Siti Fatimah’s Lullaby is a poem believed to have originated from the Arabian land and began since the era of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). This poem is sung by nine angels for the Prophet’s children. The poem was continued by the Prophet’s daughter Saiyidatina Fatimah to put to sleep her sons Saidina Hassan and Saidina Hussin. The poem was then known as Siti Fatimah’s Lullaby. The poem contains lyrics that praise Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), relates about the time a baby is in the womb, the hardship faced by the mother in carrying the baby and giving birth, and continues with the mother loving and caring for the baby from a toddler till adulthood. This poem also contains words of advice to a child, especially not to forget both the parents’ deeds. The original lyrics were in Arabic. However, the poems sung in this country were translated to the Malay language and adapted to suit local conditions.

This article will attempt to explain the ancient spirituality of the indigenous people of Fiji. Indigenous spirituality is important because it describes in totality the significance of the vanua, its worldview and vanua ethos. One must decolonize one’s thinking one is to understand the nature of itaukei spirituality and its ideology. Few research have unpackaged the significance of the vanua, nevertheless in its simplest form; the vanua comprises of seen and unseen elements. Nowadays, some itaukei have abandoned their traditional roles and its customs, some have prohibited the consumption of kava. But on the other hand, they are content with traditional itaukei artifacts and crafts. Others have indicated the irrelevance of culture yet when asked of their identity, without hesitation they state their place of origin. As there are traditional beliefs surrounding yaqona consumptions and traditional ceremonies, there are also traditional beliefs associated to traditional crafts and the ancestral guardians of the vanua. An example of a traditional craft with spiritual powers is the masi, also known as the isulu ni vanua (attire of the vanua), it links the physical and the spiritual world. It is worn by newlyweds to protect them from outside influence before the marriage is consummated, it is hung at homes as protection. (Hulkenburg J, 2009:67, 68). In the past, chiefs were regarded as representatives of gods on earth, they were considered sacred because of the sau and mana they possessed. The vanua is protected and respected because of the powers (sau and mana) the chiefs possessed. Yet, it was unreasonable for the people to continue to revere their chiefs when they cease to believe in their ancestor-gods (Thomason B, 1908:111). In Fiji, both Fijian history and Fijian traditional religion are hard to trace and attended with considerable difficulties. (Tivi. D. 2018:39)

Datun Julud means ‘long dance’ in the language of the Kenyah Dayak, ‘Hivan Joh’ for the Kayan tribe and ‘Arang Kadang’ for the Kelabit tribe. Traditionally, Datun Julud is performed by a group of women in the Orang Ulu customary receptions. This dance, that symbolizes happiness and gratefulness to the Great Angel, is said to have been created by the king of the Dayak Kenyah tribe in Apo Nayan called Nyik Selong who is brave in playing with weapon that it is difficult to compete him. However, he still doesn’t have an inheritor. In the end one of his daughters-in-law conceived and gave birth to a would-be inheritor. As a sign of gratitude all the longhouse residents were in festivities and danced with graceful movements. Datun Julud normally begins as a solo performance by a female dancer barefooted, and she dances spontaneously with movement akin to the movement of a flying hornbill. Bird’s feathers are inserted in between the fingers of both her hands. All the dancer’s body parts move except the head to avoid too many movements around the heavy copper earrings. With slow and graceful moves the dancer performs according to the beat and music of ‘Sapedan Jatung Utang’. Her dance steps concentrate on the feet movement that is as if ‘walking on ground’, while the hand movement is as if ‘floating or flying in air” If performed in a longhouse, the performance is normally encircling the living room of the village head and sometimes in the whole longhouse, followed by the people who are there then. After performing another female dancer takes her place and this continues until all the females have taken their turns. Nowadays, Datun Julud is a part of the dances usually performed at a longhouse and in celebration events to receive visitors and tourists.