Ratu
Encyclopedia
Ratu is a title used by Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

ans of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.

Etymology

Ra is a prefix in many titles (Ramasi, Ramalo, Rasau, Ravunisa, Ratu) and Tu is simply "chief". The formal use of "Ratu" as a title in a name as in "Sir" in British tradition was introduced after cession of 1874, prior to this a Chief would only be known by his birth name and his area specific traditional title.

Fijian Nobility

The Fijian nobility consists of about seventy chiefs, each of whom descends from a family that has traditionally ruled a certain area. The chiefs are of differing rank, with some chiefs traditionally subordinate to other chiefs. The Mataiwelagi clan is regarded by some as the highest chiefly clan. They are descendants of Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Seru Epenisa Cakobau
Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian Ratu and warlord who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing a united Fijian kingdom.-Background:...

, the Vunivalu of Bau
Vunivalu of Bau
Turaga na Vunivalu ni Bau 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 ranking member of the Tui Kaba clan.-A brief history:The...

or Tui Levuka (Paramount Chief of Bau, on the eastern side of Viti Levu
Viti Levu
Viti Levu is the largest island in the Republic of Fiji, the site of the nation's capital, Suva, and home to a large majority of Fiji's population.- Geography and economy :...

, Fiji's most populous island), who was the first chief to unite the entire country under his authority in 1871, when he was proclaimed Tui Viti
Tui Viti
The monarchy of Fiji arose in the mid-nineteenth century when native ruler Seru Epenisa Cakobau consolidated control of the Fijian Islands and declared himself King or paramount chief of Fiji . In 1874, he voluntarily ceded sovereignty of the islands to Britain, which made Fiji a Crown colony...

(King of Fiji). He subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 in 1874. Other prominent chiefly clans include the Vuanirewa
Vuanirewa
The Vuanirewa is the ruling tribe of the Lau Islands, a scattered group of more than a hundred islands and reefs along the eastern edge of Fiji.- Origins :...

 (the traditional rulers of the Lau Islands
Lau Islands
The Lau Islands of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean, just east of the Koro Sea. Of this chain of about one hundred islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited...

), and the Ai Sokula (the traditional rulers of Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu
Vanua Levu , formerly known as Sandalwood Island, is the second largest island of Fiji. Located 64 kilometres to the north of the larger Viti Levu, the island has an area of 5,587.1 km² and a population of some 130,000.- Geography :...

).

In its near-century of colonial rule (1874–1970), the British upheld Fiji's traditional chiefly structure and worked through it. They established what was to become the Great Council of Chiefs
Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through a military coup in December 2006...

, originally an advisory body, but which grew into a powerful constitutional
Constitution of Fiji
The 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....

 institution. Constitutionally, it functions as an electoral college to choose Fiji's President (a largely honorary position, modelled on the British Monarchy), the Vice-President, and 14 of the 32 Senators
Senate (Fiji)
The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...

, members of Parliament's "upper house" which has a veto over most legislation. The remaining 18 Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister (9), the Leader of the Opposition
Leader of the Opposition (Fiji)
The post of Leader of the Opposition is a political office common in countries that are part of the Commonwealth of Nations. It did not originate in Fiji but has a long tradition; in British constitutional theory, the Leader of the Opposition must pose a formal alternative to the government, ready...

 (8), and the Council of Rotuma
Council of Rotuma
The Council of Rotuma is a municipal body on the island of Rotuma, a Fijian dependency. Owing to the unique character of Rotuma, the powers of this council are greater than those of other municipal bodies in Fiji and in some ways it approximates a legislative body, though it is in every way...

 (1); these appointees may, or may not, be of chiefly rank also. (The Senate was modelled on Britain's
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

, which consists of both hereditary nobles
Peerage
The Peerage is a legal system of largely hereditary titles in the United Kingdom, which constitute the ranks of British nobility and is part of the British honours system...

 and Life Peers).

