Namalata () is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

and island in

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 ...

. It is located in the southern portion of the Vanua Balavu island group, part of Fiji's

Lau Islands The Lau Islands (also called the Lau Group, the Eastern Group, the Eastern Archipelago) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited. T ...

. The village is a constituent of the larger

Lomaloma Lomaloma (; officially ''Lomaloma Tikina'', ) is a village at the south of the island of Vanua Balavu in the Lau Islands, Lau archipelago of Republic of Fiji, Fiji. The settlement is part of the tribal district of Tikina, Lomaloma and consist ...

village. The people of Namalata descend from the original inhabitants of Mago Island, who were displaced in the nineteenth century.

Chiefly titles

The Chief of Namalata Village is the ''Tui Mago''.

From Mago to Namalata

In the mid-19th century, Fiji's two dominant chiefs at the time, the

Vunivalu of Bau ''Turaga na Vunivalu na Tui Kaba'', shortened as ''Vunivalu'', is the Paramount Chief of the Kubuna Confederacy of the island of Bau in Fiji. Loosely translated the title means ''Warlord of Bau'' or "Root of War". The succession to the title ...

(

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 the

Tui Cakau The ''Tui Cakau'' () is the Paramount Chief of Cakaudrove Province in 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 Zealan ...

were threatened by the

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

n warlord, Enele Ma'afu. They sought the help of the Namalata people while Ma'afu was in

, on Vanua Balavu, as they could provide information on his movements. The island of Mago was then given to Europeans in order to slow Ma'afu's advancement into Fiji, as the threat of retaliation from their respective homelands deterred him from attacking

Europeans Europeans are the focus of European ethnology, the field of anthropology related to the various ethnic groups that reside in the states of Europe. Groups may be defined by common ancestry, language, faith, historical continuity, etc. There are ...

. When Fiji was ceded to the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

in 1874, those occupying the island were registered as the rightful owners, thus dispossessing the Namalata people. Mago Island is now owned by actor and film director

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

References

* Derrick, Ronald Albert; ''The Fiji Islands, a Geographical Handbook'', published 1957 Govt. Press, Original from the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

, Digitized July 1, 2006. Contains basic details on Namalata.

External links

Mel Gibson's purchase of Mago

Research Paper on Vanuabalavu has map and reference re Namalata
{{coord, 17, 20, 10, S, 178, 59, 05, W, type:isle_region:FJ, display=title Namalata Populated places in Fiji Human migrations