New details about a veteran weaver in Nubumakita Village reveal how traditional craft continues to sustain families and community life in rural Fiji. Sixty-one-year-old Ema Naqele, originally from Nasukamai Village in Ra with maternal links to Nukulau, married into Nubumakita in 1989 and has spent decades turning dried pandanus, or voivoi, into cash and culture. The latest update: she has just finished a vivivi (a ceremonial set of mats) valued at $600 and is already working on another order worth $700, while preparing mats for the installation of their Turaga ni Yavusa.
Ema’s speed and skill are the product of a lifetime of practice. “For a coco I can complete it in two or three days if I focus on completing it,” she said, describing how quickly she can finish smaller mats. Her niece often works alongside her for larger commissions, and Ema balances weaving with household duties—“Before we weave, we make sure that all our chores are done,” she added—so the craft remains woven into everyday life rather than displacing domestic responsibilities.
Weaving is Ema’s primary source of income. Most of her earnings come from vivivi orders, which are central to Fijian traditional ceremonies and obligations to the vanua and church. She said much of the money she earns goes toward family needs and education; her youngest child, aged 21, is training to be a teacher at Fulton Adventist University College—a tangible example of how craft income supports upward mobility in the village.
Sustainability and self-reliance are key parts of Ema’s approach. She grows her own voivoi, reducing dependence on purchased materials and ensuring a steady supply for unpredictable demand. That practice mirrors recent calls from officials and community advocates to preserve and revive ancestral knowledge tied to land and resources, underscoring how individual stewardship can reinforce broader cultural and environmental aims.
Ema is also a long-standing community leader and host. Soon after her marriage she began serving as head of the Soqosoqo ni Marama (the women’s club), a role she held intermittently over two decades, and today she runs a small canteen. Her hospitality is well known: her home frequently provides accommodation to government officials and visitors to Nubumakita, reflecting the social centrality of households that combine craft production with public service.
This account adds concrete personal and financial detail to broader conversations about tradition and resilience in Fiji. Ema’s current orders and the mats she is making for the Turaga ni Yavusa installation demonstrate ongoing demand for woven goods and how a single artisan can sustain family obligations, cultural life and a modest enterprise—while passing skills on to younger generations who help with larger commissions.
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