Na waqa ni loloma kei na veinanumi ei takele tudei ni kena valuti na mate levu ka takavi vuravura taucoko na COViD-19: Mai vakabasikatitaki na vakayagataki ni mona livaliva me vakaleleci kina na ‘barter’[i] e Viti.
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E vakilai na bibi ni mate oqo na COViD-19, ena veimatanitu e na wasa Pasivika ka bau wili tale ga kina o Viti, ni vakaleqai sara ga kina vaka ca na noda bula kei na rawa ka vaka i lavo. E dina ga ni sega veitakavi na mate oqo vei ira na lewenivanua e Viti, ka vu beka ga mai e na kena vakakusakusataki na tarovi ni curuvanua. Na vaqaqacotaki ni lawa vakaturi me virikotora na nodra mai tu wawa na tamata me tinikava na siga, ia e sa bau vakilai sara ga vakalevu na revurevu ni mate oqo e na loma sara ga ni veimatavuvale. Ni bera ni yacovi Viti mai na COViD-19, e dau vakanuinui ka vakararavi vakatabaki dua na matanitu mai na tabana ni saravanua. Na tabana ni saravanua e vueta noda bula vakailavo ena vasagavulu na pasede, ka ra vakacakacakataki tale ga kina e rauta ni 150, 000 na lewe ni vanua. Me vaka ni sa biu vakalawa me vakatabui na curu vanua, e mai vakavuna me vakalailaitaki kina na aua ni cakacaka, ka ra mai vakacegui talega kina vakayauyau e rauta ni dua na i katolu ni tamata cakacaka ena noda vanua, ka mai drakidrakita kina na bula ena noda Viti nikua (Darmadi Gemala 2020; Government of Fiji 2020). E drau vakacaca na tamata cakacaka e ra a vakacegui mai e na noda tabana ni vuka na Fiji Airways, ka ra vakacegui talega na dauniveiqaravi e ra veiqaravi ena tabana ni saravanua. Oqori sara ga na vu ni kena sa mai takiveiyaga ka mamaca na noda tobu ni i yau maroroi ka nanumi ni lutu sobu e na 19 na pasede e na yabaki 2020 (Reserve Bank of Fiji 2020). Na leqa vakailavo oqo e lai vuni kena vakaleqai ka vakalailaitakina na i lavo bula e na ligadra na lewenivanua, bucini ka vakasaqarai e so na gaunisala me vakayagataki me veiraurau kei na drakidrakita ni bula e lako curumi tiko. E basika kina na vakasama ni solesolevaki kei na veidolei vakamatatamata, ka vakavurea mai na vakasama bibi ni veisolisoli. oqo ena kena veisautaki na yaya ka wili kina na kakana kei na veiyaya e dau vakayagataka vakalevu me cuqena ka tabea na bula vaka vuvale (Finau and Kant 2021). E vakadinadinataki na kena tavoci e na Evereli 2020 na mona livaliva se volamata (Facebook), me tutaka na kena vakaleleci vakavoleka vei ira na lewenivanua nai i tavi bibi ni veivakacokotaki, ka yavutaki ena bula ni veisolisoli kei na veidolei “Barter for Better Fiji” (BFBF).
Like many small island nations Fiji has experienced significant economic downturn due to the global pandemic. Although Fiji has been spared the worst biomedical effects of the pandemic [ii] on account of its relative isolation, mandated border closures and quarantine protocols, its economic effects were evident at national and household levels. Previously tourism accounted for approximately 40 per cent of Fiji’s gross domestic product, employing around 150,000 people. Border closures and the halt on international tourism adversely affected one-third of the labour force in the sector, with ripple effects throughout the country (Darmadi Gemala 2020; Government of Fiji 2020). The fragile economic landscape further resulted in cash scarcity. To get by, many Fijians began bartering goods and services in exchange for food and basic household items. One response to the pandemic was the establishment of a Facebook page called “Barter for Better Fiji” (BFBF) in April 2020.
