Sioeli Nau (Wesleyan Missionary)
Encyclopedia
Sioeli Nau or Joel Nau He was the son of Luisa Lauaki and Filipe 'Onevela. His also the grandson of Matapule Lauaki the Nima Tapu
.
, Vava'u
in Tonga. He had three older brothers: Tevita Kata Nau I, Simione Nau and 'Aisea Nau.
n Methodist minister who worked in Vava'u
and Ha'apai
in 1850. About this same year, Rev Sioeli Pulu arrived to Tonga
from Fiji
asking King George Tupou I for more missionaries and teachers
. In 1856, Sioeli Nau was selected to lead the missionary group. He, his wife and his son, along with other missionaries journeyed to the people of Bau Island
, Fiji
, the relatives of the Fijian
chief
Tui Bau Cakobau. During this time he worked together with Rev Sioeli Pulu and established successful tasks in Bau Island
. In 1861, his wife was infected with a serious illness and died. Not much is known about his son and his name is remained unknown even to this day.
From 1863 to 1875, he was stationed on Kadavu Island where he continued working as a missionary. He was urged by the missionaries to get married, he agreed and married a Fijian woman 'Akosita, daughter of Tuikadavu.
They had ten children. Four of them worked for the church, three of them as missionaries. Their children are listed below from the eldest to the youngest;
Sioeli Nau was for a time a tutor at the Fijian Methodist District Institution at Navuloa where, according to his obituary, “he was highly esteemed by all the Missionaries”. He was stationed in Tonga
, at the Island of 'Eua
(1877–1878), Tu'anekivale on Vava'u
(1879–1881), Angaha on the remote northern island of Niuafo'ou
(1882–1884). He was listed as being stationed at Ha'ano
Island in the Ha'apai
Group in 1885, but it is unlikely that he took up this appointment. In 1886 he appears in the Methodist lists as a “supernumerary” and in 1887 as “under the direction of the Chairman of the District”.
and the Wesleyan Mission. For those who refuse to join the Free Church of Tonga were persecuted by Shirley Waldemar Baker
with the help of the king George Tupou I. When this happened the majority of the people had left the Wesleyan mission and joined the Free Church. However, Sioeli remained loyal to Rev Dr James Egan Moulton
and the minority Wesleyan Mission, (who were faithful to the Australasian Conference). He was brought to court standing before the magistrate and the people of the parliament. At this moment Sioeli Nau reflected the almost intolerable test of loyalty which Tongans were faced with.
The people were interrogated and asked individually:
(1) Do you love Tubou or Moulton?
(2) Whom will you worship with? Tubou or Mr Moulton?
The dilemma faced by Tongans was graphically described and spoken by Sioeli on behalf of the Wesleyans:
"It is our habit to obey our chiefs in all things. We cannot follow our own minds in anything. If our chiefs tell us to do this thing, and it is quite clear to us that it is wrong we must nevertheless do it. Numbers have gone over through fear alone. Their bodies have gone over – their souls are with our church….
I am like Esther, “If I perish, I perish”. I shall not leave the Wesleyan Church. I remember my vows made in your presence the missionaries of God and in the presence of God, and in the presence of God I would do my duty in the Wesleyan Church unto my death – and by God’s help I will follow this out".
He along with the Wesleyan group suffered persecution because they refused to join the Free Church of Tonga. He described how he was “accused of speaking against the king” and “of rebelling and persuading the people of the island to come over to my side”. In August 1886 he was found guilty of libelling the king, sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined $100 with $50 costs. He was sentenced to further five years “for saying that the thing that the king wishes was wrong”. Sioeli was transferred from prison in Tongatapu to Vava’u in January 1887 along with other Wesleyan prisoners where they “were at once ‘told off’ to join the pontoon gangs (procuring stone for building piles)”.
. Sioeli was still in prison when Sir Charles Mitchell arrived on 27 March 1887, to investigate the troubles in Tonga. The inquiry was requested by the British government because of the considerable publicity which had been given in the Australasian and British press to the persecution of the Wesleyans. Mitchell conducted a thorough investigation although in his findings he steered a middle course between taking the side of either Baker and the King or Moulton and the Wesleyans. He decided against deporting Baker because of the valuable service he had rendered to the King. But he urged the King to grant “a general amnesty for acts done during the past disturbances”, the release of all the political prisoners and the full restoration of “liberty to worship in accordance with conscience”. Ten days later, Sioeli along with the Wesleyan prisoners were released under this amnesty and went with other exiles to Fiji.
Living in exile, he, his wife and children were among the 90 Tongan Wesleyans who resided on Koro Island
, Fiji
.
