Viti, the soil from Eden: on historical praxis as a mode of connecting in Kadavu.

Viti, the soil from Eden: on historical praxis as a mode of connecting in Kadavu. HISTORICAL PRAXIS prax��is?n. pl. prax��es1. Practical application or exercise of a branch of learning.2. Habitual or established practice; custom. , CHRISTIANITY AND CONNECTEDNESS In the contexts of ethnicized political conflicts between Fijians(1) and Indo-Fijians Methodism, still the denomination of an estimated70% of the Fijians, became politically relevant as certain circleswithin the Methodist Church tried to make an ethnically interpreted formof it part of Fijian identity in contrast to the mainly non-ChristianIndo-Fijians. (2) Both, Christianity (lotu vaKarisito) and a lifeaccording to according toprep.1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians.2. In keeping with: according to instructions.3. the norms and values conceived to be traditional, or, inFijian terms, vakavanua ('in the manner of the land (vanua)')have been declared to be cornerstones of being Fijian. (3) Suchconvictions are founded in the history of Fijian Methodism since itsbeginnings in 1835, which is characterized by its close relationshipwith the chiefly elite and its acceptance of many traditional Fijiannorms, values and institutions within the religious praxis of Methodism.This history poses the question: how is it possible that Christianity,itself characterized by a strong universalistic orientation, can becomepart of a particularistic par��tic��u��lar��ism?n.1. Exclusive adherence to, dedication to, or interest in one's own group, party, sect, or nation.2. agenda, an agenda founded on the complexnotion of vanua ('land') with its socio-political,territorial, moral and spiritual dimensions including the chiefly systemas well as the realms of ancestors, mana and tabu? (4) The answer tothis question is not a simple one and probably there are as many answersas individual actors. But all these actors use cultural resources tobring about these processes of forming Christian worldviews. In thisarticle an attempt is made to show one possible way to link Christianityand the vanua through a historical praxis made possible by structurallysimilar modes of constructing the past. The ethnographic eth��nog��ra��phy?n.The branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.eth��nog context of this article is the Nabukelevu districtin western Kadavu, where I conducted my fieldwork in the village ofLevuka. (5) In this rural area the relationship between the Christianreligion (lotu) and the realm of norms, values, beliefs, and practicesconceived of as traditional (vakavanua) is felt very strongly among manyfaithful Methodists. It is expressed in many ways: In the churches thespecial seats for the chiefs and the local leaders are still close tothe pulpit; the minister resides in the village of the paramount chief A paramount chief is the highest-level traditional (usually tribal) chief or political leader in a regional or local polity or country typically administered politically with a chief-based system. of the district; representatives of the church take part in thetraditional councils and meetings of the chiefdoms and the villages; thecatechists pray in rituals connected with the ancestors; the vanua isconceived of as being protected in its integrity and prosperity by theChristian God; and even the ancestors are believed to respect theChristian faith nowadays. However, the relationship between the vanua and the lotu is notalways an uncomplicated one without tensions. Different modes ofspirituality, different attitudes towards spiritual beings, and tensionsbetween the universalizing impetus of Christianity and the socially andspatially par-ticularistic beliefs and practices of the vanua are thesources of conflicts within individual Christians as well as within theChristian congregations. (6) Today, many Fijians within Methodism orCatholicism as well as within evangelical or Pentecostal churches arelooking for a 'more developed' spirituality, as they call it,and are critical of many traditional local beliefs and practicesrelating to relating torelate prep → concernantrelating torelate prep → bez��glich +gen, mit Bezug auf +accthe vanua and the ancestors. But, for others, the concept ofthe vanua remains a fundamental part of their worldview world��view?n. In both senses also called Weltanschauung.1. The overall perspective from which one sees and interprets the world.2. A collection of beliefs about life and the universe held by an individual or a group. , and thequestion arises whether there are possible ways to retain essentialdimensions of the vanua while connecting oneself with the sources ofChristianity. While wondering about such possibilities of connecting Christianitywith the vanua, a part of a Fijian meke came to mind. Meke (atraditional Fijian song and dance) is composed and choreographed by aspecialist. (7) Many of the meke texts are written for specificoccasions and become part of the oral traditions about these occasions,as they are performed many times and long after the original event,e.g., when people come together to celebrate or to stage welcomeceremonies for an honored guest. Often they relate events of the pastand are reflections by the composer about this past. In one such mekethe following is sung:</p> <pre> E dodonu sara me da sa reki It is right indeedthat we rejoice Ko Viti na qele mai Iteni Viti, the soil fromEden Ko i au na kai Jerusalemi I am a man from Jerusalem Na vanuatabu nei Manueli The vanua tabu of Manuel Au tubu e na kawaIsireli I grow from the offspring of Israel </pre><p>This is a refrain (korosi) of a meke composed by the late ManoaSoro Bulu-makau from Tabuya, Nabukelevu, Kadavu in 1977, (8) and whichwas still one of the most popular local meke in the villages of Levuka,Muaninuku and Tabuya in the Nabukelevu district of western Kadavu. (9)The whole meke deals with a bose vakaturanga, a chiefly council, whichcould not reach a decision, and is an appeal to clear up the discussionsand to reach wise decisions. This korosi points to an interestingpossibility of retaining the vanua as an essential part of a Christianworldview Christian worldview refers to a collection of distinctively Christian philosophical and religious beliefs. The term is typically used in one of three ways: A set of worldviews voiced by those identifying themselves as Christian; . It was no longer possible to talk to Manoa Soro Bulumakauabout his meke, as he had passed away a couple of years before my stayin Levuka. But through my discussions with Levukans, who had heard andsung this meke many times, it became clear to me that it can only beunderstood in the context of a specific historical praxis within whichthose Fijians who want to retain their understanding of the vanua withina Christian worldview can connect with each other in the Fijiancommunity and with the sources of Christianity. HISTORY AS SYMBOLIC FORM To speak about 'history' against the background of recentdiscussions on constructing the past (e.g., Borofsky 2000) leads to thequestion of what concept of 'history' is needed to understandthe modes of connecting that are articulated in the quoted korosi. Whatdo we refer to as history? Broadly spoken, 'history' is a wayto construct the past and the relationship between the past and thepresent. For a long time, 'history' in Western discourses wasunderstood in a very specific sense defined by the criteria of Westernacademic historiography historiographyWriting of history, especially that based on the critical examination of sources