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Toki Soroaqali was a Lauan chief and member of the noble dynasty of Vuanirewa in Fiji, active in the late 1700s and early 1800s.
The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited. The Lau Group covers a land area of 188 square miles, and had a population of 10,683 at the most recent census in 2007. While most of the northern Lau Group are high islands of volcanic origin, those of the south are mostly carbonate low islands.
The Vuanirewa is the ruling tribe (yavusa) of the Lau Islands, a scattered group of more than a hundred islands and reefs along the eastern edge of Fiji.
Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean about 1,100 nautical miles northeast of New Zealand's North Island. Its closest neighbours are Vanuatu to the west, New Caledonia to the southwest, New Zealand's Kermadec Islands to the southeast, Tonga to the east, the Samoas and France's Wallis and Futuna to the northeast, and Tuvalu to the north. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which 110 are permanently inhabited—and more than 500 islets, amounting to a total land area of about 18,300 square kilometres (7,100 sq mi). The most outlying island is Ono-i-Lau. The two major islands, Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, account for 87% of the total population of 898,760. The capital, Suva, on Viti Levu, serves as the country's principal cruise-ship port. About three-quarters of Fijians live on Viti Levu's coasts, either in Suva or in smaller urban centres such as Nadi—where tourism is the major local industry—or Lautoka, where the sugar-cane industry is paramount. Due to its terrain, the interior of Viti Levu is sparsely inhabited.
He was the second son of Rasolo, the first Tui Nayau through a lady of rank from the Narewadamu. He was thus half brother to both, the second and third Tui Nayau’s, Malani and Taliai Tupou and the brother of Lalaciwa.
Rasolo was a Fijian High Chief.
Tu’i Nayau is the title held by the paramount chief of the Lau Islands in Fiji and is synonymous with the title holders over lordship of these islands. When translated, Tu’i Nayau means "Lord of Nayau", an island north of Lakeba, the latter accepted by many to be the chief island in the Lauan archipelago. Prior to being installed as Tu’i Nayau, the claimant must first be confirmed upon the decision of the noble households making up the Vuanirewa clan and then installed Sau or High Chief of Lau. Not every Sau has been installed Tu’i Nayau.
Roko Malani (1754–1833) was the eldest son of Rasolo, the first Tui Nayau, and of Laufitu, a high-ranking lady of Totoya and Tongan descent. He succeeded to the title Roko Sau, after engineering a successful coup d'état and slaying his uncle, Matawalu, the fourth Roko Sau, in battle. This kin slaying was the result of the latter's dislike and plan to expel Tongan settlers from Lakeba. As Roko Malani was half Tongan, his hand was forced to remove his uncle from power and eliminate his followers as an effective force on the island. Roko Malani was later installed as Tui Nayau, and thus become the second holder of this title.
As his mother belonged to the Narewadamu, the original noble houses of Lakeba, he was considered Vasu i Taukei , having greater rights in Lakeba through his mother. Prior to Malani becoming Roko Sau, he and his younger brother Taliai Tupou, whose mothers were from outside Lakeba, offered him the right to become Roko Sau and Tui Nayau. He opted out stating that should he become High Chief, the Lakeba people would not listen to them as they had no kinsfolk amongst them but should Malani take the chieftainship and require anything, he would direct the Lakeba people to follow his brother’s orders as they were his kin. It was thus that Malani succeeded to Roko Sau and Tui Nayau without further dispute.
Lakeba is an island in Fiji’s Southern Lau Archipelago; the provincial capital of Lau is located here. The island is the tenth largest in Fiji, with a land area of nearly 60 square kilometers. It is fertile and well watered, and encircled by a 29-kilometer road. Its closest neighbors are Aiwa and Nayau. Separated by deep sea from the latter but only by shallow waters from the former, when sea levels were lower during glacial episodes Lakeba and Aiwa formed one large island.
Sau Mai Kedekede now more commonly referred to as Sau ni Vanua ko Lau is one of the preeminent titles held by the Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands in Fiji.
Further records show that Soroaqali was alive when the first missionaries arrived on Lakeba. He however despised the new religion and opposed Christianity to the end. He died in 1844.
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to promote their faith or perform ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin missionem, meaning "act of sending" or mittere, meaning "to send". The word was used in light of its biblical usage; in the Latin translation of the Bible, Christ uses the word when sending the disciples to preach The gospel in his name. The term is most commonly used for Christian missions, but can be used for any creed or ideology.
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Its adherents, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and the savior of all people, whose coming as the Messiah was prophesied in the Hebrew Bible, called the Old Testament in Christianity, and chronicled in the New Testament. It is the world's largest religion with about 2.4 billion followers.
