Vanua and Fijian Paramountcy -a Minor Field Study on the Fijian Land Issue

Abstract: The aim of the thesis is to understand the Fijian land issue and relate it to the ethnical tensions that dominate the society. To theoretically understand the problem, Horowitz's theoretical tools are used together with Fijian scholar work, such as Ratuva's assessment on the Fijian understanding of land. Out in the field, material was gathered to enlighten the situation on a micro perspective through interviewing legally non-acknowledged settlers. The studied settlers? situation is put in relation to the land policy and the ethnical tensions. This task was, due to the political situation in Fiji, completed through the gathering and analyzing of materials taken mainly from official sources on the Internet. The interviewed settlers? situation is a consequence of the land policy, which in turn is a result of the ethnical tensions, owning much to the historical colonial administration. The conflicting groups? views of today are clearly diverging, since the ethnical groups in Fiji are unranked and under the influence of the centrifugal force. None of the political attempts to solve the land crisis have been clearly beneficial. However, all parties now agree that the land must be utilized more efficiently, which will require the involvement of both ethnical groups.