and the synthesis of chosen particulars from those sources into a narrative that will stand the test of critical methods. , which was committed to ideas of 'objectivetruth' within a realistic and positivist pos��i��tiv��ism?n.1. Philosophya. A doctrine contending that sense perceptions are the only admissible basis of human knowledge and precise thought.b. ontology ontology:see metaphysics. ontologyTheory of being as such. It was originally called “first philosophy” by Aristotle. In the 18th century Christian Wolff contrasted ontology, or general metaphysics, with special metaphysical theories . However, thisconcept proved to be too narrow to embrace ways of constructing the pastin other cultural traditions. Indeed, there are many different ways ofconstructing the past, characterized by different logics in regard towhat is to be considered an event of the past, what is to be considereda truthful representation of the past, and how the past is present inthe present. Does 'history' refer to all these ways ofconstructing past, or, as Greg Dening put it some years ago, to allkinds of 'public knowledge of the past' (1991:348)? This wouldmean that the concept of history has to be understood as an umbrellaterm A term used to cover a broad category of functions rather than one specific item. In many cases, a term is so catchy that it tends to be used for technologies that are a stretch from the original concept. See middleware and virtualization. , rather defining a frame of discourse than providing a tool foranalyzing the specific logics of constructing the past. The definingcriteria 'being public', 'knowledge' and'past' cannot be reduced to a single set of logical structuresnecessary as a conceptual basis for analyzing and comparing differentways of constructing the past. But how can we develop a concept ofhistory as an analytic tool without implying a Western ontologyinadequate for understanding constructions of the past in many othercultural traditions? In my search for a concept of history, I reread Verb 1. reread - read anew; read again; "He re-read her letters to him"read - interpret something that is written or printed; "read the advertisement"; "Have you read Salman Rushdie?" a passage fromEdward E. EvansPritchard:</p> <pre> But myth andhistory are in important respects different in char-acter ... Hence astory may be true yet mythical in character, and a story may be falseand yet historical in character.... [Myth] is not concerned so muchwith a succession of events as with moral significance of situations,and is hence often allegorical al��le��gor��i��cal? also al��le��gor��icadj.Of, characteristic of, or containing allegory: an allegorical painting of Victory leading an army. or symbolical in form. It is notincapsulated, as history is, but is a re-enactment fusing present andpast (Evans-Pritchard 1962:53). </pre> <p>SinceEvans-Pritchard's time much has been written on'history'. And, as the abovementioned a��bove��men��tioned?adj.Mentioned previously.n.The one or ones mentioned previously. discussions have shown,a mere reference to 'truth' is not enough to differentiatebetween 'historical' and 'not historical'. But whatabout the 'historical character', as Evans-Pritchard calledit? Can such a concept be helpful in understanding the quoted korosi andthe relationship to the sources of Christianity which is expressed init? Mentioning the 'historical character', Evans-Pritcharddraws our attention to an interesting point. Factual truth in anobjectivist sense, which Evans-Pritchard seems to be implying, is onlyone criterion in our understanding of a story as a'historical' story. And the 'historical character'can be found in different ways of constructing the past. So if we wereable to define this 'historical character', we could thenperhaps formulate a concept of history which could be used to analyzedifferent ways of constructing the past as 'historical',regardless of their relationship to specific kinds of ontology andepistemology epistemology(ĭpĭs'təmŏl`əjē)[Gr.,=knowledge or science], the branch of philosophy that is directed toward theories of the sources, nature, and limits of knowledge. Since the 17th cent. and the concepts of truth relating to these. But what can 'historical' mean in this context? Today, itis a com-monplace in much intellectual discourse that the past is notreducible to a single sequence of events which can be objectivelyreconstructed and then simply interpreted or understood. Rather, asSahlins reminds us (1985), the events are constituted from the veryfirst moment of their being in time, ac-cording to the symbolicstructures used in a socio-cultural praxis. And as events become eventsof the past, the process of constituting events continues, dependent onwhat understanding is used of a) the nature of the past, b) how thispast is related to the present, and c) how the past is used for presentneeds, as, for example, to explain the present situation, to constructsocial and political relationships, or to legitimize le��git��i��mize?tr.v. le��git��i��mized, le��git��i��miz��ing, le��git��i��miz��esTo legitimate.le��git power. In otherwords Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke"put differently , events and the presence of past events in the present aredetermined by the way a group or an individual is related to the past inan ongoing process of symbolic mediation. Thus, the symbolic structuresand their practical articulation have to be understood if we want tounderstand constructions of the past and the way they affect thepresent. And if we understand 'history' as one specific way ofconstructing the past, we have to formulate a concept of history whichmakes these processes of symbolic mediation and their structuralcharacteristics understandable. As a starting point Noun 1. starting point - earliest limiting pointterminus a quocommencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the , I propose to conceive of Verb 1. conceive of - form a mental image of something that is not present or that is not the case; "Can you conceive of him as the president?"envisage, ideate, imagine history as a form ofconstructing the past as a lineal That which comes in a line, particularly a direct line, as from parent to child or grandparent to grandchild. LINEAL. That which comes in a line. Lineal consanguinity is that which subsists between persons, one of whom is descended in a direct line from the other. sequence of concrete events and theirrela-tionship to each other within a spatiotemporal spa��ti��o��tem��po��ral?adj.1. Of, relating to, or existing in both space and time.2. Of or relating to space-time.[Latin spatium, space + temporal1. framework ofeveryday experience of human agents in lived space and time (incontrast, for example, to 'mythical' time, which can becharacterized by the possibility of cosmological breaks and substantialre-enactments of mythical events in rit-ual). (10) Note that the crucialpoint is not the content of the events judged against a specificstandard of objectivity, but a) the conception of events ordered in alineal sequence which cannot be inverted, and b) the definitive pastnessof events which can be effective in the present only if mediated acrosstime by historical agents, acts of remembering, and long lastingconsequences within a spatiotemporal framework which is the same one thepeople of today live in. Thus, not the content of an event, but the waythe factuality of an event and its specific presence in the present areconstituted are the important points. 