Most of the 8,000 inhabitants of the Kadavu Island group live in traditional villages, in networks of tribes and clans, each with their own chiefs and councils.
Each clan, or mataqali, have their own social position and customary role to play in tribal life, as well as their own plantations, fishing grounds and forest regions.
Most people live a lifestyle of abundant subsistence, harvesting food from their fertile gardens and the forest, and gathering many different types of sea-food.
There are very few roads on Kadavu, so people get around by foot along well-worn trails through the hills and forests, or by boat around the coastline.
Indigenous religion is found alongside Christianity, with both deeply influencing most Kadavu people.
The main language spoken is a dialect of Fijian, with many variations from place to place within Kadavu. English is quite widely spoken also, especially among the younger generations.
[end].