Field file · Humanoid · Folklore
Veli
Also known as Leka, Fiji little people
Small, hairy forest people of Fijian tradition said to live in caves and groves, still spoken of as part of the land itself.
The veli, called leka in some districts, are the little people of Fiji. Fiji Times coverage describes them as small, hairy beings that live in forests, caves and plantations, with long hair, glowing eyes and sometimes wings, and stories place them from Serua to Cakaudrove and from Kadavu to Bua.
Some tales show them dressing in fine tapa, singing and drinking wild kava, and being angry if sacred trees are cut. On Beqa, old stories say beings of this class gave the Sawau people the gift of firewalking.
Older Fijians treat them not as fairy tales but as part of the identity of the land. The anthropologist Matt Tomlinson wrote in 2016 that the veli serve as a way to think about the link between past and present and that, because of their non-Christian associations, the power they offer is promising but risky.
Some researchers suggest veli may preserve memories of people who lived in the islands before the ancestors of today’s Fijians, while others see them as one version of small folkloric beings found worldwide.
What does Veli look like?
Small, very hairy, with hair to the waist and eyes like fire; sometimes winged and dressed in tapa.
Where is Veli seen?
Forests, caves, hollow trees and mountain tops across Fiji, such as Mount Uluiqalau on Taveuni.
Veli sightings
- 1922B. Brewster’s account Fiji
A 1922 account by B. Brewster, quoted in an Australian National University publication, described veli living in hollow trees, caves and dugouts.
- 2016Tomlinson on veli Fiji
Matt Tomlinson’s article in the Journal of the Polynesian Society discussed veli as signs of the persistence of Indigenous strength.
- April 5, 2026Fiji Times folklore feature Taveuni and across Fiji
Samantha Rina’s feature gathered accounts from Taveuni, Kadavu, Beqa and the Nakauvadra mountains.
Is Veli real? What could explain it
- Anthropologists read veli as a moral and historical idiom for talking about land, past and present.
- Hairy figures glimpsed at dawn may be feral goats, dogs or shadows in forest light.
- A few researchers suggest memory of earlier peoples.
Legend, culture and tourism
Veli appear in village storytelling and in Fiji Times folklore series. Respect local sacred places.
Where it’s reported
Sources
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