Lala Mara
Encyclopedia
Ro
Lala, Lady Mara, maiden name Litia Cakobau Lalabalavu Katoafutoga Tuisawau (January 4, 1931 – July 20, 2004) was a Fiji
an chief, who was better known as the widow of Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara
, modern Fiji's founding father
who served for many years as Prime Minister and President of his country. As Fiji's First Lady, Adi Lala took on a diplomatic role, frequently representing her country abroad. She was regarded as a formidable and astute woman, whose influence on her husband was said to be considerable.
, the traditional title of the rulers of the Burebasaga Confederacy
, which covers the provinces of Rewa
, Nadroga-Navosa
, Namosi, Serua, Kadavu
(off the southern coast of Viti Levu
), and parts of Ba
and Ra
. Her mother, Adi Asenaca Vosailagi, was from the chiefly Ka Levu clan of Nadroga, where she was a chief in her own right. The village of Lomanikoro in Rewa Province is the capital of the confederacy. Adi Lala's marriage, on 9 September 1950, to Ratu Mara, who was to become the Tui Lau
and Tui Nayau
(the traditional ruler of the Lau Islands
) was considered a dynastic marriage, as it united two powerful feudal families. Relations between the families had been strained in the past, so the marriage was opposed in certain quarters, especially on Ratu Mara's side. Nevertheless, the marriage was by all accounts a happy one and lasted 54 years, until Ratu Mara's death on 18 April 2004. The duration of this marriage was in stark contrast to the prevalence of divorce in much of the Mara clan
. Three sons and five daughters issued from their marriage, two of whom have pursued political careers of their own. Their eldest son, Ratu Finau Mara
, served as a member of the House of Representatives
and of the Cabinet
throughout the 1990s, and led the Fijian Association Party
from 1996 to 1998. Their second daughter, Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau
, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and was Minister of Tourism in 1999 and 2000. She has been a Senator
since 2001.
that her husband had founded and led, but for the leadership she was outmanoeuvered by Sitiveni Rabuka
, who had led the Fiji coups of 1987
. To the end of her life, Adi Lala remained active in the Great Council of Chiefs
, where she was regarded as a voice of moderation.
On 12 November 2003, Radio New Zealand
reported that Adi Lala had bitterly accused some chiefs, whom she did not name, of having been involved in the coup d'état
which deposed her husband from the presidency in May 2000 and also toppled the elected government. Opening a meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs, she said that the perpetrators of the coup were "false prophets" motivated by greed, who were inciting racial strife and uncertainty with their threats, and that the coups had brought Fiji to its knees. She called on her fellow-chiefs to reexamine their roles, especially in regard to promoting racial harmony in a multicultural nation. She said some chiefs had also been involved in the earlier coups
of 1987.
, was to be dismissed as Chairman of the Great Council of Chiefs
, which was "the last straw" after her husband's death three months earlier. Senator
James Ah Koy
claimed on the floor of the Senate to have received the information from sources close to Adi Lala's family, and charged the Qarase
government with responsibility for her death because of its involvement in Ganilau's sacking. His comments drew a strong rebuke from the Chairman of the Kadavu Provincial Council, which Ah Koy represents in the Senate. Ratu Joe Nawalowalo
called his speech "gutter material" which "belittled" the close relationship Adi Lala had enjoyed with the province.
by her younger sister, Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa
, who also served as Minister for Education in the Qarase
government from 2000 to 2006.
The women's organization Soqosoqo Vakamarama i Taukei announced on 21 July 2005, the day after the first anniversary of Adi Lala's death, that it was setting up a foundation that would help build a statue of the late Adi Lala, who was the founder of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama and its president until her death.
