Since the Fijian word for the day yesterday was bure, I thought I would go into a deeper description of that word. Simply defined, a bure is a house. In the traditional sense, it is a structure built from what is available that is tied together, like palm fronds for the roof, and/or stacked.
Traditionally, ethnic Fijians lived in two types of houses; a vale was the family house, while men's houses (where circumcised males of the clan met, ate, and slept) were known as bures. Both of these buildings were dark and smoky inside, with no windows and usually only one low door. Vales had hearth pits where the women cooked, and the packed earth floor was covered with grass or fern leaves and then carpeted with pandanus leaf or coarse coconut leaf mats.[1]
Today, when staying at many of the resorts in Fiji, a bure refers to your bungalow with the modern amenities of plumbing and electricity. Depending upon your resort of choice, your bure can be very basic or very luxurious.
So now, your Fijian word of the day:
English Fijian (pronunciation)
Man Turaga (too rang ah)
[1] Jones, Robyn; Pinheiro, Leonardo (April 1997). Fiji: A Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit, Fourth Edition. Melbourne: Lonely Planet Publications. p. 207. ISBN 0-86442-353-5.
No comments:
Post a Comment