Almost 22 years ago on July 24 Fiji was struck by one of its biggest national tragedies. At 5.25am, the domestic flight PC 121 left Nausori for Nadi. It never made it to its destination.
The Bandeirante plane crashed in the montane terrain of Mataicicia, Delailasakau in the highland of Naitasiri, killing all 17 people on board.
The tragedy would put Delailasakau on the world map and at an indelible place in the minds of grieving family members.
But more than a century before Fiji‘s deadliest air crash, the people of Delailasakau had already made a name for themselves.
In Discovering Fiji last week, we learned about the identity of the deity named Rakavono and how he discovered the island of Ovalau and established his home, Lovoni, in the heart of the island.
This week’s story is adapted from an article that was first published in the Nai Lalakai on February 10, 2010. At the time, the story had never once graced the pages of any newspaper.
This paper was willing to share it with the world because in it lay historical anecdotes about Fiji’s past, passed down the generation from native Fijian ancestors. Delailasakau is nestled within the deep jungles of the Naitasiri/Namosi border.
The people of Delailasakau, perhaps due to their prowess in jungle warfare, were traditionally approached, recruited and drafted into Ratu Seru Cakobau’s army. This gave him the confidence to wage war against the great warriors of Lovoni — Rakavono.
Rakavono the deity and Rakavono the warrior were two separate beings but shared the same name, the same territory and perhaps the same bold character.
In June 1870s, John Bates Thurston, the British honorary consul in Fiji, inspired a “marriage of convenience” between Ratu Cakobau and the early settlers.
As a result, Fijian chiefs were forced to accept a constitutional monarchy. According to the arrangement, Ratu Cakobau was to be made king.
However, the real power rested in the hands of a cabinet made up of Europeans and a few Fijians, and a Legislative Assembly.
According to the records of the colonial government archivist, A.I. Diamond, European influence resulted in a marked increase in native warfare.
With the support of settlers and their guns, towards the mid-19th century, power and influence in Fiji were beginning to anchor on a few chiefdoms.
Prominent among them were the vanua of Bau, Rewa, Somosomo, Verata and Lakeba. Of these, Bau was undoubtedly the most influential.
Lovoni and Bau shared traditional ties. They fought a few wars together. While Ratu Cakobau was trying to emerge powerful, resulting in his establishing a government known as the Kingdom of Viti, he encountered fierce opposition.
His opponents were not only the traders who had settled in Levuka and had doubts about having a native leader. There were Fijian objectors too, but no group was like the formidable warriors from Lovoni.
Records show they were brutal and blood-thirsty. They rejected Ratu Cakobau’s regime and despised his allegiance with the settlers.
Although Lovoni and Bau shared traditional ties and had fought a few wars together, they slowly became bitter enemies. As settlers started to own more property on Ovalau, the tribesmen from Lovoni grew agitated.
They murdered settlers and local villagers who sided with Ratu Cakobau and burned down their property to show their rebellion.
Although the Lovoni warriors were small when compared to Bauan forces and other chiefdoms, they represented the single most deadly warrior unit to Ratu Cakobau. They were a constant impediment to his ambition to rule.
For centuries, since the days of Rakavono I, the people of Lovoni had successfully built themselves a mountain fortress on one of Ovalau’s highest mountain peaks, known as Korolevu. The war fort made them unconquerable in battle.
The people of Lovoni believe they were only defeated through trickery. In Ratu Cakobau’s there were many tussles with Lovoni.
He would sought the assistance of chiefs he was traditionally aligned with. Those who joined Ratu Cakobau’s crusade against Lovoni included warriors of Naqarawai in Namosi and Delailasakau in Naitasiri.
In 2010, this newspaper visited a few places that had participated in those wars aimed at flushing Lovoni warriors out of their impenetrable fort at Korolevu. One of them was Delailasakau. A team from this paper visited its chief, Tui Naitavuni, Ratu Lino Roseru.
He was 66. Ratu Lino led over 11 clans that were part of Naqara and Nadoudou, which today consists of family units that reside somewhere along the point where the river Waidina meets Wainavadu.
Ratu Lino was a direct descendant of a proud warrior named Ratu Tevita Vesidrokadroka, the man believed to have defeated Rakavono.
Ratu Tevita’s triumph inspired a song that was recorded at Broadcasting House in 1972 and sung by the group Seni Qumu ni Naqarawai. The song serenades about Ratu Tevita and his fi nal encounter with Rakavono on Ovalau.
Before the war, Ratu Cakobau sent a message to Delailasakau asking its warriors to support him in battle against Rakavono. After receiving Ratu Cakobau’s call, Ratu Tevita slaughtered a pig and feasted on its flesh with his men who had volunteered to travel to Ovalau.
“As you would know, in those days it was a great honour to be requested to fight alongside an army of allies especially if they were connected through traditional ties,” Ratu Lino said.
A special whales tooth was presented to the Turaga na Qaranivalu at Navuso and the Tui Waimaro before Ratu Tevita left Delailasakau with his best warriors.
As a token of obedience and respect, another tabua was presented by Delailasakau to Waimaro and then Navuso, announcing Ratu Tevita acceptance and readiness for battle.
The song by Seni Qumu ni Nakarawai talks about how Ratu Cakobau’s army left Bau for Ovalau in the still of the night.
Ratu Lino said it was Ratu Tevita Roseru who actually killed Rakavono, but it was Ratu Cakobau who was acknowledged in historical documents as the head of the Bauan army. Rakavono was attacked early one morning while responding to a challenge that came from outside his bure.
Rakavono’s death is immortalised in the song’s lyrics “ veisau cala na nona vakasama, nisa qiqica kina qele na ligana, yanuyanu vakaturaga e marau, ko Lovoni au vakama koi au”.
Ratu Lino showed this newspaper a throwing club or i ula that was one of the weapons used by Ratu Tevita in the war against Lovoni. “This ula belonged to Ratu Tevita. It was used to finally put Rakavono to death. You can still see Rakavono’s tooth stuck in the weapon,” Ratu Lino said.
“The ula has been passed down from Ratu Tevita right down to my dad, Ratu Imanueli and then finally to me.” The Delailasakau people believe the tabua ni volo, displayed at the Fiji Museum, was the same tabua used to request Ratu Tevita’s participation in Bau’s onslaught against Lovoni.
Another important tool used in Rakavono’s defeat was the sau mocemoce ni walu which was used to disorient Lovoni warriors.
Rakavono, being a mighty warrior, made the battle against Lovoni something the people of Delailasakau would cherish for a very long time.
(This story was translated and adapted from an article titled “O Rakavono kei na vanua o Delailasakau” published in the Nai Lalakai on Wednesday, February 12, 2010)
* History being the subject it is, a group’s version of events may not be the same as that held by another group. When publishing one account, it is not our intention to cause division or to disrespect other oral traditions. Those with a different version can contact us so we can publish your account of history too — Editor.
