VILLAGE LIFE

The village and the bure

Walk into this chapter in the 360° museum →

What we know

  • A bure is a traditional Fijian house built of timber, reeds and thatch.
  • The village (koro) is the centre of community life, with houses set around an open green.
  • Navala, in the highlands of Ba, is known for keeping a whole village of traditional bure.

The story

Long before British rule, people made their lives within networks of kinship, land and sea. The idea of vanua connects place with the people, obligations and histories that give it meaning. Farming, fishing, building and making sustained these communities.

A village was also a place of welcome, ceremony and negotiation. Houses and meeting places varied across Fiji; the architecture of one surviving village cannot stand for every island or every century. To understand the conflicts ahead, first remember the households and relationships that people sought to protect.

Words in this chapter

bure, koro — this chapter is where the museum explains these words. See the whole glossary →

Pictures in this chapter

Sources

More in Land and kinship

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This chapter’s text is awaiting cultural and historical review. Pictures keep the credit and licence of the collection that holds them.