A Fijian village lost in time. An archaeologist's dream. And me taking on the role of an explorer!

In a remote part of Ba, about fifteen minutes from town, lies the current village of Nasolo. It is a short walk from its ancient predecessor the abandoned village of Delaikorocula. In the mid-19th century, many Fijian villages were relocated close to a river or the sea to make missionary work easier. The ancient village of Delaikorocula was already close to the Ba river, one of Fiji's more majestic rivers that flows from high up in the highlands out to the sea off northern Viti Levu. But missionaries needed to make a decisive break with the gods and the ancient way of life of Fijians to make the spread of Christianity easier. So the people of Delaikorocula were moved lower down and closer to the river. For over 150 years Delaikorocula has been forgotten except to the villagers of Nasolo and the "yavusa" (landowning unit) known as Namacku. What I discovered in Delaikorocula gave me a jolt and a rare sense of fufilment. It was an enormous thrill for me to discover what may be one of the most complete ancient Fijian villages left in Fiji.