This week I turned 68. Eight peaceful years have flowed since I formally stepped off the global stage of the United Nations, concluding a demanding yet enlightening 29-year voyage.
Retirement is no longer a new shore; it’s familiar, fertile ground where the seeds of a lifetime are tenderly cultivated.
Chiefly lineage is my birthright — vuvale (family) and vanua (land, people and tradition) were always my foundation, the air I breathed.
Yet, for decades, my service flowed outwards.
The UN became my arena: carrying Fiji’s voice across continents, navigating the complex currents of international diplomacy, striving for peace and development on a vast scale.
It gifted me a perspective few Fijians gain – seeing our islands from the distant vantage of the global stage, understanding our struggles reflected in a thousand other shores.
It honed patience, the art of building bridges across chasms, and forged a deep sense of shared humanity.
Yet, through every negotiation, from New York to Mogadishu, the rhythm of the lali, the scent of the earth after rain, the enduring weight of the Vanua, remained my true north, the anchor for my wandering soul.
Retirement brought me home, fully. Relentless energy softened into deeper, more deliberate engagement. Guiding Rewa Provincial Holdings shifted focus: less distant strategy, more nurturing roots – fostering prosperity grounded directly in our province’s soil and spirit.
My circle distilled into friendships like clear water – deep, sustaining, refreshingly free of turbulence, radiating the essential “positive vibes” of this chapter. Family, the unwavering cornerstone, became the profound bedrock of my being.
Then came 2023 and a profound convergence. With the reinstatement of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga (BLV) – silenced for seventeen long years – came the call to serve. This wasn’t joining a long-continuous tradition as a seasoned elder. It was stepping into a reawakened BLV, a newbie bearing the unique weight of chiefly birth, amidst a legacy interrupted and now restored.
It is deeply humbling.
The wisdom resonating once more under that sacred roof isn’t theoretical; it’s the living language of my ancestors, the very essence of the vanua that formed me. Sitting among custodians whose profound connection to tradition endured the silence, I am acutely aware of being both a descendant and a novice.
My three decades navigating global currents weren’t preparation for the BLV in the traditional sense – how could they be, when its voice was stilled? Instead, they gifted me a distinct lens: an understanding of how global forces buffet our shores, how universal aspirations resonate within iTaukei values, and how enduring traditions must engage relentless change.
My UN-honed skills – listening deeply across divides, seeking common ground in complexity, understanding intricate systems – now find renewed and urgent purpose within the reconvened BLV. I bring not just chiefly blood, but the perspective of a world witnessed, back to the very heart of the vanua as it reclaims its vital voice.
So, 68 feels like a beautiful confluence. The outbound tide of global service has long ebbed.
The anchoring love of family and true friends holds firm. The stewardship of Rewa’s future continues. And now, the circle completes: the chiefly son, the global citizen, returns not just physically, but formally to the source, bringing the breadth of the world to the depth of tradition.
I sit in the BLV not as an expert, but as a committed student, eager to listen, learn, and contribute the unique perspective forged across oceans and decades.
My reading reflects this integration — less urgent policy, more philosophy and history resonating with the enduring truths witnessed in both the vanua and the wider human story.
The curiosity persists, focused inward and homeward, seeking deeper understanding of this land, its people, and my place within its enduring legacy.
Turning 68 wasn’t just a birthday enjoyed with family; it was a celebration of this rich tapestry: the global journey concluded, retirement embraced, family cherished, friendships distilled, and now, the profound honour and responsibility of contributing to the renewed journey of the BLV.
The formal duties of the UN are past, but the service continues – quieter, closer to home, rooted in the deepest soil of my being. It is coming full circle, ready to listen, learn, and serve the vanua with whatever wisdom these 68 years have gathered.
May this reflection bring continued grace, deepening understanding, and the quiet joy of purpose found where all paths meet.
n RO NAULU MATAITINI is a member of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga. He is a chief of Rewa Province whose paramount chief is the Marama Bale Na Roko Tui Dreketi, Ro Teimumu Kepa. The views expressed herein are his and not of this newspaper.
Members of the Great Council of Chiefs (GCC) or Bose Levu Vakaturaga deliberate during a two-day meeting held recently at the BLV Complex in Draiba, Suva. The author says he sits in the BLV not as an expert, but as a committed student, eager to listen, learn, and contribute the unique perspective forged across oceans and decades.
Picture: Fiji Government
Bose Levu Vakaturaga member, Ro Naulu Mataitini, says a few words in church after he was traditionally installed the Vunivalu of Nukunitabua at Lomanikoro, Rewa in 2023. Picture: ELIKI NUKUTABU
