Jovesa Sovasova

Last updated

Ratu Jovesa Dauruatana Sovasova (1942 - 8 April 2005) was a Fijian chief, who held the title of Tui Vitogo , or Paramount Chief of Vitogo village, from 30 June 1970 till his death.

In his funeral eulogy, Lautoka police chief Rusiate Saini praised Sovasova for his commitment to the rule of law and for his efforts to foster cooperative relationships among all the villages in Lautoka. He was also known to be passionate about economic development and was involved in a number of projects such as the Vitogo housing project, Vitogo police post and the village's electrification scheme.

Sovasova was survived by his wife, Adi Paulina Nai, four children, and five grandchildren.

Native Lands Commission (NLC) Chairman Ratu Viliame Tagiveitua announced on 10 March 2006 that Sovasova's relative, Ratu Viliame Sovasova, had been chosen to succeed him. Ratu Viliame Sovasova is married to Adi Litiana Ro Vataleba Marakiwai of Natewa, from the Mataqali Valenisau - one of the two clans from which the Vunivalu of Natewa is chosen.


Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamisese Mara</span> Fijian former prime minister and president

RatuSir Kamisese Mara, was a Fijian politician, who served as Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992. He subsequently served as president from 1993 to 2000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Index of Fiji-related articles</span>

Articles about people, places, things, and concepts related to or originating from Fiji, include:

Brigadier-General RatuEpeli Ganilau, MC, MSD, was a Fijian military officer and politician. His career previously encompassed such roles as Commander of the Fiji Military Forces and Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga. On 15 January 2007 he was sworn in as Minister for Fijian Affairs in the interim Cabinet formed in the wake of the 2006 Fijian coup d'état which deposed the Qarase government on 5 December 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sitiveni Rabuka</span> Prime Minister of Fiji from 1992 to 1999 and since 2022

Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka is a Fijian politician, former soldier and former sportsman who has served as Prime Minister of Fiji since 24 December 2022. He was the instigator of two military coups in 1987. He was democratically elected as Prime Minister of Fiji, serving from 1992 to 1999, and again in 2022, leading a three-party coalition. He also served as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs from 1999 to 2001, and later as Chairman of the Cakaudrove Provincial Council from 2001 to 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lala Mara</span> First lady of Fiji of very distinguished lineage under president Kaimese Mara

RoLala, Lady Mara, maiden name Litia Cakobau Lalabalavu Katoafutoga Tuisawau was a Fijian chief, who was better known as the widow of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, modern Fiji's founding father who served for many years as Prime Minister and President of his country. As Fiji's First Lady, Adi Lala took on a diplomatic role, frequently representing her country abroad. She was regarded as a formidable and astute woman, whose influence on her husband was said to be considerable.

RatuJoni Madraiwiwi, Lord Madraiwiwi Tangatatonga was a prominent Fijian lawyer, legal scholar, jurist, and politician. He served as vice-president, and also acting president, of Fiji, and Chief Justice of Nauru.

The House of Chiefs in Fiji consists of the Fijian nobility, composed of about seventy chiefs of various ranks, majority of which are related. It is not a formal political body and is not the same as the former Great Council of Chiefs, which was a political body with a prescribed constitutional role, although the membership of the two bodies did overlap to a great extent.

RatuTevita Vakalalabure was a Fijian chief and politician.

AdiLitia Qalirea Cakobau was a Bau high Fijian chief and political leader.

Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous province, with a population of 247,708 – more than a quarter of the nation's total – at the 2017 census. It covers a land area of 2,634 km2 (1,017 sq mi), the largest of any province.

Jagannath Sami has been a soccer player representing a premier district side in the Fiji Football Association competitions, a leader of the sugar mill workers, a leader of a farmers' union, a politician and chief executive officer of the Sugar Cane Growers Council but he is best known for the controversy surrounding his dismissal as the CEO of the SCGC by the military regime of Commodore Josaia Voreqe (Frank) Bainimarama following the military coup of 2006.

