IN 1971, a group of men from the district of Tunuloa in Cakaudrove sailed to Rabi Island to sell yaqona and dalo.
On their way back to the village of Wailevu, strong winds pushed their boat beyond their destination and it capsized.
Left with no choice as the current got stronger and the waves got bigger, the three men swam overnight in search of dry land and ended up on the shores of Saqani Village in Cakaudrove.
Their experience is remembered through a famous iTaukei song sung by Tevita Vakalalabure “Tokalau kei Wainikeli”.
But it’s the chief of Saqani, Taukei Natadra Sairusi Daugunu, who founded the group Vagadrokadroka ni Saqani in the 1970s and composed the song after receiving the men in his village, where he and his people took care of them for three days.
“These men had travelled to Rabi to sell dalo and yaqona and in those days, villagers along Natewa Bay used to go and sell their products in Rabi because of the good price,” he said.
“On their way back home, the strong winds from Wainikeli district in Taveuni, known as the “tokalau kei Wainikeli” pushed them beyond Wailevu Village and their boat capsized.
“That’s how they reached Saqani Village and I wrote their song to remember their brave experience.”
But a lyric of the song he composed has turned out true today.
The lyric “Ratu Karalo Tui Tunuloa lailai, Vasu i Nailou”, described Ratu Karalo as one of the descendants of the Tui Tunuloa clan.
Ratu Karalo, Mr Daugunu said, was one of the three men, who swam and is the only one alive today.
“That time, he was also the Tui Tunuloa lailai because he was not installed then except his older brothers,” he said.
“But today, he is the Tui Tunuloa and I get amazed when I think about how I wrote the song in the 1970s, not realising that he would become the district chief one day.
“After the men got to the village, we looked after them and after three days, we took them back to Wailevu Village and it was an emotional moment for us.”
Mr Daugunu said since that incident, the older men from the district of Tunuloa, who knew about the incident would always thank the chiefly village of Saqani for saving their chief.
Another popular song he composed while being a policeman in the 1960s is “Isa Lei Lia”.
Although little is known about the composer of this song, Mr Daugunu said some lyrics had changed over the years.
“This song where it says that Lia died out at sea, is not a physical meaning, but a metaphor,” he said.
“This song, I wrote about my friend, who was in love with a girl but she had someone else in her life and so the song describes her drowning at sea as being drowned in the sea of love.
“Lia didn’t die out at sea, but her love for my friend drowned after she met another man and I can’t say much about my friend.”
The song lyric “Na nomu leqa koso mai wai, Ko sega ni lamata rawa mai, Vuni nomu leqa Adi Lia, Oi lei Lia” is what Mr Daugunu composed metaphorically comparing it with the sea of love which drowned Lia after she didn’t take much notice of his friend.
Composing songs locally, Mr Daugunu said had also changed over the years.
“It’s good to compose love songs in the iTaukei language, but would be even better if it was real events,” he said.
“When we sing about real events, the future generation will remember the events and it’s another way of passing down information to our younger generation.
“Songs are very powerful and I believe we should use it as a platform to transfer information to our younger generation.”
Mr Daugunu, who is a former policeman, left the force in the 1970s because he wanted to return to the village to make use of his land.
“When I got here to the village, I saw that a lot of youths wanted to go to Suva so I started the group of “Vagadrokadroka ni Saqani” to stop them from travelling to Suva,” he said.
“I told them that Suva certainly have bright lights, but those lights came with a costly package and I started the group to keep them occupied.
“No one went to Suva and we are still here in the village with our own farms and earning good money.”
ISA LEI LIA SONG
Isa lei lia
Isa sobo lei Lia
Au na soko wasa yani vei iko isa lei Lia
Au vaqara noqu matani civa
Mo noqui sakisaki e veisiga
Sevataki wale Adi Lia
Oilei Lia
Isa lei Lia
Isa sobo lei Lia
Au na soko wasa yani
Vei iko isa lei Lia
Na nomu leqa koso mai wai
Ko sega ni lamata rawa mai
Vuni nomu leqa Adi Lia
Oi lei Lia
Isa lei Lia
Isa sobo lei Lia
Au na soko wasa yani
Vei iko isa lei Lia
Au na soko wasa yani
Vei iko isa lei Lia