He took charge of the Beqa
section in the Rewa
Circuit, where he worked “with considerable vigour”. He was appointed to Naitasiri
where he served from 1888 to 1890.
by John Bates Thurston
from Tonga, on 17 July 1890, more than 130
Tongan exiles were allowed to return back home. Sioeli was again reappointed to Tonga
, taking an appointment again at
Niuafo'ou
(1891–1893) and then on Lifuka
in the Ha'apai
Group (1894–1895). Some of the returning Wesleyans initially experienced harassment and Sioeli was among them. Disturbances were reported at Niuafo'ou where “the chief cannot leave the Wesleyans alone, but has been acting very harshly…...The Wesleyan Minister Joel Nau – one of the late exiles – has not met with the best treatment.” When Dr Moulton visited Niuafo’ou a year later, relationships were much more harmonious. The Free Church minister “with the best of taste and kindly feeling” invited “the Wesleyan minister and their people” to join them in the anniversary commemoration of a volcanic eruption, “and both parties mixed together most cordially and had a right happy time”.
“His piety was deep and fervent, and his sermons powerful, and full of the unction of the Holy One; so he made many converts. He was one of the heartiest and most genial of men, it used to be said that his laugh shook the town….He had been 35 years a minister, and was about 70 years of age.”
Nima tapu
Nima Tapu are the Royal Undertakers for the Tongan royal family. It is their role to prepare the dead king's body for burial. Once the preparation is complete, they are not allowed to use their hands for any other purpose for the next 100 days...
.
Origin of his name
His real surname was "‘Onevela", he got his surname when he and his family turned from worshiping false idol gods and “Now” to worshiping the one true God. English word “Now” is the Tongan translation name of “Nau.” His English name for “Sioeli” is “Joel”.Family background
Sioeli Nau is the youngest of four children. His mother was one of the two daughters of Matapule Lauaki. His father was from Masilamea, NeiafuNeiafu (Vava'u)
Neiafu is the second-largest town in Tonga with a population of about 6,000. It is situated beside the Port of Refuge, a deep-water harbour on the south coast of Vava'u, the main island of the Vava'u archipelago in northern Tonga. To the north-west lies the 131m high Mt...
, Vava'u
Vava'u
Vavau is an island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. According to tradition Maui fished both Tongatapu and Vavau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises 204 meters above sea level...
in Tonga. He had three older brothers: Tevita Kata Nau I, Simione Nau and 'Aisea Nau.
Beginning of he's ministry
He was a TongaTonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
n Methodist minister who worked in Vava'u
Vava'u
Vavau is an island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. According to tradition Maui fished both Tongatapu and Vavau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises 204 meters above sea level...
and Ha'apai
Ha'apai
Haapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs and shoals in the central part of the Kingdom of Tonga, with the Tongatapu group to the south and the Vavau group to the north. Seventeen of the Haapai islands are populated....
in 1850. About this same year, Rev Sioeli Pulu arrived to Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
from 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...
asking King George Tupou I for more missionaries and teachers
Teachers
Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers , one of the five Ascension Gift Ministries* Teachers , a British sitcom* Teachers Teachers may refer to:* Teachers, people who provide schooling for pupils and students* Teachers (ministry), one of the...
. In 1856, Sioeli Nau was selected to lead the missionary group. He, his wife and his son, along with other missionaries journeyed to the people of Bau Island
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...
, 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...
, the relatives of the Fijian
Fijian
Fijian may refer to:* Something of, from, or related to the country of Fiji* The Fijian people, persons from Fiji, or of Fijian descent. For more information about the Fijian people, see:** Demographics of Fiji** Culture of Fiji* The Fijian language...
chief
Chief
- Title or rank :* Chiefs of the Name, the head of a family or clan* Chief executive officer, the highest-ranking corporate officer of an organization* Chief Master Sergeant, in the United States Air Force* Chief of police, the head of a police department...
Tui Bau Cakobau. During this time he worked together with Rev Sioeli Pulu and established successful tasks in Bau Island
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...
. In 1861, his wife was infected with a serious illness and died. Not much is known about his son and his name is remained unknown even to this day.
From 1863 to 1875, he was stationed on Kadavu Island where he continued working as a missionary. He was urged by the missionaries to get married, he agreed and married a Fijian woman 'Akosita, daughter of Tuikadavu.