Na buturara oqo e sagata me tukunikataka na kena cadra cake mai na Barter for Better Fiji (Miller & Slater, 2001) e na volamata kei na kena rawa ni vakayagataki me vukei kina na bula ni vuvale e na gauna ni COViD-19. E cereki talega na veitalanoa e a vakayacori e na i volamata na bibi kei na titobu ni vakanananu e tiko ena vatavata koya BFBF e na yabaki 2020. E sega wale ga ni vakadikevi na revurevu ni mate oqo na COViD-19, e toqai ena i lavelave ni vola oqo na sautu ni kena vakadeuci vakamatau, vakadikevi, kei na vakasokumuni vakadinadina me tokona na vakasama ni barter, e mai vakataucokotaka ka vakarawarawataka na bula ni veivoli ena Mona livaliva. E ra vakatarogi se cava na nodratou nanuma dauniveiqaravi (moderators) kei ira na lewe ni soqosoqo volamata (participants) e na nodratou i vakamacala me baleta na kena bucini na vakasama ni barter ka nanumi ni vakadadamuria ga na noda i tovo kei na i valavala dina vaka i taukei.
Na “Barter for Better Fiji” (BFBF) e na Volamata (Facebook)
E tauyavutaka na vakasama ni BBF e dua na marama ka yacana ko Marlene Dutta e na yabaki 2020. E nodratou i naki na dau ni veiqaravi e na BFBF, me ra vakarawarawataka na veivuke vei ira na lewe ni vanua ena gauna dredre e lako curumi tiko oqo ena kena yacovi keda tiko mai na corvid19.
Na Vatavata oqo keitou vakanuinui ni vaqaqacotaki kina na noda veitaratara e na yalo ni veinanumi kei na yalo vinaka. ….. O ya na ka e tokona na vatavata oqo. Me veivakasokumuni ka veivakaduavatataki me da dua bula ga vakauma tamata ka me da vorata kina na dredre oqo e na loloma kei na veinanumi dina (UNAiDS 2020)
E rauta ni veimama ni lewe ni vanua e Viti era taukena ka ra dui vakayagataka na nodra i volamata (Facebook) (Horst, Kant, and Drugunalevu 2020; Horst 2021). Ni bera ni lamata cake mai na BFBF, e ra vakaitavi sara vakalevu na lewenivanua, kei na veisoqosoqo ni volamata e so ena cakacaka ni veivoli kei na volivolitaki e Viti. E ratou a tauyavu me vaka e dua na isoqosoqo ni volamata dola raraba na BFBF, ka mai bokoci laivi tale ni lewe levu e ra sega ni duavata se vakamuria vakadodonu na kena i naki (Finau and Scobie 2021).
E vaqaqacotaka na BFBF na nodra rawa ni veivoli se veisau iyaya vakamatai tikotiko ka ni oti na nodra mai sema rawa e na BFBF e ra qai dau veitaratara ga vaka i ira e na nodra mona livaliva (viber, messenger). E laurai talega na kena volai na veivosa ni vakavinavinaka eso kei na i yaloyalo me i vakadinadina ni qaravi oti na nodra veisolisoli ka vakatokai me ‘barter’ ka ra vakavinavinakataka talega na BFBF e na nodra rawa ni vakayacora na nodra i tavi ena loloma kei na dina. E na gauna e sa qai tauyavutaki kina na vatavata oqo, e veivakidacalataki ni vuqa na marama vakasucu era vakayagataka na vatavata oqo me ra kerea kina na veivuke ena medra sucu na luvedra ka bau tale ga kina nodra i sulu na luvedra, nodra veisau na gone ka dau levu me veisautaki kei na i coi ni ti se kakana vavi. Na veitukutuku ni gagadre vaka oqo e taura na yalo ka yavalata na vakasama me ra vukei. E levu e ra tukuna me ra veivuke ga vakadodonu ka kua ni tabadolei. Na veitukutuku vaka oqo kei na i yaloyalo ni barter sa vakadinadinataki na kena vinaka, e veivakacegui vei ira na wekada tiko leqa kei ira era kerekere ga vakadodonu ni ra gadreva na veivuke ka dau basika na kena i vakatakilakila ena i volamata (reaction).
