Fijian Baka

Enter the baka tree. Baka is the Fijian name for this great big lovely type of tree. In English it is commonly called the Pacific or Polynesian Banyan, or the Strangler Fig due to its parasitic nature. The baka tree just loves latching onto things and taking over. I saw many of them with roots extending down the sides of mountains (awesome climbing aid).

The inside of the baka tree houses a white sap sometimes used for Fijian medicinal purposes. When I interviewed the women in the village of Natokalau one woman told me that you can drop the white sap into your ear for an earache. Other women noted using parts of the baka tree for sicknesses or pain related to the womb during or after childbirth.

Everytime I saw a baka tree in Fiji I was overwhelmed with the desire to drop my bag and clamber up its lovely roots, and I did often. You can almost get lost weaving through the entanglement of branches. There were times when I felt like the baka tree would just swallow me up into the belly of Fiji.