heritage
Lhasa, Tibet

Sera, the Monastery of the Sacred Debate

In few places in the world a dialect is used as vehemently as in the monastery of Sera. There, hundreds of monks, in Tibetan, engage in intense and raucous debates about the teachings of the Buddha.
Heroes Acre Monument, Zimbabwe
Characters
Harare, Zimbabwewe

The Last Rales of Surreal Mugabué

In 2015, Zimbabwe's first lady Grace Mugabe said the 91-year-old president would rule until the age of 100 in a special wheelchair. Shortly thereafter, it began to insinuate itself into his succession. But in recent days, the generals have finally precipitated the removal of Robert Mugabe, who has replaced him with former Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa.
Network launch, Ouvéa Island-Lealdade Islands, New Caledonia
Beaches
Ouvéa, New Caledonia

Between Loyalty and Freedom

New Caledonia has always questioned integration into faraway France. On the island of Ouvéa, Loyalty Archipelago, we find an history of resistance but also natives who prefer French-speaking citizenship and privileges.
Promise?
Religion
Goa, India

To Goa, Quickly and in Strength

A sudden longing for Indo-Portuguese tropical heritage makes us travel in various transports but almost non-stop, from Lisbon to the famous Anjuna beach. Only there, at great cost, were we able to rest.
Flam Railway composition below a waterfall, Norway.
On Rails
Nesbyen to Flam, Norway

Flam Railway: Sublime Norway from the First to the Last Station

By road and aboard the Flam Railway, on one of the steepest railway routes in the world, we reach Flam and the entrance to the Sognefjord, the largest, deepest and most revered of the Scandinavian fjords. From the starting point to the last station, this monumental Norway that we have unveiled is confirmed.
Creel, Chihuahua, Carlos Venzor, collector, museum
Society
Chihuahua a Creel, Chihuahua, Mexico

On Creel's Way

With Chihuahua behind, we point to the southwest and to even higher lands in the north of Mexico. Next to Ciudad Cuauhtémoc, we visited a Mennonite elder. Around Creel, we lived for the first time with the Rarámuri indigenous community of the Serra de Tarahumara.
Casario, uptown, Fianarantsoa, ​​Madagascar
Daily life
Fianarantsoa, Madagascar

The Malagasy City of Good Education

Fianarantsoa was founded in 1831 by Ranavalona Iª, a queen of the then predominant Merina ethnic group. Ranavalona Iª was seen by European contemporaries as isolationist, tyrant and cruel. The monarch's reputation aside, when we enter it, its old southern capital remains as the academic, intellectual and religious center of Madagascar.
Cliffs above the Valley of Desolation, near Graaf Reinet, South Africa
Wildlife
Graaf-Reinet, South Africa

A Boer Spear in South Africa

In early colonial times, Dutch explorers and settlers were terrified of the Karoo, a region of great heat, great cold, great floods and severe droughts. Until the Dutch East India Company founded Graaf-Reinet there. Since then, the fourth oldest city in the rainbow nation it thrived at a fascinating crossroads in its history.
Bungee jumping, Queenstown, New Zealand
Scenic Flights
Queenstown, New Zealand

Queenstown, the Queen of Extreme Sports

In the century. XVIII, the Kiwi government proclaimed a mining village on the South Island "fit for a queen".Today's extreme scenery and activities reinforce the majestic status of ever-challenging Queenstown.
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