'Historical' events areconceived as having taken place and draw their meaning from theirposition in the sequence of events as past events in a spatiotemporalframework without cosmological breaks between past and present, which isin contrast to how we often find them in myths. Important to note hereis that factuality is part and parcel of the concept of event andrelative to a specific ontology and epistemology. Factuality is not initself the criterion of a 'historical' event, since, forexample, 'mythical' events are factual too albeit in amythological myth��o��log��i��cal? also myth��o��log��icadj.1. Of, relating to, or recorded in myths or mythology.2. Fabulous; imaginary.myth ontology and epistemology. This means that we can detach de��tachv.1. To separate or unfasten; disconnect.2. To remove from association or union with something. the concept of 'historical event' from the Western concepts oftruth within objectivist, positivist, and realistic ontologies andepistemologies. Lineal sequence of events (which cannot be inverted),definitive pastness, and cosmological continuity do not necessarilyimply a Western ontology. They are the structural principles of historyconceived as symbolic form, and they can exist within ontologicalframeworks in which ancestors, spirits, and a belief in spiritual andmagical powers have their place, as they do in the everyday experienceof living people of the present who are involved in the symbolicmediation of the past. Conceived as a set of structural principles used to construct thepast according to a specific logic emerging from the practicalarticulation of these structural principles, history can be referred toas form in the idealist i��de��al��ist?n.1. One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations.2. One who is unrealistic and impractical; a visionary.3. sense of the term. 'Form' means inthis sense a set of principles used to define elements and to combinethem into a structural context (Sinnzusammenhang). In this process,elements and context are interacting. An element becomes a clearlydefined element through the process of being formed according tospecific structural principles made available by the structural context,and the structural context emerges in and through the combination ofstructured elements. In this outlined sense, history as a socio-culturalpraxis can be conceived as a symbolic form (Cassirer 1972 and 1994). Asymbolic form is to be understood as a symbolic praxis defined through aset of structural principles mediated by specifically structuredsymbols. These symbols are used to bring about the structured elementsand a structural context of a specific logical structure and coherence.Thus, in historical praxis, events of the past are constitutedsymbolically according to a logic which defines an event as an elementof a linear sequence of factual events within the structural context ofhistory. This structural context is defined by the spatiotemporalframework of today's experiences in a lineal time which cannot beinverted and which is characterized by cosmological continuity. Thus,historical events are characterized by definitive pastness. They cannotbe repeated, they can only be remembered--nor can they be substantiallyre-enacted, which might be conceived of as a way in which'mythical' events, or 'mythical' aspects of events,have an effect on the present. And their actual effectiveness lies inthis very act of remembering in the historical praxis. This means thattoday's people can relate to the historical past only throughsymbolic media, as for example stories, monuments, or ceremonies ofcommunal remembering, which are part of the process of defining eventsof the past as historical events. As part of the historical praxis,these media are, so to speak, the carders of the structural principlesdefining history as symbolic form. They define the historical events inan absolute past and, at the same time, they bridge the distance betweenthe people of the present and the past event in and through thehistorical praxis of remembering. To end this section, two final points need stressing: a) To conceive of history as symbolic form does not mean tounderstand history as a closed and exclusive symbolic system The term symbolic system is used in the field of anthropology and sociology to refer to a system of interconnected symbolic meanings.For complex systems of symbols, the term is preferred to symbolism . Rather,history as symbolic form is part of such different symbolic practices ashistoriography, story telling, memorial monuments, or ceremonies ofcommunal remembering. And historical praxis can and does exist together,beside, and against other forms of constructing past as for example'myth'. b) The past affects and determines the present in many ways. Myth,ritual, spiritual experiences, and the sedimentation of the past incultural concepts, daily routines, demographic distributions, physicalchanges of environment, etc., are all different ways in which the pastis present in the present. Each of them is characterized by a specificset of structural principles. And they all inform the historical praxisin constituting the experiential and ontological context of a specifichistorical praxis. However, due to the limited space of this paper, Ihave chosen to confine my interpretation of the quoted korosi to itsdimension as part of a historical praxis plus the connections betweenFijian and Christian spirituality made possible in, and through, thishistorical praxis. (11) HISTORICAL MODES OF CONNECTING IN FIJI Fiji(fē`jē)or Viti(vē`tē), officially Republic of the Fiji Islands, republic made up of a Melanesian island group (2005 est. pop. 893,000), c.7,000 sq mi (18,130 sq km), South Pacific. Against the background of the argument so far developed, the quotedkorosi appears not only as formulated in a way which can be understoodas historical in form. It also appears closely related to the historicalpraxis in Fiji by which Fijians connect themselves with their past andwith each other. Thus, this korosi can be understood as thetransposition transposition/trans��po��si��tion/ (trans?po-zish��un)1. displacement of a viscus to the opposite side.2. of modes of connecting used in the historical praxis inFiji to the agenda of connecting Fijians to the sources of Christianity. To explicate this point, let me turn to the spatial dimension ofthis text. What struck me in this korosi is the extension of the complexFijian concept of 'land' (vanua) mentioned above to the HolyLand. When I was starting to try to understand Fijian religious beliefs,I was wondering how the two aspects of it, the belief in mana, tabu,ancestors and other spiritual beings on the one hand and Christianity onthe other hand, would fit together. Soon I realized that this is notonly a question of ideology, in a narrow sense of the word, but also aquestion of spatiality, a question of the mutual constitution of spaceand religious praxis (Dickhardt 2000). From a spatial perspective, thesetwo forms of religious praxis, as I observed them in the village ofLevuka (Nabukelevu district, Kadavu) were articulated in two modes ofreligious spatiality which were practically integrated. (12) Mostbeliefs and practices relating to ancestors and other spiritual beingsare essentially placebound. Ancestors (vu and qase) as well as otherspiritual beings (mostly referred to as tjimoni or tevoro) are connectedto specific places called vanua tabu, or forbidden places, where theyhave their abode One's home; habitation; place of dwelling; or residence. Ordinarily means "domicile." Living place impermanent in character. The place where a person dwells. Residence of a legal voter. Fixed place of residence for the time being. , e.g., a spot in the reef or an old house foundation.