by Elenoa Baselala
Fiji Times - Monday, March 01, 2010
THE enforcing of traditional protocol or rules in rural villages should be discussed amicably, Fijian culture expert and linguist Doctor Paul Geraghty said.
He said most if not all villages had protocols which must be followed.
However, he agreed that using corporal punishment was not a good enforcement method.
"People must follow these protocols," he added.
"When I take visitors to rural villages, I explain the rules and protocols and they respect and follow them," Dr Geraghty said.
Meanwhile, Dr Geraghty has urged Fijians to take up the Fijian course at the University of the South Pacific to improve their command of the Bauan dialect, widely accepted as the "Fijian" language.
While the number of those taking this course has increased in recent years, Dr Geraghty has urged those in the media practising in the Fijian language to take up the course.
No shoe law ‘is new'
Monday, March 01, 2010
My feet, my only carriage ... Dr Paul Geraghty in Suva yesterday
LINGUIST and Fijian expert Doctor Paul Geraghty says the "barefoot rule" being enforced in rural villages is new.
Dr Geraghty said Fijians in the pre-colonial era normally did not wear shoes.
However, the word "vava" or shoes does exist in the Fijian vocabulary. He said Fijians, or probably their children, wore shoes made of halved coconut shells, which he believes was probably for a particular game.
A man who walks barefoot himself, Dr Geraghty said it was nothing to do with wanting to be "Fijian".
"If I wanted to be a Fijian, I will wear shoes because all Fijians wear shoes," he said.
"I walk barefoot because I don't think shoes are of any use. It is only useful in cold countries. I don't wear shoes and I am a very healthy person, I hardly get sick," Dr Geraghty added.
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