A special tribute was paid to Dr Manoa Masi, the founder of the Kadavu Choir, when hundreds of people from the vanua of Nacolase (Kadavu) gathered for a celebration at the Girmit Centre in Lautoka on October 14, 1989.
The gathering to celebrate the choir’s 10th anniversary attracted members of the Kadavu national choir based in Nadi, Ba, Lautoka and Suva.
Dr Masi, a Suva-based dentist and a captain in the Fiji Military Forces’ medical corp, founded the choir on May 28, 1979.
He and leading choir members Apakuki Coka and Etuate Kautoga have composed many hymns and sere ni vanua or pop numbers.
The Kadavu Choir has won the coveted Methodist Church annual conference choir competition several times.
On the night of the celebrations, the choir sang Na malawa ni mataka, which took out top honours in that year’s conference.
Choir members were not restricted to the Kadavu province.
Most of the founding members were from other provinces who joined Dr Masi’s sessions because of his skills in moulding top vocalists.
The program also featured renowned Apakuki Mate, who in the 1960s and early 1970 received world acclaim for his contribution to music in the region. Spokesperson Mr Coka said since 1979, the choir under Dr Masi’s leadership, had not deviated from its original aims.
The monthly Kadavu church gathering in Suva was still based on the wish of the people of Kadavu living in Suva and nearby areas to unite their people in song, and worship.
At the event, Dr Masi received a momento for his contribution to the choir from Bulou Amalaini Nanovo, a member of the chiefly clan of Nacolase.
Dr Masi was later joined by Adi Lady Tavaiqia and Bulou Mereseini Lewamoqe Nagatalevu in the cake-cutting ceremony.
The cake, which depicted the island of Kadavu, was baked, and iced by Travelodge for the Lautoka celebration.
Dr Masi received a plaque, with the island of Kadavu carved from the hardwood vesi.