Fijians

Uncommon card · No. 130382

Fijians (Fijian: iTaukei, lit. 'Owners [of the land]') are an Austronesian ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and English and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or iTaukei, are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands of Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago and are the descendants of the Lapita people, who were a seafaring people originally from what is now Taiwan. Later they would move onward to other surrounding islands, including Rotuma, as well as settling in other nearby islands such as Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. The original settlers are now called "Lapita people" after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward. As of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total population of Fiji. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Special Collections from Callaghan NSW, Australia, Public domain