Indo-Fijian fire walking is part of an annual religious festival coinciding with the full moon in July or August and lasts for ten days. A south Indian tradition brought to Fiji by the Indians during the indentured period, Hindu fire walking takes place in many Indian temples in Fiji. In both cultures, there is traditionally a lot of preparation prior to the actual fire walking. In the past, preparations for Fijian fire walking could take up to a month. The work involved collecting firewood, selecting appropriate stones, making costumes and performing various rites.
Fire walkers have to abstain from sex and practice a restricted diet.
Pregnant women were not allowed near the pit preparation. Nor could anyone walk on fire if his wife was pregnant, as it was believed that in such circumstances the whole group would receive burns. Fijian fire walking is now also performed in many parts of Fiji, primarily for tourism. Tabu periods have been reduced to only a few days. Fire pits, for commercial fire walking, are much smaller than the original traditional ones.