(13) Additionally, the ancestors of a specific group are closelyattached to the vanua, the 'land' conceived as a complex unityof socio-political, moral, spiritual and physical dimensions, which isprotected by the ancestors. (14) Common to all these spaces is a) thatthe ancestors are present at them in a very concrete way, namely in thelived spaces of the garden land and the village sites; b) that theliving people have a heavy moral obligation to respect and protect thesespaces over which the ancestors watch, ever punishing with sickness anddeath those who transgress and violate them; c) that the relationship ofthe living people to these spaces is established ritually throughcontact with the ancestors; and d) that these relationships are passedon from generation to generation, making them inalienable Not subject to sale or transfer; inseparable.That which is inalienable cannot be bought, sold, or transferred from one individual to another. The personal rights to life and liberty guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States are inalienable. as long as aline of descendants exists. (15) This mode of spatiality creates astrong sense of being located, not only on the level of personalidentity but also on the level of the relationship to the ancestors. Thepresence of the ancestors is experienced on the land, e.g., when peoplehear them drinking yaqona in an old abandoned village site; their poweris also experienced when they are punishing the violation of a vanuatabu; and they are further experienced as part of the moral community,as when they are approached in a ritual for transferring a piece ofland. And--especially important for the argument developed here--theancestors, vu as well as qase, appear in these aspects of theirrelationship to the living people as historical actors. The stories toldabout them tell about establishing not a cosmological order, butpolitical and legal relationships to land and to other groups in ahistorical spatiotemporal framework, even if these relationships areritually mediated. (16) Thus, past and present are not fused, as wouldbe the case in a ritual re-enactment of myth, as Evans-Pritchard remindsus. Rather, past and present are mediated through the ancestors, thosewho were once living actors, but who are now rendered into ancestralactors existing within the spatiotemporal framework of historical time,even if they inhabit a mode of spiritual existence which is differentfrom that of the living people. In contrast to this placebound form of religious praxis, therelation-ship to the Christian God of Methodism is much less dependenton specific sacred places. Discourses of God as na Kalou i cerecere (Godon High) or na Kolou i lomalagi (God in Heaven)--who has actually novanua tabu in the territories of the different groups I worked with--aretelling examples of a concept of divinity which is spirituallyomnipresent om��ni��pres��ent?adj.Present everywhere simultaneously.[Medieval Latin omnipres but materially placeless, as compared with the ancestors andother spiritual beings of the local traditions. This placelessness ofthe Christian God of Methodism is physically tangible in the church: theplace of Christian worship In Christianity, worship has been considered by most Christians to be the central act of Christian identity throughout history. Many Christian theologians have defined humanity as homo adorans par excellence. The way churches are dealtwith differs significantly from the way people behave in relationship tovanua tabu. They are places where the Christian worship is staged as asocial event, not sacred places in which a divine power is permanentlypresent. The congregation comes into touch with God through the socialevent of worship, sermons, hymns, and prayers, not through contact witha physically manifested divinity. Note that the Methodist churches arenot called vale tabu, but vale ni lotu, i.e., house of the worship! Buthere is not the place to go further into details of Methodistspirituality. The point of importance for the present argument is thatMethodism in Fiji seems not to need a form of religious praxis whichbinds it to unique sacred places in Fiji. And this has a vitalconsequence: it gives to the placebound religious praxis connected withthe vanua within its historical spatiotemporal framework a great deal offreedom for articulation in Fiji, without being necessarily in conflictwith the Christian religion. The Christian God need not fight againstthe local ancestors, but can integrate them in his overarchinghierarchy. Thus, in Levuka the local places of the ancestors find theirspatial and ideological position within the universal space of theomnipresent God in Heaven. And so it is no contradiction when the localcatechists (vakatawa) actively participate in the rituals relating tothe ancestors and the vanua--as members of the vanua as well as in theirfunction as catechist--e.g., to say a prayer at the beginning of aritual. Thus, the traditional (vakavanua) way of dealing with the spiritualrealm, characterized by a spatiotemporal framework we can callhistorical in the sense outlined above, can and does coexist withChristian religious praxis. And Manoa, the composer of the meke, usedthis possibility to interpret certain Christian beliefs in terms of thevanua and its spirituality implying territorial and genealogical linksto the sources of Christian truth and salvation. This move seems to be,from a Western point of view, a move away from the Christianspirituality formulated in the New Testament and its sources of truthand salvation beyond the particularities of ethnic affiliation,genealogy genealogy(jē'nēŏl`əjē, –ăl`–, jĕ–), the study of family lineage. Genealogies have existed since ancient times. , and territoriality TerritorialityBehavior patterns in which an animal actively defends a space or some other resource. One major advantage of territoriality is that it gives the territory holder exclusive access to the defended resource, which is generally associated with . However, it is understandable within twocontexts. Firstly, there are popular interpretations of the Old Testamentamong Kadavuans which compare the norms, values, and acts of the ancientIsraelites with those of the vanua. For example, even the unwillingnessto alienate land is not only explained by customs relating to theancestors, but also through certain passages from the Old Testament(e.g., 1 Kgs 21:3). In other words, a logical analogue to the vanua isconsidered to be valid for the old Israelites as well and the OldTestament becomes a proof of the compatibility of Christianity andvanua. That the Old Testament played a major role in Manoa'sthinking seems likely, not least through his use of the name of Manuelwhich is an allusion to Isaiah 7:14 and which was understood by theLevukans as a name for God. Secondly, there are two major links to the sources of spiritualpower and responsibility in the context of the vanua: the inalienablerelationship to land and the genealogical connectedness to the sourcesof truth and spiritual power. Both are to be understood against thebackground of the experience that the final authority to make decisionsabout, and to safeguard, the land and the traditional knowledge lieswith the ancestors and that the latter can be effectively approachedonly by their descendants. And only these descendants can take fullresponsibility for the heritage of the ancestors, materially andsocio-politically as well as spiritually. (17) These contexts render Manoa's korosi