By 'Alakihihifo Vailala, PMN
Tonga's King Tupou VI and Queen Nanasipau’u at their coronation in 2015. Photo: Supplied / PMN
The King and Queen of Tonga are visiting Fiji to attend the installation ceremony of the chiefly titles of Sau Ni Vanua Ko Lau, Tui Nayau, and Tui Lau.
The installation ceremony will be held on Lakeba Island, and the royal couple has been invited by Lauan chief Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara, who has Tongan noble ancestry.
Ratu Tevita, who is also the head of Mataqali Vuanirewa, Tubou Village, will be installed as the new Sau Ni Vanua Ko Lau, Tui Nayau, and Tui Lau next week.
He is the son of Fiji's first Prime Minister, the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, and Burebasaga paramount chief, the late Ro Adi Lady Lala Mara.
Next week's ceremony comes 56 years after Ratu Tevita's father was last installed as the paramount chief of Lau.
Ratu Tevita's maternal great-grandmother was the daughter of Lord Veikune, a prominent Tongan noble.
The late Queen Halaevalu Mata'aho, mother of the current Tongan monarch King Tupou VI, was also a granddaughter of Lord Veikune.
Lord Veikune's wife, Lady Vaohoi Veikune, was the great-granddaughter of Ma'afu, the first Tui Lau, who was renowned for bridging the Tongan and Fijian chiefly lineages.
Frederica Lupe'uluiva Tuita, a member of the Tongan royal family, told PMN News that this royal gathering is steeped in ancestral connections, particularly between Tonga and Fiji's chiefly families, particularly the connections through the clan known as 'Ha'a Fale Fisi'.
The clan descends from a Tongan chieftess and a chief from the island of Lakeba.
Tuita is a niece of King Tupou VI - daughter of the monarch's sister, Princess Royal Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita and Lord Siosa'ia Ma'ulupekotofa Tuita.
"Relationships between the Tongan royal families and Fijian aristocracy stretch back hundreds of years," she says.
"This is embodied in a group or clan of hereditary Lords called 'Ha'a Fale Fisi' or 'House of Fiji'.
"They are descendants of Tapu'osi (a chief of Waciwaci Village in Lakeba) and Sinaitakala Lotunofo (eldest daughter of the Tu'i Tonga).
"Sinaitakala was a Tu'i Tonga Fefine and was sacred."
From left, the Late Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata'aho, Frederica Tuita, and Princess Salote Mafile'o Pilolevu Tuita. Photo: Facebook / Frederica Tuita
According to legend, the eldest daughter of the Tu'i Tonga met Tapu'osi by chance on Lakeba Island during a brief stopover.
Lau is an island group in eastern Fiji, with its main island, Lakeba, located about 300 kilometres east of Suva by air. By sea, the journey can take around 10 to 15 hours, depending on the vessel and weather conditions.
Tuita emphasises the importance of understanding family history for Pacific identity, noting the significance of family gatherings and obligations in nurturing these relationships.
Lauan chief Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba Mara. Photo: Supplied / PMN
"Most Tongans value their blood ties as they appreciate that without knowing your family history, one's future can be light and ordinary," she says.
"We travel( when affordable) to funerals, weddings, family reunions, as it's an obligation and a privilege to nurture and cultivate our family, and we have a sense of belonging."
The week-long celebrations for Ratu Tevita's installation will take place from 7 to 13 July.
-This article was first published by PMN.
