A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE RATU SIR LALA SUKUNA

There is a saying in Fijian “Qoroqoroi matailuvena” which translates as a parent acknowledging his or her child.

Notwithstanding this it would probably not be appropriate for me to be delivering these reflections regarding the late Turaga Talai given I am a nephew of his. So please bear with me.

Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna was the best equipped Fijian leader in the 20th Century. He was born a chief of the Royal house of Bau. His father was Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi and his mother was Adi Litiana Maopa. His paternal grandfather Ratu Mara Kapaiwai and Ratu Seru Cakobau were first cousins. Ratu Mara’s father, Ratu Banuve and Ratu Cakobau’s father Ratu Tanoa were brothers. Ratu Banuve’s wife was Veisaca from Lau.

His mother Adi Maopa was from the Vuanirewa clan and was the eldest child of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba the Tui Nayau and the paramount chief of Lau and Adi Asenaca Kakua the eldest daughter of Ratu Cakobau. Hence as vasu levu of Lau, Ratu Sukuna’s chiefly status was greatly enhanced.

Chosen names

His first two names came from the chiefly household of the Tui Cakau while his other two names came from his grandfather Ratu Mara Kapaiwai who was a renowned seafarer hence Vanayaliyali Sukuna which is a “vanishing mast of a schooner”.

It is therefore evident from his blood lineage, the family that he came from. A man of noble birth, a scholar, a soldier and a Statesman were his most distinguished marks. He later became a civil servant, a politician and ultimately the first speaker of the Legislative Council.

I recall my father telling me that he had advised the Turaga Talai not to take the trip abroad after examining him following his retirement. He told the Turaga Talai that because of his health he shouldn’t travel but it fell on deaf ears and he still insisted on travelling on the Arcadia with his wife Lady Liku who he had just married. He certainly wasn’t going to listen to his youngest sibling and died on board the Arcadia enroute to England.

He also mentioned that when the Turaga Talai returned from Whanganui after completing his studies my father didn’t know who he was because of the 20 year age gap between them and was told that he was his elder brother.

Although my father was the youngest sibling out of six, Ratu Sir Lala was not considered as part of the family, rather he belonged to the Kawa i Taukei and the people of Fiji. It is therefore only a coincident that I happen to be closely connected to him through blood ties and kinship.

The image shared here is of Ratu Sukuna at the Parliament foyer having a chat with the then Governor Sir Ronald Herbert Garvey KCMG KCVO MBE. Photo: National Archives of Fiji

My father once wrote to the Turaga Talai that all he understood with regard to family was “io saka, sega saka, ni lewa saka ga” translated as “Yes sir, no sir, you decide Sir.”

Consulting didn’t apply to his close relatives. This is the case when he directed Ratu Mara to pull out from medical school to go to Wadham without giving him due consideration to complete his medical degree. In fact he had only one unit to go. It is purported that Ratu Mara was not amused at all.

The Turaga Talai died in 1958, one year after my late brother Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi was born and one year before I was born, so what I will share with you is all collated.

At the time we lived in Levuka where my father was the divisional medical officer (DMO) Eastern. My brother was barely a few months old when my parents brought him to Suva at Rairaiwaqa which is commonly known as Boron House to visit Ratu Sukuna to introduce their first born to him. I am told that an exchange of some sort transpired during their visit. My late brother’s achievements do not need to be explained as shortlived as his lifes was. The Turaga Talai was first married to Lady Maraia Vosawale. They had children, but all died at birth.

Ratu Sukuna received his primary education from Class 1 to Class 5 at Wairuku Indian School in Ra where his father Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi was the Roko Tui Ra based in Nanukuloa. The name of the site or yavu that their house was built on in Nanukuloa was called Navakalewa which means to make decisions. Today another house sits on the same site on which the house of the then Roko Tui Ra, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi once sat. A picture of the house which was initially a bure is on the old fifty cents note.

If you visit the school today, there is still a big photo of Ratu Sukuna with the caption “Ex Student of Wairuku” at the bottom of the photo. He was taught by the founder of the school, Pundit Badri Maharaj, who was also one of the founders of the Arya Samaj and later became a member of the Legislative Council. He was also a close acquaintance of Ratu Madraiwiwi and suggested to him that Ratu Sukuna should attend school there.

Pundit Maharaj also arranged to bring in a gentleman from India called Charles Andrew, who was an Anglican Church minister to look into the affairs of the Indo Fijiians at that time. Reverend Andrews was a product of Cambridge University which reflects the educational pathway that was being framed for Ratu Sukuna.

The framework of his education was coined around an Indigenous Fijian, his father, an Indo Fijian Pundit and a European Church minister. In fact it was Pundit Maharaj who insisted to Ratu Joni on Reverend Andrews tutoring Ratu Sukuna after finding out that he was educated at Cambridge University. Thus began the plans for him to one day attend Oxford University.

Here we see how visionary his father was to envisage the future through an education for not only Ratu Sukuna but his brothers and sisters as well.

• Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna during his military days. (second from left).

He was obviously destined for bigger things in terms of nation building, his footprints is still delible today. From humble beginnings in Ra, he was recommended by Adolf Brewester, who was the magistrate in Ra at the time to go to Whanganui Collegiate College and eventually on to Oxford.

Brewester visited the Provincial Office one day to find Ratu Sukuna there reading some books so he proceeded to ask him some questions and was surprised to find the depth of his understanding and knowledge hence his recommendations to the Governor to send him to Whanganui.

