Tradition and modernity in the Pacific<\/p>\n
Dewi Anggraeni, Contributor, Suva\/Vila<\/p>\n
The contingent of the Minister of Agriculture Bungaran Saragih
\narrived in Fiji amid continuous rituals in the nation's last
\nfarewell to their founding father, former prime minister and
\npresident Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, who died on April 18.<\/p>\n
On the following day on April 28, we were given a glimpse of
\nthe love and respect Ratu Mara had enjoyed during his lifetime.
\nThe hearse containing his remains was driven through the capital
\ncity Suva, where people two and three deep lined both sides of
\nthe streets.<\/p>\n
In the central business district, many sat solemnly waiting
\nfor the procession, wishing to pay their last respects to one of
\nMelanesian Fijians' most revered traditional chiefs.<\/p>\n
The strength of tradition is often indicative of an agrarian
\nsociety, and the economy of the 33-year-old republic in the South
\nPacific still rides on its agricultural and horticultural
\nproducts and by-products.<\/p>\n
To first time visitors, especially those coming from big
\nindustrialized cities, the combination of a clean environment and
\nthe availability of modern conveniences is a welcome change. Even
\nthe central business districts of Fiji's main cities of Suva and
\nNadi are delightfully free of aggressive commercialism.<\/p>\n
Commerce seems to take place in a sober way. Visitors do not
\nface the visual assaults of excessively garish outdoor
\nadvertising billboards, nor are they subjected to robust pressure
\nby hustlers. Even in relatively large restaurants, the
\nambient music often provided by singers and musicians in
\ntraditional attire is discreet and unintrusive.<\/p>\n
While private cars are widely used, city buses and taxis are
\nthe main means of public transportation for those who commute
\nwithout private vehicles.<\/p>\n
With over 60 percent of the country still covered with thick
\nforest, and most of the arable land managed by small holding
\nfarmers and cottage industry operators, traveling in the lush and
\nundulating rural areas is like an eternal escape from the
\nproverbial rat race.<\/p>\n
For visitors from Indonesia, eating here is a pleasurable and
\ninteresting experience. The abundance of fresh produce yields
\nmany familiar ingredients, such as ginger, chili, coconut,
\ncassava and other root vegetables, yet they all have particular
\nPacific tastes to make them unique. Beef, chicken and seafood,
\ncooked in a traditional manner as well as in Western recipes, are
\nnever absent from the menu.<\/p>\n
At the moment, rice is still the secondary choice to cassava,
\nbut it is increasingly more common. In fact, one of the purposes
\nof Bungaran Saragih's ministerial visit was to pledge Indonesia's
\nassistance in developing Fiji's rice-growing program.<\/p>\n
Leaving Fiji to head to Vanuatu late in the evening, the
\nexhausted group was quickly lulled to sleep during the one and a
\nhalf hour westward flight to Port Vila.<\/p>\n
Stepping down onto the tarmac, the warm humidity outside only
\nrocked us further into our dreamy state.<\/p>\n
\"Are you the group from Indonesia?\" came a question floating
\nin our consciousness. \"Step this way, please.\"<\/p>\n
Suddenly from a distance there was yelling and shouting. We
\nturned sleepily in the direction of the noise, and saw to our
\nbewilderment a group of traditional young warriors rushing toward
\nus, now conversing among themselves, now interrogating us,
\nsinisterly waving their weapons.<\/p>\n
We were promptly brought to full wakefulness and bafflement
\nall at once. Not speaking the language, we felt vulnerable, even
\nbesieged. When some of the warriors examined the minister's
\nhands, an older person in a more chiefly attire suddenly emerged,
\nand spoke calmly to the group. This seemed to mollify the
\nwarriors, who stepped back while we were then ushered into the
\nairport's VIP room.<\/p>\n
It was surreal, as if we had just stepped in and out of a
\ndifferent world in a space of a couple of blinks. However, it was
\na symbolic introduction to Vanuatu's way of maintaining the
\ntradition and allowing a degree of modernity in its daily life.<\/p>\n
Having been eased into the Pacific pristine environment in
