A Prince Charming or the Ancestors
In the South Pacific, the breeding season of the marine worm Palola viridis, balolo in Fijian, is a significant annual event for many societies. This paper examines two original ethnographic cases, one in East Fiji, the other in the West. In both cases, balolo is ritually harvested to contribute to the renewal, both at sea and on land; however the social unit of reference is not the same. In the east, balolo is part of the vanua cosmology, while in the west it is part of the yavusa. The women of the former ritually attract the balolo from across the reef, like a foreign chief or a distinguished guest. In the second, the ritual work of the traditional priest brings out the balolo within the reef. The social organisation, as a vanua around a “stranger king,” or as a yavusa around a “brother,” reflects this different relationship to the outside world and to the source of its renewal.