“Fijian girls are lucky when they marry Banaban men because they don’t have to do any work outside in the hot sun. They only do housework. But when a Banaban girl marries a Fijian man she has to fish, plant crops and gather firewood as well as attending to the housework.” Lucien, a Banaban woman went on to explain, to the surprise of the visiting Fijian teenagers, that in the Banaban culture a man, once married, leaves his family to live in the woman’s place. “He is expected to be a good provider, not just for his wife and children, but also for his wife’s parents, she said.
This sharing on culture took place on Rabi Island while a team from Labasa parish held an evangelization camp with Catholic Banaban youths during the December holidays. Six young Fijians, two Peruvian lay missionaries and I traveled seven hours by bus from Labasa to Napuka and then 45 minutes by boat to Rabi. The 5,000 inhabitants of Rabi Island are Banabans who were moved there from the phosphate rich Ocean Island by British colonials at the end of 1945.
Welcome
My experience of a Banaban welcome came as a shock. A married woman washed my feet in a basin of water and a young unmarried woman wiped my feet dry with her long black hair. One of the ladies then garlanded me with a lei of flowers and placed a wreath of flowers on my head.
Our Banaban hosts looked after us well. A catechist and his wife cooked for us during our five day stay. Fish and root crops were plentiful. Our hosts killed a pig for us on the last day. The lay missionaries and I were lucky to have a bed or mattress at night. Our Fijian youths had no difficulty, however, in curling up on a mat and sleeping soundly.
Interaction
The lay missionaries had prepared the resource materials. Our group of four young women and two young men were familiar with the sessions they were going to facilitate. They divided into two teams. Each morning our senior team explained the Lumko 7 step method of bible sharing to the out-of-school Banaban youths. They also facilitated sessions to explore personal identity. Our junior team explored creatively the work of God, Jesus and the Spirit, with secondary school students who had recently received the sacrament of confirmation. Bible study and group sharing were interspersed with songs and ice-breakers which had shouts of laughter resounding around the compound.
We gathered for hymn practice in the mid-afternoon. Then we were free to swim in the sea or explore the island. Each evening I said mass and facilitated a discussion on culture.
Results
The timing of our camp for the beginning of the summer holidays was not the best. Some Banaban students had gone to Suva to perform their traditional dancing.
However, the participants’ enthusiasm compensated for the disappointing numbers and they received their certificates proudly at the final mass.
Our team was quiet on the return journey. Some parents and key parishioners welcomed us back to Labasa with yaqona, tea and cake at the presbytery. They listened proudly as their children described the highlights of the camp.
We journeyed to Rabi Island to share the good news of God’s love for us. In return we learned a little about the Banaban people, their history and culture. Interest replaced ignorance. When we meet Bababan people in future in Labasa or Suva we will meet and greet them differently.
Columban Fr Frank Hoare SSC was ordained in 1973 and has been a missionary in Fiji, Australia and the United States.
Read more articles from the current E-News
or
Read: A Sketch of the History of Banaba (Ocean Island).