<i>Turaga na Rasau</i>

Turaga na Rasau is a traditional Fijian chiefly title of the Lau Islands. Prior to Fiji's colonial days, Fiji had many different Vanua with their own Paramount Chieftain which exercised no authority over the other; a saying from the island of Kadavu aptly summarises it "Nomu Turaga o sega na noqu Turaga" or "Your Chief is not my Chief" also the people of Beqa Island were of a similar opinion saying "Qali Cuva Ki Lagi" or "Subject only to heaven" and would bow to no outside Chieftain, but at the turn of the 20th century aspects of the traditional social structure remained, but for administrative purposes three main Matanitu were solidified and formed as they were the dominant consolidated powers at the time being that of Kubuna, Burebasaga and Tovata. With regard to the Rasau while its traditional origins were in Kubuna on Bau the titles traditional authority in modern Fiji is now in Tovata, Lau in particular Lomaloma Tikina on the Island of Vanua Balavu.

Taukei ni Waluvu is a Fijian phrase for "Owner of the Flood." It is the traditional chiefly title of the warrior hill clan Siko-Natabutale of Nairukuruku village. The history of the clan from the mid- nineteenth century, represent the social structures of the chiefly system, religion and western culture that supported colonialism in Fiji. Tradition, Christianity and British indirect rule were combined to legitimize what was accepted as the right way to govern. Condemned by some modern day critics as exploitative, the Fijian chiefly system was the medium of native social interdependence and a traditional contract shared by the indigenous clans of pre-colonial Fiji, that was utilized for colonial rule. Since Independence the chiefly system has had to adapt to the demands of modernity. Anthropologist Arthur Capell in his study of early tribal migration within Fiji made the point that, "the history of Fiji is the history of chiefly families." The phrase in fact emphasized the hierarchical nature of Fijian traditional society where chiefly power was held sacred. The relationship between Chiefs and Westerners in especially Missionaries thus became a focal point for gathering insight into Fijian culture and tradition in the nineteenth century. James Turner a latter anthropologist found, "The chiefly families of Nairukuruku were the first in the eastern highlands of Viti Levu to declare their allegiance to the central government and as a result of this support their influence expanded throughout the area".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lasakau sea warriors</span>

The Lasakau Sea Warriors were a 19th-century warrior sub-culture in the pre-colonial state of Bau, in Fiji. The sea warriors were instrumental in spreading Bau's political power throughout the South Pacific archipelagic islands. The rise of the eminent islet of Bau amongst other embryonic states was due mainly to the projection of sea power through its naval forces. Bauan chief Ratu Loaloadravu Tubuanakoro was praised by French Captain Dumont D'Urville in May 1827 for his geographic knowledge of the Fijian archipelago signifying Bau's naval influence. More far-ranging than Bau's land warriors led by the Vusaradave clan, the Lasakau clan became the leading proponents of war and tribute for the emerging island kingdom. They became known as the Bai kei Bau or 'War fence of Bau'. Sahlins made the crucial observation that," The kings of Bau based their rule not on native cultivators but on native sailors and fishers-which is to say in Fijian categories, as in political strategies, not on the land but on the sea". This was the great political transformation that catapulted Bau to power over other pre-colonial kingdoms.

Ulamila Kurai Wragg born 18 June 1968 is a Fijian journalist currently based in Rarotonga, Cook Islands.

The Deans Trophy is the most prestigious and oldest award in the Fiji Secondary Schools sporting competitions. The annual competition was introduced in 1939 and is the oldest tournament in the Fiji rugby union. The trophy was first won by Queen Victoria School and it has been won the most by Queen Victoria School a record 24 times, and the current champion is Queen Victoria School (QVS). For sponsorship reasons it is currently known as Coke Super Deans Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Navatu - Cakaudrove</span>

Navatu is a sub district in Cakaudrove; one of 3 provinces situated in Vanua Levu, the second largest island in Fiji. The sub-district, or "tikina" as it is known in the iTaukei language, comprises nine villages mainly occupying the eastern peninsular of the Natewa Bay. While Copra has been the main source of income for villages in the Navatu tikina, kava or yaqona is also becoming a fast growing commodity for villages within the Navatu sub-district.