OCEANIA, MELANESIA REGION

Many of us perhaps have not heard, where is Oceania, where is it. At first glance, we think of it as a place fed by mythology or imagination, a place that existed in the past and disappeared today, and stories are written on it.

Where is this Oceania; It is located in the south and southeast of Asia, in the north of Antarctica, and between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, including 30 thousand islands scattered in the Pacific Ocean between Asia and America, and Australia, with a surface area of 8.970.000 km², population. It is the geographical region of 36 million and considered as a continent.

Oceania consists of four parts as Australia, Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. Located between the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean, Australia is the largest inhabited island in Oceania with a population of 7,704,000 km² and a population of 26 million. Oceania is the world’s smallest continent in terms of area, although it spans an enormous expanse from Tasmania to Hawaii, from Papua to Easter Island. Oceania, where there are 30 thousand small and large islands and 13 countries stretching along the South Pacific, where nature and nature have not been slaughtered by humans yet, where hundreds of ethnic groups live with their unique language and traditional cultures.

We are going to Oceania, which I have wanted to see for a very long time, the excitement is at the highest level.

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Fiji, located in the Malanezia region of the continent of Oceania, XIX. The islands came under British control as a colony in 1874, when European explorers began to settle there until the 19th century. When Fiji was under British colonial rule, they brought people from India to work and eventually Indians started to make up almost the majority of the country.

As a result of the intervention carried out in 1987, the republic was proclaimed, and then, with two successful military coups, the Indian-Fijian partnership that ruled Fiji was ended. While those of Indian origin wanted to remain under British rule, the indigenous people of Fiji were in favor of independence, but the majority were Indians and conflicts started with the Fijians as a result of serious disagreements. Therefore, the Fijian soldiers staged another coup and some of the Indian origins were forced to migrate to India. Although this migration caused human loss and economic recession, today the textile and clothing market is still in the hands of the Indians staying here. They are living together without any problems at the moment, but the economy is still predominantly Indian. In fact, it cannot be said that Fijians can get along very well among themselves.

One of the funny incidents happened is that they gained independence in accordance with the agreement made with England in 2008, but they lost the text in which the independence agreement was written and signed, and they shamefully asked for a copy of the agreement text. The men have gained independence but do not remember what rights they got.

The Republic of Fiji, which has the most developed economy among the Pacific Islands, is an archipelago consisting of a total of 322 islands and 522 islets, 215 of which are uninhabited, in the south of the Pacific Ocean in the Oceania continent, with a total population of 900 thousand and an area of 18,274 km². The two large islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, make up 87% of the settlement.

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We were able to reach Nadi, one of the biggest cities of Fiji, in the Malanezia region, which is right behind Turkey’s place in the world globe, after a total of 24 hours of flight, day and night, days and dates got mixed up. In such cases, no matter how tired you are, never try to go to bed. Due to jet lag, night and day mix with each other, your biological clock is only set in a week, and you are devastated. The only rule is to act according to the day and night of the country you are in. That’s what we did and we said let’s do a city tour, let’s have the evening.

In the 15th century, they first came from Tanzania, Africa, and settled on the island, which is today’s Viti Levu Island, and in the region that is now called Visefsei. We are going to this village. We visit the Methodist Christian church, which was built by the missionaries who came here and still works, on a large area. In its immediate vicinity, there is the king’s house, the highest ranking person here, where ritual meetings are held depending on the traditions and culture of the local people. Of course, all meetings are led by the king. As such, this place has the status of a sanctuary along with the church. When entering all sanctuaries and shrines in Fiji, women, regardless of their attire, are required to tie a skirt, such as a skirt that reaches the waist, even if they are pants.

The political dynamics of West Vitu Levu are slightly different from East Viti Levu, in West Vitu Levu, where contract workers from India settled on the island between 1879 and 1916, the majority are Indians. Eastern Viti Levu has a high percentage of indigenous Fijians, so they have parceled out the island.

We are going to the Sleeping Giant Botanical Garden, which looks like a sleeping giant when viewed from afar and has more than 2000 plants on 20 hectares. It’s a beautiful, well-kept place.

Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple; We are going to Sri Siva Subramaniya, the largest Hindu Temple in the Southern Hemisphere. Such an important Hindu temple in the middle of Fiji may seem different at first, but the temple built in 1926 by Indians brought to Fiji to work in the sugar fields in the late 1800s was later rebuilt in the form of a series of pyramids decorated with statues of warriors, kings and gods.

Generally, Hindu temples are dedicated to the Supreme God Shiva and the Hindu god Ganesh, the iconic elephant-headed god, while this is dedicated to Lord Murugan, the Rain God, and features a large statue of Lord Murugan. The shrine is decorated with brightly colored murals detailing scenes from Hinduism.