This essay explores the emergence of the BFBF and how this online group made ‘bartering’ and other practices of exchange central to surviving Covid-19. We analyse the posts and discussions of BFBF participants in 2020. We are interested in the way moderators and participants position this contemporary way of conducting bartering as an alternative to market trade that has deep cultural roots in Fiji. Such forms of exchange have serious implications for the study of digital practices and relational systems of exchange in Fiji and beyond.
The Barter for Better Fiji (BFBF) Facebook Page
Established by Marlene Dutta, the BFBF page became the key site for bartering in 2020. According to the sites’ administrators, the BFBF page emerged out of a desire to help Fijians – particularly the most vulnerable – during the global pandemic.
Through the page we hope to foster an economy of kindness. That is behind everything that happens on the page… That in itself has brought this sense of community where people are being purposefully and intentionally kind, compassionate and merciful to each other (UNAIDS 2020).
Facebook was the obvious platform, as over half of the Fijian population had registered accounts (Horst, Kant, and Drugunalevu 2020; Horst 2021). Alongside BFBF, Fijians also participated in the rich ecosystem of Facebook pages and groups that facilitate online commerce.
This page connected traders requesting items with other nearby users with something to trade. Alongside direct comments on posts, traders used Facebook Messenger and Viber via their mobile phones to coordinate exchanges. Importantly, once an exchange had taken place, traders would often post photographs and narratives of appreciation and gratitude highlighting the importance of the platform and the virtue of its users – dynamics related to what has commonly been labelled the ‘reputation economy’ (Fertik and Thompson 2015).
E dua tale na i lawalawa rogo levu e vakatokai na “K9E Brothers”, e ratou lewena e lewe ono ka ratou vakacegui mai na tabana ni saravanua. E ratou veiqaravi me vaka na sasamaki, vakavinakataki ni vale ka wili talega kina na veisau i yaya (Nasokia 2020). E ratou sega ni taqeya rawa na levu ni kena gadrevi nodratou tabana ni veiqaravi mai vei ira na lewenivanua, ka matalia kina ni tautauvata vinaka saraga na yavu ea navunavuci kina kei na BFBF- na veinanumi kei na loloma. Ni oti na nodratou dau qarava e dua na i tavi, e dau biuta cake e dua na tukutuku na nodratou i liuliu ka vakavinakavinakataki kina na nodra vakaitavi na mata i lawalawa oqo, vakavinavinakataki na kalou ka vaka kina na vakavinavinaka vei ira e ra lewe ni BFBF. E dau salavata na veivosa oqo kei na i yaloyalo ni sa mai qaravi oti na itavi ka vaka kina na nodratou marau ka vakavinavinaka na lewe ni K9E Brothers vei ira na veivuke mai. E levu e ra sa bau taleitaka ka tokona na daumaka ni nodratou veiqaravi gumatua na i lawalawa oqo, ka sega ni vakamelei rawa – e na sasaga me bula vinaka kina na nodratou vuvale.
Na volamata e solia e dua na vatavata ni vakau itukutuku, e rabailevu na kena dewa, rawarawa na kena kilai, ka sa i koya oya na gaunisala e taurivaki ka veivakaleleci kina na ‘barter’ e na noda vanua. Ni oti e dua na yabaki mai na kena dewa tiko na COViD 19 ena noda vanua, sa mai yaco na ‘barter’ me dua na vosa tudei ka vakayagataki vakawasoma me vakatakilai kina na i yaloyalo ni veinanumi. E teteva na cagi vou ni veuisau oqo – na barter na noda veiyatu yanuyanu ena wasa Pasivika (Kuinikoro 2020) (Boodoosingh 2020) ka bau wili kina o ira na Pasivika e ra sa vakaitikotiko tudei mai vanua tani (Jones 2020).
