The Lau Islands (also called the Lau Group , the Eastern Group , the Eastern Archipelago ) of Fiji are situated in the southern Pacific Ocean , just east of the Koro Sea . Of this chain of about sixty islands and islets, about thirty are inhabited. The Lau Group covers a land area of 188 square miles (487 square km), and had a population of 10,683 at the most recent census in 2007. While most of the northern Lau Group are high islands of volcanic origin, those of the south are mostly carbonate low islands .
21-787: Administratively the islands belong to Lau Province . The British explorer James Cook reached Vatoa in 1774. By the time of the discovery of the Ono Group in 1820, the Lau archipelago was the most mapped area of Fiji. Political unity came late to the Lau Islands. Historically, they comprised three territories: the Northern Lau Islands, the Southern Lau Islands, and the Moala Islands . Around 1855,
42-589: A Christian, 'Enele (Henry) Ma'afu introduced Methodist Christianity to eastern Fiji. Ma'afu died 6 February 1881 in Lomaloma , Vanua Balavu , and was buried on the island of Lakeba in the chiefly village of Tubou . The cousin and official representative of King George Tupou I , who wished to keep him away from Tonga as a potential rival for the throne. In 1847, King Taufa'ahau of Tonga included his cousin Ma'afu in an expedition sent to Vanua Balavu to investigate
63-734: A part of the Lau Province ever since. Since they lie between Melanesian Fiji and Polynesian Tonga , the Lau Islands are a meeting point of the two cultural spheres. Lauan villages remain very traditional, and the islands' inhabitants are renowned for their wood carving and masi paintings. Lakeba especially was a traditional meeting place between Tongans and Fijians. The south-east trade winds allowed sailors to travel from Tonga to Fiji, but much harder to return. The Lau Island culture became more Fijian rather than Polynesian beginning around 500 BC. However, Tongan influence can still be found in names, language, food, and architecture. Unlike
84-750: A religious war on the island. Using his alliance with the Tui Cakau and Tui Bua , or Paramount Chief of Bua , Ma'afu defeated Ritova , the Tui Macuata or Paramount Chief of Macuata , Ma'afu extended his influence through the northern island of Vanua Levu . When Ratu Seru Epenisa Cakobau , the Vunivalu , by then the Paramount Chief of Bau , made his first offer to cede Fiji to the United Kingdom in 1858, William Thomas Pritchard ,
105-584: A total land area of around 490 square kilometres (190 sq mi). At the most recent census in 2017, it had a population of 9,602, down from 10,683 in 2007 and 14,500 in 1976, making it the third-least populous province. As of 2007, about 57,500 people born in Lau Province lived elsewhere in Fiji. In 2021 Lau Province banned spearfishing at night in order to protect the marine ecosystem and biodiversity. Previously, communities from more than 30% of
126-597: Is one of fourteen provinces of Fiji . Its capital is at Tubou , at the southern end of the island of Lakeba . The province forms part of the country's Eastern Division (which also includes the provinces of Kadavu and Lomaiviti ), and of the Tovata Confederacy , a traditional hierarchy of chiefs from northern and eastern Fiji. Geographically it consists of the Lau Archipelago . The Lau group comprises 57 islands, 19 of which are inhabited, and has
147-560: The Tovata Confederacy , covering most of northern and eastern Fiji. This arrangement was not a success, however, and Ma'afu retired to the island of Vanuabalavu. He maintained his claim, however, to be the overseer of the Tongan population, and when the Tui Nayau raised the Tongan flag over Lakeba, Ma'afu took control of the Lau archipelago on the pretext that its Paramount Chief had declared it be Tongan territory, rather than Fijian. Ma'afu
168-518: The British Consul , warned Ma'afu - by now the most powerful chief in northern Fiji - that under British rule, further attempts to expand his power base would not be tolerated. Ma'afu shrewdly signed an agreement denying sovereignty over Fijians and claiming to be in the islands only to oversee the Tongan population. Following Britain's decision in 1862 not to annex Fiji, however, Ma'afu resumed his attempts to extend his rule. In 1867, he created
189-558: The Lau Islands) and the founding father of modern Fiji who was Prime Minister for most of the period between 1967 and 1992, and President from 1993 to 2000. Other noted Lauans include Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna (1898-1958), who forged embryonic constitutional institutions for Fiji in the years that preceded independence. Other notable Lauans include: 17°50′S 178°40′E / 17.833°S 178.667°E / -17.833; 178.667 Lau Province Lau Province
210-667: The Lau Provincial Council. Many Lauans have Tongan ancestors and some Tongans have Lauan ancestors; Tonga's Lands Minister is named after Enele Ma'afu , the Tongan Prince who originally claimed parts of Lau for Tonga. Historically, the Minerva Reefs have been part of the fishing grounds belonging to the people of Ono-i-Lau , an island in the Lau Group. Just off the island of Vanua Balavu at Lomaloma
