Propeller mission and Navala visit
30 October 2014 | Vuda Point and Navala, Fiji & Seattle USA
Up on the hard right alongside the sea, Sonsie was in a good breeze. The Vuda Pt. Marina travel lift came trundling over to move us however, as the marina wanted that space to dig more pits into which they could place and secure boats opting to spend the cyclone season (Nov. 1 - May 1) in Fiji. Luckily for us, Sonsie was moved to a spot beside the San Francisco-registered "Sorceress" with the ever-grinning, happy go lucky Sieg. Even when he was cursing his faulty windvane, which is the same make as our unfailing, stalwart vane, he grinned and laughed. Sieg was waiting for his engine and we made a bet who would sail out of the marina first!
It quickly became apparent that Sonsie's propeller was binding when turned. Rather than wait a few weeks for a replacement to arrive, Jim packed up the old one into an overnight bag, and in true jet-setting fashion, flew back for a second time to Seattle to pick up a new one. As he was arriving after shop hours, Joanne and 3-1/2 year old Edward drove up to PYI in Lynwood WA to fetch it. Edward practiced saying "propeller" all the way there. When they got to the parking lot, he hopped out and beetled ahead of Joanne and baby Sabrina right into the shop. He was on a mission. No one was in the showroom but that did not deter him. He stopped in the middle and declared in a nice, clear, loud voice: "I'm here to pick up my Grandpa's propeller." Three staff came running. "You're here to pick up James Merritt's propeller?" they asked. "I don't know," he said. "I'm here to pick up my Grandpa's propeller!"
Jim flew a big loop, from Fiji to LAX to SEA and then 24 hours later, to Honolulu back to Fiji by early Monday. Meanwhile, Isabel took a day off on Sunday and arranged with another "FBI", Rosie, and her Fijian friend Tarae, to drive up past Lautoka to Ba, then hop in a jeep for the rough ride up into the hills to visit the thriving traditional village of Navala. Going with those two ladies made her feel slightly less like a tourist, as they had family in every other village, some of whom were visited en route. Once at Navala, smiling friendly Tarae called out, "do malo vinaka", a plural greeting which indicates her origins - malo (as opposed to bula) being the way to say hello in the Lau group, the eastern most islands of Fiji (closest to Tonga, incidentally, and their "malolelei"). The three ladies promptly got the insiders' tour. A little girl slipped her hand into Isabel's as they walked around - such a nice gesture! And they were invited into a bure to further examine its construction and layout. Naturally they were proffered the obligatory cup of tingly-to-the-tongue kava. Kava is the national drink - dare one say addiction? The root of the pepper tree is pounded, sieved in water until its muddy consistency is pollywog pond-perfect - and as tasty :-/
The real treat was seeing that the ancient, time-honoured techniques of bure (house) construction, namely of bamboo-siding and pandanus roof thatching, are still practiced. These skills are being kept alive in Navala.
Admittedly, modern housing is faster to throw together but not as aesthetically attractive nor as cool. Modernity is both a blessing and a curse, and the challenge is to see the world before it all becomes more of a sameness everywhere. These bures require more labour, but the materials (other than a few nails) are all procured locally and for free. The main "cost" of construction is feeding the labourers!
The bures all sit atop stone platforms - to a stone like the ones we saw throughout the Marquesas being reclaimed by the hungry jungle. In only three hundred years those homes have all vanished and been replaced by more or less bland cinderblock and corrugated iron structures. Viva Navala! and its concerted efforts to retain traditional Fijian building skills and knowledge -- and to stem the sweeping tide of sameness.