The period of mourning for Adi Lala ended on 20-21 September 2005, with a ceremony at the chiefly village of Cuvu in Nadroga, where her mother was from. Attended by large delegations of chiefs and commoners from the Kubuna
and Tovata
as well as her own Burebasaga Confederacy
, the ceremonies included the presentation of more than two container-loads of gifts including tabua
(whales' teeth), masi (tapa cloth
), canoes, mats, and lavish quantities of food, and culminated in a feast. Earlier, Ro Epeli Mataitini, the Younger brother of the official Vunivalu (a senior chief) of Rewa, had spoken of the love and respect that Fijians had for Adi Lala. While humans planned their future, he said, God always had the final say in people's lives, which was why it was so important to appreciate and maintain the links that bound Fiji's chiefly clans together. He called on younger Fijians to learn from the older chiefs who, despite political differences, cherished their links to the different tribes that make up the nation.
Ro (title)
Ro is a title used by Fijian chiefs in the Province of Rewa, as well as parts of Naitasiri, Namosi, and Serua. Both males and females are so styled; in other areas of Fiji, male chiefs are titled Ratu and female chiefs, Adi....
Lala, Lady Mara, maiden name Litia Cakobau Lalabalavu Katoafutoga Tuisawau (January 4, 1931 – July 20, 2004) 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 chief, who was better known as the widow of 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...
, modern 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...
who served for many years as Prime Minister and President of his country. As Fiji's First Lady, Adi Lala took on a diplomatic role, frequently representing her country abroad. She was regarded as a formidable and astute woman, whose influence on her husband was said to be considerable.
Family background
From her father, she inherited the title of Roko Tui DreketiRoko Tui Dreketi
The Roko Tui Dreketi is the Paramount Chief of Fiji's Rewa Province and of the Burebasaga Confederacy, to which Rewa belongs.-Details on the title:...
, the traditional title of the rulers of the Burebasaga Confederacy
Burebasaga Confederacy
Burebasaga is the largest of the three confederacies that make up Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which all Fijian chiefs belong.-Composition of Burebasaga:...
, which covers the provinces of Rewa
Rewa Province
Rewa is a province of Fiji. With a land area of 272 square kilometers , it includes the capital city of Suva and is in two parts - one including part of Suva's hinterland to the west, and a noncontiguous area to the east, separated from the rest of Rewa by Naitasiri Province...
, Nadroga-Navosa
Nadroga-Navosa
NADROGA NAVOSA is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is about 2,385 square kilometers and occupies the South-West and Central areas of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest and principal island. The province includes the Mamanuca Archipelago,...
, Namosi, Serua, Kadavu
Kadavu Province
Kadavu Province is one of fourteen provinces of Fiji, and forms part of the Eastern Division, which also includes the Provinces of Lau, Lomaiviti and Rotuma. Kadavu also belongs to the Burebasaga Confederacy, a hierarchy of chiefs from southern and western Fiji.It consists of Kadavu Island, Ono...
(off the southern coast 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 :...
), and parts of Ba
Ba Province
Ba is a province of Fiji, occupying the north-western sector of Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. It is one of fourteen Provinces in the nation of Fiji, and one of eight based in Viti Levu. It is Fiji's most populous Province, with a population of 231,760 - more than a quarter of the nation's...
and Ra
Ra Province
Ra is one of the fourteen provinces of Fiji. Occupying the northern area of Viti Levu, the largest island, it is one of eight Viti Levu-based Provinces. With a land area of 1341 square kilometers, it had a population of 29,464 at the 2007 census, the last to date...
. Her mother, Adi Asenaca Vosailagi, was from the chiefly Ka Levu clan of Nadroga, where she was a chief in her own right. The village of Lomanikoro in Rewa Province is the capital of the confederacy. Adi Lala's marriage, on 9 September 1950, to Ratu Mara, who was to become the Tui Lau
Tui Lau
Tui Lau is a Fijian chiefly title of recent history which was created during the time of Ma'afu and his conquests after Ma'afu was disclaimed as a Tongan Prince by his cousin King George Tupou I. Since the Vuanirewa consider Ma'afu as their own they therefore installed him as the 1st Tui Lau...
and Tui Nayau
Tui Nayau
Tui Nayau is the title held by the Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands in Fiji and is synonymous with the title holders over lordship of these islands. When translated Tui Nayau means Lord of Nayau, an island north of Lakeba, the latter accepted by many to be the chiefly island in the Lauan...
(the traditional ruler 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...