\nFiji, where the 18,370 square kilometers are shared by a
\npopulation of 800,000, we were no longer surprised by the
\ncomparable situation in Vanuatu, a country with a population of
\njust over 200,000. However, the similarities do not stretch
\nbeyond the physical geography and landscape.<\/p>\n
A predominance of Melanesian in the population (98 percent)
\nmakes them on the whole look considerably darker, and the men do
\nnot combine Western attire with malo (a short sarong) like in
\nFiji; they wear pants. Thus, in a way, they come across as more
\nWestern. The town center in Port Vila is more reminiscent of a
\nFrench provincial town than the central business district in
\nSuva.<\/p>\n
Another unique aspect of Vanuatu is that, having been an
\nadministrative territory of France and Britain until its
\nindependence in 1980, most of the educated people speak both
\nFrench and English, as well as Bislama, their lingua franca, and
\ntheir respective traditional languages.<\/p>\n
Like Fiji, Vanuatu is also vastly agrarian, where most of the
\nfarmers are not only small land-holding managers, but still
\npractice subsistence farming. In Efate, the island where Port
\nVila is situated, many of the men who work in town in the
\nhospitality industry, such as taxi drivers and hotel employees,
\nstill hold on to their farming land in their traditional
\nvillages.<\/p>\n
The country appears to make considerable use of Western
\ninfluence on the running of its government, all the while
\nguarding its tradition. Traditional practices are maintained in
\nthe rural areas, yet Port Vila has a sophisticated chamber of
\ncommerce with approximately 5,000 members, providing a powerful
\nlobby in the government. The Port Vila Chamber of Commerce,
\nfounded by an Act of Parliament in 1995, has projects funded by
\nat least 10 percent of the fees paid by its members to the
\ngovernment.<\/p>\n
Supermarkets in town sell modern commodities and allow
\ninternational visitors pressed for the local currency vatu to use
\nAustralian dollars in their transactions, yet within a stone's
\nthrow a traditional market still practices a local way of buying
\nand selling. Stalls display stacks of different items, all priced
\nVt100, and buyers select the desired combination and pay the
\nprice. No foreign currencies are accepted here.<\/p>\n
Personal interaction seems a lot more straightforward in
\nVanuatu than in any Asian country. This may have contributed to
\nminister Saragih's success in making inroads into better
\nrelations between Indonesia and Vanuatu. According to his own
\ntheory, being a Batak he does not beat around the bush. And to
\nhis credit, he is also not one to put on airs.<\/p>\n
When presenting Indonesia's gifts of five hand tractors to
\nVanuatu's farmers, and US$40,000 in cash to help victims of
\ncyclone Ivy which had hit Vanuatu late in February, he said that
\nhe was bearing a gift from one developing country to another.
\nEmphasizing that Indonesia had a fair number of ethnic
\nMelanesians in its population, Saragih said the gifts were a
\ngesture heralding cooperation between two brothers, not between a
\ndonor and a recipient country.<\/p>\n
Vanuatu's Acting Prime Minister Ham Lini made a point of
\nsaying that Indonesia had been regarded as an enemy by the
\nMelanesians. The image was of a country where Melanesians were
\ntreated with contempt, oppressed and disenfranchised. However,
\nhaving met and spoken with minister Saragih, the acting prime
\nminister was willing to review his perception. \"Maybe we have
\nmisunderstood you,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Unlike interactions between Asian countries, where the need
\nfor interpretation was paramount, in the South Pacific countries,
\nyou know where you stand with them.<\/p>\n
Back in Melbourne, a friend asked \"So, did you do any
\nsnorkeling?\"<\/p>\n
Snorkeling?<\/p>\n
\"Yes, Vanuatu is an ideal place for snorkeling! The limpid
\nsea, the coral reefs...\"<\/p>\n
\"Oh, snorkeling! Yes, of course! I mean, no, I didn't have
\ntime. I was too busy enjoying myself observing their lifestyle.\"<\/p>\n
The friend walked off in disgust.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/tradition-and-modernity-in-the-pacific-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }