Fiji

Due to its colonial history, the South Pacific island country of Fiji has a variety of religious communities on its territory. Prior to the British colonial conquest, Fijians believed in the divine forces of earth and sea, which are now technically classified as animist. Aboriginal Fijians did not have a unified system of beliefs or a hierarchy of deities, but they highly venerated personified forces of nature, their ancestors, and totems. They prayed to patrons of certain trades (fishing, canoe building). Certain types of fish, birds, animals, and trees were venerated and protected as ancestral totems. Both gods and ancestors were called Kalou. Various rocks, giant trees, and stones were venerated as Kalou. In their villages, native Fijians had temples called Bure Kalou. Priests (Bete) ...