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Fijian tradition and ceremony is a living way of life that has remained intact for millennia, evolving as the Fijian nation has modernised over time, with various external influences from Pacific neighbours, and European and Asian society. The term Fijian in this article refers to "indigenous Fijians" or ''"I Taukei"''〔Marshall David Sahlins, ''Apologies to Thucydides'', p. 230.〕 as the term Fijian generally includes all citizens of Fiji. This article is a general overview of various aspects of Fijian tradition, social structure and ceremony, much of it from the Bauan Fijian tradition. There are variations from province to province. Many social intricacies depend on one's inherited social position and the occasion one is confronted with: each will have a particular social etiquette. The Fijian terms in this article are most often of the Bauan dialect. == Social structure == Traditionally, each Fijian villager is born into a certain role in the family unit or Tokatoka. Various heads of the family will administer and lead the family unit within the village community. Each chief of the village will in turn lead the people to fulfill their role to the Vanua. Each village will have several family units / Tokatoka 〔Harry Goulbourne, ''Race and Ethnicity'', p. 26.〕 which are part of one clan or Mataqali.〔 Several Mataqali will make up the larger tribe or Yavusa.〔〔R. M. W. Dixon, ''A Grammar of Boumaa Fijian'', pp. 1-3.〕 Several Yavusa will belong to a certain land mass and comprise thereby the Vanua〔 (confederation of Yavusa)〔 Dr Asesela Ravuvu (1983, p. 76) describes the Vanua as:
The Vanua is headed by a Turaga i taukei,〔Martha Kaplan, "Embattled People of the Land", in ''Neither Cargo Nor Cult'', p. 25.〕 the most prominent chief from the most prominent family. To explain further, a Vanua is the largest collective group of people associated with a particular territory or area of land. A Vanua is divisible into a group of Yavusa / tribes: a Yavusa is a group of Mataqali 〔/ clans: a Matagali is a group of Tokatoka〔 / family units. Within the Mataqali making up one Yavusa one Mataqali will be predominant and head that Yavusa as a whole. Similarly, one Tokatoka will head that Mataqali and one member of that Tokatoka will be Senior Chieftain / Turaga i Taukei of that Vanua. Matanitu〔〔 is a confederation of Vanua,〔 not through ancestry or traditional ties, but rather by alliances formed politically or in war and/or united by a common need. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Fijian traditions and ceremonies」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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