Fiji Hindu Festival and Temple Guide

Indo-Fijian heritage

Indians first came to Fiji as girmitiyas — indentured labourers — when the ship Leonidas arrived on 14 May 1879; more than sixty thousand followed over the next four decades to work on the sugar-cane farms. Their descendants, the Indo-Fijians, kept Hindi (as Fiji Hindi), Ramayan singing, temple festivals and family rituals alive, and Hindu temples stand in towns and villages across Viti Levu and Vanua Levu.

Temples

The Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple in Nadi, consecrated in 1994, is described as the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere and is one of Fiji's best-known sights. Suva, Lautoka, Ba, Labasa and other towns have temples of the Sanatan, Arya Samaj and South Indian traditions.

Festivals

• Diwali — a public holiday in Fiji, celebrated with lamps, fireworks, sweets and visits between families of all communities.
• Ram Navami and Ramayan mandali gatherings.
• Holi (Phagwa) — with traditional chowtal singing.
• Fire-walking — South Indian temple festivals, including fire-walking by devotees at some temples.

Timings

Fiji is twelve hours ahead of UTC (six and a half ahead of India) and one of the first places to see each new day. Use the Fiji panchang (Suva) for local tithi and sunrise.