Fijians

Fijians (iTaukei) are a nation and ethnic group native to Fiji, who speak Fijian and share a common history and culture. Fijians, or iTaukei, are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called 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. 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. 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.