Country file · Oceania
Cryptids of Fiji
What cryptids are in Fiji? The best-known is Veli.
Fiji’s traditional world includes the veli, small hairy forest people said to live in caves and groves from Serua to Cakaudrove and Kadavu. Older Fijians see them as part of the identity of the land.
- 1 cryptid
- 3 recorded sightings
Cryptids reported in Fiji
The legends of Fiji
Stories of the veli are linked to the firewalking of the Sawau people on Beqa and to sacred trees. They are told with respect for chiefly lands and customs.
Hotspots
- Mount Uluiqalau, Taveuni
Site of a well-known folklore account about the veli.
- Beqa
Island tied to a legend of firewalking given by spirit beings.
Sightings timeline
- 1922B. Brewster’s account Veli
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 Veli
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 Veli
Samantha Rina’s feature gathered accounts from Taveuni, Kadavu, Beqa and the Nakauvadra mountains.