Vunivalu of Bau
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| Nobility of Fiji |
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Titles |
The Vunivalu of Bau is the Paramount Chief of the Kubuna Confederacy, and is generally considered to be the highest chiefly title in Fiji. The title, which means Warlord of Bau, is not strictly hereditary, but belongs to the Tui Kaba clan, based on Bau Island. This chiefly position, which was once held by Seru Epenisa Cakobau, the Fijian monarch who unified the nation in 1871 before ceding the islands to the United Kingdom in 1874, has been vacant since the death of the last Vunivalu, Ratu Sir George Cakobau, in 1989.
Recently, there have been moves to choose a successor. On 9 June 2005, Senator Ratu George Cakobau, Jr. (son of the last Vunivalu) announced that the chiefs of Matanitu o Bau (the traditional chiefly government of Bau, which includes the districts of Dravo, Namata, Nausori, and Nuku), had selected four chiefly candidates, to be submitted to the Tui Kaba clan, which will be asked to choose one of them as the next Vunivalu. The four candidates are Ratu George Cakobau, Jr. himself, his brother Ratu Epenisa Cakobau, Ratu George Kadavulevu Naulivou, and former Vice-President Ratu Jope Seniloli. A second meeting held a week later tentatively proposed Senator Cakobau as the new Vunivalu.
Senator Cakobau's appointment has not been finalized and is not without controversy. Adi Finau Tabakaucoro, a member of the Tui Kaba clan and a senior chief, complained on 27 June that the proper procedures were not being followed. The new Vunivalu should be elected by the whole clan, she said, rather than chosen by a few elders. She thought it wrong to exclude from the list of candidates the name of Senator Cakobau's sister, Adi Samanunu Talakuli Cakobau, because she was the eldest child of the last Vunivalu.
The Vunivalu when installed, also takes the title of Tui Levuka, as he is the traditional leader of the Levuka people of Lakeba, Lau. The wife of the Vunivalu is titled Radini Levuka.
[edit] Vunivalu of Bau
| Order | Vunivalu | Reigned | Lived |
| 1. | Ratu Nailatikau | ? - 1770 | ? - 1770 |
| 2. | Ratu Banuve Baleivavalagi | 1770 - 1803 | ? - February 1803 |
| 3. | Ratu Naulivou Ramatenikutu | 1803 - 1829 | ? - 1829 |
| 4. | Ratu Tanoa Visawaqa | 1829 - 1832 | ? - 8 December 1852 |
| 5. | Navuaka Komainaqaranikula Tui Veikoso | 1832 - 1837 | ? - ? |
| . | Ratu Tanoa Visawaqa | 1837 - 1852 | s.a. |
| 6. | Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau | 1852 - 1883 | 1815 - February 1883 |
| 6. | Ratu Epeli Nailatikau† | 1883 - 1901 | 1842 - 1901 |
| 7. | Ratu Penaia Kadavulevu† | 1901 - 1914 | ? - 1914 |
| 8. | ? | 1914 - ? | ? - ? |
| 9. | Ratu Sir George Cakobau | 1957 - 1989 | 6 November 1912 - 25 November 1989 |
| † Never officially installed as Vunivalu, but posthumously recognized as such.
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