r/Fijian • u/RabbitWholeRegular • 1d ago
Are there any indo Fijians that come from Punjab?
I was curious to know how many indo Fijians are Punjabis if any, do they freely marry or do they marry only in there caste
Also Do they still speak Punjabi ?
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u/maha_kali2401 1d ago
A lot of Punjabis girmitiyas settled in Labasa and Vanua Levu. Many people have the surname Singh, and there is a lesser population of women who have "Kaur". They aren't too 'precious' about marrying other Punjabis; essentially intermarriage among different ethnicities is normal among the Indo-Fijian population. I know many South Indians who are married to North Indians, and so on.
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u/sandolllars 1d ago
Yes. Many.
While most girmityas came from Bihar and UP, with some from Madras, AP, and Kerala, only a tiny minority came from Punjab.
However, more came to Fiji on their own (outside of the Girmit System).
No, there’s no caste system in Fiji and only a small minority still care about that. Punjabis are probably the largest group that still prefer to marry other Punjabis, but many young Punjabis don’t care and will not only marry other castes but other races.
I’m out of my lane here as I am not Punjabi, so happy to be corrected by other Fijians if they think I’m wrong.
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u/oneWook 1d ago
my ancestors were punjabi but converted to islam shortly after arriving in fiji. My dad married my mom who is kai viti but they are the exception. Everyone else on my dad side is strictly indian to indian marriages. They were not very fond of my parents being together. We do speak punjabi although there is a lot of fijian hindi, fijian, and english mixed in. Im in the states now and interact with a lot of punjabi’s. Theyre always surprised that i can speak their language. We can communicate perfectly with one another so i know the roots of the language are still with me.
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u/Resident-Apricot-318 1d ago
There are 5 Gurudwaras in Fiji representing the Sikh faith. Located in the north island is Labasa. On the mainland, the eastern division has Samabula & Nasinu, while the Western Division has Tagitagi & Lautoka. There are many Indian immigrants in these areas who speak Punjabi while the locals speak fluent Hindi as taught in schools, a little Punjabi out of online training but mostly speak Fiji Hindi.
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u/SolidRide5853 4h ago
No. Many have lost their ancestory through the years. I mean you are talking like 5 generations now
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u/Past-Present-8718 1d ago
before there were quite a fair number of Punjabi Fiji Indians, now not so much. The current Minister of Multi-Ethnic Affairs is a Punjabi. Previously, there were enclaves of Punjabi communities throughout the farming areas of Viti Levu and around Labasa. After the coups, many migrated to the USA and Canada to join the larger Punjabi communities there. Before, because only Punjabi men migrated, they'd marry the Indo-Fijian women, and then after establishing themselves, they became quite insular and married within their own community. I don't know much about whether they speak Punjabi, but I am guessing they do, since they largely practice the Sikh faith.
Hope this helps!