Visit Fiji

Visit Fiji

Fiji ( FEE-jee Fijian: Viti; Fiji Hindi), officially the Republic of Fiji (Fijian: Matanitu Tugalala o Viti; Fiji Hindi: Fiji Hindi: Ripablik aph Phiji), is an island country in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles (2,000 km; 1,300 mi) northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Visit Fiji

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Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast,Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north.

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Fiji is an archipelago of more than 332 islands, of which 110 are permanently inhabited, and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The farthest island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the population of almost 860,000. The capital and largest city, Suva, is on Viti Levu. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres like Nadi (tourism) or Lautoka (sugar cane industry). Viti Levu's interior is sparsely inhabited due to its terrain.
Fiji has one of the most developed economies in the Pacific due to an abundance of forest, mineral, and fish resources. Today, the main sources offoreign exchange are its tourist industry and sugar exports. The country's currency is the Fijian dollar. Fiji's local government, in the form of city and town councils, is supervised by the Ministry of Local Government and Urban Development.
The majority of Fiji's islands were formed through volcanic activity starting around 150 million years ago. Today, some geothermal activity still occurs on the islands of Vanua Levu and Taveuni. Fiji has been inhabited since the second millennium BC, and was settled first by Austronesians and later byMelanesians, with some Polynesian influences. Europeans visited Fiji from the 17th century, and, after a brief period as an independent kingdom, the British established the Colony of Fiji in 1874. Fiji was a Crown colony until 1970, when it gained independence as a Commonwealth realm. A republic was declared in 1987, following a series of coups d'état.
In a coup in 2006, Commodore Frank Bainimarama seized power. When the High Court ruled in 2009 that the military leadership was unlawful, PresidentRatu Josefa Iloilo, whom the military had retained as the nominal Head of State, formally abrogated the Constitution and reappointed Bainimarama. Later in 2009, Iloilo was replaced as President by Ratu Epeli Nailatikau. After years of delays, a democratic election was held on 17 September 2014. Bainimarama's FijiFirst party won with 59.2% of the vote, and the election was deemed credible by international observers.
Fiji's main island is known as Viti Levu and it is from this that the name "Fiji" is derived, though the common English pronunciation is based on that of their island neighbours in Tonga. Its emergence can be described as follows:
Fijians first impressed themselves on European consciousness through the writings of the members of the expeditions of Cook who met them in Tonga. They were described as formidable warriors and ferocious cannibals, builders of the finest vessels in the Pacific, but not great sailors. They inspired awe amongst the Tongans, and all their Manufactures, especially bark cloth and clubs, were highly valued and much in demand. They called their home Viti, but the Tongans called it Fisi, and it was by this foreign pronunciation, Fiji, first promulgated by Captain James Cook, that these islands are now known.
"Feejee", the Anglicised spelling of the Tongan pronunciation, was used in accounts and other writings until the late 19th century, by missionaries and other travellers visiting Fiji.
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 350,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language. The 1997 Constitutionestablished Fijian as an official language of Fiji, along with English and Fiji Hindi, and there has been discussion about establishing it as the "national language", though English and Hindustani would remain official. Fijian is a VOS language.
The Fiji Islands developed many dialects, which may be classified in two major branches — eastern and western. Missionaries in the 1840s chose an Eastern dialect, the speech of Bau Island off the southeast coast of the main island ofViti Levu, to be the written standard of the Fijian language. Bau Island was home to Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the chief who eventually became the self-proclaimed King of Fiji.
Fiji's culture is a rich mosaic of indigenous Fijian, Indo-Fijian, Asian and European traditions, comprising social polity, language, food (coming mainly from the sea, plus casava, dalo (taro) and other vegetables), costume, belief systems, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance, and sports.
While indigenous Fijian culture and traditions are very vibrant and are integral components of everyday life for the majority of Fiji's population, Fijian society has evolved over the past century with the introduction of traditions such as Indian and Chinese as well as significant influences from Europe and Fiji's Pacific neighbours, particularly Tonga and Samoa. Thus, the various cultures of Fiji have come together to create a unique multicultural national identity. Fiji's culture was showcased at the World Exposition held in Vancouver, Canada, in 1986 and more recently at the Shanghai World Expo 2010, along with other Pacific countries in the Pacific Pavilion.

This is a list of holidays celebrated in Fiji:
• New Year's Day
• Good Friday
• Easter Saturday
• Easter Monday
• Fiji Day
• Diwali
• Christmas
• Boxing Day
• Prophet Mohammed's Birthday
The exact dates of public holidays vary from year to year, but the dates for the next year can be found at the Fiji Government Web Site
The following holidays are no longer celebrated in Fiji:
• Queen's Official Birthday
• National Youth Day
• Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day

The Fiji sevens team is one of the most popular and successful rugby sevensteams in the world, and has won the Hong Kong Sevens a record twelve times since its inception in 1976. Fiji has also won the Rugby World Cup Sevens twice — in 1997 and 2005 (coincidentally, the two times it has been held in Hong Kong). The Fiji national rugby union sevens team is currently the reigningSevens World Series Champions in World Rugby and will feature in the Rugby sevens at the Summer Olympics in 2016.
The national rugby union team is very successful given the size of the population of the country, and has competed at five Rugby World Cupcompetitions, the first being in 1987, where they reached the quarter-finals. The Fiji national side did not match that feat again until the 2007 Rugby World Cup when they upset Wales 38–34 to progress to the quarter-finals where they nearly beat the eventual Rugby World Cup winners, South Africa. Fiji also defeated the British and Irish Lions in 1977. Visit Fiji
Fiji competes in the Pacific Tri-Nations and the IRB Pacific Nations Cup. The sport is governed by the Fiji Rugby Union which is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, and contributes to the Pacific Islanders rugby union team. At the club level there are the Skipper Cup and Farebrother Trophy Challenge. Visit Fiji
The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance (PIRA) formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga in the union. Fiji is currently ranked eleventh in the world by the IRB (as of 28 March 2014). Visit Fiji
Fiji is one of the few countries where rugby union is the main sport. There are about 80,000 registered players from a total population of around 950,000. One of the problems for Fiji is simply getting their players to play for their home country, as many have contracts in Europe or with Super Rugby teams, where monetary compensation is far more rewarding. The repatriated salaries of its overseas stars have become an important part of some local economies. Visit Fiji

In addition, a significant number of players eligible to play for Fiji end up representing Australia or New Zealand; notable examples are Fiji-born cousins and former New Zealand All Blacks, Joe Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu, current All Black Waisake Naholo as well asAustralian Wallabies former winger, Lote Tuqiri and current wallabies' Tevita Kuridrani, Henry Speight. Fiji has won the most Pacific Tri-Nations Championships of the three participating teams. Visit Fiji
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia