He looks me squarely in the eye, unflinching, standing perfectly balanced on the rocks, before trotting off. Others follow the drill nonchalantly, their expressions no different from tourists strolling down the boardwalks of Nadi, Fiji’s most jet set, touristy town. Except, they’re not excursionists but firewalkers from the obscure Sawau Tribe of the Island of Beqa, one of the approximate 330 odd Fijian Islands. And their humble rock perch isn’t as innocuous as it seems – it glistens menacingly with scalding white heat – an inferno of stone.

The High Priest presides over this ceremony marked with austerity measures – no women or coconuts for the men for two weeks. It’s a pre-ritual they dare not disobey, infringers have been scorched mercilessly, I’ve been told. The substantial pit, nearly 15 meters wide and four feet deep, lined with gigantic river stones has been smouldering for over eight hours. As the pit is prepared, the firewalkers stay out of our sight. “Vuto -Oooooo,” the final war call bellows – the pit is ready for the ceremony.

An intimate and mystical legend lies behind this feat. But modern day sceptics, including me, try to rationalise. I examine the soles of their feet: blackened, leathery, and without any sign of blistering. In the spirit world, logic is futile. A dotty companion ventures where no fool would tread: right into the fiery stones and returns yelping, enlightened with a roasted hand. As the firewalkers chant and heal his fingers, they tell me of the blessings the spirit god bestowed on the people of the village: the power over fire; the flame, all consuming, which incinerates the hapless, others in to cinders.

THE OCEAN SPIRITS
It’s been two days since touch down in Fiji Islands, a lush paradise in the heart of the Pacific Ocean. The clutch of verdant green islands houses barely a million people, a cultural potpourri of immigrants and natives. The first settlers moved in nearly three and a half thousand years ago – the Lapita. But it’s the region’s cannibal residents that tourists remember the most, a past that’s thankfully not been buried, figuratively, in modern Fiji. Browsing through souvenir shops in Nadi, I see wild-looking flesh eaters carved out of coconut shells and buy a wooden cannibal dining apparatus, a remnant of a long discarded tradition.

But it’s the spirit world that lingers still, ruling life here. Wherever I go, a phantasm follows. Even as I melt into the turquoise blue ocean. Strapping up for scuba diving, my eyes glaze over Jonetani aka Jony, the dive master, who belts out instructions at me. My forehead wrinkles into creases, I’m worried about my dinner the night before, as I step into the ocean, on the South Beach of Mana Island, our departure point. I think of Dakuwaqa, the shark god – a fierce sea monster, guardian of the reef entrance, fearless headstrong and jealous.

And of the red prawns of Vatulele, sacred and to be harmed only at the cost of being shipwrecked. Of the sacred turtles of Kadavu, lured to the ocean’s surface by the melodious chants of the village women. It’s a surreal sight: giant turtles with their heads cocked towards the direction of the notes, locals tell me. My culinary karma is hardly impeccable, I think, the last fleeting thought that crosses my mind as I plunge into the waters.

Completely submerged, the ocean roars in my ears. I try to focus on a wavering landscape drifting before my eyes. A hidden world of technicolour billows into shape. Soft corals drift past.  Between their tendrils, cigar-shaped parrot fishes dart busily. A menacing reef shark noses its way towards me, and I hold on to Jony with fright, till it slithers away past us, angling after a bright leaf-shaped angelfish.

A silvery school flashes past us, their mouths opening and closing greedily to snarf down food, leaving a trail of bubbles in their wake. Leaving behind the whole caboodle of flippers, fins and fishes, I surface, the only bobbing head in an ocean of infinite. Later, Jony takes us to his oceanic hideway, a silvery sand bar, a drop of gold in the middle of the ocean, his private slice of paradise, strewn with corals, shells and powder soft sands, from where we watch the sun get swallowed by the vast blue. 

ISA LEI - SAYING FAREWELL
Come dusk and a hushed glow settles. From the shadows dancers appear, breaking out into a mesmerising rhythmic motion, a routine of stylised dances known as Meke. A suckling pig roasted over a spit makes rounds, as we hear stories accompanied by the throbbing beat of the lali, a drum made from a tree trunk.

Swishing their Vau plant skirts, the Fijian’s well-oiled bodies glisten in the pale light. They greet us with a joyful Bula, a welcome song, and ending with the poignant Isa Lei, the Fijian farewell song for lovelorn chieftain over a maiden who resided in the neighbouring Tonga Islands. As the last notes drift away, I settle down for some Kava, the islands’ national drink. Kava, an infusion prepared from the pepper plant, prepared for me in an elaborate ceremony by two tribal members, Mojee and Hanfiro, is a semi-religious experience. As the bilo or the bowl is passed across the room, cries of ‘Bula’ their equivalent of cheers, echoes liberally.  A few bilos and torpor settles in and we dawdle out to feast on delights plucked straight from the ocean: kokoda, a delicious fish marinated in lime and coconut with chillies, crayfish, roast suckling pig, yams and prawns.

The next day, I take a last dip in the ocean and settle down on the beach, watching the wave’s crash on the sands. Getting ready to leave, the words of the lovelorn chief drift through the air: “O, forget not, when you’re far away.”

Travel Fact File

▲ Getting there:  You can fly to Fiji Islands via Hong Kong from major metro cities in India. From Hong Kong, Air Pacific, Fiji's International Airline, has direct connections thrice a week. The region is also well-connected to Australia and New Zealand, short flights away.

▲ Accommodation: Contrary to belief, one can get accommodation in all segments in Fiji, not only luxury accommodation. Visit www.fijime.com/backpackme for more information.

▲ When to visit: Fiji enjoys a pleasant, tropical two-season climate. Summer temperature averages from 22-33 degrees Celsius and winter averages from 19-29 degrees Celsius.

▲ Food:  A melting pot of many cultures, indulge in culinary experiences like the Fijian lovo (food cooked in an earth oven), desi food (there is a large population of Indians in Fiji Islands) as well as Chinese, Japanese, Korean and International cuisine.

▲ Activities: Fiji is a beach bum’s paradise. You can snorkel, dive, surf or kayak, whitewater raft  as well as cruise. Trekking, backpacking and cultural experiences such as local village visits are also popular. At the end of it all you can step into a spa.

▲ Visa: Indian visitors receive a four month visa on arrival in Fiji Islands.

▲ Website: For more information visit www.fijime.com