Group stops children from attending school, says service to chief, vanua paramount

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Melikiseteki Uluibau, leader of the Yavutu ni Vanua group (sitting second from left) with his followers. Picture: VILIAME RAVAI

A GROUP of iTaukei families living in a settlement in Toko, Tavua have stopped their children from attending school because they believe people should serve their chief and the vanua foremost.

The group, known as the Yavu vatu ni Vanua, believe their children should learn how to look after their chiefs and go back to the old traditional ways of serving the vanua and they have been practising this for the past two years.

Spokesman for the group, Laisenia Navukula, said they already had a plan for their children.

Mr Navukula said according to the structure of a vanua, there were several roles in the iTaukei way of living — the chief, elders, warriors, fishermen and priests.

“The main aim of this group is to bring back the importance of these roles to the iTaukei,” Mr Navukula said, adding that most of the children who joined the group did not know their traditional identity and roles.

He said they had their own chief who they believed was the rightful owner of the resources in Fiji.

Mr Navukula said they believed in all the Fijian prophecies and chants that had been passed down by their ancestors and some had been fulfilled.

The group has its own flag, which is hoisted in front of their office in Toko and their law is based from the Ten Commandments in the Holy Bible. Questions were sent to the western education officer in Ba/Tavua about the children in Toko settlement.

Education officer in Ba/Tavua, Kaminieli Vunisa said they were not aware of this case, however, they were going to visit Toko and look into the matter.

It’s understood that more than 10 children living in the settlement between the ages of nine to 15 years are not receiving formal education.

 

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