231-672: The Tovata chiefs of Lakeba and Vanua Balavu as 'Tui Lau' in 1869. This title was ratified by a wider council of Fijian chiefs and subsequently formalised under British colonial administration. In 1847, Maʻafu went to Fiji in an expedition to Vanua Balavu to investigate the killing of a preacher. He was born in Tongatapu , Tonga, in 1816, as the son of Aleamotu'a , Tu'i Kanokupulu . In 1840 he married ʻElenoa Ngataialupe Lutui , with whom he had one child, Siale 'Ataongo , in Nukuʻalofa . Also
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#1732772641653252-456: The centre of the game of Cricket in Fiji. Cricket is the most popular team sport in Lau, unlike the rest of the country where Rugby and Association Football are preferred. The national team is invariably dominated by Lauan players. The Lau Islands' most famous son is the late Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (1920-2004), the Tui Lau , Tui Nayau , Sau ni Vanua (hereditary Paramount Chief of
273-676: The death of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba II in 1966. The title Tui Lau was left vacant from his uncle, Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna , in 1958 as referenced in Mara, The Pacific Way Paper. The Northern Lau Islands, which extended as far south as Tuvuca , were under the overlordship of Taveuni and paid tribute to the Tui Cakau (Paramount Chief of Cakaudrove ). In 1855, however, Ma'afu & Tui Nayau gained sovereignty over Northern Lau, establishing Lomaloma , on Vanua Balavu , as Ma”afu’s capital . The Southern Lau Islands extended from Ono-i-Lau , in
294-471: The far south, to as far north as Cicia . They were the traditional chiefdom of the Tui Nayau , but with proper consultation between Ma'afu & Tui Nayau in the 1850s, united them to the Lau Province . The Moala Islands had closer affiliation with Bau Island and Lomaiviti than with Lau, but Ma'afu & Tui Nayau ’s conquest united them with the Lau Islands. They have remained administratively
315-620: The killing of a preacher. Ma'afu established himself at Lakeba as leader of the Tongan community in the Lau Islands in 1848. Aligning himself with the Tui Nayau , the Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands , he went on to conquer the Moala Islands and placed them under the Tui Nayau's authority. In 1850, Enele Ma'afu gave the Tui Cakau a canoe and in return the Tui Cakau gave the island of Vanua Balavu to Ma'afu. He went on to Vanua Balavu and took up residence in Lomaloma , after suppressing
336-463: The nominal overlord of the Lau Islands, became subject to Ma'afu. The Tui Nayau and Tui Lau titles came into personal union in 1969. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara , who had already been bestowed the title of Tui Lau in 1963 by the Vuanirewa Clan on the approval of his father Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba II (the reigning Tui Nayau during that time), was also installed as Tui Nayau following
357-483: The province had banned the practice. 18°20′S 178°30′W / 18.333°S 178.500°W / -18.333; -178.500 Enele Ma%27afu ʻEnele Maʻafuʻotuʻitonga , commonly known as Maʻafu, (circa 1816 — 6 February 1881) was a Pacific islander who held important titles in two countries in the Pacific. He was a traditional Tongan Prince and a Fijian chief nominated and installed by
378-417: The renegade Tongan prince Enele Ma'afu with the help of Tui Nayau ’s army, conquered the region and established a unified administration. Tui Nayau then bestowed the title Tui Lau , or King of Lau, to Ma’afu, promulgated a constitution and encouraged the establishment of Christian missions. The first missionaries had arrived at Lakeba in 1830, but had been expelled. The Tui Nayau , who had been
399-452: The square-shaped ends characterizing most houses elsewhere in Fiji, Lauan houses tend to be rounded, following the Tongan practice. In early July 2014, Tonga's Lands Minister, Lord Maʻafu Tukuiʻaulahi , revealed a proposal for Tonga to give the disputed Minerva Reefs to Fiji in exchange for the Lau Group. At the time that news of the proposal first broke, it had not yet been discussed with
420-596: Was faced with a crisis in June 1868, when the Tongan government disclaimed all sovereignty over Fijian territory, including the Lau Islands. Ma'afu could no longer exercise authority over Lau as a Tongan Prince. Lauan chiefs met in Lakeba and February 1869, and granted Ma'afu the title of Tui Lau , or King of Lau, Levuka , and Ovalau . He was subsequently recognized as such by the chiefs of Cakaudrove and Bua in May 1869. Ma'afu played
441-484: Was the Yanuyanu Island Resort, built to encourage tourism in what has been a less accessible area of Fiji, but the small resort failed almost immediately and has been abandoned since the year 2000. An airstrip is located off Malaka village and a port is also located on Vanua Balavu, at Lomaloma . There are guest houses on Vanua Balavu and on Lakeba , the other principal island. The Lau Islands are
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