understandable not onlyas a metaphoric transposition of the concept of the vanua. Rather, theyopen the possibility of extending the concept substantially to the HolyLand. How can this extension be made? Vanua tabu come into existenceonly through the agency of ancestors and spiritual beings, and for theFijians with whom I discussed these issues, the Christian God, Christ,and all the other people the Bible tells us about, did not act in suchways in Fiji: in their Christian worldview, there are no Biblical vanuatabu on Kadavu. (18) Thus, the sacredness of the vanua is not asacredness derived from a durable personal presence of Christiandivinity in defined places. Rather, it is grounded in the ancestors onthe one hand and on the other in the acts of the Christian God, who gave(soli) the land and the mana of it as a whole to the Fijians in thecourse of Christian salvational history (Heilsgeschichte), who assuresthe prosperity of the land (sau), who protects it against floods,droughts and tropical cyclones, and who blesses the land(vakalougatatakaina). No attempt is made to connect the vanua in amythical way to the Biblical tradition and to fuse times and spaces ofthe vanua in Fiji with the times and spaces of the Bible in the present.Rather, the vanua is conceivable in terms of these practices as aChristian vanua within a historical spatiotemporal framework ofancestral acts and the Christian history of salvation. But it is exactly this historical interpretation of the past andthe sacredness of the vanua which provides a link into the Biblicaltradition. (19) The Bible is quite clear about the spatiotemporalframework of the events which are described: it is the space-time ofhuman experience structured along a linear course of time. Yes, miracleshappen through the intervention of God, and the world is full of spiritsand demons, but this is compatible with the everyday experience Fijianshave themselves as human agents in space and time, where the ancestorsand the other spiritual beings coexist with them. And even theinterventions of God do not shake the spatiotemporal order: thisdisruption is not supposed to happen before the Day of Judgment. (20)But this means also that the actions of Biblical persons can beconceived in the same way as the deeds of the ancestors can and that thesacred geography of the Holy Land lies within the spatiotemporalframework of human everyday experience: it can be interpreted in thesame historical form as the vanua in Fiji. (21) Thus, the Biblicalpersons can also establish vanua tabu in the strict sense of theterm--and not only figuratively. But this additionally implies thepossibility of there being living people who can be related to thesevanua tabu, just as is usually the case with vanua tabu in Fiji. Notethat this can also be understood as one specifically Fijian way ofarticulating one of the central claims of Christian faith: God is notonly present in a mythical transcendence but through the Coming ofChrist in the immanence immanence(ĭm`ənəns)[Lat.,=dwelling in], in metaphysics, the presence within the natural world of a spiritual or cosmic principle, especially of the Deity. It is contrasted with transcendence. of our earthly existence. And the vanua tabu arethe manifestations of this earthly presence of the divine spiritualpower--these manifestations being located in the Holy Land; the vanuatabu are a way of interpreting the Biblical story consistent with Fijianforms of constructing the past and the presence of spiritual powerwithin the spatiotemporal framework of everyday experience as humanagents in historical space and time. Given this possibility of constructing the past in Fijian terms, itis understandable that the composer of the meke could go a step furtherin the extension of the logic of the vanua: he looked for a legitimateway of con-necting Fijians to this vanua tabu. There are legitimaterelationships to the vanua as, for instance, genealogy and migration. Toassume a migration-based relationship to remote western lands is not newat all to Fijian ways of recovering the past. Rather, it is a longestablished motif in Fijian speculations about their origin, which takesits starting point in such traditions as the story of the Kaunitonimigration and its historical role in forming a pan-Fijian identity.Actually, all the Fijians I talked with knew the story about a possibleorigin of the Fijians in East Africa, specifically in Tanganyika. Whynot extend this connection to Israel, as some of my informants hinted atagainst a background of the korosi quoted? (22) The connection to Israelmentioned in the meke is understandable in a spatiotemporal framework ofeveryday experience of Fijians in the vanua. Thus, it is not surprisingthat the korosi's idiom is that used to establish relationships inthe socio-political sphere in Fiji: the concepts of qele (soil), kai(person in the sense of one native to a place) and kawa (descendants,offspring) are used on many occasions to explain connections betweendifferent individuals and groups as an established fact. Especially theconcepts of kai and kawa are important in this regard. Kai is often usedto describe people in relation to their place of origin, implying asubstantial commonality of place and people. (23) Kawa is enormouslyimportant in the construction of inalienable relationships betweenpeople and between people and land. Historical in form, these conceptsconnect the meke to the historical dimension of the Biblical stories.They transpose trans��posev.To transfer one tissue, organ, or part to the place of another. a historical mode of connecting common in Fiji, and opena possible way of giving Fiji a certain position within the Christianhistory of salvation. Thus, this connection opens another way ofrelating people to the sources of Christian salvation and spiritualpowers besides that of the spiritual possibilities of Pauline theologyas found in the New Testament. This enables an ethnic interpretation ofChristianity retaining important dimensions of Fijian spiritualitycentered around the vanua. CONCLUSIONS I started my argument in this paper by asking whether a concept ofhistory can be used to analyze different ways of constructing the pastas characterized by different ontological frameworks. It was suggestedthat a concept of history as symbolic form can be used in such ananalysis. Using this concept in the interpretation of a Fijian korosi ofa meke showed that this korosi could be understood as part of ahistorical praxis defined by the structural features of a linealsequence of events which cannot be inverted, a definitive pastness and acosmological continuity. Furthermore, it was argued that this historicalpraxis is a possible mode for connecting Fijian spirituality with theBiblical traditions. Both share structural similarities as they operatewith concepts that are historical in form, these structural similaritiesbeing the condition for linking the two traditions in a historicalpraxis. The forms of making the Biblical events part of a Fijianspirituality can be understood in the context of Fijian historicalpraxis as used to connect Fijians with each other and with their land(vanua) in its physical, social and spiritual dimensions. This attempt to understand a Fijian meke as 'historical'discourse does not mean judging local forms of 'public knowledge ofthe past' (Dening 1991:348) according to Western standards of truthand factuality. Rather, it means developing an analytical tool forunderstanding the specific logical structure of discourses and the waysof connecting past and present in relation to spatiotemporal