Waqavuka Dance In Bau
Nakorotubu men from Ra Province performed the Waqavuka, a traditional dance (meke) that originally belonged to the natives of Tamavua Village outside Suva.
The meke was ‘claimed’ by elders of Nabukadra Village in Nakorotubu, who had come to Tamavua Village in the early 1960s to build the chiefly bure for the late Roko Tui Colo, Ratu Meli Loki.
Nabukadra Village elder Lasa Naduvalevu said since his elders took the meke back with them when they returned to Nabukadra, their kinfolks in Tamavua have never performed it again.
“A delegation from Bau came up to traditionally request us to perform the special meke for the Vunivalu. That meke is called ‘Mataiva’. But because the request came at short notice, we decided to perform the ‘waqavuka’ instead,” Mr Naduvalevu said.
The meke ‘Mataiva’ is reserved for the Vunivalu of Bau.
“It was last performed in 1982, at the opening of the Vale Ni Bose here in Bau, which hosted Queen Elizabeth II,” Mr Naduvalevu said.
Close traditional kinship between Bau and Nakorotubu is traced back to the first Vunivalu of Bau, who came from the chiefly village of Nabukadra in the tikina o Nakorotubu in Ra and whose descendants today hold the title of the Vunivalu, Na Tui Kaba on Bau Island.
Oral history tells of one such Vunivalu being killed by warriors from nearby Lasakau Village. Word of the killing reached Nabukadra which prompted its warriors to come to Bau to avenge the death of their kin in a bloody siege on Lasakau warriors.
Afterwards, the warriors took the slain chief’s body back to Nabukadra for burial.
“This grave is still there. The chief was Ratu Sukuna’s grandfather,” Mr Naduvalevu said.
“That’s our history that still binds us together today. So it was what our elders did that preserved our kinship, proof of which is the grave that still lies there today.
“If you see the mekes being performed, you will see that the men will be wearing the “usu”, the white strips of masi on their heads. When we are performing meke in Bau, we wear the “usu” to show that we are the eldest, and we are protecting Bau and will always be there to lend our support to Bau at all times,” Mr Naduvalevu said.
The Vunivalu of Bau had called on the help of his kinfolks from Nabukadra to help him in the siege by Bau on Kedekede in Tubou, Lakeba when Tongan King Ma’afu invaded Lau.
The army, which became known as the ‘Vuaka Loa’ (black pig), comprised warriors from the Nakorotubu region which include villages in Rakiraki, Wainibuka and Naitasiri.
“The head of the Vuaka Loa is in Kavula,” said Orisi Rateri, whose family are the traditional composers.
The tikina Kavula, he said, comprises two villages: Nabukadra and Nayavutoka, who are closely related.
.
To read more, click on this link to access the full article and details: https://eedition.fijisun.com.fj/subscriptionplans
Story By: dionisia@fijisun.com.fj
