The village is inhabited by a tribe called the Yavusa Na Koi Vuda led by the Taukei Navitarutaru. The tribe is divided into 4 clans, or "mataqali," namely Navitarutaru, Nabasara, Tabua and Nakete, each clan with its own leader. Total population is 550 people in 98 households.
History
The legend goes that Yavusa Na Koi Vuda's ancestors [vague] saw from Vuda, their village fortress, Lutunasobasoba's shipwrecked delegate, and rescued the ship's crew, taking them to Nabasagarua for refuge. Yavusa Na Koi Vuda's ancestors were the original rulers and inhabitants of this western part of Viti Levu and were very loyal to their leader, the Lei, a title bestowed upon any leader established many years before the arrival of the Lutunasobasoba family.
Years went by, then LeiNabasara gave the title to Bogisa (Lutunasobasoba's descendant) the first Momo Levu of the Vanua of Vuda, giving all authorities, mystical powers, knowledge, water and land thus strengthening the position to become later Tui Vuda.
Ratu is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi, is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title Ratu is also the traditional honorific title to refer to the ruling king or queen in Javanese culture. Thus in Java, a royal palace is called "keraton", constructed from the circumfix ke- -an and Ratu, to describe the residence of the Ratu.
Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji. It is the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.
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.
The culture of Fiji is a tapestry of native Fijian, Indian, European, Chinese, and other nationalities. Culture polity traditions, language, food costume, belief system, architecture, arts, craft, music, dance, and sports will be discussed in this article to give you an indication of Fiji's indigenous community but also the various communities which make up Fiji as a modern culture and living. The indigenous culture is an active and living part of everyday life for the majority of the population.
Bau is a small island in Fiji, off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu. Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji's dominant power; until its cession to Britain, it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji.
Moala is a volcanic island in the Moala subgroup of Fiji's Lau archipelago. It has an area of 62.5 square kilometers (24.1 sq mi), making it the ninth largest island of Fiji. The highest point on the island of Moala, at a maximum elevation of 468 meters (1,535 ft), is called Delaimoala which has rich vegetation and consists of dark thick forest. The population of around 3000 live in eight villages. The chiefly village of these is Naroi, whose population is over 500. Economic activities include coconut farming, cocoa production, fishing and yaqona (kava) production.
Viseisei is a village at Vuda Point on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji.
Vuda Point is a headland on the west coast of Viti Levu island, in Ba Province of Fiji. It is located between the towns of Nadi and Lautoka.
Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.
Lomaloma is a village at the south of the island of Vanua Balavu in the Lau archipelago of Fiji. The settlement is part of the tribal district of Tikina, Lomaloma and consists of 9 villages, 13 Yavusa (tribes), 42 Mataqali (clans), and 54 family units known as Tokatoka. The nine villages of Lomaloma Tikina are Lomaloma, Sawana, Susui, Narocivo, Namalata, Uruone, Levukana, Dakuilomaloma, and Tuvuca.
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 second largest of any province.
Fiji is a mixed society religiously with most people being Christian but with sizable Hindu and Muslim minorities. Religion tends to split along ethnic lines with most Indigenous Fijians being Christian and most Indo-Fijians being either Hindu or Muslim.
Fijian tradition and ceremony is a living way of life that has remained intact for millennia, evolving as the Fijian nation has modernised over time, with various external influences from Pacific neighbours, and European and Asian society. The term Fijian in this article refers to "indigenous Fijians" or "I Taukei" as the term Fijian generally includes all citizens of Fiji. This article is a general overview of various aspects of Fijian tradition, social structure and ceremony, much of it from the Bauan Fijian tradition. There are variations from province to province. Many social intricacies depend on one's inherited social position and the occasion one is confronted with: each will have a particular social etiquette. The Fijian terms in this article are most often of the Bauan dialect.
Taukei ni Waluvu is a Fijian phrase for "Native 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".
Thomas Baker was a Methodist missionary in Fiji, known as being the only missionary in that country to be killed and eaten, along with seven of his Fijian followers. The incident occurred in the Navosa Highlands of western Viti Levu in July 1867, and the rock used to kill Baker is still displayed in the village of Nabutatau. The soles of his leather sandals, which were also cooked by the cannibal tribe, are in Fiji Museum in Suva. Records show that Baker was killed and eaten as a result of him touching a chief's head, which in Fijian culture, is considered to be very disrespectful.
Verata is a Tikina in Fiji's Tailevu Province. It is made up of several sub-districts or Tikina makawa, namely: Verata, Namalata, Tai, Vugalei, and Taivugalei.
Turaga na Roko Tui Bau is a vassal chief to the Vunivalu of Bau, Paramount Chief of the post Cakobau government divisional categorization of enclaves rearing Kubuna Confederacy.
Viwa Island, Yasawa is located approximately 70 km northwest of Denarau situated in the Yasawa Islands of Fiji.
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.
Tui Sabeto is the traditional Fijian title of the Paramount Chief of Sabeto or Betoraurau, a 5-minute drive from the north of Nadi International Airport. The Tui Sabeto exercises chiefly authority over the villages of Koroyaca, Narokorokoyawa, Natalau, Naboutini and Korobebe.
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