structureswhich we may find in different discourses. (24) It allows us to answerthe question of why (and how) Fijians relate their way of constructingthe past historically to the Biblical tradition--and to do so withoutassuming a simple misunderstanding on their part or resting content withan exotic paradox of a particularistically interpreted universalisticChristianity, given that the links between the two discourses areanalytically accessible. Moreover, part of the possible linkage betweenthe discourses is the existence of analogue logics for constructing thepast. In other words, in extending the logic of the vanua and the idiomsof migration and genealogical descent to the Biblical tradition, thecomposer not only combines two sets of events, but relates two ways ofconstructing the past which are structurally similar to each other intheir logic as being historical in the sense outlined above. Thus, thequoted korosi can be understood as part of a historical discourse withina specific Fijian historical praxis. It shows one possible way wherebyFijians can relate to Christianity in terms of their own historicity his��to��ric��i��ty?n.Historical authenticity; fact.historicityNounhistorical authenticity asan ethnic group. To end this paper, let me make this remark. Neither is historicalpraxis the only mode of connecting Fijian spirituality with the Biblicaltraditions, nor is the performance of meke the only mode of experiencewhereby Fijians can connect themselves to Christianity. The ChristianGod as a transcendent source of mana and ritual practices (as, forexample, drinking kava or, yaqona, in a formal setup) point up two otherpossible ways of providing structural contexts for intellectually andexperientially connecting Fijian spirituality with Christianity.Especially the ritual contexts are of great importance, as Toren, forexample, has shown convincingly (Toren 1988, 1999 and 2004). Ritualshave the capacity to bring together people in social relations andrecombine re��com��binev.To undergo or cause genetic recombination; form new combinations. a range of symbolic forms in different modes of experience, asfor example speech, singing, rhythm, movement, spatial arrangements, andsymbolically charged gestures. Thus, social, political, historical, andspiritual connectedness is experienced in a very complex way in theprocess of ritually articulating different modes of connecting. Againstthis background, the study of the ritual articulation of history canreveal how history qua symbolic form is transmitted, acquired, andtransformed in the experience of the actors and how history is relatedto other modes of connecting. Interesting questions arise with regard tohow the concepts of vanua, vanua tabu, kawa, or kai are expressed insuch ritual articulations as speeches, singing, or spatial arrangements;also with regard to how actors relate to these articulations. However,to explore these matters would exceed the scope of the present paper. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The original version of this paper was presented at the Fijiworking session of the ESfO-Conference 'Recovering the Past'in Vienna in July 2002 con-vened by Elfriede Hermann and Anette Schade.For enabling me to write this paper I have to thank my Levukan hosts,always ready to explain again what I initially failed to grasp. Forcomments, suggestions, and corrections I thank especially ElfriedeHermann, Wolfgang Kempf, and Kim Dammers. REFERENCES ABRAMSON, A. 2000. Bounding the Unbounded: Ancestral Land and Jural The principles of natural and positive rights recognized by law.Jural pertains to the rights and obligations sanctioned and governed by positive law or that law which is enacted by proper authority. Relations in the Interior of Eastern Fiji. In A. Abramson and D.Theodossopoulos (eds), Land, Law and Environment. Mythical Land, LegalBoundaries, pp.191-210. London: Pluto Press Pluto Press is a progressive, independent publisher based in London. It was founded in 1969 by Richard Kuper and others as an arm of International Socialism, the forerunner of the Socialist Workers Party in the UK. . BARKER, J. (ed.). 1990. Christianity in Oceania: EthnographicPerspectives. Lanham: University Press of America. BIERSACK, A. 1991. Introduction: History and Theory inAnthropology. In A. Biersack (ed.), Clio in Oceania: Toward a HistoricalAnthropology, pp. 1-36. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Smithsonian Institution,research and education center, at Washington, D.C.; founded 1846 under terms of the will of James Smithson of London, who in 1829 bequeathed his fortune to the United States to create an establishment for the "increase and diffusion of Press. BOROFSKY, R. (ed.). 2000. Remembrance of Pacific Pasts: AnInvitation to Remake History. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press The University of Hawaiʻi Press is a university press that is part of the University of Hawaiʻi. . BOUTILIER, J.A., D.T. HUGHES and S.W. TIFFANY (eds). 1978. Mission,Church and Sect in Oceania. Ann Arbor Ann Arbor,city (1990 pop. 109,592), seat of Washtenaw co., S Mich., on the Huron River; inc. 1851. It is a research and educational center, with a large number of government and industrial research and development firms, many in high-technology fields such as : University of Michigan (body, education) University of Michigan - A large cosmopolitan university in the Midwest USA. Over 50000 students are enrolled at the University of Michigan's three campuses. The students come from 50 states and over 100 foreign countries. Press. BURT, B. 1994. Tradition and Christianity: The ColonialTransformation of a Solomon Islands Solomon Islands,independent Commonwealth nation (2005 est. pop. 538,000), c.15,500 sq mi (40,150 sq km), SW Pacific, E of New Guinea. The islands that constitute the nation of the Solomon Islands—Guadalcanal, Malaita, New Georgia, the Santa Cruz Islands, Society. Chur: Harwood AcademicPublishers. CASSIRER, E. 1994 [1923-1929]. Philosophie der symbolischen Formen,3 Bande. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft. 1972. [1944].An Essay on Man: An Introduction to a Philosophy ofHuman Culture. New Haven New Haven,city (1990 pop. 130,474), New Haven co., S Conn., a port of entry where the Quinnipiac and other small rivers enter Long Island Sound; inc. 1784. Firearms and ammunition, clocks and watches, tools, rubber and paper products, and textiles are among the many : Yale University Yale University,at New Haven, Conn.; coeducational. Chartered as a collegiate school for men in 1701 largely as a result of the efforts of James Pierpont, it opened at Killingworth (now Clinton) in 1702, moved (1707) to Saybrook (now Old Saybrook), and in 1716 was Press. DENING, G. 1991. A Poetic for Histories: Transformations thatPresent the Past. In A. Biersack (ed.), Clio in Oceania: Toward aHistorical Anthropology, pp.347-380. Washington: Smithsonian InstitutionPress. DICKHARDT, M. 2001. Das Raumliche des Kulturellen: Entwurf zu einerkulturanthropologischen Raumtheorie am Beispiel Fiji. Mun-ster: Lit. 2000. Das Land, die Ahnen, die Damonen, die Kirche und der Gott inder Hohe: Formen religioser Raumlichkeit in Fiji. In D. Pezzoli-Olgiatiand E Stolz (eds), Cartigrafia religiosa--ReligioseKartographie--Cartographie religieuse, pp.253-287. Bern: Lang. DURUTALO, S. 1986. Na lotu, na vanua, na matanitu: The Paramountcyof Fijian Interest and the Politicization of Ethnicity (Working PaperNo. 