) was considered a dynastic marriage, as it united two powerful feudal families. Relations between the families had been strained in the past, so the marriage was opposed in certain quarters, especially on Ratu Mara's side. Nevertheless, the marriage was by all accounts a happy one and lasted 54 years, until Ratu Mara's death on 18 April 2004. The duration of this marriage was in stark contrast to the prevalence of divorce in much of the Mara clan
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 :...
. Three sons and five daughters issued from their marriage, two of whom have pursued political careers of their own. Their eldest son, Ratu Finau Mara
Finau Mara
Ratu Alifereti Finau Mara is a Fijian lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He is best known as the eldest son of former Prime Minister and President Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. Since December 2001, he has held the official position of Roving Ambassador and High Commissioner, representing Fiji's interests...
, served as a member of the House of Representatives
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...
and of the Cabinet
Cabinet (Fiji)
Fiji has the Westminster system - executive authority is vested nominally in a President, but exercised in practice by a Cabinet of Ministers, presided over by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is formally appointed, but not chosen, by the President: the President must appoint as Prime...
throughout the 1990s, and led the Fijian Association Party
Fijian Association Party
The Fijian Association Party is a former political party in Fiji. It played a significant role in Fijian politics throughout the 1990s, but lost all of its seats in the House of Representatives in the parliamentary election of 2001....
from 1996 to 1998. Their second daughter, Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau
Koila Nailatikau
Adi Koila Mara Nailatikau is a Fijian lawyer, who has served as a diplomat and politician.- Family background :Vasemaca Koila Josephine Mara was born in 1953...
, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1999 and was Minister of Tourism in 1999 and 2000. She has been a Senator
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...
since 2001.
Political career
In 1991, Adi Lala founded the Fijian Political Party (Soqosoqo ni Vakavulewa ni Taukei, or SVT) as the successor to the disbanded Alliance PartyFijian Alliance
The Alliance Party, was the ruling political party in Fiji from 1966 to 1987. Founded in the early 1960s, its leader was Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, the founding father of the modern Fijian nation...
that her husband had founded and led, but for the leadership she was outmanoeuvered by Sitiveni Rabuka
Sitiveni Rabuka
Major-General Sitiveni Ligamamada Rabuka, OBE, MSD, OStJ, is best known as the instigator of two military coups that shook Fiji in 1987. He was later democratically elected the third Prime Minister, serving from 1992 to 1999...
, who had led the Fiji 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...
. To the end of her life, Adi Lala remained active in 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...
, where she was regarded as a voice of moderation.
On 12 November 2003, Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand
Radio New Zealand is a New Zealand public service radio broadcaster and Crown entity formed by the Radio New Zealand Act 1995. It operates news, current affairs and arts network Radio New Zealand National and classical music and jazz network Radio New Zealand Concert with full government funding...
reported that Adi Lala had bitterly accused some chiefs, whom she did not name, of having been involved in the coup d'état
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...
which deposed her husband from the presidency in May 2000 and also toppled the elected government. Opening a meeting of the Great Council of Chiefs, she said that the perpetrators of the coup were "false prophets" motivated by greed, who were inciting racial strife and uncertainty with their threats, and that the coups had brought Fiji to its knees. She called on her fellow-chiefs to reexamine their roles, especially in regard to promoting racial harmony in a multicultural nation. She said some chiefs had also been involved in the earlier coups
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...
of 1987.
Controversies following her death
Adi Lala's death, only three months after that of her husband, was announced in Suva on July 20, 2004. No immediate cause of death was given. Allegations were subsequently made in Parliament, however, that she had suffered a fatal heart attack after hearing the distressing news that her son-in-law, Ratu Epeli GanilauEpeli Ganilau
Brigadier-General Ratu Epeli Ganilau, MC, MSD, is a Fijian soldier and statesman, who currently heads the National Alliance Party of Fiji. His career has previously encompassed such roles as Commander of the Fiji Military Forces and Chairman of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga...
, was to be dismissed as Chairman of 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...
, which was "the last straw" after her husband's death three months earlier. Senator
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...
