My grandfather once told me that stories were passed down from one generation to another and that was one of the method they used to keep records of things that happened. Another method they used to keep their stories passed on is through chanting and dancing – ‘meke’ in Fijian.
This is one example of one of their many stories that talks about them drifting from Lake Taganyika across the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and reaching the island that they named, “Viti” or Fiji today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UqFC_6m9X8The song/chant/meke in my own interpretation is:
My ancestors, let me talk about about them.
When the came from South Africa.
Oh! Verata(spelling is probably wrong b’coz it’s Fijian pronouncitation) their real village near the big Lake Tanganyika.
Lutunasobasoba led them as they travelled from South Africa.
With Nai his wife, a woman from East Egypt.
Lutunasobasoba had five children, Today, they are the chiefly descendants of Fiji.
He had only one daughter, Buisavulu(her name) she lives in Bureta.
Rokomautu(one of his son) lives in Verata,
Melasiga(second son) lives in Burebasaga.
Tuinayavu(third son) lives in the Batiki area.
Daunisai lives in Kabara.
The reason why they came out off Tangayika
A serious illness(some form of sickness) had struck them.
They travel across the Atlantic.
They looked for places/islands/land to stay across the Pacific Ocean.
Ni bula vinaka, interested to know more, pse
I need to extend the knowledge of the lost tribe where I taukei fiji is entitle to?
Hi, I am from the southern part of Papua New Guinea called Papua. My tribe is called Mekeo and I speak Mekeo language. My culture & tradition is a chieftainship system where we have hereditary chiefs. We live in clans, sub-clans & villages. Each village have a Paramount Chief, each clan have a chief. The language we speak is an Austronesian. We have other tribes nearby who speak different languages. Woman in Mekeo is PAPI-E, in Roro is FAHFIHE, in Motu is HAHINE, in Hula is VAVINE, and in Maoris is WAHINE, in Tahiti is TAHINE. Is there any similarities between the languages o f Papua and the Polynesians.
Wow this is Amazing my father’s Fijian and I’m an I tauki land owner so proud of my roots
Hi, curious why you didn’t mention Lutunasobasoba’s other son: Sagavulanavuda.
Bula Vinaka.
Am a decent of Lutunasobasoba. Am a niece to the chief of Bureta. All the stories for told have been told to us by our grand parents as a bed time story. So we would always remember our identity and where we stand in society. We still have evidence of that in the village.
Wow Olivia that’s interesting! U are so fortunate, if u don’t mind me asking where about in Bureta is our village? I don’t mind coming down there one day just to see the historical evidence present.
that’s amazing!!!
hi olivia are you from lovoni bureta in ovalau
Hi Grace..Lovoni is a village on it’s own and not part of Bureta.
Bureta itself is a Tikina.
Wow..Are u really the niece of the bureta chief,cause am from Nasaga Bureta.
Wow..really am from bureta
Hi. .is Lutunasobasoba really a chief???
I don’t think so. But it depends on your interpretation of a chief. Was he a leader? Yes of course. A chief ? No or maybe not.