To explain further, a Vanua is the largest collective group of people associated with a particular territory or area of land.
Matanitu[2][4] is a confederation of Vanua,[3] not through ancestry or traditional ties, but rather by alliances formed politically or in war and/or united by a common need.
There is Liga ni Magiti, which is category one and is indicated by the number 8 (Walu), which then has two subcategories; first 3, which is Turaga overall, containing the Ratu and the Adi (Fijian Royalty).
Then, secondly, subcategory 5 of Category 1 is the Bete - priests or heralds; these traditionally are the spokesmen, councillors, advisors of the land and the spiritualists.
First there is 3, the Bati, traditionally Warriors, they are the wagers of war, the keepers of the peace, and the instruments of discipline on behalf of the Turaga.
Then there is subcategory 2: Matai - a general term for skillful persons, (e.g. carpenters, craftsman, house or canoe builders).
The last subcategory, 2 Dau, is the general term for an expert of some kind (e.g. dau-ni-vucu [Poet], dau-ni-yau [treasurer]).
Basil Thomson (1908:113) suggests “that groups in Fiji who are tauvu or kalou-vata ie worshippers of the same god, have a common origin”.
0 Tauvu are allowed reciprocal rights of taking each other's goods and coarse joking with each other, though this is not used inland in Viti-Levu.
With respect to his/her matrilineal side, being that of Lakeba, Lau Province of Tovata, the following applies: If he/she were to take his/her father's side and purely acknowledge his/her lineage from Rewa Tikina, Rewa Province, of the Burebasaga confederacy the following would apply: He/she would say "Naita" to those from Tailevu and Yasayasa Vakara and "Tauvu" to those from the Lau group.
There is great intricacy of social interaction among families and close tribes, between brothers and sisters, cousins, uncles and the like.
The iTaukei (Indigenous Fijians) culture is not based on biological lineage but instead on a child's link to a spiritual ancestor.
People who interact with one another on a regular basis tend to be more relaxed and less strict about the proper respect relationships.
Anne E. Becker in her book Body, Self, and Society: the view from Fiji writes: In the event that a kin relationship cannot be conjured from the meeting, the respective parties will invoke one of many other relationships that associate them in some way for instances they may be mutual namesakes (Yaca) or their respective regional ancestral spirits (Vu) May have been friends so by syllogism they are Tauvu and address each other as Tau.
The term "Tavale" is used by those who are cross cousins for example the son or daughter of a father's sister or mother's brother, both used for close and long distant relatives.
Depending on the occasion and situation, three key ceremonies, which accord with other cultures, are: birth, death, and marriage.
A formal engagement (ai lakovi) involves the presentation of a tabua (whale's tooth) from a man to a woman.
Traditionally however, a marriage would be arranged by the man's parents and senior members of his Mataqali and would have been based on the relationship that would be created between two clans.
Dr Asesela Ravuvu states in his book The Fijian Way of Life (1983, p. 45): "Marriage was not just a union of two individuals, it was also the 'marriage' of the two groups, who thereby became socially and economically related to one another".
Megan Lee writes in her paper "Life in a Fijian Village": The woman and man were used as tools to foster the social relations between the two groups.
It involves both sides of the family, in which they present the couple with mats and other household practical items so they are able to begin their new home.
When a death occurs, related clans and family come together in a religious and social gathering to share their sorrow and to reaffirm the connections between them.
Items that will be shared generally across the Fiji group in ceremony and social interactions are Yaqona, Tabua, Mats, Masi, the following will discuss this in further details.
The root and stem are washed and dried thoroughly, then pounded into a powder to be mixed with water and filtered through a silk cloth.
The following outlines a Yaqona ceremony in the Bauan manner (Bau: a prominent island and village of the Kubuna Confederacy in the province of Tailevu).
The chief will receive the bilo of Yaqona by cupping his hands and clapping with a deep, dignified sound.
For a time this process will be repeated, then once he feels it appropriate the herald will signal to the mixer to open the drinking of the Yaqona to everyone.
The dyes, generally variations of earthy browns and blacks, are obtained from mangrove sap, terracotta clay and specially prepared soot.
One of the uses of Masi is to wrap the newborn baby collected from hospital, while at the other end of the life cycle it decorates the room where the body lies before burial.
These help to meet physical needs whereas Tabua and Yaqona are items of respect and hold a spiritual significance.