Work

Nanaga Site of Wasavulu (Labasa, Fiji): Mapping of a Traditional Religious Site of Vanua Levu

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Pre‐Christian religious sites of the Fijian Archipelago have been seldom studied and even less often mapped by archaeologists. This is especially the case for the enigmatic Nanaga enclosures, whose functioning has remained poorly documented by the first ethnographers of the 19th century. This paper describes one of these sites, located near Labasa town in the northwestern plain of the large island of Vanua Levu. After presenting one of the oral traditions associated with some of the uprights of this Nanaga, exemplifying long‐distance chiefly networks, we describe the different elements of the double alignment of low platforms and related structures. These data are discussed in the wider context of anthropological and archaeological information published about the Nanaga sites and the rituals associated with them.

Source: Archaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania

DOI: 10.1002/arco.5348

Authors: Christophe Sand, Jacques Bole, André‐John Ouetcho, Sepeti Mararaba, Ratu Jone Balenaivalu, David Baret

Institutions: Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Fiji Museum

Language: English

Topic: Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies

Subfield: Geography, Planning and Development

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,240

OpenAlex ID: W4408959630

FWCI:

Cites: 20

Cited by:

Related to: 10