6). Suva: South Pacific Forum. EVANS-PRITCHARD, E.E. 1962. Anthropology and History. In E.E.Evans-Pritchard, Essays in Social Anthropology, pp.46-65. London: Faberand Faber Faber and Faber, often abbreviated to Faber, is an independent publishing house in the UK, notable in particular for publishing a great deal of poetry and for its former editor T. S. Eliot. . FRANCE France(frăns, Fr. fräNs), officially French Republic, republic (2005 est. pop. 60,656,000), 211,207 sq mi (547,026 sq km), W Europe. , P. 1969. The Charter of the Land: Custom and Colonizationin Fiji. Melbourne: Oxford University Press. GERAGHTY, P. 1977. How a Myth Is Born: The Story of the KaunitoniStory. Mana 2:25-29. GLAMUZINA, K. 1993. Contemporary Music and Performance Practice inLevuka. University of Auckland Not to be confused with Auckland University of Technology.The University of Auckland (Māori: Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau) is New Zealand's largest university. : M.A.-Thesis (unpublished). HILL, J. 1988. Introduction: Myth and History. In J. Hill (ed.),Rethinking History and Myth: Indigenous South American Perspectives onthe Past, pp. 1-17. Urbana: University of Illinois Press The University of Illinois Press (UIP), is a major American university press and part of the University of Illinois. OverviewAccording to the UIP's website: . JOLLY, M. 1992. Custom and the Way of the Land: Past and Present inVanuatu and Fiji. In M. Jolly and N. Thomas (Guest Editors), ThePolitics of Tradition in the Pacific. Special Issue of Oceania62(4):330-354. KAPLAN, M. 1995. Neither Cargo nor Cult. Ritual Politics and theColonial Imagination in Fiji. Durham: Duke University Press. KEMPF, W. 2002. The Politics of Incorporation: Masculinity,Spatiality and Modernity among the Ngaing of Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea(păp`ə, –y . InOceania 73(1):56-77. LECKIE, J. 2002. Return to Nukulau: The Troubled Waters ofEthno-Nationalism in Fiji. In E. Kolig and H. Muckler (eds), Politics ofIndigeneity in the South Pacific: Recent Problems of Identity inOceania, pp. 119-142. Munster: Lit. MATE, G.S. 1977. The Role of the Native Lands Commission. In S.Vatu (ed.), Talking about Oral Traditions, pp.64-77. Suva: Fiji Museum The Fiji Museum is a museum in Suva Fiji located in the capital city's botanical gardens.The museum houses an extensive archaeological collection dating back 3,700 years and relics of Fiji's indigenous cultural history. . METHODIST MEN'S FELLOWSHIP GROUP. 1983. Noqu Mataniciva. Suva:Lotu Pasifika. NIUKULA, P. 1997. Religion and the State. In B.V. Lal and T.R.Vakatora (eds), Fiji in Transition, pp.53-79. Suva: School of Social andEconomic Development, University of the South Pacific USP is owned by the governments of 12 Pacific Island countries: the Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu. . 1994 [1992].The Three Pillars. The Triple Aspect of Fijian Society.Suva: Christian Writing Project. OTTO, T. and A. BORSBOOM (eds). 1997. Cultural Dynamics ofReligious Change in Oceania. Leiden: KITLV KITLV Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (Royal Institute of Linguistics and Anthropology)Press. RAVUVU, A. 1983. Vaka i Taukei: The Fijian Way of Life. Suva:Institute of Pacific Studies. SAHLINS, M. 1985. Islands of History. Chicago: University ofChicago Press The University of Chicago Press is the largest university press in the United States. It is operated by the University of Chicago and publishes a wide variety of academic titles, including The Chicago Manual of Style, dozens of academic journals, including . THOMAS, N. 1992. The Inversion of Tradition. American Ethnologist eth��nol��o��gy?n.1. The science that analyzes and compares human cultures, as in social structure, language, religion, and technology; cultural anthropology.2. 19(1):213-232. TOMLINSON, M. 2002. Sacred Soil in Kadavu, Fiji. Oceania72(4):237-57. TOREN, C. 2004. Becoming a Christian in Fiji: An Ethnographic Studyof Ontogeny ontogeny:see biogenetic law. OntogenyThe developmental history of an organism from its origin to maturity. It starts with fertilization and ends with the attainment of an adult state, usually expressed in terms of both maximal body . Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute10(1):221-240. 1999. Mind, Materiality MATERIALITY. That which is important; that which is not merely of form but of substance. 2. When a bill for discovery has been filed, for example, the defendant must answer every material fact which is charged in the bill, and the test in these cases seems to and History: Explorations in FijianEthnography ethnography:see anthropology; ethnology. ethnographyDescriptive study of a particular human society. Contemporary ethnography is based almost entirely on fieldwork. . London: Routledge. 1995. Seeing the Ancestral Sites: Transformations in Fijian Notionsof the Land. In E. Hirsch and M. O'HanIon (eds), The Anthropologyof Landscape: Perspectives on Place and Space, pp. 163-183. Oxford:Clarendon Press. 1988. Making the Present, Revealing the Past: The Mutability andContinuity of Tradition as Process. Man 23:696-717. TURNER, J.W. 1997. Continuity and Constraint: Reconstructing theConcept of Tradition from a Pacific Perspective. Contemporary Pacific9(2):345-381. 1988. A Sense of Place: Locus and Identity in Matailobau, Fiji.Anthropos 83(4-6):421-431. TUWERE, I.S. 1997. The Church-State Relation in Fiji. In B.V. Laland T.R. Vakatora (eds), Fiji in Transition, pp.44-52. Suva: School ofSocial and Economic Development, University of the South Pacific. WARD, R.G. 1995. Land, Law and Custom: Diverging Realities in Fiji.In R.G. Ward and E. Kingdon (eds), Land, Custom and Practice in theSouth Pacific, pp. 198-249. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press (known colloquially as CUP) is a publisher given a Royal Charter by Henry VIII in 1534, and one of the two privileged presses (the other being Oxford University Press). . WHITEHOUSE, H. 2000. Arguments and Icons. Divergent Modes ofReligiosity re��li��gi��os��i��ty?n.1. The quality of being religious.2. Excessive or affected piety.Noun 1. religiosity - exaggerated or affected piety and religious zealreligiousism, pietism, religionism . Oxford: Oxford University Press. WILLIAMS, T. 1982 [1858]. Fiji and the Fijians, Vol.1: The Islandsand their Inhabitants. Suva: Fiji Museum. WILLIKSEN-BAKKER, S. 1990. Vanua--A Symbol with Many Ramifi-cationsin Fijian Culture. Ethnos 55(3-4):232-247 NOTES (1.) I refer, for the sake of convenience, to ethnic Fijians asFijians and to the Fijians of Indian origin as Indo-Fijians. (2.) Printed materials as, for example, those put out by theMethodist Men's Fellowship Group (1983) or Niukula (1994) were usedto achieve this during my fieldwork, as were radio broadcasts, seminars,and informal discussions with ministers around the yaqona-bowl in manyvillages and urban homes. The conflict about the Sunday Ban in 1994/95and the call for declaring Fiji a Christian state under the constitutionare also to be understood in this context. See also Durutalo (1986),Leckie (2002:esp.133f.), Niukula (1997), Tuwere (1997). (3.) 