Ratu

Ratu

Ratu is a title used by Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, Adi is used by females of chiefly rank.-Etymology:Ra is a prefix in many titles and Tu is simply "chief"...

 Epeli Nailatikau I (1842 - 1901) was a 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...

an Paramount Chief, who was posthumously made the Vunivalu

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...

 of Bau

Bau Island

Bau is a small island in Fiji, off the east coast of the main island of Viti Levu.-History:With the aid of Charlie Savage, who brought firearms to Bau Island, the Bauan people quickly established themselves as an undefeatable military force...

. He was the eldest son of the first 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...

, 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:...

 and his first wife, Adi

Adi (title)

Adi is a title used by Fijian women of chiefly rank, namely female members of chiefly clans. It is the equivalent of the Ratu title used by male chiefs. It is in general use throughout most of Fiji, although on Kadavu Island, Bulou is used instead....

 Litia Samanunu.

He acted as his father's right hand man in the Bauan struggles for power, and was subsequently made a Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of many of the Fijian states, (including being made the Roko Tui Tailevu) and a minister in various early portfolios. He was also a signatory to the 1874 Deed of Cession to Great Britain

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 (see Fiji's Cession to Great Britain).

Ratu Epeli's eldest son, Ratu Penaia Kadavulevu

Penaia Kadavulevu

Ratu Penaia Kadavulevu was the son of Ratu Epeli Nailatikau, upon whose death in 1901 he inherited the title of Vunivalu of Bau, the paramount chief of the Kubuna Confederacy of Fiji....

 inherited the title of Vunivalu, while his second daughter, Adi Moce was the wife of Ratu Alifereti Finau

Alifereti Finau Ulugalala

Ratu Alifereti Finau was the eleventh Roko Sau of Lau and the fifth Tui Nayau. He was the son of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba II and Adi Asenaca Kakua Vuikaba, daughter of the Vunivalu of Bau and self styled King of Fiji, Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau...

 and the grandmother of Fiji's 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...

, 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...

.