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LAPITA In 1917, Maurice Piroutet a French geologist discovered pottery shards along the coast of Fouē in the province of Konē in New Caledonia. The design was similar to the tapa motifs in the Lau group today. The pottery fragments were named after the beach from it was found. The name then was extended to all places in the Pacific in which the shards were found. HOW OLD ARE THE RELICS. There is geological and archaeological evidence of a certain group of people who navigated the Pacific Ocean with distinctive pottery design known as Lapita. Science and carbon dating can determine the age of a relic and the year in which the owner inhabited an island. WHO WERE THE LAPITA PEOPLE? Researchers found that prior to the habitation of the Pacific, a group of people called the Austronesians existed. They are identified through their language family. During those days, the language was not so diverse as today. 3,500 years ago they navigated the Pacific Ocean with their double-hulled canoes called the Drua. Evidence stipulated that these people originated from South China. They brought with them a distinctive pottery design, domesticated animals such as pigs, chicken, dogs and geminated trees such as breadfruit. They are the inhabitants of today’s Madagascar, South East Asia, Bismarck Archipelago near Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Fiji, Samoa, Hawaii, Rapanui and New Zealand.

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The origin of basketry in the Pacific can be traced back to the early European exploration that changed the islanders’ way of living. Intensive European exploration changed the attitude and economy of the indigenous people that ultimately led to the change in the nature of the artifacts made. Baskets during these early times were mainly used in trading. Basketry in the Pacific Islands share similar characteristics in one-way or another, whether it be similar designs or similarity in raw materials used. Mostly across the Pacific, coconut leaves are used to make baskets; from simple designs to complicated ones. Many Pacific Islands use reed or vines to make baskets as well, and in rare cases, from bamboo stems. Traditional baskets woven from bamboo stems can be found from a district in Fiji called Navatusila. This traditional basket shares some similar and different features in comparison to other traditional baskets across the Pacific. Navatusila, a district in the mountains inland on the main island of the archipelago, Vitilevu, is known throughout Fiji and perhaps around the world for its past that many believed was a turning point in Fiji’s Christian history. However, this event is part of history and needed not hinder the fact that Navatusila, like many Fijian traditional settlements, still practice traditional skills and knowledge that is unique to the people in expressing social and cultural identity. Nubutautau, a village in Navatusila, has a bearer of high knowledge and skills in weaving a traditional craft known as tabekasere. The knowledge and skills in weaving the tabekasere is only held in Nubutautau in all the Fiji Islands. This unique craft came to light post Cultural Mapping Program held in February 2016 by the Ministry of iTaukei Affairs, iTaukei Institute of Language and Culture. Thus, the bearer of knowledge and skills in making the itabekasere is recognized as a Living Human Treasure, as it was discovered at that time that a lone person possessed the knowledge and skills.