This article needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(November 2023)
iTaukei Indigenous Fijians
kaiViti
Total population
c. 615,000
Regions with significant populations
Fiji
475,739[1]
Australia
96,960[2]
United States
<40,000[3]
Canada
25,180[4]
New Zealand
19,722[5]
United Kingdom
4,500[6]
Norfolk Island
47[7]
Languages
Majority: Fijian and English Minority: Pidgin Hindustani
Religion
Christian (Methodist 66.6%; Roman Catholic 13.3%; Assemblies of God 6.2%; Seventh-day Adventist 5.1%, other 8.8%).
Related ethnic groups
Papuans, Ni-Vanuatu, other Melanesian peoples, other Austronesian peoples, Indo-Fijians
Fijians (Fijian: iTaukei, lit. 'Owners [of the land]') are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and English and share a common history and culture.
Fijians, or iTaukei,[8] are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands of Melanesia. Indigenous Fijians are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago and are the descendants of the Lapita people. Later they would move onward to other surrounding islands, including Rotuma, as well as settling in other nearby islands such as Tonga and Samoa. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. The original settlers are now called "Lapita people" after a distinctive pottery produced locally. Lapita pottery was found in the area from 800 BCE onward.
As of 2005, indigenous Fijians constituted slightly more than half of the total population of Fiji. Indigenous Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture.
Australia has the largest Fijian expatriate population, according to the Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. According to the Australian census, the largest ethnic backgrounds that Fijians identified with were Indian/Indo-Fijian and Indigenous Fijian origins.[2] Fijians were also the fifth largest Pacific ethnic group living in New Zealand; a decrease of 8 percent between 1996 and 2001. In 2001, the estimated Pacific Islander population size is 231,800 Fijians comprising about 7,000 of that (Online numbers and side table disagree).[9][10] Outside Oceania, a notable Fijian diaspora is found in other Anglophone countries, namely Canada, United States and the United Kingdom.
The Bose Levu Vakaturaga (Great Council of Chiefs) once passed laws and regulations governing the indigenous Fijian people. Until its disbanding by the Military of Fiji following the 2006 coup, the Great Council of Chiefs met yearly to discuss native Fijian concerns. The council, which was formerly responsible for appointing Fiji's president, was composed of 55 Fijian chiefs selected from the 14 provinces. Included in the council were three appointees from the island of Rotuma and six appointed by the Minister of Fijian Affairs. The Minister of Fijian Affairs consulted with the President as part of the selection process. Former Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka was given a lifetime appointment on the council.
^Fiji Islands Bureau of Statistics Archived 9 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
^ ab"Department of Immigration & Citizenship: Media – Publications: Statistics – Community Information Summaries". Archived from the original on 13 February 2014. Retrieved 8 July 2015.
^"We the People: Pacific Islanders in the United States" (PDF). US Census Bureau. August 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 August 2005.
^"Immigrant status and period of immigration by place of birth and citizenship: Canada, provinces and territories and census metropolitan areas with parts". Statistics Canada. Statistics Canada Statistique Canada. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
^"Fijian ethnic group". StatsNZ. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
^"London Lives: The Fijian soldier". Time Out London. Archived from the original on 11 October 2012. Retrieved 18 March 2018.
^"2016 Census QuickStats: Norfolk Island". Archived from the original on 7 May 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^Since 2010, the word "Fijian" legally also denotes nationality and not ethnicity.
^Online numbers and side table differ.
^"Fijian People in New Zealand". New Zealand Ministry of Pacific Island Affairs. Archived from the original on 12 July 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
Fijians (Fijian: iTaukei, lit. 'Owners [of the land]') are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and English and share a common history...
the English name of indigenous Fijians from "Fijians" to itaukei, the Fijian language endonym for indigenous Fijians. Deposed Prime Minister Laisenia...
fijian in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Fijian may refer to: Something of, from, or related to the country of Fiji The Fijians, persons from Fiji,...
Indigenous Fijians in areas of Fiji where there are large Indo-Fijian communities. A pidgin form of the language is used by rural ethnic Fijians, as well...
Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji....
second-largest religion in Fiji, and primarily has a following among Indo-Fijians, the descendants of indentured workers brought to Fiji by the British as cheap...
European and of mixed ancestry. The native Fijians live throughout the country, while the Indo-Fijians reside primarily near the urban centres and in...
Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji....
Indo-Fijians and Chinese on the islands, while Pidgin Hindustani is used by many rural ethnic Fijians and Chinese in areas dominated by Indo-Fijians. The...
had 52 members. Of these, 22 were allocated to indigenous Fijians and another 22 to Indo-Fijians; a further eight were allocated to General Electors (Europeans...
until 1959 that Fijians began to emigrate in large numbers, emigrating 71 Fijians to the US in this year. In the 1960s more of 400 Fijians emigrated to the...
and England. The only major sides Fiji are yet to beat are New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland. The "Flying Fijians" as they are nicknamed compete every...
spoken as the first language by most indigenous Fijians who make up around 54% of the population. Indo-Fijians make up 37% of the population and speak Hindi...
tends to split along ethnic lines with most Indigenous Fijians being Christian and most Indo-Fijians being either Hindu or Muslim. According to the World...
remaining 46 were reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and were elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "general...
Fijian Australians refers to Australian citizens or residents of Australia who are of ethnic iTaukei or Indian descent. Most Fijians Australians live in...
of these, only Fiji is a republic. The Union Flag also remains on the flag of Hawaii, a U.S. state since 1959. Some influential Fijians have called for...
Fijians and Indo-Fijians into the official political structure for the first time, and fostered the beginning of a modern political culture in Fiji....
give indigenous Fijians a greater stake in the economy. The plan envisages tax-relief to businesses owned or managed by ethnic Fijians, along with greater...
after Fiji gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1970, there were ethnic tensions between the Indigenous Fijians and the Indo-Fijians, Fiji's two...
four Fijian coups d'état in the past forty years: 1987 Fijian coups d'état (two) 2000 Fijian coup d'état 2006 Fijian coup d'état See also 2009 Fijian constitutional...
Naming conventions in Fiji differ greatly, both between and within ethnic groups in Fiji. Indigenous Fijians have a set of cultural practices which today...
Indigenous Fijians and Indo-Fijians, the two principal ethnic groups of Fiji, comprise the bulk of Suva's population, and the city is home to most of Fiji's ethnic...
Pidgin Fijian (also known as Jargon Fijian, Fijian Pidgin, Broken Fijian) was a plantation language used by iTaukei (Indigenous) Fijians and foreigners...
Pacific languages, also known as Fijian–Polynesian languages, are a branch of the Oceanic languages spoken in Fiji and Polynesia. Ross et al. (2002)...
of Fijian descent are Indo-Fijians, including Nifa Hindes, Nishan Hindes, Satya Nandan, Ramon Tikaram, Tanita Tikaram and Simita Kumar. Many Fijians attend...
societies, chiefs are appointed on merit. The largest social unit for Fijians is the Yavusa, defined by R.A. Derrick as the "direct agnate descendants...
remaining 46 were reserved for Fiji's ethnic communities and were elected from communal electoral rolls: 23 Fijians, 19 Indo-Fijians, 1 Rotuman, and 3 "General...
Global Information
Fiji
Australia
United States
Canada
New Zealand
United Kingdom
Norfolk Island