A newly agreed set of vanua laws for the district of Qoibau bans women from drinking grog inside villages and places other than the vanua, and introduces a suite of conduct rules intended to “strengthen discipline and order,” according to a document obtained by this newspaper. The lawa ni Qoibau was adopted at a community meeting held in Nakorowiri Village last month and is to be enforced across all villages and settlements that make up Qoibau.
“The women are not allowed to drink grog in the vanua of Qoibau,” reads the lawa ni Qoibau. Turaga ni Yavusa o Qoibau Laisiasa Masidrugu confirmed the restriction and said women may drink grog elsewhere but not within the villages and communities of Qoibau. “The women are not allowed to grog in Qoibau. They can go elsewhere and drink grog, but not in villages and communities of Qoibau,” Mr Masidrugu told this newspaper, adding that the rule was agreed by the traditional leaders of the vanua.
Beyond the ban on women drinking grog within the vanua, the written law sets out several other prohibitions aimed at maintaining order and protecting yaqona (kava) resources. The document states that people are not allowed to steal grog or uproot yaqona plants they did not plant. It also bans drinking alcohol and says intoxicated people who behave in a disorderly manner “will not be tolerated.” Additional restrictions include a ban on playing loud music and a dress code preventing women from wearing shorts in village areas.
The lawa ni Qoibau says the rules were made in line with provisions under the Fijian Affairs Act Cap 120 and the Tikina and Village Regulations 1996, citing sections 29(e) and 29(f). The document frames the written laws as a guide for behaviour in the vanua and as a measure to strengthen traditional authority within the district.
The new rules are to apply across the district’s villages and settlements, specifically naming Namoli, Galoa, Nakorowiri, Vunimoli, Nubunikavula, Batinikama and Waikisi. Community representatives at the Nakorowiri meeting agreed the set of “written laws” would be established and enforced across every village and settlement within Qoibau, according to the document.
The version of the lawa ni Qoibau obtained by this newspaper sets out the prohibitions and their stated intent but does not include detailed enforcement mechanisms or specified sanctions for breaches. It is presented as a communal code agreed by traditional leaders and local representatives; how the measures will be operationalised, monitored or adjudicated within the vanua has not been outlined in the document.
This is the latest development for Qoibau’s customary governance: the formalisation of community rules into a written set of laws. Village-level regulations about yaqona and social conduct have long been within the remit of traditional authorities; the new lawa ni Qoibau marks a formal reiteration of those powers and a renewed push by local leaders to set behavioural standards across the district.
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