Fiji: Bure Kalou, the Fijian Spirit House (Temple)

Bure Kalou, is a Fijian house of worship, or temple from pre-Christian times. The replica in our village is the only Bure Kalou outside of Fiji.

Throughout Polynesia, places of worship were crafted on layered platforms, some with pyramids. Fiji is the only culture to place a six story building on a platform. They believed that the taller the place of worship, the closer the people would be to their gods.

The clan of priests had sole charge of the temple grounds and building. The chief could enter the building to confer with the priests or talk directly to the gods. There are no images in the building. A plain, white strip of tapa, or masi hangs from the center that symbolized the pathway for the gods to descend. The chief of the village sat near the end of the tapa, allowing himself to become a conduit between the gods and the villagers.

Fijian chiefs in those days had absolute power. Everything was done as the chief decreed, and according to his whim, people could live or die. If your village suffered from drought, flooding, or any number of natural disasters attributed to angry gods, the chief could take the priest’s life hoping to appease the gods.

Bure Kalous were in active use until the 1860s. As the Fijian people adopted Christianity and British Colony in 1864 the Bure Kalou was replaced by Christian churches.