‘Individualism creeping into iTaukei society’
MESULAME Koroivui noticed a lot of changes when he returned to his village of birth after 15 years in North Carolina in the US.
The father of three children, who now works as a butcher in North Carolina, made his way to the US after getting hitched to a Peace Corps volunteer.
Mr Koroivui, who is originally from Dravuni and has maternal ties to Vunisei, said individualism was slowly creeping into iTaukei society as people began to turn their focus on revenue generation.
“In the past we used to be a communal society where everything was done with the input of everyone in the village,” he said.
“Now, as individuals earn their own living, they are slowly breaking away from that communal lifestyle and are more focused on their individual families. Take for instance, when there is a village commitment we would have very few people in the village hall compared with the past where there was only one voice heard in the village and that was the command of the village head.”
The outspoken Dravuni native said another issue that he recognised in the village was the abuse of yaqona by villagers.
“In the past, yaqona was only consumed during special occasions and was a solemn ceremony done with the directive of the elders.
“However, this has changed and it is funny to see village bars where people have their own yaqona sessions going on into the wee hours of the morning.
“It maybe something serious when considering that the price of yaqona is now $150/kg which basically means that people maybe spending more than $1000 a month on yaqona, money that could be better used elsewhere,” he said.
Mr Koroivui said at the end of the day, it was all about making the right choices.