Ni mai cava e dua na yabaki – E sega beka ni mai marautaki vakataucoko sara?
E na vula i gasau (Evereli) na i ka 21 ni siga 2021 e rauta e 192,000 era lewena na i soqosoqo ni volamata oqo na BFBF. Ena i ka 19 ni Evereli 2021, kaburaka kina na Paraiminisita kai liuliu ni noda vanua ni sa kacabote ka sa tete na mate oqo vei ira na lewenivanua (community transmission) (Government of Fiji 2021). E vakilai na dredre oqo sa mai dreve ka vakadredretaki na veitosoyaki ka sogosogo talega kina e levu sara na bisinisi e Viti.
E na yabaki dua ni kena tauyavutakina BFBF, a mani vola na kena dauniveiqaravi ko Marlene Dutta (2021) na veimala ni vosa oqo:
Dua na noqu kerekere vei kemuni yadudua sara. Au kerea me da roqota ka wasea na noda yalo vinaka kei na vakanuinui vinaka ka wasea yani e na 100 na matanitu e da vakaitikotiko kina na lewe ni soqosoqo oqo. Me da veisemati mai ka vakayacora na cakacaka ni barter. Me da sagata ka tauyavutaka na bula ni veinanumi ….. solia mada e dua na ka vua e dua, e dua beka na ka e gadreva dina se na vosa, i valavala se masu me da veilaveti kina….
Na veimala ni vosa oqo e kauta voleka ga mai na veiyavu dei ka yavutaki taumada kina na vatavata ni BFBF. E vakasucumi mai e na noda i valavala ga ni bula na itaukei, me ra dau veisautaka na ka e tu vei ira o ira na noda qase ka me lai maucokona kina na nona bula e dua. E tubu tiko ga na i soqosoqo ni volamata oqo ka kasa dei e na veiwekani, veisautaki ni iyaya kei na veinanumi.
Na i tovo kei na i valvala ni barter
E laurai ena matana votu ni i volamata e sala ni kena vakadewataki ka kaburaki na barter, ia e sega ni da rawa ni tavusoya na i talanoa ni kena tete kei na kenai rogogorogo. E laurai na nodra vakaitavi e na barter e vukea na bula dina vakawekani ena cakacakavata kei na veinanumi. E ra dau vola ka laveti cake na noda rawa ni wasea vata na yavu ni veinanumi o ira na lewena, ka mai i tukutuku tudei tu ni vatavata oqo na BFBF.
E na i vola oqo e dikevi kina nodra rai yawa ka rai vakayalomatua na dauniveiqaravi ena nodra navuca ka tatadrataka na kena bolei na tamata yadua ena vakasama ni BFBF. E dikevi talega na kena vakayagataki vakalevu na vakasama ni veiwasei, veinanumi kei na kere veivuke ka sega wale ga e na kena vukei na leqa ni tamata yadua: e laurai talega ni tiko dina e dua na gagadre vakaitamera e na vakasama ni veiwasei, veirairaici kei na veidovi ka gasagasa kina na bula vaka i taukei ena koro vakaviti. E a tukuna o Dutta;
Na barter e dua na tiki ni bula tudei vakaviti ka ra vakayagataka vakalevu na vuvale, se lewenivanua. Oqo e dua na tiki ni bula yaga, e dua na ka e da rawa ni vakaqaqacotaka, ka ni levu sara na ka me wasei e rat u wavoliti keda e vale. Kevaka e na veivolitaki iyaya me veisau vakaiyaya ga, e da na rawa ni vukea na noda bula e na gauna dredre e da lako curuma. (UNAiDS 2020)
Na leweni ni i soqosoqo na BFBF kei ira na kena dauniveiqaravi e dau i wewe ni gusudra voli me ra tukunikataka ni vatavata oya e vaka mei takele tudei ni bula ka vakamareqeti e na gauna e liu ni se bera ni vakayagataki na veibula kerei eso ni gauna oqo. E veidutaitakivata kei na kena i walewale ni barter kei na vei itovo makawa vakavanua, ka rairai dodonu talega me da raica na i tavi ni veivoli ka vakayagataki kina na i lavo e na kena veisautakina i yaya ka vakatautaki e na i sau ni iyaya mai na sitoa – me rawa ni veidolei kina kei koya na kena i sa.
