MANA
ABOUT
MANA is a developing body of work made in response to over two months spent living and working in Nataleira Village, Fiji, as part of a CAUKIN Studio community-led building project for the locally owned Natalei Eco Lodge. The title refers to the Fijian idea of Mana.
Working and living alongside local builders and members of the village gave me a unique insight into the relationship between community and landscape. The resulting paintings and drawings focus on village life, collective work, the natural world and knowledge passed through generations, extending the concerns of the Scottish work into a new cultural and environmental context.
Whilst in the village I maintained a constant sketchbook practice as a kind of visual diary and meditation on the people, experiences and places I had the joy to encounter. This can be seen below.
DRAWINGS
The Timber Mill
Willie
Eliki, Tukai
Si splitting bamboo
Erecting the pine polls
Kawa Kawa fish on Nangani
Junior
Eroni playing
Si delivering bamboo
Tevita planting sweet potato
Beli making Lovo
Eliki prepping the Lovo
Eliki swimming
Village Bonfire
Children fishing
WHAT IS MANA
Mana, can be understood as a sacred spiritual power or life force that flows through people, ancestors, the land and the sea. It can be seen and felt through the abundance and vitality of the natural world: a reef teeming with fish, fertile soil producing strong crops, or places in nature where the ancestors can be felt and heard.
Mana is also present in the strength and unpredictability of the natural elements. The ocean, wind, rain and weather can all carry this spiritual force. A calm sea that allows safe passage, or rain arriving at the right time to sustain crops, can be understood as signs of balance between people and the natural world. Human beings and the environment are not entirely separate within this understanding. Mana connects people with their ancestors, communities, land and sea, creating a relationship based upon respect and care. When the land and ocean are looked after, mana remains strong, bringing life, abundance and protection.
Mana is not always understood as gentle or purely positive. When sacred boundaries are crossed, customary practices are disrespected, or wrong is done to the land, sea or community, that imbalance may reveal itself. I was told a story about a man who interfered with a welcoming ceremony (Sevu Sevu) connected to an ancestral island. Shortly afterwards, while standing in shallow water, he was attacked by a barracuda and lost his leg. The story was told not simply as an accident, but as an example of how wrongdoing can provoke a response from the natural and spiritual world. Tevita, a Village Elder who I lived with throughout explained to me: “The land and sea have eyes and ears but no way to speak. But if there is wrong done, they will show it. It’s like a live wire beneath our feet”.
Mana can therefore be thought of as a kind of heartbeat running through the landscape. It gives life to the relationship between people and nature, but also demands respect. The land and sea are not passive surroundings, but active participants within this relationship, capable of sustaining, protecting and within these beliefs, responding when balance is broken.
NATALEI ECO LODGE
CAUKIN STUDIOS, Natalei Eco Lodge Project 2026
The constriction of the Bure was the core of this Project, all relationships and experiences stemmed from the shared effort of the build. You can explore the details of the project below.
