Fijian people
|
Fijians are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands. They are indigenous to all parts of Fiji except the island of Rotuma. As of 2005, they constitute slightly more than half of the Fijian population.
Indigenous Fijians are overwhelmingly Christian, with the Methodist Church claiming the loyalty of 66.6 percent at the 1996 census (the latest available). Other significant denominations include the Roman Catholic Church (13.3 percent), the Assemblies of God (6.2 percent) and the Seventh-day Adventists (5.1 percent). About 8 percent belong to other churches from a large number of denominations. About 0.8 percent follow non-Christian religions, or no religion.
Fijians are predominantly of Melanesian extraction, with some Polynesian admixture; the Fijian language belongs to the Melanesian branch of the Austronesian family.