Vakatoka Yaca (Naming) method: critiquing the Tukutuku Raraba, colonial histories of Fijian tribes

Abstract

This article uses a new research method to assess the veracity of the official historical record of a Fijian vanua (Fijian tribe and its land), an example of narratives recorded during colonial times to identify land ownership and chiefly titles among the Indigenous Fijians. The colonial narratives of history continue to be the major resource for official resolution of local disputes about land and titles despite widespread Fijian distrust of their reliability. New historical research employing the Vakatoka Yaca (Naming) method reveals major inconsistencies in the official history of the author’s vanua that demonstrate the need for revisions of this official narrative, and perhaps reviews of the histories of other vanua.