Uluilakeba I

Last updated July 01, 2024

Uluilakeba was the eldest son of the Fijian high chief Niumataiwalu. He did not succeed to his father's title, firstly because his father was not known to have been installed to the title of either Tui Nayau or Sau ni Vanua ko Lau, secondly due to the test of feat that had ensued to select the candidate for the title of Tui Nayau. he was known to have been one of the two sons of Niumataiwalu who had backed down from the unnerving jump that was put to them by the Bete. In that test of feat it was said as related orally that he as an excuse to allay any possible accusation of cowardice on his part said that since he was the eldest his claim to the title was already established by birthright and thence there was no need for him to prove himself. Rasolo then on the account of his elder brothers excuse, the second eldest of the three then took up the challenge, after Matawalu the youngest had also surrendered up any idea of contesting.

After his unsuccessful bid to the title it was later said that he had made a second attempt after Rasolo had established himself as not only the Tui Nayau but also Sau ni Vanua ko Lau in Lakeba. The account as orally related, it was said that he had remained at Nayau whilst frequenting Lakeba on occasions and on one of those occasions he with a band of followers conspired against Rasolo. This was known by the Vakavanua of Nayau, the Tui Nayau's representative on Nayau on hearing of the plot told his son who was a young fellow to go and hide himself at the bow of the Drua and on arrival on Lakeba to immediately sneak and find his way to what is now Nakorovusa the old village site and relate the account of an assassination plot to the Sau on the guise of a friendly visit by his elder brother.

The Sau, on hearing of the imminent attempt on his life, summoned the Tongans who were at the present village site of Tubou to stage a mock ceremonial reception to the visiting party while a dispatched war party lay ambush within the vicinity of a conversation hearing distance from where the formal reception was taking place. This went on until it was ascertained that the visiting party had no doubt fallen for the trap when the war party fell on the unsuspecting assailants and thence Uluilakeba and his followers were clubbed at a site known to the present day where an Ivi (chestnut) tree stands. However, for Uluilakeba himself an account also says that he retreated from the village site and onto the beach and made an attempt to swim for his life and on knowing that it would be futile, made a stand and hence clubbed. He came to his end and when they had apportioned him to the ovens his younger brother the Sau, Rasolo stopped what was to be a complete humiliation of the person of Uluilakeba and instead was to be left at where he had fallen.

The account of this unsuccessful aspirant's attempt went on to say that on the next day when the villagers went down to the beach his body had washed up on the beach eaten by sharks and a certain kind of white sea crab had gathered on what was left of his carcase. And that is why the custom with the Vuanirewa clan to this day are forbidden from the meat of the white tipped coral reef sharks and the Lairo vula (white sea crab) because of Uluilakeba's birthright entitlement.

Related Research Articles

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, as the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992. He subsequently served as president from 1993 to 2000.

ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga, commonly known as Maʻafu, was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a Fijian chief nominated and installed by the Tovata chiefs of Lakeba and Vanua Balavu as 'Tui Lau' in 1869. This title was ratified by a wider council of Fijian chiefs and subsequently formalised under British colonial administration. In 1847, Maʻafu went to Fiji in an expedition to Vanua Balavu to investigate the killing of a preacher.

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.

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.

Sivoki was the eldest child and only daughter of Niumataiwalu, first Roko Sau and High Chief of the Lau Islands, Fiji. Sivoki's mother was Tarau of Totoya.

Rasolo was a Fijian High Chief.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Totoya</span> Volcanic island in the Lau Islands, Fiji

Totoya is a volcanic island in the Moala subgroup of Fiji's Lau archipelago. It occupies an area of 28 km², making it the smallest of the Yasayasa Moala Group. Its maximum elevation is 366 metres above sea level. The main economic activity is coconut farming.

Dranivia was an 18th-century Lauan chief and noble of the Vuanirewa dynasty. He was the third son of Uluilakeba I and last recorded member of the noble household, Naivi, to hold the title Roko Sau of the Lau Islands. He is referred to as an usurper and often oral history does not include hims as a Roko Sau. He is said to have snatched the chieftainship during the absence of his uncle Matawalu from Lakeba, and without the consent of the Vuanirewa. On hearing of his nephew's treachery, Matawalu returned from Bau and reasserted his authority, while Dranivia was touring the Southern Lau islands. Dranivia immediately returned to Lakeba which precipitated in kin slaying amongst the Vuanirewa. Dranivia was defeated and he fled with his supporters to Nayau and establishing the village of Liku.

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.

Viliame (William) Vuetasau (c.1820-1857) was a Fijian explorer who was the son of Roko Malani, the seventh Roko Sau of Lau and second Tui Nayau and Ciri of Taqalevu. During the reign of his Uncle Taliai Tupou, third Tui Nayau, he was considered heir to the title. He was the first of his noble line to be given a western name, William, after Willam Cary, survivor of the Nantucket whaling ship Oeno that was wrecked in the Lau Islands in 1825. William Cary was rescued by a brother of Malani, who in time became close friends with Malani himself, who named his son after the New Englander, demonstrating his attachment to the shipwrecked sailor.

Matawalu was a Fijian chief. He was the son of Niumataiwalu—first Roko Sau of Lau Islands—and Uma of Nukunuku.

RatuAlifereti Finau was the eleventh Sau ni Vanua of Lau and the fifth Tui Nayau. He was a member of the noble household Matailakeba.

Toki Soroaqali was a Lauan chief and member of the noble dynasty of Vuanirewa in Fiji, active in the late 1700s and early 1800s.

RokoTaliai Tupou (17??-1875) was a Fijian nobleman. He is considered to be the progenitor of the noble household Vatuwaqa in the chiefly Vuanirewa clan and as such, was the first member of this noble household to hold the title Tui Nayau. His reign marked the growth of Christianity in Lau and the slow expansion of Tongan ambitions in Fiji, led by Enele Ma'afu. As this period marked increasing contact with Europeans, records from this point forward in regard to the history of Lau are well documented.

Tui Lau is a Fijian chiefly title of recent history which was created by the Vuanirewa Clan of Lakeba with the endorsement of Tui Nayau during the time of Ma'afu and his conquests.

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.

Roko is a title of chiefly rank, specifically from the Lau Islands of Fiji.

Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba III was the 12th Tui Nayau and Sau ni Vanua of the Lau Islands. He was the father of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, founding father of the modern nation of Fiji.

RatuJione Atonio Rabici "Tom" Doviverata was a Bau chief and medical doctor and administrator in colonial Fiji.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.