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    Native Lands Commission Report 1912 in Colo West Province

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    Manoa Nagatalevu Tupou
    Record from the sitting of the Native Lands Commission at Mavua Village i Nadroga on 9th August 1912

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    Native Lands Commission Report 1912 in Colo West Province

    Uploaded by

    Manoa Nagatalevu Tupou
    202 views10 pages
    Record from the sitting of the Native Lands Commission at Mavua Village i Nadroga on 9th August 1912

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    Record from the sitting of the Native Lands Commission at Mavua Village i Nadroga on 9th August 1912

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf
    202 views10 pages

    Native Lands Commission Report 1912 in Colo West Province

    Uploaded by

    Manoa Nagatalevu Tupou
    Record from the sitting of the Native Lands Commission at Mavua Village i Nadroga on 9th August 1912

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf
    of 10
    ’ cory JATIVE, LANDS _COmMIssT wsizman, Native Lands Commission, ‘The Chairman, Hat ads Commi ssio aioe to the Colonial’ Secretary. sir, T have the honour to submit my report on the proceedings of ‘the Native Lands Conmission in the province of Colo West. 2. The opening sitting was held at Mavua, the chief village of the district of ihvua, on 9th August, 1912, This vas merely a fornial meeting at which all the Bulis of the province and of the districts contiguous to Solo West attended and reported the action taken by them on receipt of theiz summonses. The proceedings were then adjourned to | Malebalebe, sone ton miles further up the Sigatoka River, wher some days were spent in ascertaining the principal divisions of the people, and the hats and domiciles of the leading yavusa. | Is The-Constitution of Native Communities. 3. lhe it is impossible to avoid the constant use of the Fijian terms denoting tribal divisions and confederations, it is necessary that they be deseribed at sone Length. 4, ° A yawusa consists of the direct agnate descendants of a single "Kalou-vo" or ancestor god, and every yevusa in Colo Nest traces its origin in this way. In almost every case tradition has it that this “kalou-vo" originated fron the Kauvadra Range, the home of Degoi, and he was presumably a descendant of that legendary founder of the Fijian race. Each "god" appears to have boen accompanied by sundry female rolations and the traditions as related to the Commission contain cixcunstantial details as to the journeyings of the "god" and the places which at nights were passed before he Finally settled at some spot which was his choice of a home and there took to wife a woman of some neighbouring yavusa, and Founded o'family. If only one son was born tho yavusa of necessity did not expand: the First family of two or more brothers, whether sons or: later deccondants of the original founder, gave rise to the-divisions known as mataquali, the descentants of each son founding a separete mataqua}i, In a similar manner the first family of sons in each mataquall founded the various tokatoka. In some cases whore cortain toketoka becano very populous they again threw out subsidiary branches, but the latter do not always forn separate land-owning units. Be The founder of a yavusa was invariably deified after death, and worshipped by kde descendants as a god. A “burekalou” or temple wes erected af his shrine, and a tokatoka of junsor mataquali became the hereditary priests. Each,too, was beldevad to inhabit the body of some Living cresture which was. then "Tabu" to oll the tribe, The choices of habitation viere curious and varied - sharks, eels, rats, snakes, hawks ane Kingfichors being the most common. z 6. "The monbers of an original yavusa in its integrity were united hy the tie of contion blood and common worship; but in the ineviteble wars and disseasions wrich took place subsequently conplications arose by which sone yavues becana broien and catered and others becane strengthened by the admission of other parties, There are cases in which a matequali o> oven a smrll section of people, have aither by cholee or necessity, become . seperated from its orfsinal yavusa and discarded its om ood in favour of the ood of Its adoption, hae continued to live with that yavusa and has been allotted definite portions of land. In some cases the leader of the nen arzivels, oresumably when possessing cone extraordinary personal qualitios, was accepted by the adopting yavusa as Sts chief and the position has been held by his family ever since. B03 ‘There are instances in which fragments of a mataquali have found their way te places renote from thetr orlainal home and have there Founded entirely fresh yavusa. A conspicuous example of this occurs in the case of the kal Korolevu, the chief yavusa of Serua, of which their Vunivalu is the head. These people were originally a fragment of the Noikoro yavusa, from the heart of Colo fest, which fought its way dow to the coast and attained its present position through its prowess in war. de The ane of the yevsa tn Colo West seens to be about eight generations, that fe to say mont of then clain to be able to trece their Origin beck to their original kalot-vily and most of these pedigrées consict of about eight goneratinns ending in the senior Living member. | Nlany of thene: pedlernes give ono the impreseion of being quite genuine, Dat in e fev chees Le 1a to be feared that invention has freely Stpplenented tradition. 9. + In the course of time, when the country becones to be more closely populated, struggles for territory and other fighting took place, and while on the one hend many yavusa became broken and scattered there arose on the other hand confederations whereby several yavusa, or what remained of then, united together for mutual protection under a selected chief, Such s confederation was known as a “vanua"’. 10. In other parts of FIJA there were further confederations in which séveral."vanua" united under a powerfu) chief to form a "matanitu", such as Bat, Reva, Cokateirove, Sua and others, but this staae was neve: reached in Colo fiest. Ll.

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