Ratu
"Ratu" is a title used by
Etymology
Ra is a prefix in many titles (Ramasi, Ramalo, Rasau, Ravunisa, Ratu)and Tu is simply Chief the formal use of "Ratu" as a title in a name as in "Sir" in British tradition was introduced after cession of 1874, prior to this a Chief would only be known by his birth name and his area specific traditional title.
Fijian Nobility
The Fijian nobility consists of about seventy chiefs, each of whom descends from a family that has traditionally ruled a certain area. The chiefs are of differing rank, with some chiefs traditionally subordinate to other chiefs. The Mataiwelagi clan is regarded by some as the highest chiefly clan. They are descendants of
In its near-century of colonial rule (1874-1970), the British upheld Fiji's traditional chiefly structure and worked through it. They established what was to become the Great Council of Chiefs, originally an advisory body, but which grew into a powerful constitutional institution. Constitutionally, it functions as an electoral college to choose Fiji's President (a largely honorary position, modelled on the British Monarchy), the Vice-President, and 14 of the 32 Senators, members of Parliament's "upper house" which has a veto over most legislation. The remaining 18 Senators are appointed by the Prime Minister (9), the Leader of the Opposition (8), and the
The Presidency, Vice-Presidency, and fourteen Senate seats are the only constitutional offices whose appointment is controlled by persons of chiefly rank. In a departure from the generally-followed British constitutional model (which banned Peers from election to the House of Commons prior to the constitutional reform of 1999), chiefs in post-independence Fiji have always competed for parliamentary seats on an equal footing with commoners. In the years following independence, this favoured the chiefly class, as the common people looked to them as their leaders and generally voted for them. For several elections, many ethnic Fijian members of the House, which is elected by universal suffrage, were of chiefly rank, in recent elections this discrepancy between chiefs and commoners is slowly narrowing, as commoners are becoming better educated and have begun to work their way into the power structure. The chiefs, however, retain enormous respect among the Fijian people. In times of crisis, such as the coups of 1987 and the third coup of 2000, the Great Council of Chiefs has often stepped in to provide leadership when the modern political institutions have broken down. Although the distinction between chiefs and commoners will inevitably continue to lessen, the chiefly institutions are unlikely to disappear any time soon.
Notable Chiefs
*Ratu Sir
*Ratu
*Ratu Sir
*Ratu
*Ratu Sir
*Ratu
*Ratu Sir
*Ratu
Footnotes
References
* Lau Islands, Fiji, By Arthur Maurice Hocart, Published 1929, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Ethnology, 241 pages, Original from the University of Michigan, no.62 1929, Digitized Feb 23, 2007. "Page 150 has details on titles like Ratu and Roko and their use"
External links