The “K9E Brothers”-collective were one of the more prominent trading groups; comprising six recently laid-off workers from the failing tourism sector, they offered house maintenance and cleaning services in exchange for groceries (Nasokia 2020). They soon received more requests than they could handle. A key factor in their popularity was their ability use the Facebook platform to promote their work in ways that aligned with the overall ethos of the BFBF as a site of virtue and compassion. After each trade, the group’s leader would create an appreciative post to the individual they traded with, to their family, to God and to BFBF members. Pictures accompanying the posts showcased the completed work, together with expressions of joy from the K9E Brothers and those with whom they traded. These exchanges resonated; many commended their resilience and hard work to provide for their families.
Facebook’s capacity to enable visibility, virality, and personalization – and thus, to reflect and reinforce wider sociocultural values – helped facilitate this barter economy. A year later, the word ‘barter’ has become firmly entrenched in the Fijian COVID lexicon, intrinsically linked with local perceptions of compassion and virtue. Moreover, bartering websites on Facebook have spread to other countries in the Pacific (Kuinikoro 2020; Boodoosingh 2020), and to countries with large Pacific Island diasporas (Jones 2020).
One Year of Bartering – A Bittersweet Anniversary
By 21st of April 2021, the BFBF group reached its one-year anniversary, its membership has grown to over 192,000. The anniversary was bittersweet. Fijians enjoyed a full year of Covid containment with only 2 cases until April 2020. On 19th of April 2021, the Fijian Prime Minister announced the first case of local transmission in more than one year (Government of Fiji 2021). Once again, Fijians are facing movement restrictions and the closure of non-essential businesses.
On the BFBF anniversary, Marlene Dutta (2021) posted a message alluding to this:
I have one request of each of you. I ask that we take our acts of kindness, of hope and we spread it throughout the country and even around the 100 countries our members live in. So please, join us in bartering forward. Let’s try and pledge one act of kindness… So let’s give to another person 1 thing. It could be something that person needs, or a kind word, or a thoughtful gesture or a prayer or anything…
Her message recalls the motivations that influenced the initial creation of the group. Born out of a desire to practice how “our ancestors lived by exchanging what they had for what they needed” (Dutta 2020), the page grew through members and administrators promoting virtues of kinship, reciprocity, and kindness.
Bartering Traditions
Dutta’s message highlights how Facebook’s affordances cannot fully explain the success of BFBF. Explicit links between barter transactions and moral virtue became a central theme; statements about the shared values underpinning the page’s membership were often stressed by both coordinators and participants.
Early in our discussions we took interest in how many of the BFBF participants conceived of the barter initiative. Sharing and requesting assistance was constructed as more than just as a response to present human suffering: it also came to reflect a generalized nostalgia for village life and a local moral economy based on communalism, reciprocity and sharing. Participants and administrators frequently presented the bartering facilitated by BFBF as an offshoot of a deeply traditional practice with roots in pre-modern Fijian social organization. People discussed often for instance the particular cultural practice it hearkened back to – assessment of the value of specific items – and debated whether modern market valuations play a role in this context.