James Ah Koy
James Ah Koy
Sir James Michael Ah Koy, KBE is a Fijian of Chinese and Fijian descent. He is Executive Chairman of Kelton Investments, the IT service provider Datec Group Ltd., Honorary Consul of the Republic of Georgia to Fiji and a board director of forty-six companies. He served as a Cabinet Minister in...
claimed on the floor of the Senate to have received the information from sources close to Adi Lala's family, and charged the Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
government with responsibility for her death because of its involvement in Ganilau's sacking. His comments drew a strong rebuke from the Chairman of the Kadavu Provincial Council, which Ah Koy represents in the Senate. Ratu Joe Nawalowalo
Josateki Nawalowalo
Ratu Josateki Tuivanuavou Nacagilevu Nawalowalo, commonly known as Ratu Jo Nawalowalo, was a Fijian chief, businessman, and the Chairman of the Kadavu Provincial Council...
called his speech "gutter material" which "belittled" the close relationship Adi Lala had enjoyed with the province.
Statue proposed
Adi Lala was succeeded as Roko Tui DreketiRoko Tui Dreketi
The Roko Tui Dreketi is the Paramount Chief of Fiji's Rewa Province and of the Burebasaga Confederacy, to which Rewa belongs.-Details on the title:...
by her younger sister, Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa
Teimumu Kepa
Teimumu Vuikaba Kepa is a Fijian chief and politician. A former students' coordinator at the University of the South Pacific when Kepa chose to enter the University to embark on her Bachelor of Arts Degree and was a principal of Corpus Christi Collegebefore that, until she succeeded her late...
, who also served as Minister for Education in the Qarase
Laisenia Qarase
Laisenia Qarase is a Fijian political figure. He served as the sixth Prime Minister of Fiji from 2000 to 2006. After the military quashed the coup that led to the removal of Mahendra Chaudhry, Qarase joined the Interim Military Government as a financial adviser on 9 June 2000, until his appointment...
government from 2000 to 2006.
The women's organization Soqosoqo Vakamarama i Taukei announced on 21 July 2005, the day after the first anniversary of Adi Lala's death, that it was setting up a foundation that would help build a statue of the late Adi Lala, who was the founder of the Soqosoqo Vakamarama and its president until her death.
The period of mourning for Adi Lala ended on 20-21 September 2005, with a ceremony at the chiefly village of Cuvu in Nadroga, where her mother was from. Attended by large delegations of chiefs and commoners from the Kubuna
Kubuna Confederacy
Kubuna is one of three confederacies which comprise Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which all of Fiji's chiefs belong.-Details of Kubuna:It consists of the provinces of Tailevu, Naitasiri, Lomaiviti, and parts of the western provinces of Ba, Ra...
and Tovata
Tovata Confederacy
Tovata is one of three confederacies comprising the Fijian House of Chiefs, to which all of Fiji's chiefs belong.-Details of Tovata:It is located in the north east of the country, covering the provinces of Bua, Macuata and Cakaudrove on the northern island Vanua Levu, as well as the Lau Islands.The...
as well as her own Burebasaga Confederacy
Burebasaga Confederacy
Burebasaga is the largest of the three confederacies that make up Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which all Fijian chiefs belong.-Composition of Burebasaga:...
, the ceremonies included the presentation of more than two container-loads of gifts including tabua
Tabua
A tabua is a polished tooth of a sperm whale that is an important cultural item in Fijian society. They were traditionally given as gifts for atonement or esteem , and were important in negotiations between rival chiefs. The dead men would be buried with their tabua, along with war clubs and even...
(whales' teeth), masi (tapa cloth
Tapa cloth
Tapa cloth is a bark cloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii...
), canoes, mats, and lavish quantities of food, and culminated in a feast. Earlier, Ro Epeli Mataitini, the Younger brother of the official Vunivalu (a senior chief) of Rewa, had spoken of the love and respect that Fijians had for Adi Lala. While humans planned their future, he said, God always had the final say in people's lives, which was why it was so important to appreciate and maintain the links that bound Fiji's chiefly clans together. He called on younger Fijians to learn from the older chiefs who, despite political differences, cherished their links to the different tribes that make up the nation.