Transformation of Vilavilairevo in tourism

Abstract

At one time a calendrical ceremony of a single south Beqan community, Vilavilairevo (Fijian firewalking) has today become Fiji's central tourism display. The institution's origins in myth and ritual are discussed, and Vilavilairevo is situated in its social and political context. The temporal evolution of the event is surveyed, and its contemporary incarnation in touristic practice is considered in light of key concepts developed in the social science literature on tourism. Vilavilairevo's economic importance to its participants is weighed against some of its other concomitant manifestations, which include competition and contention between participating villages and the generation and perpetuation of stereotypes and signs of radical alternity in touristic discourse.