Vula i Nuqalailai is the middle of the hurricane season in Fiji. It is also the middle of our summer season as it will be one of the hottest and rainiest months of the year.
The flamboyant sekoula tree starts flowering this month as do the timber trees buabua, kuasi and nuqanuqa. The breadfruit tree (uto) is mature and ready for picking. This is the time for mangoes (maqo), kavika, dawa and pineapple (painaipu).
The long-tailed cuckoo kawakasa starts migrating to New Zealand to breed and will return to Fiji around April. The oumu tree starts flowering. Charcoal from the bark of the oumu tree is often used to blacken the faces (war paint) of Fijian warriors.
In the sea, the rabbit fish (nuqa) are schooling close to the shore. The walu and crevalley (saqa) are spawning and the sharks (bulibuli) are born and swimming close to the coast. Sharks are more aggressive and inclined to attack or bite during this month. This is the time of the rich derenee of the land crab (lairo). In particular, the lairo vula. In some areas, balolo may appear this month.
This is CHRISTMAS month! Many Fijians celebrate the Christmas season with their families sharing a few bowls of yaqona after church and enjoying a large traditional feast cooked in an earth oven (lovo).
TISEBA DECEMBER
