The Gone Marama Bale na Roko Tui Dreketi, Ro Teimumu Kepa, led the first chiefly delegation to visit the Tui Nayau on Lakeba yesterday, bearing traditional gifts and the goodwill of the vanua o Rewa.
The delegation marked a deeply symbolic moment in the installation of Ratu Tevita Lutunauga Kapaiwai Uluilakeba Mara as Turaga na Tui Nayau and Tui Lau.
Ro Teimumu’s presence underscored the ancestral ties between Lau and Rewa.
The Tui Nayau Ratu Tevita is a vasu levu (maternal kin) of Lomanikoro, Rewa, through his late mother, Adi Lady Lala Mara, who was Ro Teimumu’s elder sister.
During the formal presentation, Ro Teimumu delivered the vakamamaca on behalf of the Valelevu clan of Lomanikoro, reaffirming the bond between the two provinces.
She also presented a specially crafted gift named Tukaqu o Tavola, described by those present as a heartfelt gesture of kinship and chiefly respect.
Members of the Rewa delegation had earlier decided that while some would travel to Lakeba, others would remain in the province to prepare for Ratu Tevita’s first official visit to Lomanikoro, expected to take place later this month.
Witnesses said that prior to the formal exchange of chiefly words in Tubou, both the Tui Nayau and the Roko Tui Dreketi oversaw ceremonial seating arrangements, as required by protocol, before the delegation was formally received.
The exchange reaffirmed the historical and blood ties between the confederacies of Lau and Rewa.
