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 r ...

'' Epeli Nailatikau I (c. 1842 – 1901) was a

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

an Paramount Chief, who was posthumously made the ''Vunivalu'' of Bau.

Biography

He was the eldest son of the first ''

Tui Viti Tui or TUI may refer to: Places * Tui, Pontevedra, Spain * Tui, Iran, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Tui, North Khorasan, North Khorasan Province, Iran * Tui Province, Burkina Faso * Tui railway station, New Zealand Computing * Tangible use ...

'', ''Ratu''

Seru Epenisa Cakobau ''Ratu'' Seru Epenisa Cakobau (; occasionally spelled ''Cacobau'') (c.1815 – 1 February 1883) was a Fijian chief, monarch, and warlord ('' Vunivalu'') who united part of Fiji's warring tribes, establishing a Fijian kingdom. He served as i ...

and his first wife, ''

Adi Adi or ADI may refer to: Abbreviations * Acceptable daily intake, in health and medicine * Acting detective inspector, a type of police inspector * Africa Development Indicators, a compilation of data assembled by the World Bank * Alternating ...

'' Litia Samanunu, daughter of the '' Roko Tui Bau''. He acted as his father's right-hand man in the Bauan struggles for power, and was subsequently made a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of many of the Fijian states, (including being made the ''Roko Tui Tailevu'') and a minister in various early portfolios. He was also a signatory to the 1874 Deed of Cession to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

''(see Fiji's Cession to Great Britain)''. ''Ratu'' Epeli's eldest son, ''Ratu'' Penaia Kadavulevu inherited the title of ''Vunivalu'', while his second daughter, ''Adi'' Moce was the wife of ''Ratu'' Alifereti Finau Ulugalala and the grandmother of Fiji's

Founding Father The following is a list of national founders of sovereign states who were credited with establishing a state. National founders are typically those who played an influential role in setting up the systems of governance, (i.e., political system ...

, ''Ratu''

Sir ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part ...

Kamisese Mara ''Ratu'' Sir Kamisese Mara, (6 May 1920 – 18 April 2004) was a Fijian politician who served as Chief Minister of Fiji, Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief in ...

References

* S. Berwick, ''Who's Who in Fiji'', Berwick Publishing House, 1990

External links

Fijian chiefs Vunivalu of Bau 1840s births 1901 deaths Tui Kaba People from Bau (island) 19th-century Fijian people 20th-century Fijian people Sons of kings {{fiji-bio-stub