WHEN the descendants of Lutunasobasoba sailed to Vanua Levu in the 1800s, they rested at the tip of an island.
The place is now known as Udu Point.
According to stories passed down the generations, the descendants refused to settle there because people had already occupied the coastal areas of Udu.
Lutunasobasoba is known to be one of the early settlers of Fiji, who, according to history, arrived with his wife, Nai and five children on the canoe Kaunitoni.
Udu district representative Maikeli Sauwaqa said the sailors tied their boats to three trees that grew at the tip of the island.
“Then they rested at that point and our forefathers told us that they admired the coast of Udu and they gave it that name. They tied their boats to three trees which are known as balawaviriki, vadra and namulomulo but two of those trees have died,” he said. “However, only the shoots from the namulomulo tree is still standing at the tip of Udu Point. When the descendants of Lutunasobasoba arrived at the point, they said to themselves, “tou sa udu mada i ke” which means for them to rest at the point.
“Then they named the place Udu Point and that name has stayed until today.”
Mr Sauwaqa said according to stories from their forefathers, the descendants also refused to settle because they did not want to interfere or cause trouble with the early occupants.
“They continued sailing and we believe they went to Namuka because some of the dialects we speak in Udu is similar to the dialects of Namuka,” he said.
“Our forefathers used to tell us when we were kids that the descendants could have travelled from Verata in Tailevu but we’re not so sure.” Mr Sauwaqa said the descendants blessed Udu District saying that it would never be short of seafood at any time. “We are living with that blessing today. We have never run short of seafood and people keep coming to fish in our qoliqoli, including the poachers.
“Udu is very rich and blessed with abundant seafood that we enjoy everyday.
“The rich blessings of their qoliqoli have resulted in fishing activities not being done in rivers and creeks within their forests. We don’t have any time to go into the forest to get prawns from creeks or fish from the river because the supply from the sea is abundant,” Mr Sauwaqa said.
“The rivers and creeks are also filled with big prawns and we are blessed.
“And the areas of Udu from Vunikodi to Qaranivai used to be under the province of Cakaudrove in the past. Only in the colonial era did that change after the Native Lands Commission set new boundaries in Udu.
“Now half of Udu belongs to Macuata while the other half has remained with Cakaudrove Province.”
Despite Udu being a part of two provinces, the dialects in many villages in the area remain the same.
Surrounded by rocky and rugged terrains, the luxurious green vegetation on the mountain range plus the lagoon makes Udu Point one of the beautiful sights in the Northern Division.
They were also told that the first settlers of Udu were huge people, like giants.
Even though there is no historic materials to prove the existence of giant-like people, Mr Sauwaqa said their forefathers often shared stories about big sized chairs and doors of houses in Udu in the olden days.
“They said the eating utensils they used were also big and the doors of houses were wide that three people of today’s average size could fit in,” he said.
