The Roko Tui Dreketi is the title of the Paramount Chief of Fiji's Rewa Province and of the Burebasaga Confederacy, to which Rewa belongs.
Details on the title
editThis title is considered the second most senior in Fiji's House of Chiefs. The dynasty holding the title is the Tuisawau family. Unlike many other chiefly titles, this one is not reserved for males, as it had become a common occurrence among many other parts of Fiji.
Recent history
editThe present Roko Tui Dreketi is Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Tuisawau-Kepa, who was the Minister for Education in the Qarase government. She succeeded her late sister Ro Lady Lala Mara, Fiji's former First Lady, in 2004.
Title holders
edit- Note that the table below contains incomplete information. The period from 1839 through 1845 was a time of conflicting claims to the title.
| Order | Roko Tui Dreketi | Reigned | Lived |
| 1. | Ro Rawalai | ||
| 2. | Roko Tabaivalu | 1825 - 1839 | ? - 1839 |
| 3. | Ro Koroitamana | 1839 | ? - 1839 |
| 4. | Ro Bativuaka | 1839 | ? - 1839 |
| 5. | Ro Macanavai | 1839 | ? - 1839 |
| 6. | Ro Cokanauto | 1839 - 1841 | 1810 - 1851 |
| 7. | Ro Qaraniqio | 1839 - 1840 | ? - 26 January 1855 |
| 8. | Ro Banuve | 1839 - 1845 | ? - December 1845 |
| . | Ro Cokanauto | 1845 - 1851 | (s.a.) |
| . | Ro Qaraniqio | 1851 - 1855 | (s.a.) |
| 9. | Ro B.V. Rabici | - 1915 | |
| 12. | Ratu Lutunauga Tuisawau | - 1917 | |
| 13. | Ro Emori Bikavanua Logavatu | 1885–1892 | |
| 14. | George Tuisawau | 1936 - 1961 | 1901 - 1961 |
| 15. | Lala Mara | 1957 - 2004 | 3 January 1931 - 20 July 2004 |
| 15. | Ro Teimumu Vuikaba Tuisawau Kepa | 2004–present | b. 1945 |
References
edit- Elites: Choice, Leadership and succession, Chapter 6 Making the Chief – Page 116, By Antonia Pedroso de Lima, Joao de Pina-Cabral, Published first in 2000 by Berg Editorial Offices, Oxford, U.K
1. Ro Rawalai 2. Ro banuve Bativuaka Lutunauga