Last week, we explored Ma’afu’s reign as Fiji’s first Tui Lau, his complex relationship with Ratu Seru Cakobau, Vunivalu of Bau, and his governance underpinned by support for Methodist missionaries. Today, we delve into his formative, turbulent years in Fiji, which was a time of political manoeuvring, fragile alliances, and the laying of foundations for his future power. Arrival in a fractured realm when Enele Ma’afu, Tongan prince and nephew of King Tupou, stepped onto Lakeba in 1847, he entered a Fiji in flux. Lakeba, though independent, was overshadowed by powerful matanitu like Bau, Cakaudrove, and Rewa. Its paramount chief, the Tui Nayau, Taliai Tupou, described unflatteringly by visiting US naval officers as a “corpulent nasty looking fellow” and “cruel tyrant,” ruled a population unsettled by resident Tongans and the slow, disruptive spread of Christianity. The Tui Nayau himself, for political reasons, stubbornly resisted conversion. Missionary Richard Lyth noted the chief felt “but a small king and (looked) this way and that for help.” Ma’afu, initially hosted by his kinsman, the Tui Nayau, found himself amidst this uncertainty. Oral traditions later claimed he quickly became the Tui Nayau’s “liga kaukauwa” (strong arm) or even regent due to the chief’s age and illness, though documented evidence for his early activities is scarce. What is clear is that the older generation of influential Tongans on Lakeba, like Lualala (a great-uncle of Ma’afu’s wife, Elenoa), was fading and a power vacuum was emerging within the Tongan community.
The Cakaudrove gambit
For nearly two years after arrival, Ma’afu vanished from missionary records. He reappeared significantly in mid 1849, departing Lakeba with the Tui Cakau, Tuikilakila, the powerful and notoriously anti-Christian chief of Cakaudrove, whose domains included Vanuabalavu, Taveuni, and parts of Vanua Levu. This marked the beginning of an 18-month “exile” in Cakaudrove, a period crucial to Ma’afu’s future. During a voyage together, Tuikilakila granted Ma’afu levying rights to Vanuabalavu and several other islands. This grant, controversial and contested for years (only finally confirmed by British Consul Henry Jones in 1865), became the bedrock of Ma’afu’s territorial claims. Living under Tuikilakila’s protection, Ma’afu was seemingly content to join the chief in his persecution of Christians, even participating in acts that horrified missionaries like James Watsford, who reported Ma’afu and Tuikilakila had “sadly insulted our cause,” even evicting Christians from their homes to occupy them. This alliance with a powerful, anti-missionary Fijian chief stands in stark contrast to Ma’afu’s later image as a champion of the lotu. Tui Nayau’s calculated conversion While Ma’afu was in Cakaudrove, crisis loomed over Lakeba. Ratu Mara, a Bauan chief resentful of Tongan influence and his thwarted vasu rights (privileges through maternal lineage), urged Cakobau to attack Lakeba. In October 1849, learning Mara was en route with a force of 300 warriors, the Tui Nayau made a sudden, decisive move, he publicly converted to Christianity. Missionaries Malvern and Lyth saw differing motives, Malvern saw pure political expediency triggered by Mara’s threat, whereas Lyth saw spiritual conviction. The Tui Nayau’s conversion was a masterstroke. It secured the immediate, vital alliance of the influential Tongan chiefs Lausi’i and Tu’ipelehake on Lakeba. When Mara arrived, expecting an easy victory, he found the beach lined with armed Fijians and Tongans. Only he and his henchman were allowed ashore. Outmanoeuvred, humiliated, and with his warriors starving in their canoes offshore, Mara departed “ashamed and chagrined” days later, after receiving a peace offering of yams from the missionaries.
Offering Lau to Tonga
Flush with this success but deeply insecure, the Tui Nayau, with missionary Richard Lyth likely shaping the words, penned a desperate letter to King Tupou in Tonga. He painted a picture of Lakeba as a persecuted Christian outpost surrounded by heathen enemies (Bau and Cakaudrove) who wanted “all Tongans to return to Tonga so that the land will be vacant for them to use.” His plea was stark: “If you love us, send some people by canoe to … help us, if not our land will be destroyed… My wish is for the land to be shared equally to you and me to ensure the end of sadness… If you want more Tongans to come to Lakeba, yes you can send them as soon as possible…” This letter, effectively offering Lakeba as a shared domain with Tonga, laid southern Lau firmly “at the feet of Tonga.” Tupou, recently rebuffed by Britain in his request for protectorate status, now had an open invitation to intervene. While he initially ordered Tongans home, the deeply entrenched community largely ignored him. The die was cast for increased Tongan influence. Return to Lakeba and rising leadershipMa’afu returned to Lakeba in December 1850, stepping ashore from the Tabilai, a canoe built for him at Somosomo. He found a changed island with Christianity dominant, the Tui Nayau converted, and the Tongan community more entrenched but lacking clear leadership. Ma’afu, though still only in his mid-20s, quickly stepped into the void. Missionary records, silent on his first stay, now tracked his movements. He investigated attacks on missionaries, voyaged to Moala to confront threats from Mara, and began to be acknowledged, particularly by Lyth (despite growing distrust), as a leader of “his people” – the Lakeba Tongans. In December 1851, Lyth explicitly set before Ma’afu “his responsibility to put evil away from his people.”
Spiritual struggles
Ma’afu’s relationship with the Methodist missionaries and the lotu was complex and inconsistent. A baptised Christian, he spent 18 months allied with the persecutor Tuikilakila. Back on Lakeba, he initially showed signs of spiritual renewal. Lyth noted in early 1852 an “astonishing and pleasing change”, where Ma’afu reproved his people, read his Bible constantly, preached order, and even sought church membership. Lyth declared him “steady… and in a hopeful way.” This reformation proved fleeting. Within weeks, an “outbreak of temper” saw him nearly club a young man, and he discovered his wife Elenoa’s infidelity with Semesi Banuvi — a Tongan nobleman on Lakeba. Lyth lamented, “O these abominable Tonguese,” and concluded starkly that “Ma’afu has quite turned back to the world… and the reformation is exploded.” This episode highlights the tension between Ma’afu’s chiefly ambitions and the missionaries’ expectations of Christian conduct.
Foundations of future power
By 1852, despite setbacks and ongoing threats from Mara and Cakaudrove, the foundations of Ma’afu’s power were visible. Firstly, was his territorial claim, in the form of a grant over Vanuabalavu, though contested, was a crucial asset. Secondly his hold on Tongan leadership where he was recognised by the Tui Nayau, the missionaries, and crucially, the Tongan community, as their leader. Third was his intricate network of influence, his frequent voyages connected him across southern Lau, Moala, Bau, Cakaudrove, and Viti Levu. Lastly and most crucial of all was his political acumen with which he navigated alliances with powerful but dangerous figures like Tuikilakila and dealt pragmatically with threats like Mara. The final unification of Tonga under Tupou in 1852, ending the last resistance at Pea, coincided with the end of this formative phase for Ma’afu. As Lyth speculated, a newly secure King Tupou might now turn his attention to reforming the Tongans in Fiji. Ma’afu, the prince who arrived seeking refuge or opportunity, was now poised, with his network, his people, and his claim, to step onto a larger stage. The stage was set for the valu ni lotu or the war for Christianity, where Ma’afu’s power would be tested and dramatically enhanced.
- This article was compiled using historical insights from John Spurway’s book titled Ma`afu, prince of Tonga, chief of Fiji: The life and times of Fiji’s first Tui Lau.
