Reflexivity, Tradition, and Power: The Work of R.R. Nayacakalou

Abstract

In this paper, I explore the moral challenges of reflexivity in the contexts of social hierarchy and the politics of tradition. I analyze the work of indigenous Fijian anthropologist R.R. Nayacakalou, a keen social observer who endured professional challenges because of his nonchiefly social status. A student of Raymond Firth's at the University of London, Nayacakalou was the first indigenous Fijian to earn his Ph.D. in anthropology. He was managing the Native Land Trust Board in Fiji when he died tragically young in 1972. His reputation has suffered since his death, as his untimely passing has been interpreted by some indigenous Fijians as punishment for his supposed alienation of indigenous lands. Nayacakalou's life and work illustrate the ways in which anthropological reflexivity can inspire moral critique from its subjects when a critical stance toward tradition is mistaken as an attack on indigenous sovereignty.