{{coord, 17, 42, S, 178, 48, E, display=title, region:FJ_type:city_source:GNS-enwiki The Tikina of Lovoni is made up of the Fijian villages of Lovoni, Nasaumatua, Vuni-ivi-savu, Visoto, Nukutocia and Nacobo. The latter three

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

s are located on the coast of Ovalau. The paramount Chief of the Tikina of Lovoni which includes six villages is the Tui Wailevu the Vunivalu.

History

Various

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrati ...

s and legends attribute the Lovoni people to different origins. It is believed that they were the first

settler A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a pioneer. Settl ...

s of the

island An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land completely surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island in a river or a lake island may be ...

having migrated from mainland Vitilevu to settle Ovalau. Popular beliefs link them to the High Chiefdom of Verata and inevitably to the Nakauvadra epic. The founding ancestor of the Lovoni is popularly referred to as Rakavono, nephew to the mythical founder of the Bureta people, Bui Savulu, daughter of Lutunasobasoba. At the time of

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located enti ...

an contact, written sources refer to this group of people as the predominant rulers of Ovalau. They were responsible for torching the settlement of

Levuka Levuka () is a town on the eastern coast of the Fijian island of Ovalau, in Lomaiviti Province, in the Eastern Division of Fiji. Prior to 1877, it was the capital of Fiji. At the census in 2007, the last to date, Levuka town had a population o ...

, at least twice, causing a dispersal of its early European settlers to

Savusavu Savusavu () is a town in the Fijian Province of Cakaudrove. The town is located on the south coast of Vanua Levu Island and had a population of 3,372 in the 2007 census. Savusavu is known as "the hidden paradise of Fiji." Geography Savus ...

. They were an independent Fijian Kingdom with kinship ties to the Roko Tui Bau, the people of Verata, Wainibuka and

Naitasiri :see also Naitasiri District Naitasiri is one of the 14 provinces of Fiji and one of eight located on Viti Levu, Fiji's largest island. Geography and infrastructure Naitasiri covers an area of , and occupies the area mostly to the north of Suva, ...

. Their allies within the Lomaiviti group lay with the Tora ni Bau of

Batiki Batiki is an island of Fiji belonging to the Lomaiviti Archipelago The Lomaiviti (pronounced ) archipelago of Fiji consists of seven main islands and a number of smaller ones. They cover a total area of , and had a population of 15,657 at the ...

. They also had strong ties with the people of Bua and Cakaudrove. To the east, they had extensive ties and allies with the Yasayasa Moala and

Ono-i-Lau Ono-i-Lau is a group of islands within a barrier reef system in the Fijian archipelago of Lau Islands (''ono'' means "six" in the Fijian language Fijian (') is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken by some 350,000� ...

. Their ties to the west of Fiji were direct kinship ties with the noblehouse of the

Tui Nadi Tui Nadi (or I Nakuruvarua, Navatulevu, na Momo na Tui Nadi in full) is the title of the Paramount Chief A government statement mentioning the definition. of Nadi, in Fiji. The Tui Nadi hails from the village of Narewa, and exercises chiefly aut ...

. The Lovoni people, being an independent kingdom with several strategic tributaries, ensured their role as mercenaries of war in the central Fijian province of Lomaiviti, which at the time of European contact, was undergoing a major power struggle between the Noble Houses of Verata and their ally and kin the House of the Roko Tui Bau and the rising power of the

Vunivalu of Bau Turaga na Vunivalu na Tui Kaba is the Paramount Chief of the Kubuna Confederacy, loosely translated the title means ''Warlord of Bau'' or Root of War. The succession to the title does not follow primogeniture, but the candidate must be a high-r ...

. This period also saw the growing power of the

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

ns influx to the east of Fiji, the rise of Rewa and its tributaries and the presence of the Europeans and their efficient firearms. The Lovoni people found themselves in the center of this major conflict and power struggle and often played the determining role of supporting whichever side suited them best, based on kinship ties. Their unfailing support of the ailing and declining house of the Roko Tui Bau and his descendants would mark the fate of this fiercely independent and proud people. Populated places in Fiji