'Tradition' is understood here as a highly dynamicfield of inclusions and exclusions, as a praxis of classifying phenomenaas traditional or non-traditional according to specific historicalcontexts. See, for example, Jolly (1992), Thomas (1992), Toren (1988),Turner (1997). (4.) Mana was used in Levuka, the site of my fieldwork (see below),to talk about effectiveness in relation with spiritual power, tabu meant'forbidden'. (5.) The fieldwork this article is based on was conducted in thevillage of Levuka, Nabukelevu, Kadavu in 1995 and 1996. It was funded bythe German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). I spent fifteen months inFiji, ten of which I spent in Levuka; see Dickhardt (2000) and (2001). (6.) See, for example, Tomlinson (2002). For different ways ofdealing with this problem of bringing together Christianity andtraditionality in the Pacific see, for example, Barker (1990),Boutilier, Hughes and Tiffany (1978), Burt (1994), Kempf (2002), Ottoand Borsboom (1997) or Whitehouse (2000). (7.) For the local traditions of music in Levuka see Glamuzina(1993). (8.) Translation by M. Dickhardt together with Anasa Lagilagi, JoniBola bo��la? also bo��lasn.A rope with weights attached, used especially in South America to catch cattle or game by entangling their legs.[From American Spanish bolas, pl. , and Timoci Veigauna from Levuka. (9.) The six mataqali located in the three villages of Levuka,Muaninuku, and Tabuya form the yavusa Levuka under the leadership of theTui Levuka, residing in Levuka village. This sociopolitical so��ci��o��po��li��ti��cal?adj.Involving both social and political factors.sociopoliticalAdjectiveof or involving political and social factors entity ispart of the Nabukelevu district under the Tui Nabukelevu, residing inthe chiefly village of Daviqele. (10.) The following theoretical argument is mainly inspired by thethinking of Ernst Cassirer Noun 1. Ernst Cassirer - German philosopher concerned with concept formation in the human mind and with symbolic forms in human culture generally (1874-1945)Cassirer (1972:esp.171-206) and (1994). I share withCassirer the form of his theoretical argument, but not the content ofhis concept of history, which is closer to Western historiography aspart of the Western scientific tradition. For conceptions of history andmyth similar to mine see Hill (1988). (11.) Other dimensions Other Dimensions is a collection of stories by author Clark Ashton Smith. It was released in 1970 and was the author's sixth collection of stories published by Arkham House. It was released in an edition of 3,144 copies. arising out of other contexts in which thekorosi is meaningful, as, for example, myth and ritual In traditional societies, myth and ritual are two central components of religious practice. Although myth and ritual are commonly united as parts of religion, the exact relationship between them has been a matter of controversy among scholars. , cannot be dealtwith in this article for reasons of space. The focus here is clearly onthe historical mode of connecting people and discourses. (12.) This is only one historical contingent articulation of therelationship between Christianity and vanua. Tomlinson (2002) showed forTavuki in central Kadavu that the relationship between the vanua and theChristian religion can be also characterized by conflict and tension. (13.) In Levuka the term vu is used for the personally knownoriginal an-cestors of the clanlike socio-political groups. The termqase, 'the ancient ones', is used for the group of all otherancestors who do not appear as recognizable individuals. The termstjimoni and tevoro ('demon' and 'devil') are usedfor all those spiritual beings who are not related to the presentsocio-political groups by descent. (14.) See Dickhardt (2001:137-141,198-237), Jolly (1992), Ravuvu(1983:70-84), Williksen-Bakker (1990). (15.) According to the official structure established by the NativeLands Commission (NLC NLC National League of CitiesNLC National Library of CanadaNLC National Library of ChinaNLC Northern Lights College (British Columbia, Canada)NLC North Lake College (Irving, Texas)) patrilineal patrilineal/pa��tri��lin��e��al/ (pat?ri-lin��e-il) descended through the male line. pat��ri��lin��e��aladj.Relating to, based on, or tracing ancestral descent through the paternal line. descent became the essential criteriafor group membership, rifles, and land rights. But the reality is muchmore complex. Many groups are formed out of subgroups which are at bestvaguely related genealogically. See also France (1969), Mate (1977),Ward (1995). (16.) There is no elaborated terminology for different kinds ofstories or a specific formal corpus of stories in Levuka. Many storiesare told in informal gatherings. The generic term for all kinds ofstories is talanoa, and differences are made in respect of theirsupposed truth (talanoa djina for true [djina] stories; talanoa ga forstories, which are just [ga] told without knowing if they are true;talanoa lasu for untrue [lasu] stories) and relative age (talanoa makawafor ancient [makawa] stories). Unfortunately, space does not permit meto discuss the mythical and ritual dimensions of oral traditions inLevuka. But for other Fijian contexts see e.g. Abramson (2000) or Toren(1995). From my point of view, a mythical dimension is especially to befound in the context of the ritual installations of chiefs, where thechief is ritually connected to the vanua. A discussion of this contextagainst the background of the analysis of Sahlins (1985:73-103) would bedesir-able. (17.) In some cases where the original owners of house foundationswere absent for generations, it proved necessary for a living descendantof these to conduct the rituals for transfering the right of ownershipto another group, in order to prevent punishment by the ancestors in theform of sickness (baca ni vanua), death, and misfortune. (18.) In other Fijian contexts, such transpositions from Biblicalgeography to Fiji did occur, e.g. in the context of the movement ofNavosavakadua (Kaplan 1995:110f.). (19.) This particular way of linking Fiji to the Biblical traditionis certainly not the only one to be found in Fiji. Many times thepresent distribution of peoples was explained to me as part ofGod's plan. This solution does not depend on a historical link tothe Holy Land, but does not rule out such a connection existing.However, due to the focus of this paper, I concentrate my analysis onthe particular way followed in the quoted korosi. (20.) Significant in this context is an intervention by God inQalira, another village in Nabukelevu district. In 1959 this village wasdestroyed by a tidal wave tidal wave,term properly applied to the crest of a tide as it moves around the earth. The wavelike upstream rush of water caused by the incoming tide in some locations is known as a tidal bore. (loka). Local Fijians said this was due to thevillagers having chased away the Methodist pastor after the Sundayservice because he wanted to forbid taralala-dances to the laypreachers. Down to the present, this story is related as an example forGod's power to punish. He does not upset the present spatiotemporalorder, but uses the same natural phenomena as the ancestors and otherspiritual beings do. (21.) This interpretation is additionally supported by often madestatements about the similarities between the Israelites of the OldTestament and traditional Fiji with regard to norms, values, and laws. (22.) Of course not all Levukans share this view, especially notthose influ-enced more by Evangelical and Pentecostal ideas or by formaleducation. But a lot of thinking and speculating is going on about thesethings: Sa levu na vakasama, as Levukans say. For the Kaunitoni seeGeraghty (1977). A possible African origin of the Fijians was alreadydiscussed by the first missionaries (see Williams 1982:17f.). (23.) See also Turner (1988). (24.) This seems to me an important task especially concerninginterpretations of the Bible, which combines 'historical','mythical,' and 'spiritual' thinking in a verycomplicated manner, or concerning processes of historization of myth andmythologizing of history. Michael Dickhardt University of Gottingen