Bau (island)
Bau(pronounced[ˈmba.u]) is a smallislandinFiji,off the east coast of the main island ofViti Levu.Bau rose to prominence in the mid-1800s and became Fiji's dominant power; until its cession toBritain,it has maintained its influence in politics and leadership right through to modern Fiji. Due to its sacred nature, foreigners have to apply for a permit to visit.[1]
Territories and landmarks[edit]
Bauis the capital of theKubuna Confederacy(Kubuna Tribe) and the chiefly centre ofTailevu Province.It is divided into three villages:Bau,Lasakau and Soso.
- Vatanitawaketemple is the spirithouse (bure kalou) of the chiefs and a historic community hall[1][2][3]
- theRarais a community green in front of the temple and theUlu ni Vuakaassembly house
- Methodist Church, built from the remains of the other 25bure kalou.It is Fiji's oldestChristianchurch.The stone at the altar was originally a killing stone (Vatunibokola) on which the skulls ofcannibalismvictims were crushed
- Sau Tabumausoleum ofRatuSeru Cakobau and his descendants
- Delalasakau,assembly hall of the Great Council of Chiefs constructed in 1982 for Queen Elizabeth II visit
- Soso, natural water spring
Chiefly titles[edit]
Significant chiefly titles from Bau include theVunivalu,who is considered to be Fiji's premier chiefly title, and theRoko Tui Bau.The 13thVunivaluisRatuEpenisa Cakobausince 2023, and theRoko Tui Bauis currently held byRatuJoni Madraiwiwi,the formerVice-President of Fiji.
The village of Lasakau who are inhabited by the clan Nabou, referred to asNa Bai kei Bau,is ruled by theKomai Nadrukuta.
The village of Soso is occupied by the clan Rara, often referred to as theRara o Sosoand is headed by theTunidau.
Language[edit]
TheFijian languagehas many dialects, but the official standard is based on the speech of Bau.[4]
History[edit]
It was at Kubuna that the great ancestralchief,Ratu Vueti[6]Koroi-Ratu mai Bulu, Serui-Ratu mai Bulu, the firstRoko Tui Bau Vuani-ivi(according to the legend he was the fourth generation fromRatuLutunasobasoba) established the Kingdom of Kubuna and formed one of the earliest known Fijian settlements after hostilities ceased the people of Nakauvadra and the victorious Bauan army upon leaving the mountains and finding their way to the sea made a Cairn named Ulunivuaka[7]and later called it Bau in honour ofRatu Vuetiand his achievements. It was named after a shrine in the Nakauvadra range. He took the titles ofRoko Tui Bau Vuani-iviandKoroi Ratu Maibulu.After his death, he was buried in Kubuna.
After his death, a division arose between Bucaira and Vunibuca over the installation of a successor toRatu Vueti.Other clans went to Namuka and wandered from place to place. Eventually, a newRoko Tui Bau,Ratu Serumataidrau, was selected from the Vuaniivi, aTokatoka Valelevuof the Mataqali and the Yavusa Ratu Vuani-ivi Buca clan, which had settled at Namuka.[8]
Naulivou was installed in 1791 as theVunivalu(in modern Fiji this is now the highest chiefly title in the Kingdom of Kubuna, but was not so in Fiji's early history) after the death of his father Banuve[9]who had three sons: Naulivou, Tanoa II and Celua in 1791. Ratu Raiwalui of theRoko Tui BauVuaniivi Clan, Yavusa-Ratu, became the sixthRoko Tui Bau Vuani-Iviwhich was the highest chieflytitlein the greater area of Kubuna and the secondRoko Tui Bau Vuani-Ivithat occupied the Island Delainakorolevu or Ulunivuaka,[10]which was then called Bau in 1760 which was named by the fifthRoko Tui Bau Vuani-iviRatu Lele who was then buried at Delai Daku.
The relationship between these two men was not a happy one. When they came into conflict, the Vuaniivi clan fled to Kubuna and sought the protection of Titokobitu, the Chief of Namara. Together with some other chiefs of Namara, they reachedKoroand from there went to Vuna, on the island ofTaveuni,and thence to Vanuabalavu. The Namara people who later joined their early travellers now of Levukana village on Lomaloma were left behind at Vuna and they fled to the mountains lest the Bauans should pursue them. The Vuaniivi warriors left some of their war canoes high and dry on the beach at Vuna when they set off for Vanuabalavu.
With the aid ofCharlie Savage,who broughtfirearmsto Bau, opportunities for new wealth and power, symbolized by the acquisition of muskets, intensified political rivalries and hastened the rise of the Kingdom of Bau, ruled by Naulivou asVunivaluand then by his nephew Cakobau. By the 1850s Bau dominated western Fiji. Cakobau's main rival was the Tongan chiefEnele Ma'afu,who led an army ofChristianTongans and their allies from eastern Fiji. After a short-lived alliance with Ma’afu, Cakobau became a Christian in 1854. The Bauan people quickly established themselves as an undefeatable military force. With that unmatched power,Seru Epenisa Cakobauwas able to unite all of Fiji's disparate tribes under his authority in 1871.[11]
The reconstitution ceremony of theGreat Council of Chiefstook place there on May 24, 2023. National championRatuBanuve Tabakaucororeceived the honour in welcoming the state president and prime minister with the ceremonial offering ofkava.[12][13][14]
See also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ^ab"Bau Island Fiji HIGHLIGHTS".www.dianagiesbrecht.com.Retrieved2024-05-10.
- ^Mitchell, John (2023-06-18)."Bau Island's historic vatanitawake".The Fiji Times.Retrieved2024-05-10.
- ^Mitchell, John (2023-06-04)."Bau Island's historic Vatanitawake".The Fiji Times.Retrieved2024-05-10.
- ^FijianatEthnologue(25th ed., 2022)
- ^"Bau, the capital of Feejee".Wesleyan Juvenile Offering.V.London: Wesleyan Mission-House: 120. November 1848.Retrieved20 November2015.
- ^Tukutuku Raraba – History of Bau, page 1, chapter 1, National Archives Fiji
- ^"Fiji Page 54" A History of Fiji,Chapter 4 Page 54 and 55
- ^Ai Tukutuku Kei Viti - By Rev. Epeli Rokowaqa
- ^Fiji and the Fijians Volume 1, Page 19
- ^A History of Fiji,Chapter 4 Page 54 & 55
- ^Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^Boila, Sainiani."Sprint King fulfills traditional obligations at the GCC".Fiji Broadcasting Corporation.Retrieved2024-03-06.
- ^https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/132142023/fijis-great-council-of-chiefs-returns-after-16year-absence
- ^DAUREWA, ALISI (2023-06-24)."Council of our chiefs | Must be relevant, effective and accountable".The Fiji Times.Retrieved2024-03-06.
References[edit]
- Gone Native in Polynesia:Captivity Narratives and Experiences from the South Pacific (Page 24, 64, 121) - by Ian Christopher Campbell - 1998 - 167 pages
- James Calvert; Or, From Dark to Dawn in Fiji- Page 44, by R. Vernon - 1890 - 160 pages
External links[edit]
Media related toBau Islandat Wikimedia Commons
- http://www.britannica.com/eb/topic-56318/Bau
- Details and Photographs by FijiBure
- Details and statistics