The Sacred Turtles Of Kadavu

On the island of Kadavu (pronounced Kandavu) one of the larger islands of the Fiji Group
and some fifty miles by water from the capital city of Suva, is the Fijian village of Namuana.
Namuana nestles at the foot of a beautiful bay adjacent to the Government Station in Vunisea
Harbour. Here the island of Kadavu narrows down to a very isthmus and by climbing the hill
behind Namuana village one can stand on the saddle and look out to the sea to the south and
to the north. Legend says that in the days gone by the warriors of Kadavu slid their canoes on
rollers up over the narrow neck of land to save the long journey around the east and west of
Kadavu island.

Ohe women of Namuana village still preserve a very strange ritual, that of calling turtles from
the sea. If you visit Namuana village to see the turtle calling, your schooner anchors in a
beautiful bay right under the cliffs of a rocky headland. You land on the beach and then either
sit on the rocks under the bluffs on the beach or climb a rocky tract to a point some 150 or 200
feet up the rock face. Here you have a splendid view and find assembled all the maidens of
the village of Namuana singing a strange chant. As they chant, if you look very carefully
down into the water of the bay, you will see giant turtles rise one by one to lie on the surface
listening to the music.

This is not a fairy tale and actually does take place and the water in this area is forbidden for
the fishing of turtles.

Another interesting sideline to this performance is that if any member of the nearby village of
Nabukelevu is present, then the turtles will not rise to the surface of the bay and turtle calling
will have to be abandoned.

As is usually the case with such strange ceremonies and customs in Fiji, the turtle calling is
based on an ancient legend still passed on from father to son among the Fijian people of
Kadavu.

Many, many years ago in the beautiful village of Namuana on the island of Kadavu, lived a
very lovely princess called Tinaicoboga who was the wife of the chief of Namuana village.
Tinaicoboga had a charming daughter called Raudalice and the two women often went fishing
on the reefs around their home.
In one particular occasion, Tinaicobaga and Raudalice went further afield than usual and
waded out onto the submerged reefs which is just out from the rocky headline to the east of
the bay on which Namuana village is situated.

They became so engrossed with their fishing that they did not notice the stealthy approach of
a great war canoe filled with fishermen from the nearby village of Nabukelevu. This village is
situated in the shadow of Mount Washington, the highest mountain on Kadavu island. Today,
Mount Washington is well know to mariners because there is a splendid lighthouse there
warning them of the dangers of the rocky coastline.

Suddenly the fishermen leapt from their canoe and seized the two women, bound their hands
and feet with vine and tossed them into the bottom of the canoe and set off in great haste for
home. Although they pleaded for their lives, the cruel warriors from Nabukelevu were deaf to
their pleading and would not listen to their entreaties.

The Gods of the sea, however, were kind and soon a great storm arose and the canoe was
tossed about by huge waves which almost swamped it. As the canoe was foundering in the sea
the fishermen were astounded to notice that the two women lying in the water in the hold of
the canoe had suddenly changed into turtles and to save their own lives, the men seized them
and threw them into the sea.

As they slipped over the side of the canoe the weather changed and there were no more
waves.

The Nabukelevu fishermen continued their journey back to their home village and the two
women for Namuana who had been changed to turtles lived on in the water of the bay. It is
their descendants today who rise when the maidens of their own village sing songs to them
from the cliffs.

The translation of the strange song which is chanted on such occasions is as follows:

"The women of Namuana are all dressed in mourning

Each carries a sacred club each tattooed in a strange pattern

Do rise to the surface Raudalice so we may look at you

Do rise to the surface Tinaicoboga so we may also look at you."

You may doubt the truth of the legend, but you cannot doubt the fact that the chanting of this
strange song does in fact lure the giant turtles to the surface of the blue waters of the bay near
Namuana village on the island of Kadavu.

The strange power of calling these turtles is possessed only by the people of Namuana village
and it is true that should a member of their traditional enemy tribe from the village of
Nabukelevu further down the coast be present, then no turtles will rise.