Bure (Fiji)
Encyclopedia
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
word for a wood-and-straw hut
Hut (dwelling)
A hut is a small and crude shelter, usually used for dwelling. Its design favors local techniques and materials to allow for swift and inexpensive construction.-Modern use:...
, sometimes similar to a cabin
Log cabin
A log cabin is a house built from logs. It is a fairly simple type of log house. A distinction should be drawn between the traditional meanings of "log cabin" and "log house." Historically most "Log cabins" were a simple one- or 1½-story structures, somewhat impermanent, and less finished or less...
.
In its original sense, a bure is a structure built of anything that comes to hand. The components of a bure are either stacked together, tied together by rope, or a combination of both methods.
Traditionally, ethnic Fijians lived in two types of houses; a vale was the family house, while men's houses (where circumcised males of the clan met, ate, and slept) were known as bures. Both of these buildings were dark and smoky inside, with no windows and usually only one low door. Vales had hearth
Hearth
In common historic and modern usage, a hearth is a brick- or stone-lined fireplace or oven often used for cooking and/or heating. For centuries, the hearth was considered an integral part of a home, often its central or most important feature...
pits where the women cooked, and the packed earth floor was covered with grass or fern leaves and then carpeted with pandanus leaf
Pandanus
Pandanus is a genus of monocots with about 600 known species. They are numerous palmlike dioecious trees and shrubs native of the Old World tropics and subtropics. They are classified in the order Pandanales, family Pandanaceae.-Overview:...
or coarse coconut leaf
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
mats.
Usage of the term "bure" in the tourism industry
Especially in the FijiFiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
an tourism industry and its advertisements, the term "bure" is often synonymous with "bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
" or any other detached hotel or resort structure. While a traditional bure has neither plumbing nor any amenities, and usually no electricity, a tourism bure will be of the same standard as its European or North American equivalent. A tourism bure can range from fairly basic to extremely luxurious.