Kaiviti: A Fiji Tale [Novel 1 of the Kaiviti series] "Ebook"

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Book one of the Kaiviti series

Kaiviti (meaning ‘from Fiji’) is set in 1987, the year of Fiji’s first two military coups. The Tabua (tam-boo-ah: tooth of a Sperm Whale) is an important cultural symbol for Fijians and serves as an important motif in the novel. Historically used as gifts for atonement or esteem, Tabua were traded in chiefly negotiations. To Fijians, they are a symbol of power and were sometimes buried with their owners for use in the afterlife.

Kaiviti opens as 17 year old Sean McDougall and his family relocate from New Zealand. They have inherited property from distant relatives and settle in the Fijian township of Pacific Harbour. We explore the quirks of this community through Sean’s eyes.Soon, fate intervenes and our narrator finds a Tabua pendant in a suitcase hidden under the house. This single, serendipitous moment is the catalyst for a series of powerful conflicts in the novel.

Sean meets Pio Cavubati, a well-known parliamentarian and philosopher, and through the turbulent social and political landscape of 1987, they attempt to trace the Tabua’s origins. As its astonishing history is unraveled, Sean learns of the harsh realities of his ancestors’ circumstances and begins to understand that the problems of the day had their beginnings in the times of early European settlement in Fiji.

Pio’s university friend and sugar cane union representative, Das Sharma, is persecuted for his moderate political views. He begins to realise that if he refuses to take sides in the building conflict, he risks alienation from all.

The beautiful and talented reporter, Leilani Taga, represents the new Fiji. She finds herself fighting traditional values as she seeks to gain acceptance in Suva's hedonistic business community.

From their Pacific Harbour home, Sean and the rest of the novel’s adolescent characters are insulated from the events in Suva. Their life is one of surfing, hotel parties and the relationships that are formed in this decadent environment.

Together, the novel’s characters reflect on Fiji’s history and the dream of a future in which the country’s citizens can set aside their differences and unite as a nation.

First page

Neither the brightness of the full moon nor the glittering of the stars in the heavens could lighten the burden in his heart. The gods navigated the heavens as a sailor navigated the high seas. They danced in a familiar pattern across the sky but offered no counsel.

The other villagers parted to make way for him as he took the short track down to the beach. There was a group awaiting his instruction.

‘Light the fires,’ he said quietly, ‘and find the boys.’

Back at the Chief’s residence the air was stale with fever and demons. Many of the inner circle were standing around, looking on silently, casting long shadows in the torchlight. They parted for him as he approached the Chief, who was lying on his back on the matted floor, his eyes closed. His sister, the Chief’s wife, held her husband’s hand while his body jerked violently.

‘Have you lit the fires?’ The Chief was more alert than he appeared. ‘Where are my sons?’

‘The fires are lit,’ Pio replied. ‘They will see. They will come.’

The Chief tried to sit up but his sister held him in place, shaking her head at him. He smiled.

‘You are as a brother to me,’ said the Chief. ‘I am glad to have you here with me at the end.’