They had ten children. Four of them worked for the church, three of them as missionaries. Their children are listed below from the eldest to the youngest;
- Tevita Kata Nau II (Methodist minister)
- Semisi Nau (Methodist minister who worked as a missionary at the Solomon Islands)
- 'Ate Nau
- ‘Apisai Nau (Methodist minister who worked in Fiji)
- Hosea Nau
- ‘Alifaleti Nau
- Pita Nau (A Teacher who accompanied Semisi Nau at the Solomon Islands)
- Lu‘isa Nau
- Filipe Mahe Nau
- Mafi Nau
Sioeli Nau was for a time a tutor at the Fijian Methodist District Institution at Navuloa where, according to his obituary, “he was highly esteemed by all the Missionaries”. He was stationed in Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, at the Island of 'Eua
'Eua
Eua is a smaller but still major island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is close to Tongatapu, but forms a separate administrative division. It has an area of 87.44 km2, and a population in 2006 of 5,165 people.- Geography :...
(1877–1878), Tu'anekivale on Vava'u
Vava'u
Vavau is an island chain of one large island and 40 smaller ones in Tonga. According to tradition Maui fished both Tongatapu and Vavau but put a little more effort into the former. Vavau rises 204 meters above sea level...
(1879–1881), Angaha on the remote northern island of Niuafo'ou
Niuafo'ou
Niuafoou is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island of 15 km² and with a population of 650 in 2006.-Geography:...
(1882–1884). He was listed as being stationed at Ha'ano
Ha'ano
Haano is an island in the Haapai islands of Tonga. To the south are the islands of Foa and Lifuka.The island is 6.58 km² in area. It is losing population, which sank from 588 in 1996 to 477 in 2006.The four villages are all located on the west coast...
Island in the Ha'apai
Ha'apai
Haapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs and shoals in the central part of the Kingdom of Tonga, with the Tongatapu group to the south and the Vavau group to the north. Seventeen of the Haapai islands are populated....
Group in 1885, but it is unlikely that he took up this appointment. In 1886 he appears in the Methodist lists as a “supernumerary” and in 1887 as “under the direction of the Chairman of the District”.
Persecution
In 1885, before Sioeli Nau could leave Niuafo’ou, he was caught up in the division which resulted from the split between the Free Church of TongaFree Church of Tonga
The Free Church of Tonga is a church in Tonga.The church was established in 1885 by King George Tupou I and Rev. Shirley W. Baker. Originally with the name The Wesleyan Free Church of Tonga , it became the official state church...
and the Wesleyan Mission. For those who refuse to join the Free Church of Tonga were persecuted by Shirley Waldemar Baker
Shirley Waldemar Baker
Shirley Waldemar Baker was a missionary and premier of Tonga.-Early life:Baker was born in London, England of a Devonshire family. He studied medicine, went to Australia in 1852 as a stowaway. He worked as a farm hand, miner and apothecary's assistant on the goldfields in Victoria...
with the help of the king George Tupou I. When this happened the majority of the people had left the Wesleyan mission and joined the Free Church. However, Sioeli remained loyal to Rev Dr James Egan Moulton
James Egan Moulton
James Egan Moulton was an English born Australian Methodist minister and headmaster and school president.-Early life:...
and the minority Wesleyan Mission, (who were faithful to the Australasian Conference). He was brought to court standing before the magistrate and the people of the parliament. At this moment Sioeli Nau reflected the almost intolerable test of loyalty which Tongans were faced with.
The people were interrogated and asked individually:
(1) Do you love Tubou or Moulton?
(2) Whom will you worship with? Tubou or Mr Moulton?
The dilemma faced by Tongans was graphically described and spoken by Sioeli on behalf of the Wesleyans:
"It is our habit to obey our chiefs in all things. We cannot follow our own minds in anything. If our chiefs tell us to do this thing, and it is quite clear to us that it is wrong we must nevertheless do it. Numbers have gone over through fear alone. Their bodies have gone over – their souls are with our church….
I am like Esther, “If I perish, I perish”. I shall not leave the Wesleyan Church. I remember my vows made in your presence the missionaries of God and in the presence of God, and in the presence of God I would do my duty in the Wesleyan Church unto my death – and by God’s help I will follow this out".
He along with the Wesleyan group suffered persecution because they refused to join the Free Church of Tonga. He described how he was “accused of speaking against the king” and “of rebelling and persuading the people of the island to come over to my side”. In August 1886 he was found guilty of libelling the king, sentenced to five years imprisonment and fined $100 with $50 costs. He was sentenced to further five years “for saying that the thing that the king wishes was wrong”. Sioeli was transferred from prison in Tongatapu to Vava’u in January 1887 along with other Wesleyan prisoners where they “were at once ‘told off’ to join the pontoon gangs (procuring stone for building piles)”.
