13 Influence of Spiritual Beliefs on Autonomous Climate-Change …
251
Temperature rise is also implicated in recent changes in the nature of West Pacific
tropical cyclones, to which all of Fiji is exposed. An observed drop in the frequency
of tropical cyclones in the region over the past decade has been accompanied by an
increase in the intensity of the strongest, something in line with projections (Knutson
et al. 2010; Sugi et al. 2017). This change was memorably manifested in Fiji in 2016
when Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston, packing the strongest winds ever recorded
in the southern hemisphere, passed through the centre of the group (Cox et al. 2018).
The people of Ono are exclusively Christian, each village having at least one
church (Fig. 13.2d,e) and Vabea-Waisomo, which are contiguous, having four
churches of different Christian denominations at the time of our visit—One Nation,
Seventh-Day Adventist, Catholic and Methodist. For a long time, Methodism was the
majority ‘orthodox’ Christian denomination in Fiji but in recent decades a number of
newer denominations, typically funded from overseas congregations and supported
by vigorous missionary training, have gained footholds throughout Fiji (Morgain
2015). But it is also clear that, as in other Pacific Island countries, Christianity in Fiji
never wholly replaced pre-Christian belief systems but subsumed their most stronglyheld tenets, a key to its success (Winch-Dummett 2010). And even today, there
are aspects of Christian worship in Fiji that can be considered culturally-grounded,
respectful of traditional beliefs and worldviews. These are also expressed in the
way that people live, especially in rural more traditional communities like those on
Ono Island, ranging from the hierarchical hereditary decision-making framework to
the existence of cultural taboos that govern the gamut of everyday decision-making
including agricultural practices, food distribution, even homework and childbirth
(Granderson 2017; Rubow and Bird 2016; Lukere and Jolly 2001; Walid 2017).
Methods
The results reported in this chapter came from three sources.
The first was enabled by our residence within communities, our participation
in routine community activities, and our familiarization with the environment of
Ono, especially those coastal parts where the evidence for environmental changes
attributable to climate change is most readily apparent.
The second involved interviews, effectively one-on-one discussions, with key
persons on Ono, including traditional chiefs, chiefs’ spokespersons (matanivanua),
religious (Christian) leaders in the community (talatala or ministers, vakatawa or
lay preachers), school teachers (qasenivuli) and the administrative leaders in each
community (turaga-ni-koro). These people speak not just for themselves but also
reflect community views, aspirations and preferred ways of doing things, all of which
were considered key to understanding the research context.
The third utilized focus-group sessions which are an appropriate unit for acquisition of data in such communal societies (Guest et al. 2017). A focus group guide was
used which consisting of open ended questions about climate-attributable environmental changes they had observed. The words “climate change” were not mentioned
251
Temperature rise is also implicated in recent changes in the nature of West Pacific
tropical cyclones, to which all of Fiji is exposed. An observed drop in the frequency
of tropical cyclones in the region over the past decade has been accompanied by an
increase in the intensity of the strongest, something in line with projections (Knutson
et al. 2010; Sugi et al. 2017). This change was memorably manifested in Fiji in 2016
when Severe Tropical Cyclone Winston, packing the strongest winds ever recorded
in the southern hemisphere, passed through the centre of the group (Cox et al. 2018).
The people of Ono are exclusively Christian, each village having at least one
church (Fig. 13.2d,e) and Vabea-Waisomo, which are contiguous, having four
churches of different Christian denominations at the time of our visit—One Nation,
Seventh-Day Adventist, Catholic and Methodist. For a long time, Methodism was the
majority ‘orthodox’ Christian denomination in Fiji but in recent decades a number of
newer denominations, typically funded from overseas congregations and supported
by vigorous missionary training, have gained footholds throughout Fiji (Morgain
2015). But it is also clear that, as in other Pacific Island countries, Christianity in Fiji
never wholly replaced pre-Christian belief systems but subsumed their most stronglyheld tenets, a key to its success (Winch-Dummett 2010). And even today, there
are aspects of Christian worship in Fiji that can be considered culturally-grounded,
respectful of traditional beliefs and worldviews. These are also expressed in the
way that people live, especially in rural more traditional communities like those on
Ono Island, ranging from the hierarchical hereditary decision-making framework to
the existence of cultural taboos that govern the gamut of everyday decision-making
including agricultural practices, food distribution, even homework and childbirth
(Granderson 2017; Rubow and Bird 2016; Lukere and Jolly 2001; Walid 2017).
Methods
The results reported in this chapter came from three sources.
The first was enabled by our residence within communities, our participation
in routine community activities, and our familiarization with the environment of
Ono, especially those coastal parts where the evidence for environmental changes
attributable to climate change is most readily apparent.
The second involved interviews, effectively one-on-one discussions, with key
persons on Ono, including traditional chiefs, chiefs’ spokespersons (matanivanua),
religious (Christian) leaders in the community (talatala or ministers, vakatawa or
lay preachers), school teachers (qasenivuli) and the administrative leaders in each
community (turaga-ni-koro). These people speak not just for themselves but also
reflect community views, aspirations and preferred ways of doing things, all of which
were considered key to understanding the research context.
The third utilized focus-group sessions which are an appropriate unit for acquisition of data in such communal societies (Guest et al. 2017). A focus group guide was
used which consisting of open ended questions about climate-attributable environmental changes they had observed. The words “climate change” were not mentioned