Our feet started to get tangled and out of control due to tiredness and snoring, but it wasn’t evening yet, so we thought we’d go to the market, everyone came to life when it was said Sunday. A local market where local vegetables and fruits grown by people are sold. There are beautiful photos in places like this.

Our energy has been reset, it’s the rest time we’ve been waiting for. We are staying in a beautiful hotel with all kinds of activities.

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Today is a light program, there is a 9-hour difference between us and Turkey, we couldn’t get rid of the jet lag effect. We are going by boat to Tivuda Island, which is a small coral island in the northern part of the Fiji Mamanuca archipelago, 500 acres in size, surrounded by white sand and reefs. A small island in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by a lush green beach, you can walk around in an hour. We will spend the day here. There is a buffet with BBQ meat, fish, chicken and lots of other foods.

Lots of sea and sun. We are in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, both the weather and the warm sea. I always say that the taste of sea and sun is always different in Turkey. We have completed plenty of sea sun days.

This will probably be the first and last rest, there are busy and fast schedules in the days to come.

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We are taking a short tour in Fiji’s third largest city, Nadi, located on the west coast of Viti Levu Island, let’s see what the situation is here.

Nadi; It is the third most cosmopolitan city of Fiji, with a population of approximately 60,000, with the largest concentration of Muslims and Hindus. Since Fiji International Airport is here, it is more crowded than Vianua Levu. Sugarcane production and tourism form the basis of the local economy of the city.

We go to Nadi fish market early in the morning. The expectation was not full, there are few fish on the counter in a small place inside the local fixed market.

December, the weather is 30 degrees and humid.

We thought we would find fish restaurants everywhere in this city in the middle of the ocean, but seafood is not in demand, people do not like fish very much.

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Kula Eco Park, the first national park of Fiji, where human life for more than 3000 years and the largest sand dunes of the Pacific Islands and about 500 birds of 100 species from many tropical countries live in Kulukulu village, near the city of Sigatoga, the main city center of Navosa province, with a population of 17 thousand. We are going.

The place where Fiji’s first national park is located is the region where there are different plant and animal species as well as desertification starting from the ocean coast. A large area is completely dune dunes and these dunes are constantly changing their places and shapes with the effect of wind and rain. We wanted to try your luck from another place that we can reach more easily when it is a two-hour walk from the national park to the beach. We started climbing the dune next to the small settlement where the dunes start. Those who have experienced it before know that it is not easy to walk on the sand in the desert. When we realized that it would not be easy to reach the sea after the first hill, we watched the ocean coast from the drone shot.

We continue our journey around the city of Sigatoga.

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Suva; In the southeast of Viti Levu Island, we are going to Suva, which was the capital of Fiji in 1877 and also the largest commercial center and port city with a population of 100 thousand. High-rise buildings, large shopping malls, wide roads and parks attract attention immediately.

Suva is an important commercial and political center of the country. It is the largest and most developed city in the South Pacific outside of New Zealand and an important regional centre. Incoming students make up a significant portion of the city’s population, as the University of the South Pacific is the only higher education institution in Fiji and the Pacific region.

Fiji Museum; If you are interested in history, you should go to the Fiji Museum to learn more about Fiji’s cultural history and people. The Fiji Museum was founded in 1904 on a collection presented to the Suva City Council by William Allardyce. In the following years, it was exhibited in the City Hall together with the donated works. After a fire destroyed part of the collection in 1919, the museum was moved to a concrete building in Draiba. It was moved to the upper floor of the Carnegie Library in 1930 and remained there for twenty-four years. II. During World War II, the collection was stored in various parts of the island, and some of it was severely damaged by moisture and improper storage. The old gallery in the existing building was completed in 1954 and the new gallery was opened in its current location in 1971. A beautifully compiled museum containing archaeological materials from Fiji’s 3,700 years ago, where you can find very valuable information and objects about its anthropological values, history and cannibalism.

Suva is the vibrant and featured capital of Fiji. It is the thriving commercial and diplomatic hub of the South Pacific, where people from Fijians, Indians, Chinese, Europeans, Polynesians, and various other places live and trade together. Its wide streets are lined with grand colonial buildings from the British Empire and tidy parks. Victoria Parade, the main historical road of Suva, is among the places where interesting restaurants and lively nightlife are experienced. South Korea and China are the countries that invest the most in this region.

There are more rain passes in the southern part of the island than in other places. In this region, the rain is usually with you. After the sudden downpour passes, the sun rises, so green gushes from the ground. Everywhere is wildly green.

The settlement is generally on the coastal parts of the island, the roads from north to south and to other settlements follow the coast and connect to each other. In other words, there is no road passing through the middle of the island, these are jungle-sized dense and dense wooded forests. Old traditional tribes still live in this forest area. Locals do not go there or do not dare to go. It is known that some of the tribes living in this region still maintain their traditions of cannibalism. We are here too, you know, we pray that they won’t eat us.

