Western, Indo-Fijian and native traditions are woven into liturgies in the Fijian Church.
By Fr. Patrick Colgan

After living in Fiji for several years, I am struck by the symbolic richness of this island nation’s major cultures and the need for that beauty to be expressed in our liturgies.

In many rural churches, people sit on floor mats as they would in their homes, but statues and pictures are still largely European. We caused a stir recently in the new church in the town of Ba by commissioning a black-skinned Christ the King statue.

The Fijians never dreamt it could be Jesus; rather it reminded them of a tevoro (devil). The Hindus, many of whom come to pray in our church, thought it was an incarnation of Kali Ma (a goddess of destruction). So we had to lighten Jesus’ skin and don him in a red imperial cloak.

Traditional decorations and customs, such as sitting on mats, are a part of Masses in the Fijian Church. Columban Father Frank Hoare distributes Holy Communion to a parishioner.

From some of these altars protrude the magimagi (thread of coconut fiber), which is ceremonially stretched out at the Consecration of the Mass. This symbol means no one is to walk in front of the “chiefly actions” that are occurring. The tabernacle is sometimes crafted as a bure Kalou (literally “the God’s house”) where the bete (traditional priest) would have communed with the divine.

I have wondered why the profound and moving ceremonies offering the traditional drink of yaqona and tabua (whale teeth), with their attendant speechmaking, are not used and developed more in the sacraments of reconciliation and the Eucharist. There seems to remain an ambiguity in the Fijian mind as to whether these ceremonies are still not “tainted” by pre-Christian beliefs, something many new Christian sects aggressively affirm.

Despite our best urgings as missionaries, people will only move forward if they are encouraged by their local clergy and catechists. The Fijian Church, encouraged by its bishop, needs to study further and experiment with incorporating these types of ceremonies.

Accommodating All Cultures
In our liturgy to Indo-Fijians (ancestors of slaves from India forced to work on Fiji’s plantations), we have used the approved inculturated rite developed in India more than 30 years ago. This is rich indeed, with actions such as aartii (waving of a camphor flame), diyaa lights, ceremonial washing and sprinkling, and wearing garlands.

Many Christian devotional songs that are pleasing to the Indian ear have made their way to Fiji from India too. Indeed many Hindus admire our music as being more faithful to the ancient raags (chant forms) practiced by some of the newer churches.

But Fiji is not India. And, I think, some revision is needed to make the Indo-Fijian liturgy better reflect the spoken language and daily experience of the people here. Because many of our young Indo-Fijians no longer read Hindi script or listen to traditional music, we have “transliterated” the readings into Roman script. Often, however, it is complicated for them to understand.

We realize much work is needed to allow the beauty of both cultures to shine through in our liturgies. For our bicultural congregations of Indo-Fijians and native Fijians, we cannot assume that people will understand each other’s actions without explanation. Also, we must guard against putting on a show as if we were performing in a hotel. These are just some of the challenges that face present and future ministers here in Fiji.

Fr. Patrick Colgan of Ireland has been a missionary in Fiji since 1994 and works with the island’s ethnic Indo-Fijians.