E dua na kena vakaraitaki e na nona a vola e dua na lewe ni vatavata oqo ni kena vakayacori na i tovo ni veisa kei na veikerekerei se veidovi ka vaka oqo. Na veika e cauraki oqo e kauti keda lesu sara ki na i valavala ni bula vakavanua vakaitaukei ka vakatokai na veidolei ka ni vaqaqacotaka na veiwekani, veidovi e na gauna ni leqa ka vaka e ke na i yaloyalo na barter. Na veisa e salavata tale ga kei na lotu se qaravi kalou ka vaka kina na veika bula e da sema kina. E na veika e da rogoca mai cake, e raici kina na kena mai curumi uciwai na draki ni bula ni veisa ni sa curu botolaka na noda bula na kaukauwa ni veivoli vakailavo, ka vakamalumalumutaka na noda veirairaici vakaveiwekani kei na kena vakabulabulataki tale na bula ni veisolisoli kei na veisa. E vaka kina na kerekere e tiki sara ga ni noda i tovo vakavanua ka ra dau vakayacora na tamata, vuvale se vanua ka ra veikilai ka veiwekani talega e na gauna e leqa kina se dua na ka e gadrevi, ka ra kila dei tu ni na dua na gauna e na mua lesu tale na i walewale ni veivukei kei na veidovi ka sega ni lako vata kei na vakasama ni veivoli se veisausaumi (Presterudstuen 2020, 134; Sahlins 1962, Leweniqila & Vunibola, 2020; Vunibola & Scheyvens, 2019). E na noda vakadeuca na kena sema na vakasama ni barter kina noda i tovo vakavanua vakaitaukei, e laurai ni ra vakayagataka na lewe ni vatavata na BFBF e dua na vakasama ka laveti mai vakadodonu e na noda i tovo se i valavala ni bula ka nanumi me rau mai waqa vata kei na vakasama kerei ni bula ni veivoli vakailavo. Oqo e na kena sa mai rivarivabitaki na vakasama ni sa yali ka sa taqusi sara tiko yani na noda i tovo ka sa curu basika mai vakatotolo na vakasama ni bisinisi ena veivoli enai lavo ka sa i tovo vulagi veikeda na i taukei. E tukutuku mata ni davui na kena lalata na noda vanua kei na vanua tani na vakasama ni barter ni ra vukei kina na lewe ni vanua ka dusia lesu na veika e baleti keda na taukei ka veiwaseitaki sara vakavuqa e na vei gaunisala ni vakau itukutuku eso (Fogarty 2020; Siutaia 2020). Oqo e dua na i vakaraitaki ni kena semati na vakasama ni barter kei na vakasama ni kena vakabulabulatakina i tovo vakavanua ni veinanami, na veisolevuti ka waqataki e na loloma dina.
E dua na ka talei e na vatavata oqo ni da raica na yalo savu kei na yalo ni loloma dina ni ra solia na nodrai yau veira na tani ka sega na kena i kere iya me ra qai la’ki tomika ga mai.
Na lawata sa serelaka na veiveisau ni gauna kei na draki ni bula e da na lako curuma sa tekivu me da raica votu ni sa karusa tiko mai vakamalua na veika e da kilai kina, ka solia vei keda na yalo bolebole me da tudei ena yalovinaka, yalo loloma kei na veinanumi. Na veika oqo e usutu ni noda i tovo vakavanua ka i divi kina na noda vanua lomani ko Viti, ka rawa ni da bulataka me vaka e raici e na Vatavata oqo…. Ni kalougata (Lawaniyasana 2020)
Ena muana ka dua, e vuqa na noda era dusia ka vakalewa na i naki ni barter ka ra kaya ni dodonu me vakayagataki na vatavata ni BFBF e na veiveisau i yaya e bibi cake me vaka na kakana, i yau vakaviti kei na veika e gadrevi vakalevu me tokoni kina na bula.
