Ratu ''Ratu'' () is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, ''adi'' (pronounced ), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the Malay language, the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional honorific title to re ...

Tanoa Visawaqa (pronounced ) (died on 8 December 1852) was a Fijian Chieftain who held the title 5th Vunivalu of Bau. With

Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Names and titles * Adi (mythology), an Asura in Hindu faith who appears in the Matsya Purāṇa * Adi (name), a given name in Hebrew and a nickname in other languages * Adi (title), a Fijian title used by females of chi ...

Savusavu, one of his nine wives, he was the father of Ratu

Seru Epenisa Cakobau Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'' or phonetically ''Thakombau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian Ratu and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishi ...

, who succeeded in unifying Fiji with the help from British missionaries and the crown into forming the contemporary Fiji today.

Installation

The son of

Banuve Baleivavalagi, 3rd

Vunivalu of Bau Turaga na Vunivalu na Tui Kaba is the Paramount Chief of the Kubuna Confederacy, loosely translated the title means ''Warlord of Bau'' or Root of War. The succession to the title does not follow primogeniture, but the candidate must be a high-r ...

and his second wife, Roko Lewasaki. He was the father of the first acclaimed Tui Viti, Ratu

, Ratu Tanoa was installed as Vunivalu upon the death of his elder brother Ratu Naulivou Ramatenikutu, who was involved in a fierce power struggle against the Roko Tui Bau, Ratu Raiwalui, which led to his death. The idea of a Tui Viti was conceived by the British in their effort to solidify the collateral for the payment of a debt in the burning of a US privateer at Nukulau during the reign of his son Seru.

The Wars of Bau

The island of Bau was burned three times, before its occupancy by Nailatikau. As the animosity intensified, Ratu Tanoa was forced into exile, firstly on

Koro Island Koro (village in Fijian) is a volcanic island of Fiji that forms part of the Lomaiviti Archipelago. The Koro Sea is named after this volcanic island, which has a chain of basaltic cinder cones extending from north to south along its crest. W ...

and then in

Somosomo Somosomo () is a chiefly village in Taveuni, which is the island where the International Date Line crosses on land in Fiji. This island is part of the Cakaudrove Province and the holders of the title of '' Tui Cakau'', the Paramount Chief of the ...

on Taveuni, where he remained until his son, Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau led a his families tradition of coup in 1837, reinstalling his father as Vunivalu until his death in 1852, whereupon Cakobau inherited the title. He had 9 wives (6 of whom were strangled to death in December 1852);Genealogy
/ref> amongst his issue were Ratu Tubuanakoro and Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau.

The Burner of Boats

It was before his exile that Tanoa was named Tanoa "Visawaqa" for his bloody campaign and slaying of the Roko Tui Bau, Ratu Raiwalui, he set fire to the War Canoes of the warriors of the Roko Tui Bau, and was thereafter called Tanoa — "Burner of boats", or figuratively, "excessive killer" — even though Ratu Naulivou sent his brother Tanoa on the mission to punish the Roko Tui Bau and his followers he did not expect the bloodbath that would follow, and Tanoa's actions greatly worried his brother.

References

* The Majesty of Colour: A Life of Sir John Bates Thurston - Page 44, by Scarr, Deryck - 1980, ''reference to Tanoa Visawaqa, his exile and restoration by his son seru.''
Apologies To Thucydides
Understanding History as Culture and Vice Versa - Page 249, by Marshall David Sahlins, ''reference to Tanoa and how his name came about''. * Fiji Handbook of the Colony: Special Wartime Issue - Page 77, by Leonard G Usher - 1943, Original from the University of Michigan. ''numerous references to Ratu Tanoa along with various details of his life and conquests''

External links

* Museum of Victoria with picture of and reference t
Ratu Tanoa Visawaqa
Fijian chiefs Vunivalu of Bau 1777 births 1852 deaths Tui Kaba Monarchy in Fiji People from Bau (island) 1820s in Fiji 1830s in Fiji 19th-century Oceanian people {{fiji-bio-stub