Lovoni

Lovoni Village, Ovalau, Fiji

TheTikina of Lovoniis made up of theFijianvillages of Lovoni, Nasaumatua, Vuni-ivi-savu,Visoto,Nukutocia and Nacobo. The latter threevillagesare located on the coast ofOvalau.The paramount Chief of the Tikina of Lovoni which includes six villages is the Tui Wailevu the Vunivalu. The Lovoni Village Road is used by the inhabitants to access the nearby town ofLevuka.

Pacific boascan be found near the villages and are considered as delicacies.

History

Variousmythsand legends attribute the Lovoni people to different origins. It is believed that they were the firstsettlersof theislandhavingmigratedfrom mainland Vitilevu to settleOvalau.Popular beliefs link them to the High Chiefdom of Verata and inevitably to the Nakauvadra epic. The founding ancestor of the Lovoni is popularly referred to as Rakavono, nephew to the mythical founder of the Bureta people, Bui Savulu, daughter of Lutunasobasoba.

At the time ofEuropeancontact, written sources refer to this group of people as the predominant rulers of Ovalau. They were responsible for torching the settlement ofLevuka,at least twice, causing a dispersal of its early European settlers toSavusavu.They were an independentFijianKingdom with kinship ties to the Roko Tui Bau, the people of Verata, Wainibuka andNaitasiri.Their allies within theLomaivitigroup lay with the Tora ni Bau ofBatiki.They also had strong ties with the people ofBuaandCakaudrove.To the east, they had extensive ties and allies with the Yasayasa Moala andOno-i-Lau.Their ties to the west of Fiji were direct kinship ties with the noblehouse of theTui Nadi.

The Lovoni people, being anindependent kingdomwith several strategic tributaries, ensured their role asmercenaries of warin the central Fijian province ofLomaiviti,which at the time of European contact, was undergoing a major power struggle between the Noble Houses of Verata and their ally and kin the House of the Roko Tui Bau and the rising power of theVunivalu of Bau.This period also saw the growing power of theTongansinflux to the east of Fiji, the rise ofRewaand its tributaries and the presence of the Europeans and their efficientfirearms.The Lovoni people found themselves in the center of this major conflict and power struggle and often played the determining role of supporting whichever side suited them best, based on kinship ties. Their unfailing support of the ailing and declining house of the Roko Tui Bau and his descendants would mark the fate of this fiercely independent and proud people.