John Mitchell
A range of throwing sticks known as i ula. Picture: www.new-guinea-tribal-arts.com
Fiji’s hardwood forests have spawned many blessings for centuries.
They provided the necessary raw materials for building some of the fastest environmental-friendly sea crafts that traversed the world’s biggest ocean and accessing the hundreds of islands scattered within its boundary.
Also, forests were fundamentally the indigenous people’s source of food, herbal medicines and cooking fuel, habitat for totemic animals and trees, and timber for building homes and designing traditional artefacts.
But among the forests’ most treasured value, is its use as raw materials for the manufacture of revered war clubs.