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S. Sahai et al.
prayed all the prayers she could think of. She prayed the Divine Mercy, the Joyful Mysteries
of the Rosary, the Salve Regina. She prayed in Fijian, in English, in Latin. The others sat
with eyes closed; they did not respond but Reijeli knew they were praying with her. Flood
water started to seep under the door but Reijeli continued praying. By the end of the final
prayer the water had reached just below the bed. But Reijeli was no longer afraid.
Introduction
On 20th February 2016 Fiji was hit by the strongest cyclone ever to hit the Southern
Hemisphere and the second strongest storm ever recorded globally (Gard and
Veitayaki 2017). Tropical Cyclone Winston (TC Winston) impacted over 540,000
people, 62% of Fiji’s population. It claimed the lives of 44 people and destroyed
495 schools, 88 medical facilities and 30,369 houses, internally displacing 186,195
people (Mansur et al. 2017; Gard and Veitayaki 2017; Government of Fiji 2016).
This paper is about how women in Tokou, a Catholic
2 village on the island
of Ovalau, Lomaiviti Group, Central Fiji, experienced Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Tokou, located on the coast, was in the direct path of the cyclone and was badly
hit. It experienced three tidal surges that inundated the village; 60 of its 130 houses
were damaged, 18 of them beyond repair. The primary school and Catholic church,
the only church in the village, were severely damaged. Despite this, there were no
fatalities or serious injuries among the 502 people living there at the time. The paper
discusses how Tokou women’s faith and faith practices as Catholics were a source
of personal strength and survival during and after the cyclone, how this strength was
embedded in social relations, and how it directed women’s actions for the good of
the community.
The research is based on two periods of ethnographic fieldwork in Tokou in 2019.
These included participant observation, informal talanoa (chats), and 17 in-depth,
recorded and transcribed interviews held in English with 10 women between the
ages of 40 and 75. Each participant recommended other participants. Most were
maternal relatives of the lead author. All participants were proficient in English.
Additional information was gathered in subsequent face-to-face interviews in Suva
and numerous phone conversations. In the following sections we introduce Tokou,
describe the core role of Catholic faith and faith practices in the community especially in relation to women’s roles; and discuss women’s experiences before, during
and after TC Winston. Finally, we argue for the necessity of integrating faith, faith
practices and spirituality in climate change and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
strategies.
2 The most recent available statistics on religious affiliation in Fiji, from the 2007 Census, note
that 64.5% of the population is Christian, 28% Hindu and 6.3% Muslim (Fiji Bureau of Statistics
2007). The Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma counts 35% of the population, the Roman Catholic
Church just under 10% (Ryle 2010, p. xxxii).
S. Sahai et al.
prayed all the prayers she could think of. She prayed the Divine Mercy, the Joyful Mysteries
of the Rosary, the Salve Regina. She prayed in Fijian, in English, in Latin. The others sat
with eyes closed; they did not respond but Reijeli knew they were praying with her. Flood
water started to seep under the door but Reijeli continued praying. By the end of the final
prayer the water had reached just below the bed. But Reijeli was no longer afraid.
Introduction
On 20th February 2016 Fiji was hit by the strongest cyclone ever to hit the Southern
Hemisphere and the second strongest storm ever recorded globally (Gard and
Veitayaki 2017). Tropical Cyclone Winston (TC Winston) impacted over 540,000
people, 62% of Fiji’s population. It claimed the lives of 44 people and destroyed
495 schools, 88 medical facilities and 30,369 houses, internally displacing 186,195
people (Mansur et al. 2017; Gard and Veitayaki 2017; Government of Fiji 2016).
This paper is about how women in Tokou, a Catholic
2 village on the island
of Ovalau, Lomaiviti Group, Central Fiji, experienced Tropical Cyclone Winston.
Tokou, located on the coast, was in the direct path of the cyclone and was badly
hit. It experienced three tidal surges that inundated the village; 60 of its 130 houses
were damaged, 18 of them beyond repair. The primary school and Catholic church,
the only church in the village, were severely damaged. Despite this, there were no
fatalities or serious injuries among the 502 people living there at the time. The paper
discusses how Tokou women’s faith and faith practices as Catholics were a source
of personal strength and survival during and after the cyclone, how this strength was
embedded in social relations, and how it directed women’s actions for the good of
the community.
The research is based on two periods of ethnographic fieldwork in Tokou in 2019.
These included participant observation, informal talanoa (chats), and 17 in-depth,
recorded and transcribed interviews held in English with 10 women between the
ages of 40 and 75. Each participant recommended other participants. Most were
maternal relatives of the lead author. All participants were proficient in English.
Additional information was gathered in subsequent face-to-face interviews in Suva
and numerous phone conversations. In the following sections we introduce Tokou,
describe the core role of Catholic faith and faith practices in the community especially in relation to women’s roles; and discuss women’s experiences before, during
and after TC Winston. Finally, we argue for the necessity of integrating faith, faith
practices and spirituality in climate change and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR)
strategies.
2 The most recent available statistics on religious affiliation in Fiji, from the 2007 Census, note
that 64.5% of the population is Christian, 28% Hindu and 6.3% Muslim (Fiji Bureau of Statistics
2007). The Methodist Church in Fiji and Rotuma counts 35% of the population, the Roman Catholic
Church just under 10% (Ryle 2010, p. xxxii).