Vunivalu Kei Rewa

Although Fiji has been inhabited for at least 3,500 years, much intervening history has been lost to memory. All of the great chiefdoms of eastern Viti Levu trace their founding ancestors to the Nakauvadra Mountains near the north coast. The Bau had two great chiefly lines, that of the Rokotui Bau, the sacred chiefs, and the Vunivalu, the war chiefs. Vunivalu operated as executive chiefs, handing the defense and conquest of others. When at war the Vunivalu took responsibility for all operations. Due to there being no ancient written language, genealogical information is generally not available prior to the sixteenth century.

Vunivalu literally means "The Root of War". The person holding this title is the leader of all Bati - or the warriors and body guards. This post holds the chiefly responsibility for leading the warriors in protecting the village and its people. Just like any other commander of a military force, the Vunivalu were expected to lead from the front and pay with their life if unsuccessful. It is this highest tradition of service to the common good that makes the Vunivalu an important part of Fijian society.

The Vunivalu Naulivou of Bau exploited musket-bearing white European beachcombers to such effect that at the time of his death in 1829, he seemed well on the way to establishing a Fiji-wide hegemony. A Rebellion in 1832 halted the complete rise to power of Bau, and as the century advanced, relationships between Bau and other chiefdoms, and between Fijians and Europeans, became increasingly complex. Missionaries arrived at Bau in 1839. Their progress was limited during the early stages of the war between Bau and Rewa, which dominated Fiji's politics during the middle years of the 19th century.

In Rewa the same thing happened. Tambiavalu, the father of Kania was established as king with the aid of the whites in 1827. This was done by killing off the reigning family of whom the Vunivalu of Rewa was a direct descendent. Tambiavalu is attributed to having over one hundred children with his many wives, but only seven children from three wives had any status. Tambiavalu had a long and prosperous reign, gathering together a great deal of territory, people, plus the island of Kadavu under the control of Rewa. His eldest son, Koraitamano was very popular with the people and chiefs of Rewa. His mother was from Kadavu of high rank, and was well on his way to becoming chief if it was not for the jealousy and unscrupulous conniving of the queen Ramdini-Ndraketi.

The next four sons were from Tambiavalu's queen, Ramdini Ndraketi, and were named Madovovi, Kania, Valivuaka, and Nagraningiou. By Salaisai, a sister of Tanoa, he also had two sons, Seru and Thokanauto. Thokanauto also went by the name of "Mr. Phillips" with dealing with the Europeans. This youngest son always made it a point to interact with every European contact available. He spoke passable English, and was very popular with the Europeans that stayed in Fiji.

Ramdini Ndraketi managed to create suspicion in the mind of the king Tambiavalu that Koraitamano intended to kill him and size power. She did this to give her sons an unfair opportunity for advancement or even to become king themselves. On many occasions Koraitamano evaded attempts on his life put together by the queen. He spent a great deal of his time dodging certain death. Koraitamano finally killed his father, and immediately after Ramdini Ndraketi had him killed claiming that her husband was not dead, but was only stunned and had ordered the execution. When the chiefs returned from killing the son they found that the chief really was dead after all, and that the Queen had done this so that her eldest Madovovi could take over as king. Madovovi was by no means as popular as his father, and soon found himself in competition with his step brother Seru. The two started to work at counter-purposes and trade threats until it was certain that there would be a confrontation.

It was not long before the two met each other on the road. Seru had one throwing club, or ulu, while Madovovi had three. After dodging thee clubs thrown at him, Seru threw his one club and killed Madovovi on the spot. Upon hearing of her son's death, Ramdini Ndraketi and her remaining two sons fled to Ambau, leaving Seru in charge of Rewa. After several attempts to kill Seru from long distance, Ramdini Ndraketi hired Ro Vendovi with a large bribe to go kill him. Ro Vendovi took his white man supplied musket, went to Thokanauto's house, caught him eating dinner and shot him through the chest. The result was that Ramdini Ndraketi and her two remaining sons returned to Rewa where Kania took control of the government.

In 1854, the Vunivalu Cakobau of Bau converted to Christianity. When the climactic battle of the civil war at Kaba took place between Bau and Rewa in 1855, it took on the character of a struggle between pagan and Christian power in Fiji. Both sides claim that they won this battle, but reality was that they both lost because the real result was a collapse of Fijian military power. Thereafter, European influence increased dramatically. Cakobau signed the deed ceding Fiji to Great Britain in 1874 as King of Fiji even though other provinces, including Rewa did not agree.

The British colonial administration adopted a fairly benign paternalism towards Fijians, in sharp contrast to their previous conquests around the world. This may have been because it was later than most, or it could have been just because of the special nature of the Fiji situation. They did not directly subjugate the Fijian people, but rather imported vast numbers of East Indians to work the sugar cane fields as indentured laborers.

Their passive approach concealed the real aggression being committed against Fijian culture. It was no longer going to be chiefdom against themselves or each other. Hindu culture flourished in both isolation and at the same time in concert with the indigenous people. Complete alienation of the land was prevented by the British, but this also halted the evolution of Fijian society under colonial rule. The adaptation of the society by the Fijian people was based on still owning the land. The old chiefdoms such as Bau became relatively insignificant, although they and some of the other chiefs were permitted to continue to be involved in administration by the British.

With independence in 1970, and even more so after the military coups of 1987, however, the chiefly confederations have once again come to the fore. The Great Council of Chiefs was recognized as part of the government, and was given virtual veto power over the civil government. The GCC did not bring along with it the Vunivalu chiefs.

These are all closely related by blood lines

Vunivalu mai Rewa             Ro Sunia Tacikalou Kamakarewa
Vunivalu mai Tokatoka        Ro
Vunivalu mai Nakelo
Vunivalu mai Serua
Vunivalu mai Namosi
Vunivalu mai