The Presidency, Vice-Presidency, and fourteen Senate seats are the only constitutional offices whose appointment is controlled by persons of chiefly rank. In a departure from the generally-followed British constitutional model (which banned Peers from election to the House of Commons prior to the constitutional reform
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. The Act reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. For centuries, the House of Lords had included several hundred members who inherited their seats;...

 of 1999), chiefs in post-independence Fiji have always competed for parliamentary
House of Representatives (Fiji)
The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fiji's Parliament. It is the more powerful of the two chambers; it alone has the power to initiate legislation...

 seats on an equal footing with commoners. In the years following independence, this favoured the chiefly class, as the common people looked to them as their leaders and generally voted for them. For several elections, many ethnic Fijian
Fijian people
Fijian people are the major indigenous people of the Fiji Islands, and live in an area informally called Melanesia. The Fijian people are believed to have arrived in Fiji from western Melanesia approximately 3,500 years ago, though the exact origins of the Fijian people are unknown...

 members of the House, which is elected by universal suffrage, were of chiefly rank, in recent elections this discrepancy between chiefs and commoners is slowly narrowing, as commoners are becoming better educated and have begun to work their way into the power structure. The chiefs, however, retain enormous respect among the Fijian people. In times of crisis, such as the coups of 1987
Fiji coups of 1987
The Fiji coups of 1987 resulted in the overthrow of the elected government of Fijian Prime Minister Timoci Bavadra, the deposition of Elizabeth II as Queen of Fiji, and in the declaration of a republic...

 and the third coup of 2000
Fiji coup of 2000
The Fiji coup of 2000 was a complicated affair involving a civilian putsch by hardline Fijian nationalists against the elected government of a non-native Prime Minister, Mahendra Chaudhry, on 19 May 2000, the attempt by President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara to assert executive authority on 27 May, and...

, the Great Council of Chiefs
Great Council of Chiefs (Fiji)
The Great Council of Chiefs is a now dormant 1997 constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. In April 2007 the council was suspended, due to an unworkable relationship with Frank Bainimarama, leader of an "interim government" which came to power through a military coup in December 2006...

 has often stepped in to provide leadership when the modern political institutions have broken down. Although the distinction between chiefs and commoners will inevitably continue to lessen, the chiefly institutions are unlikely to disappear any time soon.

Notable Chiefs

  • Ratu Sir George Cakobau
    George Cakobau
    Ratu Sir George Kadavulevu Cakobau, GCMG, GCVO, OBE was Governor General of Fiji from 1973 to 1983. A great-grandson of Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the King of Bau who had unified all the tribes of Fiji under his reign in the mid-1800s and subsequently ceded the islands to the United Kingdom in...

    ; Fiji's first native-born Governor General
  • Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau
    Seru Epenisa Cakobau
    Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau was a Fijian Ratu and warlord who united part of Fiji's warring tribes under his leadership, establishing a united Fijian kingdom.-Background:...

    ; Fijian Monarch who ceded the islands to the United Kingdom
    United Kingdom
    The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

  • Ratu Sir Penaia Ganilau
    Penaia Ganilau
    Ratu Sir Penaia Kanatabatu Ganilau, GCMG, KCVO, KBE, DSO was the first President of Fiji, serving from 8 December 1987 until his death in 1993...

    ; Fiji's first President
  • Ratu Josefa Iloilo
    Josefa Iloilo
    Ratu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...

    ; President
  • Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
    Kamisese Mara
    Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, CF, GCMG, KBE is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. He was Chief Minister from 1967 to 1970, when Fiji gained its independence from the United Kingdom, and, apart from one brief interruption in 1987, the first Prime Minister from 1970 to 1992...

    ; Founding father
    Father of the Nation
    Father of the Nation is an honorific title given to a man considered the driving force behind the establishment of their country, state or nation...

    ; long-time Prime Minister and President
  • Ratu Tevita Momoedonu
    Tevita Momoedonu
    Ratu Tatu Tevita Momoedonu is a Fijian chief and has served as the fifth Prime Minister of Fiji twice - each time extremely briefly. Both appointments were to get around constitutional technicalities; his first term of office - on 27 May 2000 lasted only a few minutes. His second term - from 14...

    ; former Prime Minister
  • Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna
    Lala Sukuna
    Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna, KCMG, KBE was a Fijian chief, scholar, soldier, and statesman. He is regarded as the forerunner of the post-independence leadership of Fiji...

    ; Soldier, scholar, and statesman.
  • Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
    Epeli Nailatikau
    Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, CF, LVO, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is a Fijian chief and the current President of Fiji. He has had a long career in the Military, diplomatic service, and government...

    ; former Speaker of the Senate
    Senate (Fiji)
    The Senate of Fiji is the upper chamber of Parliament. It is the less powerful of the two chambers; it may not initiate legislation, but may amend or veto it. The Senate's powers over financial bills are more restricted: it may veto them in their entirety, but may not amend them...

     and interim Minister for Foreign Affairs
    Minister for Foreign Affairs (Fiji)
    The Minister for Foreign Affairs is Fiji's Cabinet Minister responsible for international relations and diplomacy...

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