Living In Exile
Rev Dr James Egan Moulton appealed for the safe removal of the remaining Wesleyans and their children from TongaTonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
. Sioeli was still in prison when Sir Charles Mitchell arrived on 27 March 1887, to investigate the troubles in Tonga. The inquiry was requested by the British government because of the considerable publicity which had been given in the Australasian and British press to the persecution of the Wesleyans. Mitchell conducted a thorough investigation although in his findings he steered a middle course between taking the side of either Baker and the King or Moulton and the Wesleyans. He decided against deporting Baker because of the valuable service he had rendered to the King. But he urged the King to grant “a general amnesty for acts done during the past disturbances”, the release of all the political prisoners and the full restoration of “liberty to worship in accordance with conscience”. Ten days later, Sioeli along with the Wesleyan prisoners were released under this amnesty and went with other exiles to Fiji.
Living in exile, he, his wife and children were among the 90 Tongan Wesleyans who resided on Koro Island
Koro Island
Koro is a volcanic island of Fiji that forms part of the Lomaiviti Archipelago. The Koro Sea is named after this volcanic island, which has a chain of basaltic cinder cones extending from north to south along its crest. With a land area of 108.9 square kilometers , it is the sixth largest island...
, 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...
.
He took charge of the Beqa
Beqa
Beqa is an island in Fiji, an outlier to the main island of Viti Levu, 10 kilometers to the south. The island has a land area of 36 square kilometers and reaches a maximum altitude of 462 meters.-Tradition:...
section in the Rewa
Rewa, India
Rewa is formerly the capital of the princely state of Rewa and former state of Vindhya Pradesh in central India. It is an important city in the North Eastern part of Madhya Pradesh state of India bordering Allahabad, Mirzapur and Banda Districts of Uttar Pradesh and Satna and Sidhi Districts of...
Circuit, where he worked “with considerable vigour”. He was appointed to Naitasiri
Naitasiri
Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight based in Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island.-Geography and infrastructure:Naitasiri as a province covers 1,666 square kilometers , the Province occupies the area to the north and east of Suva, the capital...
where he served from 1888 to 1890.
Return From Exile
After the deportation of Shirley Waldemar BakerShirley Waldemar Baker
Shirley Waldemar Baker was a missionary and premier of Tonga.-Early life:Baker was born in London, England of a Devonshire family. He studied medicine, went to Australia in 1852 as a stowaway. He worked as a farm hand, miner and apothecary's assistant on the goldfields in Victoria...
by John Bates Thurston
John Bates Thurston
Sir John Bates Thurston was a British colonial official who served Fiji in a variety of capacities, including Premier of the Kingdom of Viti and later as colonial Governor.- Early life :...
from Tonga, on 17 July 1890, more than 130
Tongan exiles were allowed to return back home. Sioeli was again reappointed to Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, taking an appointment again at
Niuafo'ou
Niuafo'ou
Niuafoou is the most northerly island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is a volcanic rim island of 15 km² and with a population of 650 in 2006.-Geography:...
(1891–1893) and then on Lifuka
Lifuka
Lifuka is an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. It is located within the Haapai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa...
in the Ha'apai
Ha'apai
Haapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs and shoals in the central part of the Kingdom of Tonga, with the Tongatapu group to the south and the Vavau group to the north. Seventeen of the Haapai islands are populated....
Group (1894–1895). Some of the returning Wesleyans initially experienced harassment and Sioeli was among them. Disturbances were reported at Niuafo'ou where “the chief cannot leave the Wesleyans alone, but has been acting very harshly…...The Wesleyan Minister Joel Nau – one of the late exiles – has not met with the best treatment.” When Dr Moulton visited Niuafo’ou a year later, relationships were much more harmonious. The Free Church minister “with the best of taste and kindly feeling” invited “the Wesleyan minister and their people” to join them in the anniversary commemoration of a volcanic eruption, “and both parties mixed together most cordially and had a right happy time”.
Death
Sioeli Nau’s death was a tragic one. He disappeared on 18 December 1895 supposedly having “walked in his sleep to the rocks at the back of the island” and “been drawn under the surf”. In his obituary, it is recorded that:“His piety was deep and fervent, and his sermons powerful, and full of the unction of the Holy One; so he made many converts. He was one of the heartiest and most genial of men, it used to be said that his laugh shook the town….He had been 35 years a minister, and was about 70 years of age.”
Further reading
- Ko e Tala Fungani: Siasi Uesiliana Tau'ataina 'O Tonga by 'Aioema 'Atiola
- Semisi Nau, the story of my life : the autobiography of a Tongan Methodist Missionary who worked at Ontong Java in the Solomon Islands by the editor Allan K. Davidson