The University of the South pacific history students went for the second time this year for another one day research at the Wailotua caves,which is 23 km of Korovou town on Saturday, 15th of October from nine o’clock in the morning till five in the afternoon.
The postgraduate students went on the first occassions on the 4th of June and then now the history students from the school of social sciences are going for the second time to further their reasearch inside the Wailotua Caves.
The idea of Wailotua cave seem to be a brilliant consideration for research due to the physical geography of the cave, early missionisation, and the early relationship of the sacred cave with oral tales meaning stories foretold by ancestral descendants of cave owners and protection of this cave.
The official name of the village is Wailotua ,while the locals refer to it as”Ono”-not Wailotua.
The official name of the village is Wailotua ,while the locals refer to it as”Ono”-not Wailotua.
'Ono' means six which symbolizes the six-headed snake inside the cave who is the keeper and the owner of the cave and according to elders in the village, the snake is protecting gold and diamonds inside the cave.
Besides that research days are done to target people including those outside USP who are interested in raising community awareness about key issues, and exhibiting USP’s expertise in fields that are relevant to the people of the Pacific Islands region.
The research trip was a memorable one since I managed to get into a cave that was not only geographically spectacular, but also rich in tradition and historical significance.While the cave is also of immense local significance because different rooms in the cave accommodate different Gods as they say when they decide to have a rest before they continue with their journey around Fiji.If we go inside the cave we will see where they used to kill prisoners, as blood and fat remains stuck on the wall thus lying close to the area was the traditional war club that they used to crush the POW’s heads.
Anthropologists, Dr Lynda Newland who is also coordinating the excursion said that from past experience Wailotua ,is divided into three parts,’WAI’ meaning water or river,’LOTU’-which means Christianity or Religion and ‘A’ as a common expression of surprise or excitement which the students and staff going on the trip would be deeply researching about.
The name of the village reflects the fact that predecessors crossed a river and stumbled upon Christianity which ended war, cannibalism and other traditional practices involved in worshipping the Kalou-Vu (ancestral gods).
Dr Newland said that people of Wailotua today were part of the Kaunitoni migration which started from Vuda and ended in Verata.
On their way down they settled in Nasautoka (10 minutes from Wailotua), but the population grew to the extent that it forced them to look for other places to settle.
So when they came to present-day Wailotua, they found people from Verata there and these people hunted the Verata people down giving the migrants opportunity to settle there and claim it as their own.
Additionally, Dr Christine Weir, from the department of History furthered her research on whether myths varied according to speaker’s memory to the audience reaction since there is no fixed original reliance memory over years.
The cave was used as a safe house for women and children during tribal wars while men would bring prisoners of war (POW) inside the cave and slaughter them to eat.
There was also research done on how remains of coral, shell and algal fragments in the lime stones at Wailotua which Dr Stephens was concerned about.
Dr Weir mentioned that during Sir Arthur Gordon’s visit to Fiji, her cousin Linda wrote a book about him conducting a Sevusevu (welcoming ceremony) ceremony at the middle of the cave but managed to write a book about it without stating the name of the cave
The name of the village reflects the fact that predecessors crossed a river and stumbled upon Christianity which ended war, cannibalism and other traditional practices involved in worshipping the Kalou-Vu (ancestral gods).
Dr Newland said that people of Wailotua today were part of the Kaunitoni migration which started from Vuda and ended in Verata.
On their way down they settled in Nasautoka (10 minutes from Wailotua), but the population grew to the extent that it forced them to look for other places to settle.
So when they came to present-day Wailotua, they found people from Verata there and these people hunted the Verata people down giving the migrants opportunity to settle there and claim it as their own.
Additionally, Dr Christine Weir, from the department of History furthered her research on whether myths varied according to speaker’s memory to the audience reaction since there is no fixed original reliance memory over years.
The cave was used as a safe house for women and children during tribal wars while men would bring prisoners of war (POW) inside the cave and slaughter them to eat.
There was also research done on how remains of coral, shell and algal fragments in the lime stones at Wailotua which Dr Stephens was concerned about.
Dr Weir mentioned that during Sir Arthur Gordon’s visit to Fiji, her cousin Linda wrote a book about him conducting a Sevusevu (welcoming ceremony) ceremony at the middle of the cave but managed to write a book about it without stating the name of the cave
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