<i>Nanaga</i> Site of Wasavulu (Labasa, Fiji): Mapping of a Traditional Religious Site of Vanua Levu

ABSTRACT Pre‐Christian religious sites of the Fijian Archipelago have been seldom studied and even less often mapped by archaeologists. This is especially the case for the enigmatic Nanaga enclosures, whose functioning has remained poorly documented by the first ethnographers of the 19th century. This paper describes one of these sites, located near Labasa town in the northwestern plain of the large island of Vanua Levu. After presenting one of the oral traditions associated with some of the uprights of this Nanaga , exemplifying long‐distance chiefly networks, we describe the different elements of the double alignment of low platforms and related structures. These data are discussed in the wider context of anthropological and archaeological information published about the Nanaga sites and the rituals associated with them.

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Journal
Archaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania
Published
2025-03-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/arco.5348
Primary Topic
Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
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article
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article

Nanaga Site of Wasavulu (Labasa, Fiji): Mapping of a Traditional Religious Site of Vanua Levu

David Baret, Christophe Sand, Jacques Bolé, A.J. Ouetcho et al.
Archaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania
Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
article

Nanaga Site of Wasavulu (Labasa, Fiji): Mapping of a Traditional Religious Site of Vanua Levu

David Baret, Christophe Sand, Jacques Bolé, A.J. Ouetcho, Ratu Jone Balenaivalu, Sepeti Mararaba
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pre‐Christian religious sites of the Fijian Archipelago have been seldom studied and even less often mapped by archaeologists. This is especially the case for the enigmatic Nanaga enclosures, whose functioning has remained poorly documented by the first ethnographers of the 19th century. This paper describes one of these sites, located near Labasa town in the northwestern plain of the large island of Vanua Levu. After presenting one of the oral traditions associated with some of the uprights of this Nanaga , exemplifying long‐distance chiefly networks, we describe the different elements of the double alignment of low platforms and related structures. These data are discussed in the wider context of anthropological and archaeological information published about the Nanaga sites and the rituals associated with them.

Archaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in OceaniaVol. 60(1)
University of New Caledonia (NC), Fiji Museum (FJ), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
Sustainable cities and communities
Openalex Percentile: Top 93%
Pacific and Southeast Asian Studies
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<i>Nanaga</i> Site of Wasavulu (Labasa, Fiji): Mapping of a Traditional Religious Site of Vanua Levu — David Baret, Christophe Sand, et al. · Archaeology in Oceania/Archæology & physical anthropology in Oceania (2025) | TGRS Research Map | TGRS