Almost every country is experiencing changes due to today’s modern society. Communal life is the traditional way of living which has advantages from which most people can benefit in any society. This form of living is very common in some parts of the Pacific where most people are bound to be together with their traditions. However, it is important to consider that this traditional way of living is being forgotten today and there are many reasons for this decline in the communal life in the Pacific.
The major reasons for the decline are in terms of cultural, social and economic. Firstly, there are cultural issues for the decline in the communal life in the Pacific. To begin with, one of the cultural issues leading to a decline in the communal life today is loss of culture which almost all the people in the society are experiencing. The decline in religious activities, ways of doing, habits, feelings and behaviour of identity that had previously tied almost all the people together has caused them to fall apart.
For example, in an Indian community in Fiji, the Hindus used to have a religious gathering known as Ramayan where followers of the Hindu “dharma” would gather together for this special occasion but today this gathering is dieing out in few places. Loss of culture, therefore, leads to a decline in commune way of living. A related aspect to the cultural issues is Westernisation which is also one of the major reasons for the decline in the communal life.
Strong influence of western cultures has changed the lifestyle of most of the people in many countries where by some people prefer to live as those of western countries do. For example, many Fijian villages were having an intentional community of people living together and sharing common interest in the society such as special gathering in villages when there is a new baby born or eating together when a big feast is held, however, today those traditions are no longer practiced.
Thus, the influence of western cultures has changed the communal life of the Pacific. Secondly, the social reasons also cause the decline in the communal life in the Pacific. The first social reason is diversity which is a major lead for the decline in communal life in the Pacific. Most of the Pacific countries have culture and occupation differences which separate many different people and make it difficult for them to get along.
Indians for example; do not prefer to take part in the Fijian cultural activities such as wedding ceremony, death or a feast gathering. Another example in Fiji where diversity may exist is when one person who is an Accountant may not get along with a person who holds a job of a cleaner. Thus, diversity is turning to be a major reason for the decline of the commune way of living in the Pacific society. Moreover, most of the people’s high needs for privacy have caused a decline in the communal way of living in the Pacific.
They prefer to have very small families and they hardly ever socialise with their relatives probably because communal living may never be as private as a person’s own home. For example, in some Fijian families, almost all members of the relatives live together as a whole, if the parents of the child wants to have a discussion about his/her academic performance, than they will probably find it hard to have a private talk with their child. For this reason, therefore, privacy has become a major issue in the decline of communal life in the Pacific.
