The experience of vanua, the land and the people who live and work on it, is at the basis of Fijian life. Asesela Ravuvu, a Fijian social scientist, describes vanua as follows:
 

In a 1999 report by Bank of Hawaii tribal ownership of  about 90% of the land was cited as "the single largest barrier to economic growth". It is also the reason why Fijian culture is still alive and strong in most places. This cannot be measured in economic terms, but you can see it in the smiles and the generous hospitality of the Fijian people.

From a structural perspective, vanua is a social unit, the largest group of relatives. A yasuva is a group of people that traces their heritage on the male side to a common ancestor or ancestor god (Vu). The yasuva is divide into clans (mataquali), such as chiefs (turaga), heralds or spokesmen of the chiefs (mata-ni-vanua), priests (bete) and fishermen (gone dau).

Vakavanua means to life the life of the land, the traditional life style. To live according to vakaturaga, or the chiefly way, denotes not only the traditional lifestyle but also the personal characteristics necessary to maintain it. Much of these characteristics are seemingly opposed to western ideas of progress and ideas of entrepreneurship, and are sometimes perceived as complacency and compliant. There is nothing, however, that precludes hard work, and it promotes a life in balance an harmony since it places respect and humility at the center of being; not progress. Loloma, the feeling of kindness and love, is what arises from living according to . Solidarity is the aim; caring for others, the means. As some traditions fade, especially in the urban centers, there is often conflict between the generations, and the elders bemoan the lack of respect by the younger people.