Tui Cakau
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TheTui Cakauis the Paramount Chief ofCakaudrove ProvinceinFiji.
Recent history[edit]
The currentTui CakauisRatu Naiqama Lalabalavu;he was installed on 8 May 2001 in succession to his father,Ratu Glanville Lalabalavu,who died in 1999. In April 2002, the courts dismissed a challenge from a rival claimant,Ratu Epeli Ganilau.
Perhaps the best-knownTui Cakauin modern times wasRatu Sir Penaia Ganilau,who held the title from 1988 to 1993. He was Fiji's lastGovernor-Generaland firstPresident.The presentTui Cakau,Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu, led apolitical party,theConservative Alliance(CAMV) and was aMinisterin the government ofPrime MinisterLaisenia Qarasefrom 2000 to 2005, when he was convicted of involvement in thecoup d'étatthat deposed the elected government in 2000. On 3 April he became the first-ever Cabinet Minister to be imprisoned while in office, and resigned from the Cabinet four days later. He was released on 14 April, to serve the remainder of his eight-month sentence extramurally. He is the highest-rankedchiefin modern times to have been imprisoned.
Following his release, Lalabalavu was reinstated as a Cabinet Minister. The CAMV merged with Prime Minister Qarase'sSoqosoqo Duavata ni Lewenivanua(SDL) ahead of the2006 elections,and Lalabalavu remained in both Parliament and the Cabinet until amilitary coupdeposed the government on 5 December 2006. He returned to Parliament at the2014 electionsas a candidate of theSocial Democratic Liberal Party(SDLP), the successor to the SDL.
A brief history[edit]
TheTui Cakauruled what was effectively an independent state until 1865, when Cakaudrove joined theConfederacy of Independent Kingdoms of Vitiunder the chairmanship ofSeru Epenisa Cakobau,theVunivalu of Bau.This lasted only until 1867, when the Confederacy was split into two units, theKingdom of Bau(ruled by Cakobau) and theConfederation of Lau(consisting of the present-day provinces of Cakaudrove,Bua,andLau). The thenTui Cakau,Ratu Goleanavanua,became the firstCaptain Supremeof the Confederation of Lau; he was succeeded two years later byEnele Ma'afu,Tui Lau, who reigned until the Confederation of Lau joined the unitedKingdom of Vitiin 1871.
Title holders[edit]
| Order | Tui Cakau | Reigned | Lived |
| 1. | Rokevu | unknown | |
| 2. | Ratu Ratavo | unknown | |
| 3. | Ratu Vakamino | unknown | |
| 4. | Ratu Naiqama | ?- c.1829 | ?- c.1829 |
| 4. | Ratu Yavala | c.1829 - 1845 | ?- 1845 (Buli mai Vuna) |
| 5. | Ratu Ralulu | 1845 | ?- 1845 |
| 6. | Ratu Tuikiakila | 1845 - 1854 | ?- 1854 |
| 7. | Ratu Raivalita | 1854 - 1862 | ?- 1862 |
| 8. | Ratu Goleanavanua | 1862 - 1879 | ?- 1879 |
| 9. | Ratu Josefa Lalabalavu | 1879 - 1905 | 1860 - 1905 |
| 10. | Ratu Joni Antonio Rabici | 1905 - 1925 | ?- 1925 |
| 11. | Ratu Glanville Wellington Lalabalavu | 1925 - 1946 | ?- 1946 |
| 12. | Ratu Josefa Ratavo Lalabalavu | ?-? | |
| 13. | Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau | 1988 - 1993 | 28 July 1918 - 15 December 1993 |
| 14. | Ratu Glanville Lalabalavu | 1993 - 1999 | 1929 - 29 October 1999 |
| 15. | Ratu Naiqama Lalabalavu | 8 May 2001 – present | ... |
References[edit]
- Fiji.- Page 215, by Korina Miller, Robyn Jones, Leonardo Pinheiro - Published by Lonely Planet, 2003.reference to The Tui Cakau.
- Apologies To Thucydides:Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa - Page 283, by Marshall David Sahlins, Published by University of Chicago Press.reference to The Tui Cakau.
- Tradition Versus Democracy in the South Pacific:Fiji, Tonga and Western Samoa By Stephanie Lawson - Page 55, Published by Cambridge University Press.