Bure: Spiritual romance

Abstract

Fijian bure are products of spirituality and romance. These two motivations, or ‘cultural authority,’ have shaped bure over time. At the time of writing, a Fijian bure refers to a thatched building built in the local style applying Indigenous building technologies and plant materials. Cultural authority is a cross-cultural architectural concept that refers to the intent behind the design and meaning of buildings. Often it relates to the expert and their expertise which informs and shapes the architectural practice. Early Fijian bure relied on spiritual stimuli that influenced the foundations, its layout of structural posts, and thus its form. The tourist bure, on the other hand, is motivated by romance—a loaded term that refers to the negotiation between client demands, expectations of tourists, and the romanticisation of Fijian architectural forms. This article explores the stark understandings of Fijian bure which are folkloristic for both past and present societies.