Nine families celebrate in Tacilevu
ATASTE of village life at Tacilevu in the province of Cakaudrove reminds me of growing up on Qamea Island in the ‘80s.
There are challenges to encounter — like the quality of water, infrequent access to bus service and the absence of power, supermarkets, amusement centres and shopping malls, among other things.
But there are more positives than negatives.
There is a lot of organic food to pig out on, free yaqona to abuse and picnic spots to show off my ability to float like a two-legged humpback whale in water.
There is also the prevailing feeling of happiness and content, laughter and goodwill and heaps of kindness to absorb.
It was in this brand of environment that the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren of Makibani Rabitu held its family reunion over the 2019 Christmas period.
The homecoming saw nine families come from different parts of Fiji to enjoy each other's company, reminisce over the good old days and plan for the future.
"We are a family. We must remain united and proud of our heritage," said Inise Dawai, the second youngest among the nine siblings.
An eloquent speaker, Inise challenged all members of the family to return at the end of 2020 for another similar family celebration.
"We have moved away from the village to different parts of the country and formed our own families, but we must not forget our humble beginnings, where we all started from."
The family members are part of Tacilevu's chiefly mataqali valelevu and amongst the biggest in the village.
Family members from outside Vanua Levu had engaged in monthly fundraising activities throughout 2019 to raise funds for the reunion.
They started arriving at the village a few weeks and days before Christmas.
The reunion program started with a sit down lunch of lovo food and fish on Christmas Day followed by a talanoa session around the grog bowl and dancing that went into the wee hours of the morning.
On Boxing Day, families took part in a fundraising drive to help renovate "vale kau" the wooden house regarded as the family home where gatherings are held and important meetings are conducted.
Of the nine siblings, only five remain – Elesi Wati, Vika Vanada, Vani Lewatu, Inise Dawai and Jona Salakere. Two of them are twins – Elesi and Vika, who reminisced about their childhood during one of our many chats.
Deceased are Seini Manaleba, Vasiti Kuanavanua, Mereoni Tolovoivoi and Epeli Qalo.
"We love the good old days when we were young girls. We lived in a bure," Vika said.
"Our dad was the turaga ni koro back then and our mum loved going out to sea. I can never forget how she one day came home after being out at sea and gave Elesi and I two baby turtles."
Elesi's eyes lit up at the mention of the word "turtles". "Ah! Yes one of the turtles died but we kept the second one as a pet and called it Sikote (Scott), named after the District Officer in Savusavu then, Mr Scott an Englishman," Elesi said.
Meals eaten during the reunion and weeks after Boxing Day were always cooked fresh, delicious and served on time, thanks to Pastor Lepani and his wife Miriama, and their crew of kitchen hands - Milika, Vere, Tukana, Fiona, Aminisitai, Saurara, Emi and Lo.
There were many drawn out kava sessions. Luckily two
amplifiers always kept the night lively and exciting. Milika, who became my dance partner, showed me the rope and taught me a few tips on how to belt it like a pro on the grass dance floor.
My tauvu, Lo never complained when I gave her my tired and aching feet to massage after the dance. She and her cousin Timoci ensured I also got to enjoy a healthy supply of seafood - crabs, seashells, vasua (clam), sici (triton) and urau (loster).
Adimaibenau acted like my chaperone throughout my stay in Tacilevu, reminding me of meal times, taking care of my work trips, getting my pawpaws and coconut water ready, taking me to the beach to cool down during hot days and best of all - preparing my sleeping space every night no matter how late I crawled into bed.
Tau Ulamila and kai Jona, the ones who invited me to Tacilevu, were great hosts. I had a big house to roll around in like a ball (sorry if my snoring gave you sleepless nights!) Thanks to them, I attended many grog sessions but my skin and eyes paid the price.
I guess reunions are always a good time to rekindle kinship ties and remind ourselves of the value of staying together as a family and temporary detach ourselves from the carnal proclivities we associate ourselves with – our work, our cars and houses, our comfort zones and our many associations.
It doesn't hurt to organise one once every decade, with mini-reunions in between. It's healthy to meet up regularly with relatives and have fun because life is too short. I wasn't related by blood to anyone at the reunion, I was just a guest but I felt I was part of the family. Everyone made sure I was welcome and pampered, well looked after, safe and happy.
My mother used to tell me, "you never chose your family. God chose it for you. You can choose your partner and have many but you cannot choose your brother, sister, mother and father. There's only one of each in the world".
To the old man, Makibani Rabitu's five surviving children and descendants – all the best in 2020 and hope to see you again in Tacilevu at the end of the year to welcome 2021.