Fiji, Sept. 29 -- It is a Friday afternoon, and the sun hangs high over the Yasawa Islands, pouring light across a vast expanse of ocean that shifts from deep blue to brilliant turquoise. The water glitters beneath the afternoon heat, while along the shoreline, fishermen and women prepare their boats, gathering their nets, check their equipment and head out towards the fishing grounds.
In the village of Nacula, Lavenia Naivalurua, a gonedau (a traditional fisher), says the ocean is also a place of sacred knowledge.
She remembers sitting with her grandfather and listening to his talanoa about venturing far beyond the shallow waters, into what they describe as the tuba ni bai ki Viti (the waters beyond the reef) and the familiar boundaries ...