From what I've heard through the history and folklore that when the forefathers first landed on the islands of Fiji there already were people well settled on the islands, these were the Melanesians and over the Millenia's intermarriage between the two resulted in the culture and traditions we see today; with strong physical Melanesian features but not as strong as Vanuatu/Solomon Islands/Papua New Guinea, simply due to the vast mix of Polynesian people's into the population. From points of view, Fiji can be considered both Polynesian and Melanesian personally because even though the majority retain the classic dark skin and wooly hair, the people hold strong a culture and tradition that is very similar to the Samoans/Tongans/Hawaiians etc. Let alone the language, having words driven off each other's nations for thousands of years resulting in words that are similar to each other. That's all I know from what I've learnt of my history, some may be wrongs but I'm still learning. Vinaka
my favorite out of all the Poly clubs from this year's culture night
I''m proud to be a Fijian for i haven't been there since i was 3 years old but the Fiji in me live on.
Authentic, Fijian pride.vinaka na maroroi tiko ni meke
So who were the first to arrive in Fiji? The Melanesians or the Polynesians?
From what I've heard through the history and folklore that when the forefathers first landed on the islands of Fiji there already were people well settled on the islands, these were the Melanesians and over the Millenia's intermarriage between the two resulted in the culture and traditions we see today; with strong physical Melanesian features but not as strong as Vanuatu/Solomon Islands/Papua New Guinea, simply due to the vast mix of Polynesian people's into the population.
From points of view, Fiji can be considered both Polynesian and Melanesian personally because even though the majority retain the classic dark skin and wooly hair, the people hold strong a culture and tradition that is very similar to the Samoans/Tongans/Hawaiians etc. Let alone the language, having words driven off each other's nations for thousands of years resulting in words that are similar to each other. That's all I know from what I've learnt of my history, some may be wrongs but I'm still learning. Vinaka
M3GASIMS ,,well said