- Lovoni
The Tikina of Lovoni is made up of the villages of Lovoni, Nasaumatua, Vuni-ivi-savu, Visoto, Nukutocia and Nacobo. The latter three
village s are located on the coast ofOvalau .History
Various
myth s and legends attribute the Lovoni people to different origins. It is believed that they were the firstsettler s of theisland having migrated from mainland Vitilevu to settleOvalau . Popular beliefs link them to the High Chiefdom of Verata and inevitably to the Nakauvadra epic. The founding ancestor of the Lovoni is popularly referred to as Rakavono, nephew to the mythical founder of theBureta people, Bui Savulu, daughter of Lutunasobasoba.At the time of
Europe an contact, written sources refer to this group of people as the predominant rulers of Ovalau. They were responsible for torching the settlement ofLevuka , at least twice, causing a dispersal of its early European settlers toSavusavu . They were an independentFiji an Kingdom with kinship ties to the Roko Tui Bau, the people of Verata, Wainibuka andNaitasiri . Their allies within theLomaiviti group lay with the Tora ni Bau ofBatiki . They also had strong ties with the people of Bua andCakaudrove . To the east, they had extensive ties and allies with the Yasayasa Moala andOno-i-Lau . Their ties to the west of Fiji were direct kinship ties with the noblehouse of theTui Nadi .The Lovoni people, being an independent kingdom with several strategic tributaries, ensured their role as mercenaries of war in the central Fijian province of
Lomaiviti , which at the time of European contact, was undergoing a major power struggle between the Noble Houses of Verata and their ally and kin the House of the Roko Tui Bau and the rising power of theVunivalu of Bau . This period also saw the growing power of theTongan s influx to the east of Fiji, the rise ofRewa and its tributaries and the presence of the Europeans and their efficientfirearm s. The Lovoni people found themselves in the center of this major conflict and power struggle and often played the determining role of supporting whichever side suited them best, based on kinship ties. Their unfailing support of the ailing and declining house of the Roko Tui Bau and his descendants would mark the fate of this fiercely independent and proud people.
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