Thursday, February 08, 2007

Survivor 14 showcasing a babasiga location starts today

from w
Apparently the Survivor 14 set in Fiji starts on TV today in USA, but I haven't heard a whisper yet about when it will start in Australia or Fiji. We must wait with bated breath to see bits and pieces of the land that we love - not so much about the contestants - but the Fijian cultural input and whether it rings true or not!

There are several interesting maps on Dan Bollinger's 'spoiler' site and one is very good of the Vunivutu area where the series was filmed. Go to this site. I won't copy the map here because it takes a million bytes and also there's a niggling thing about copyright that I (sometimes) respect.

Meanwhile our babasiga site is getting lots of hits today because somewhere we are listed on some meta site! Well, I hope they read other stuff too besides the old posting about Vunivutu! For those just tuning in here for the first time, babasiga is a Fijian word that means 'sunburnt land' and describes the drought-prone land of Macuata. Of course the people of Macuata have had a major flood this week which drenched the town of Labasa and caused a great deal of damage to schools, shops and canefields.

That's the rhythm of life in Fiji.

updated 10th Feb. Something from BuddyTV
February 7, 2007
Situated on the side of a mountain, the Tribal Council set of Survivor: Fiji conveys the idea of being part of a time where there were warring tribes towering down and ready to take enemies out. Survivor host Jeff Probst gave an tour of the mood-altering set exclusively on the TV Guide Channel.

How did Survivor: Fiji create such a tone? About 20 men carried logs up the mountain and subsequently built the building which took about 8 weeks to complete. Rigorous and painstaking, it takes about 200 steps to walk up to the entrance of the Tribal Council, the longest among all the previous Survivor shows.

Overall, the Tribal Council set of Survivor: Fiji is based on local traditions and designs. The eerie atmosphere of cannibalism further sets the mood, with 300 skulls planted all around the Tribal Council. In addition, the roof of the Tribal Council is made up of 3,000 pieces of thatch and 5,000 pieces of timber are scattered throughout the bridges.

As for the voting area, it is situated very close to the other contestants, a feature that will probably make contestants in the voting booth whisper a lot. Of course, there is still the snuffing of the torch, a distinct mark of the show and also a tool which Fijians use when they take out eyeballs.

Check out the video captures of the set at Survivor Fever.
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There are several websites now with stuff about episode one, but if you don't live in North America, you may not want to know who loses, etc.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:13 PM

    We just watched Survivor: Fiji. Vanua Levu looks beautiful.

    The Tribal Council is set high on a cliff, 200 steps from the valley floor, and was built of thatch, tree limbs and vine. It's beautiful at night all lit up by torches.

    There seem to be a lot of banded sea snakes! Careful where you step!

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  2. You are lucky - we will just have to wait!
    Those sea-snakes? Well, I have not heard of anyone being bitten, but they say they are poisonous but the poison sacs are deep down in their throat. They just lie in the sun and sleep or play in the water. I've seen some sunning themselves on rocks on Vorovoro Island, and also the first time we went to see our very own land at Nukutatava, two were curled around a fallen coconut log. Peceli said that was a sign, a welcome sign for us, as they have special significance for his mother's tribe on Mali.
    w.

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  3. Anonymous5:52 PM

    A welcome sign. Very nice. :)

    I really enjoyed last night's Survivor, and I think you will too. We didn't see any towns or local people (yet), but the scenery was breathtaking - palms, islands, the reef and sandbars, caves, mango and other fruit trees and jagged tall cliffs. At one camp, the contestants walked through tall wild grass. I wondered if it was sugarcane.. maybe even 'volunteers' that had spread by seeds and the wind.

    The cast is interesting, diverse and very attractive. I think it's going to be one of Survivor's best series.

    ReplyDelete