Ra is one of the fourteen

provinces of Fiji The Provinces of Fiji (''"veiyasana" ''(pl.) and ''"yasana"'' (s.) in the Fijian language), and ''"प्रदेश''" in the Fiji Hindi language are the 14 administrative units into which the country is divided, particularly in relation to th ...

. Occupying the northern area of

Viti Levu Viti Levu (pronounced ; ) is the largest island in Fiji. It is the site of the country's capital and largest city, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population. Geology Fiji lies in a plate tectonics, tectonically complex area betwe ...

, the largest island, it is one of eight Viti Levu-based Provinces. With a land area of 1,341 square kilometers, it had a population of 30,432 in 2017

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

. The main urban centre is at

Vaileka Vaileka, commonly known as Rakiraki Town, is an Urban area, urban centre in Fiji, in the Rakiraki region of Ra Province. It had a population of 3,361 at the 1996 census, the last to date. It is not officially a "town," however: that term is lega ...

, with a population of 3,361 in 1996. Cubu

Isolated farming community in the Ra Province

The province has 19 districts: * Bureivanua * Bureiwai * Kavula * Lawaki *

Mataso Mataso is an island in the Shefa of Vanuatu in the Pacific Ocean. The island is a part of Shepherd Islands archipelago. Geography The island of Mataso is located south of Makira. It is formed by two hills separated by white sandy beaches known ...

* Nababa * Nailuva * Nakorotubu * Nakuilava * Nalaba * Nalawa * Naroko * Nasau * Navitilevu * Navolau *

Rakiraki Rakiraki () is a district in Fiji's Ra Province. It is located between Tavua and Korovou when travelling along Kings Road, on the northern coast of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. From Nadi International Airport, Rakiraki is approximately 130k ...

* Raviravi * Saivou * Tokaimalo The districts of Saivou, Nakorotubu,

, and Nalawa have their own chiefs: the Gone Turaga na Vunivalu na Tui Nalawa, Gone Marama na Ratu ni Natauiya

Turaga na Gonesau In Fijian, Turaga is the word for a man. The ''Turaga-ni-Koro'' is a title for the head of a village (''Koro''), who is usually elected or appointed by the villagers. As kind of city administrator or mayor, he plays a key role in the modern Fiji ...

, and Gone Turaga Tu Navitilevu. Ra Province has 19 tikina makawa and has 86 villages. Ra as a whole is governed by a Provincial Council. The Ra

dialect A dialect is a Variety (linguistics), variety of language spoken by a particular group of people. This may include dominant and standard language, standardized varieties as well as Vernacular language, vernacular, unwritten, or non-standardize ...

of Fijian is distinctive in that the consonant /t/, pronounced elsewhere in Fiji, is pronounced as a

glottal stop The glottal stop or glottal plosive is a type of consonantal sound used in many Speech communication, spoken languages, produced by obstructing airflow in the vocal tract or, more precisely, the glottis. The symbol in the International Phonetic ...

Christian State

There was an attempt in 2015 to create a "Christian state" in Ra. This was described by the then Chief of Police, Ben Groenewald, as a harmless cult, but the prime minister

Frank Bainimarama Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama (; born 27 April 1954) is a Fijian former politician and naval officer who served as the prime minister of Fiji from 2007 until 2022. A member of the FijiFirst party, which he founded in 2014, he began his c ...

took a sterner view and ordered a clamp-down by the army. It was due to claims by the “cult” that the constitution of Fiji violated the UN's 2007

Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples File:2007 Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples voting map.svg , , , The Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP or DOTROIP) is a legally non-binding United Nations resolution passed by the United Nations in 2007 ...

(''DOTROIP''). But to ask for the UN's help, they deemed that they had to be a nation, hence ''The Ra Christian State'' was envisioned to contest the constitution. Many of the conspirators were imprisoned for sedition and treason.''The Economist'', 23 January 2016, p. 53.

References

Provinces of Fiji Ra, Fiji {{Fiji-geo-stub