Bark-cloth is the traditional art of the women of Vatulele. Though many Fijianudartforms have declined or disappeared, Vatulele's production of bark-cloth hasudincreased steadily for over forty years. Its commercialisation as a tourist souvenirudhas been widely credited for this, but it is shown here that while this did initiallyudstimulate production, today it accounts for a relatively small proportion of output,udmost remaining within the indigenous domain. A survey of the literature on tourismudfails to produce credible explanations for why this is occurring, and this thesisudseeks answers in the continuing indigenous social role of bark-cloth.udFirst at a theoretical level, and then in relation to Fiji and Vatulele, the social role ofudart is argued both semiotically and historically to relate to intentionally embeddedudand inscribed meaning. Today, bark-cloth's greatest importance is as ritual art — asudsymbolic paraphernalia, vestments, and as an official valuable in the inter-groupudgoods presentations fundamental to Fijian ritual. Ritual is therefore also examinedudboth theoretically and from empirical Vatulele data. It is shown to also beudincreasing, both in Vatulele and the wider Fijian community, and much of theudincreased bark-cloth production is to supply this ritual. However, it is argued thatudthe underlying demand relates to the role both art and ritual play in constructing,udmaintaining, and negotiating changes in social identity.udSocial identity is defined here in terms of the constantly evolving inter-relationshipudof the group's history, collective bonds, solidarity, and norms. In small, face-to-faceudsocieties, these structures are clearly defined, yet susceptible to rapid changeudand erosion. The evolution of Vatulelean identity is explored, and the impact of theudexternal forces of colonialism, capitalism, tourism and the communicationsudexplosion are analysed. In mobilising their traditional mechanisms such as art andudritual, Fijians are argued to be attempting to maintain steerage of their identity,udcommunity solidarity, and social norms in times of increasingly rapid change.udIt is shown that, in addition to exchanging it ritually, Vatuleleans had long tradedudtheir bark-cloth as a commodity. This positioned them well to capitalise on theudemergent tourist market, and subsequently the burgeoning indigenous market,udresulting in considerable prosperity. But on the case made here, the demand is lessuda cultural revitalisation than an attempt to mitigate increasing social and culturaludstress. That may be a dubious foundation for longterm security.
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