Interestingly enough because there were no scholarships available in those days, the provinces paid for all his tuition fees which explained why he gave his life to serving the nation.

He not only excelled in school but he was also a champion boxer, a good rugby and cricket player and also a very good debater. One distinct feature was his strong English accent and if he was speaking in a room next door you wouldn’t know that it was a iTaukei speaking. He also taught and was head teacher in Lakeba, Lau.

The Turaga Talai is regarded as the forerunner of the post-Independence leadership of Fiji. He did a lot to lay the groundwork for self-government by encouraging the development of modern institutions in Fiji. Even though he died in 1958 well before Fiji became independent in 1970, his vision set the course that Fiji was to follow in the years to come. He was supposed to have made this statement, “What Tailevu will do today, Fiji will do tomorrow.”

Turning challenges into opportunities

The Turaga Talai’s enlistment in the French Foreign Legion in January 1915 because he was unable to do so in the British Army on grounds of colour, reflects not only his warrior roots but his ability to turn challenges into opportunities more so where he believed in the cause. Subsequently, he was hurt emotionally, but was not moved by it. It was about the greater good in preserving the British Empire which was being threatened by Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire at the time.

This was his way of demonstrating his loyalty although he had to do it through the French Army. It later resulted in him making a contribution towards the establishment of the Fiji Labour Corps which was to take part in non-combat activities such as dock work in Marseilles in 1917-1918.

The outbreak of World War 11 saw young iTaukei men being voluntarily enlisted in large numbers for service in the Solomon Islands and Bougainville.

The Turaga Talai was the chief recruiting officer which saw the memories of the past forgiven.

The Turaga Talai understood the benefits to be earned by sacrificing for the greater good. He understood the value and importance of placing lives at risk on behalf of the country and its indigenous people. It has been born primarily through engagement in the Solomon Islands, Malaya, the Middle East and other areas where Fijian soldiers have been engaged.

The natural instincts and inclinations of the iTaukei from a soldiering perspective were appreciated early on by Ratu Sir Lala and has continued with the current generation of Fijian leaders. The result a military institution that has served with distinction with peace keeping duties in the middle east.

Today, while leaders and governments have strived to reform and integrate what was previously the Fijian Administration, the Turaga Talai, as one of its major architects has come to be regarded as being archaic in some of his insights .

The economic disparities faced by the iTaukei’s relative to primarily the Indo-Fiijian community is partly attributed to the constraints faced by them given their focus on communal development .

While there is some basis for the criticism, there was this engrossment with trying to ensure that improving the socio economic standards of the iTaukei was to be achieved in moving together, within their own structures of governance.

A great legacy

Ratu Sir Lala’s greatest legacy is the Taukei Land Trust Board which is the trustee of all iTaukei land. It has been questioned in some spheres as an obstacle to the development of land given the powers it has over a large portion of the country.

Those who are supporters of the free market would object to those constraints as stifling investment and the ability of private enterprises to take initiatives in relation to land.

The TLTB was established for the purpose of making land available for economic purposes, particularly for the growing of sugarcane, while protecting iTaukei ownership. At the time of its ratification in 1944, the legislation establishing the TLTB was hailed as a hallmark in the history of the country. For the first time it made large blocks of land readily available for lease from one entity, a situation which had been previously unattainable.

The challenge today is adjusting or adapting to the changing economic conditions.

Despite having had a superior western education, the Turaga Talai was equivocal about the benefits of education as he was about democracy.

“Make haste slowly” or “Vakakusakusa vakamalua” was a favourite saying he liked to say. Education for him represented a two-edged sword with its ability for self-awareness, personal empowerment and confidence.

While he did not encourage steps in this regard, the Turaga Talai did not oppose them either. He acknowledged its value and could not deny the benefits that it had placed on him.

In mentoring Ratu Mara, Ratu Etuate Cakobau, Ratu Penaia Ganilau and Ratu Geoge Kadavulevu Cakobau and other chiefs of that generation, he sought to continue what he had established. That he only partially succeeded is quite commendable.

The Turaga Talai once mentioned at a meeting of the Bose Levu Vakaturaga that the relevance of chiefs totally depended on their being more than ornaments. They had to provide strong leadership that impacted the lives of their people in a meaningful way. This is still very apt today and more relevant then ever.

What lessons can we then learn from Ratu Sir Lala?

That is apart from the iTaukei institutions he either established or fostered to ensure a legacy for Taukei generations for the future.

The Turaga Talai’s style of leadership and the values he lived by still resonate very strongly today. Notwithstanding his high chiefly status and rank, it was the manner in which he held high office for so long during the colonial era.

He treated all manner of folk with respect, courtesy and with dignity. He never benefitted from public office and died without much to his name serving his country.

In fact, he died basically penniless. He was a proponent of the traditional chiefly system and practiced the virtues of reciprocity and of sharing his generosity.

In this globally changing world there is a need to rediscover connectedness and the value of relationships. The time and effort the Turaga Talai invested in people is as relevant now as it was back in the Colonial days.

Of course it was a different time then. The Turaga Talai was proud of his identity but at the same time honoured other communities as well.

At the heart of his upbringing was the belief system that positions of leadership and authority carried with them a proportionate responsibility to ensure at all times the wellbeing and security of the people and communities they served. This phenomenon will always echo loud and clear today and into the future through his farsightedness.

By: Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua

• A tribute to the late Ratu Sir Lala Vanayaliyali Sukuna by the Turaga na Roko Tui Bau Ratu Timoci Tavanavanua.

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