Although rare, cannibalism still occurs in cultures of the South Pacific and parts of present-day tropical Africa, New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, and Melanesia. The Fiji Islands were also once known as the Cannibal Islands, and cannibalism has been seen from Fiji to the Amazon Basin, the Congo, and the Maoris of New Zealand. Cannibalism is basically done in two ways, the first is domestic cannibalism, like eating someone from one’s own family, that is, the similar situation of today’s incest relationship, and the second is cannibalism that eats the people it catches. You know, this is more plausible, at least eat someone else.

If we look at the scientific description of cannibalism; “Human cannibalism (anthropophagy) is the act or habit of eating the flesh or entrails of one of its own kind. The person who commits the act of cannibalism is called a cannibal.” In other words, the expression of cannibalism can also be described as the consumption of all parts of another member of the same species for food.

Why did we talk about cannibalism out of the blue; Until recently in Fiji, there were some incidents in rural mountainous areas, that is, the men officially ate each other. I think we would do a very good job if we brought some brains and unevolved people from Turkey here and fed them.

The most interesting souvenirs in shopping places are the neck breaker, the neck breaker used to break the neck while killing people in tribal wars and cannibalism, and it was made for this purpose. We bought a few, there are a lot of people in the country to be beheaded!

Kava is very important to the Fijians, they crush the root of the kava plant into powder, mix it with hot water and drink it, and then drink it at every opportunity, at weddings, meetings, when giving birth.

Suva is the main economy and political life of the country, where Indians and Fijians are concentrated. As such, black money, entertainment, bribery, messy business are mostly here. This is where most criminal cases occur in the Pacific.

Colonial states want to settle their religion, language and culture permanently in the places they stay and occupied, it was the same here, the British left their own culture and traditions here. Almost everyone in the country speaks English, 64% is Christian, and the music mostly listened to is American style, with instruments such as guitar, drums or saxophone. They seem to have largely lost their traditional instrument and musical culture.

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Legendary stories abound here, the most interesting of which is the legend known as “Nakauvadra’s Great Serpent”.

When the Snake God Degei, who lives in the Nakauvadra Hills of Viti Levu Island, was sleeping, the whole world was dark, and when he awoke, everything was bright. Near the cave where the Snake God Degei slept, a black dove lived on the branches of a banyan tree, whose duty it was to wake the Snake God Degei from his sleep every morning.

As soon as the Snake God wakes up every day, he orders the village people to start work, people who are tired of working hate the pigeon that wakes up the Great Serpent every morning. One night, the Chieftain Rokola decides to kill the black dove. When the God Snake wakes up by himself, he realizes what Rokola has done, and his shout resounds like thunder. His stick, which he throws into the sky in his anger, shatters the clouds and the clouds fall to the earth as rain. The rain causes a great flood and all the village people drown in the water. Only a few men and women escape in canoes and are rescued by other tribes. Therefore, this region is more rainy than other places.

People living in hot climates do not like to work.

When there is a decrease in the oxygen level, which is the natural need of living things, the brain slows down all organic activities. When we climb a high mountain, we see that we get tired quickly, our breathing accelerates, we go into a state of rest, slowing down, this is because the oxygen level decreases depending on the altitude. In addition, as the temperature increases in fluid environments such as air and sea, the oxygen values begin to decrease. When the temperature value starts to rise above 30 degrees, our tempo naturally decreases and our movements slow down. If the permanent temperature of this living environment is high and the natural humidity is high, the movements slow down even more and the comfort of life decreases. This event is reflected in basic behaviors and becomes permanent for a certain period of time. Therefore, lack of oxygen naturally creates states of slowness of movement, lethargy and laziness, and this behavior affects the whole life. For this reason, people living in geographies that are very hot have a low desire to work, they start to become lazy, the concept of time loses its value, people do not rush, and their habits such as programming generally decrease or disappear. It is obvious that people do not like to work very much here, as is the case with people living in Africa and the equatorial climate zone. One of the main reasons for this is the climate.

Similar behavior is the same in sea creatures. Fish living in cold seas are more active than those living in warm seas, and therefore their meat is more delicious.

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In the Republic of Fiji, one of the thousands of island groups formed as a result of years of volcanic eruptions in the Pacific Ocean since the Paleolithic periods, sugar cane, ginger, coconut, copper and a small amount of gold production are at the forefront of the most important economic values. It cannot be said that it has been very successful in terms of tourism, the average of the last 10 years is 350 thousand people. In addition, foreign exchange coming to the country through foreign Fijians is also very important for the country’s economy.

1 US dollar = 2.18 Fijian dollars in Fiji, where the gross national product per capita is 4,646.61 USD (2021, World Bank). Much better than Turkey.

While we have come this far, we are going to the Kingdom of Tonga by plane from here.

Best regards,

Hayrettin Kagnici

December 2022