Tinitini
E via duidui toka kei na yavu ni barter ka ni sema kina vakasama ni veisausaumi. Ka dodonu tale ga kina e gauna vata sara ga koya, me veiraurau na veika e soli kei na kena i sau. Na veisa se veisolisoli vakavanua e dau vakatokai kina me tabadolei na yaya kerei, ka matata vakasigalevu veikeda nai taukei na gauna taudonu e dau vakayacori kina (Firth 1959). E vakayagataki ka vakadinadinataki sara vakalevu e na kena rawati na bula sautu e na veimataqali, yavusa se vanua ni bera ni ra tadu mai noda vanua na duikaikai eso e na gauna vakakoloni. E ka bibi talega meda kila ni i walewale ni veidovi se veisa vakavanua e i yaraqele ni noda itovo vaka i taukei ka vakasuasuataka na noda veiwekani ka mani yaco me tubu me semai vakavinaka kina na veimata yavusa se vanua (Malinowski 1922). Ni vakadeuci matau e raici ni sega sara ni rau veireguci na kena vakaitovotaki na rua na yavu duiduui oqo ka levu na veitukutuku e na volamata na BFBF ni ratou sagata me vakamacalataki na barter me i vukivuki ga ni noda i tovo – ia e mani sega sara ni vaka kina. E levu na ka e rau tautauvata kina ia e mai veiyawaki ga na vuku ni veika e taurivaki ni dodonu e na i tavi ni veisolisoli se veisautaki ga ni veika e taukeni, ka dina ni nanumi taumada ni tiko na kena i vakarau me wiliki me noda i tovo.
E ka bibi sara me da taurivaka ka vakadeuca matau na yavu e rau vu mai kina na vakasama e da veidutaitaka tiko oqo e na vuku na vatavata ni BFBF. E na dua na yasana e tokona na vatavata oqo na maroroi ni loloma kei na veinanumi me vakaisulutaki kina na nodra veisau i yaya. E na dua na yasana e bibi tiko ga kina na kena i sau se na i dole ni veisolisoli. E sega ni vakatarai na kena vakayagataki na na i lavo ka dau bokoci laivi na vakasama ni i lavo e na vatavata oqo. E sega talega ni vakatarai na veisautaki ni i yaya me vaka na manumanu bula kei na tavako.
E na leqa ni bula vakailavo kei na leqa ni bula raraba e tara na noda vanua ena vuku ni mate dewa na COViD-19, e kilakasamitaki ni da na yatova tale na i vakarau ni bula makawa ka vakadinadinataki ni sautu kina na noda bula ni veiwekani kei na veirairaraici. E vakauta lesu sara na noda vakanananu ki na noda veigauna sautu mai liu, ni bera ni mai kunekunetaki na bula vakabisinisi ena buturara ni veivoli e na silini. E na gauna e gadrevi kina na veivuke ni sa mai tasogo na gaunisala ni volivolitaki, vakaduria kina na BFBF na vatavata oqo me qarava vakatabaki dua na veisautaki ni yaya ka sega ni vakayagataki kina nai lavo. Oqo e dua na rai ka ciqomi vakarawarawa sara ka rabailevu e na noda vanua. E sega wale ga ni dua na ka e vukei kina na bula e na gauna dredre e da lako curuma, ka sa i vakadinadina bula ni se bula dei na noda i tovo ka dregati kina na veiwekani ka mai saluwaki tu ni bula e na noda bula vakavanua.
An example featured in a post by a member in April 2020. This member connected the practice of online bartering with indigenous Fijian concepts of gifting and reciprocity such as veisa and kerekere. Veisa is presented as a proto-Fijian customary practice of reciprocity key to maintaining relationships, social cohesion and security, often functioning as a synonym to barter. Kerekere, meanwhile, signifies “a socially legitimate way of beseeching favours or material goods from your peers that remains crucial in traditional ways of thinking about responsibility, reciprocity and communalism” (Presterudstuen 2020, 134; Sahlins 1962).
By tying contemporary bartering to these culturally specific practices, the Facebook participants drew upon a popular trope that emphasizes how modernity and the money economy are not only exogenous to Fijian tradition but also detrimental to broader traditional practices. The re-emergence of barter as a key economic form during the pandemic marks a return to core Fijian tradition, a narrative which has been frequently rehearsed in popular and media discourses about the BFBF phenomenon (Fogarty 2020; Siutaia 2020). An example can be found in a post that connects notions of barter and free giving to a reinvigoration of others such as of reciprocity and compassion:
And in a time when it seemed like we were collectively losing what made us who we are, it is so inspiring and more than a little humbling to still see that goodwill, the generosity of heart, soul and spirit that once formed a core value of our culture as a nation, still surviving and because of this page, start to thrive again (Lawaniyasana 2020).
