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Lau Islands

Coordinates:17°50′S178°40′E/ 17.833°S 178.667°E/-17.833; 178.667
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Lau Islands is located in Pacific Ocean
Lau Islands
Lau Islands
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Location of the Lau Islands in the Pacific Ocean

TheLau Islands(also called theLau Group,theEastern Group,theEastern Archipelago) ofFijiare situated in the southernPacific Ocean,just east of theKoro 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 (487 square km), and had a population of 10,683 at the most recentcensusin 2007. While most of the northern Lau Group arehigh islandsofvolcanicorigin, those of the south are mostlycarbonatelow islands.

Administratively the islands belong toLau Province.

History[edit]

The Lau Islands

TheBritishexplorerJames CookreachedVatoain 1774. By the time of the discovery of the Ono Group in 1820, the Lau archipelago was the most mapped area of Fiji.

Political unity came late to the Lau Islands. Historically, they comprised three territories: the Northern Lau Islands, the Southern Lau Islands, and theMoala Islands.Around 1855, the renegadeTonganprinceEnele Ma'afuwith the help ofTui Nayau’s army, conquered the region and established a unified administration.Tui Nayauthenbestowedthe titleTui Lau,or King of Lau, to Ma’afu, promulgated aconstitutionand encouraged the establishment of Christian missions. The first missionaries had arrived atLakebain 1830, but had been expelled. TheTui Nayau,who had been the nominal overlord of the Lau Islands, became subject to Ma'afu.

TheTui NayauandTui Lautitles came intopersonal unionin 1969.Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara,who had already beenbestowedthe title ofTui Lauin 1963 by the Vuanirewa Clan on the approval of his fatherRatu Tevita Uluilakeba II(the reigningTui Nayauduring that time), was also installed asTui Nayaufollowing the death ofRatu Tevita Uluilakeba IIin 1966. The titleTui Lauwas left vacant from his uncle,Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna,in 1958 as referenced in Mara, The Pacific Way Paper.

The Northern Lau Islands, which extended as far south asTuvuca,were under the overlordship ofTaveuniand paidtributeto theTui Cakau(Paramount Chief ofCakaudrove). In 1855, however, Ma'afu &Tui Nayaugained sovereignty over Northern Lau, establishingLomaloma,onVanua Balavu,as Ma” afu’scapital.

The Southern Lau Islands extended fromOno-i-Lau,in the far south, to as far north asCicia.They were the traditional chiefdom of theTui Nayau,but with proper consultation between Ma'afu &Tui Nayauin the 1850s, united them to theLau Province.

TheMoala Islandshad closer affiliation withBau IslandandLomaivitithan with Lau, but Ma'afu &Tui Nayau’s conquest united them with the Lau Islands. They have remained administratively a part of theLau Provinceever since.

Culture and economy[edit]

See also:Fiji–Tonga relations § Minerva Reefs and Mara conflicts

Since they lie betweenMelanesianFijiandPolynesianTonga,the Lau Islands are a meeting point of the two cultural spheres. Lauan villages remain very traditional, and the islands' inhabitants are renowned for their wood carving andmasipaintings. Lakeba especially was a traditional meeting place between Tongans and Fijians. The south-east trade winds allowed sailors to travel from Tonga to Fiji, but much harder to return. The Lau Island culture became more Fijian rather than Polynesian beginning around 500 BC.[1]However, Tongan influence can still be found in names, language, food, and architecture. Unlike the square-shaped ends characterizing most houses elsewhere in Fiji, Lauan houses tend to be rounded, following theTonganpractice.

In early July 2014, Tonga's Lands Minister,Lord Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi,revealed a proposal for Tonga to give the disputedMinerva Reefsto Fiji in exchange for the Lau Group.[2]At the time that news of the proposal first broke, it had not yet been discussed with the Lau Provincial Council.[3]Many Lauans have Tongan ancestors and some Tongans have Lauan ancestors; Tonga's Lands Minister is named afterEnele Ma'afu,the Tongan Prince who originally claimed parts of Lau for Tonga.[4]Historically, the Minerva Reefs have been part of the fishing grounds belonging to the people ofOno-i-Lau,an island in the Lau Group.[5]

Just off the island ofVanua Balavuat Lomaloma was the Yanuyanu Island Resort, built to encouragetourismin what has been a less accessible area of Fiji, but the small resort failed almost immediately and has been abandoned since the year 2000. An airstrip is located off Malaka village and a port is also located on Vanua Balavu, atLomaloma.There are guest houses on Vanua Balavu and onLakeba,the other principal island.

The Lau Islands are the centre of the game ofCricketin Fiji. Cricket is the most popular team sport in Lau, unlike the rest of the country whereRugbyandAssociation Footballare preferred. The national team is invariably dominated by Lauan players.

Notable Lauans[edit]

The Lau Islands' most famous son is the lateRatu Sir Kamisese Mara(1920-2004), theTui Lau,Tui Nayau,Sau ni Vanua(hereditary ParamountChiefof the Lau Islands) and thefounding fatherof modern Fiji who wasPrime Ministerfor most of the period between 1967 and 1992, andPresidentfrom 1993 to 2000. Other noted Lauans includeRatu Sir Lala Sukuna(1898-1958), who forged embryonic constitutional institutions for Fiji in the years that preceded independence. Other notable Lauans include:

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Rotuma: Language and History,1999.
  2. ^Gopal, Avinesh (3 July 2014)."'Give up Lau'".Fiji Times.Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2015.Retrieved3 July2014.
  3. ^Gopal, Avinesh (4 July 2014)."Lau 'in the dark'".Fiji Times.Retrieved3 July2014.
  4. ^Staff (3 July 2014)."Lord Ma'afu wants Lau for Minerva Reef".Nuku’alofa:Tonga Daily News. Archived fromthe originalon 7 July 2014.Retrieved3 July2014.
  5. ^"Tonga et Fidji se disputent le Récif de la Minerve",ABC Radio Australia (in French), 9 February 2011 (Archivedfrom the original on 7 July 2011.)

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikivoyage has a travel guide forLau Islands.

17°50′S178°40′E/ 17.833°S 178.667°E/-17.833; 178.667

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