Taking this ideological construction of barter further, some participants argued that BFBF should only be used to facilitate ‘good’ or useful trade: privileging those in need of essential food, sanitary items or traditional goods.
Conclusion
There is a long standing tradition of Indigenous gift-giving and trade in the broader Pacific. Gifting and bartering are, of course, two distinct economic forms: barter signifies a trade with immediate reciprocity at a predetermined exchange ratio, while gifting typically allows the original recipient to determine the return gift and time after the fact (Firth 1959)[iii]. While the gift economy prevalent in pre-colonial Pacific was important in building and maintaining relationships between different clans and tribes (Malinowski 1922), barter is perceived as a one-off, immediate transaction without any further social obligations attached to it. Statements about BFBF being a contemporary articulation of these dynamics arguably conflate bartering and gifting, and its locally specific variations, in ways that are both inconsistent and imprecise. However, rather than assess the semantic precision of such claims we suggest that their overlaps validate the practice, distinguishing between acceptable and unacceptable forms of trade and, ultimately, granting bartering a cultural meaning outside its immediate material benefits.
Such ideological concerns are at once retained and complicated through an ongoing focus on value as a constitutive concept for all material exchanges on the BFBF platform. On one level, through various postings and programmatic statements by the page administrators, barter is held up as a socially and morally valuable practice in itself. On another, the relative value of items offered for barter is continuously subject to negotiation and commentary from participants and other members of the group. The BFBF page specifically prohibits monetary exchanges, the trading in live animals and tobacco products. Similarly, discussions on the site about what constitutes morally good bartering – in terms of what type of goods are offered for trade – invoke references to fairness in reciprocity and traditional forms such as veisa.
The global pandemic has generated a social critique of unfettered capitalism as detrimental to Fijian custom and traditional community values, and BFBF has emerged as a means for many Fijians to return to a time when trade was not quantified in dollar terms and relationships were more important than money. More than just a means to secure basic necessities and solve economic woes in a time of crisis, engaging in bartering functions as cultural work that helps retain age-old community ties and recover traditional customs that are meaningful and culturally mobilizing.
[i] E toqai tiko ga na ‘barter’ e na vosa vakaperitania ka ni lako vata kei na neitou navunavuci ni vakasama oqo e kerei ka sega ni na logaloga vinaka sara me vakadewataki e na noda vosa vakaitaukei. E dina ni so e ra sagata me ra vakadewataka vakaviti, ia na vakadidike kei na volavola oqo e sega ni duavata vaka kina ka ni yavutaki e na vakasama ni veivoli nodra na vulagi. Sa mani vakayagataki ga na ‘barter’ me rawa ni veidutaitaki kei na vakasama se i valavala vakavanua e so ni da veitalanoataka na vatavata na BFBF.
[ii] As of 28th April 2021, Fiji has experienced only two deaths and 111 cases of COVID-19. In April 2021, Fijians also began to receive the AstraZeneca vaccination. As of 16th April 2021, over 50,000 Fijians have received their first dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine (Ministry of Health and Medical Services 2021).
[iii] The practice of bartering has of course been subject to intense academic debate primarily between economists and anthropologists. The common economist tale is that barter was the precursor to money. Barter was abandoned as it was primitive and inferior. In order for individuals to successfully barter there needed to be a double coincidence of wants between the two traders and this was highly inefficient (Starr 1989). However, anthropologists, most recently David Graeber, have demonstrated that this was largely a myth constructed by economists to perpetuate the ideology that money is the only medium which allows a fair exchange between people (Graeber 2012). As Graeber argues there is no evidence that barter existed before money. Rather barter and money exchange systems occurred during the same time and barter economies emerged due to financial and economic crises that led to a scarcity or devaluation of money.
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Featured Image
As cash became harder to get by bartering emerged as a way for people to access fresh produce and essentials during the global pandemic. Image credit: “Fiji Journalism“ by Frontierofficial is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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