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{{Italic title}}
{{Short description|Austronesian honorific title for male Fijians of chiefly rank}}
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{{No footnotes|date=December 2013}}
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{{EngvarB|date=September 2018}}
{{About|the Fijian chiefly title}}

{{Nobility of Fiji}}

'''''Ratu''''' ({{IPA|fj|ˈrɑːtu|}}) is an [[Austronesian peoples|Austronesian]] title used by male [[Fijians]] of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, '''''adi''''' (pronounced {{IPA|fj|ˈandi|}}), is used by females of chiefly rank. In the [[Malay language]], the title ''ratu'' is also the traditional [[honorific]] title to refer to the ruling king or queen in [[Javanese people|Javanese culture]] (though it has since been used in modern contexts to refer to both [[queens regnant|queen regnant]] and [[queens consort|queen consort]] of any nation, e.g. "Ratu [[Elizabeth II]]" and "Ratu [[Queen Camilla|Camilla]]"). Thus in [[Java]], a royal [[palace]] is called "''[[keraton]]''", constructed from the [[circumfix]] ''ke- -an'' and ''Ratu'', to describe the residence of the ratu.

Ratu: A chiefly title for men used alone as a form of address, or in front of the chief's name, only in certain places The source of the Fijian title is Verata, and it has spread throughout Fiji during the past century, now applied to many local, minor chiefs as well as the major ones. The concept of his type of title is from Tonga. Strictly speaking, the title belongs only in Verata. In their time, Cakobau or Tanoa, his father, never themselves used the title of Ratu. It does not appear with Cakobau's name or any other chief's name in the Deed of Cession of 1874. (Exceptionally, in the 1850s, Ratu Mara Kapaiwai was one of the few who did use the word Ratu, though that may have been a name rather than a title.) It has been affixed to the names of Tana and Cakobau by later Fijians, retroactively. The Cakobau Memorial Church on Bau Island is now referred to as the Ratu Cakobau Church. Ratu may also be used as a personal first name or second name. The title may be acquired as part of a chiefly name, by a namesake. In such cases, it does not imply chiefly status. Adi is the female equivalent, sometimes heard as Yadi in Lau.

==Etymology==
''Ra'' is a prefix in many titles (''ramasi, ramalo, rasau, ravunisa, ratu''), and ''tu'' means simply "chief". The formal use of "ratu" as a title in a name (as in "Sir" in British tradition) was not introduced until after the [[History of Fiji#Annexation by the British in 1874|cession of 1874]]. Until then, a chief would be known only by his birth name and his area-specific traditional title.

Regional variations include ''ro'' in Rewa and parts of [[Naitasiri Province|Naitasiri]] and [[Tailevu Province|Tailevu]], ''roko'' in parts of [[Naitasiri Province|Naitasiri]], [[Rewa Province|Rewa]] and [[Lau Province|Lau]] (particularly the [[Moala Islands|Moala]] group), ''ra'' in parts of [[Vanua Levu]], particularly the [[Provinces of Fiji|province]] of [[Bua Province|Bua]].

In all those places, it is used as a title preceding the person's name, much like "prince", "duke", "earl", "baron" or "lord".

The semantics, however, are a little different in Fijian although the name and title are usually reversed, for example:

In English, one would say ''His Royal Highness'' (Styling) ''Prince'' (address/title) Andrew (name), ''Duke of York'' (noble title).

In Fijian, one would say, ''Gone Turaga Na'' (Styling) ''Roko Tui Bau'' (noble title), Ratu (address/title) Joni Madraiwiwi (name).

==Fijian nobility==
The Fijian nobility consists of about seventy chiefs, each of whom descends from a family that has traditionally ruled a certain area. The chiefs are of differing rank, with some chiefs traditionally subordinate to other chiefs.  The Vusaratu clan is regarded as the highest chiefly clan, with regards to the people of Bau until the rise of the Tui Kaba clan leader, who exiled all Vusaratu members. They are the heirs of Ratu [[Seru Epenisa Cakobau]], the [[Vunivalu of Bau|''Vunivalu'' of Bau]] or ''[[Tui Levuka]]'' (Paramount Chief of Bau, on the eastern side of [[Viti Levu]], Fiji's most populous island), He proclaimed himself "''[[Monarchy of Fiji|Tui Viti/King of Fiji]]''" in 1871. (He was only recognised by the British and a few provinces of Viti Levu)
He along with 12 high Chiefs subsequently ceded the islands to the [[United Kingdom]] in 1874.

Other prominent chiefly clans include the [[Vuanirewa]] (the traditional rulers of the [[Lau Islands]]) and the [[Ai So'ula]] (the traditional rulers of [[Vanua Levu]]).

During the colonial rule (1874–1970), the British kept Fiji's traditional chiefly structure and worked through it. They established what was to become the [[Great Council of Chiefs]], originally an advisory body, but it grew into a powerful [[1997 Constitution of Fiji|constitutional]] institution.  Constitutionally, it functions as an electoral college to choose Fiji's [[president of Fiji|president]] (a largely honorary position modelled on the British monarchy), the [[vice-president of Fiji|vice-president]], and 14 of the 32 [[Senate of Fiji|senators]], members of [[Parliament of Fiji|Parliament's]] "upper house", which has a veto over most legislation. The 18 other senators are appointed by the [[Prime Minister of Fiji|Prime Minister]] (9), the [[Leader of the Opposition (Fiji)|Leader of the Opposition]] (8), and the [[Council of Rotuma]] (1); these appointees may, or may not, be of chiefly rank also. (The Senate was modelled on [[United Kingdom|Britain's]] [[House of Lords]], which consists of both hereditary and life [[Peerage|peers]].)

The presidency, vice-presidency, and fourteen senators are the only constitutional offices whose appointment is controlled by persons of chiefly rank. Chiefs in post-independence Fiji have always competed for [[House of Representatives of Fiji|parliamentary]] seats on an equal footing with commoners. In the years following independence, this favored the chiefly class, as the common people looked to them as their leaders and generally voted for them. For several elections, many [[Fijians|ethnic Fijian]] members of the House, which is elected by universal suffrage, were of chiefly rank, but in recent elections, the discrepancy between chiefs and commoners is slowly narrowing, as commoners are becoming better educated and have begun to work their way into the power structure. The chiefs, however, retain enormous respect among the Fijian people. In times of crisis, such as the [[1987 Fijian coups d'état|coups of 1987]] and the [[2000 Fijian coup d'état|third coup of 2000]], the [[Great Council of Chiefs]] often stepped in to provide leadership when the modern political institutions have broken down.

==Notable chiefs==
* Sir [[George Cakobau]]; Fiji's first native-born [[Governor-General of Fiji|governor-general]]
* [[Seru Epenisa Cakobau]]; Fijian [[Head of State of Fiji|monarch]] who ceded the islands to the [[United Kingdom]]
* Sir [[Penaia Ganilau]]; Fiji's first [[President of Fiji|president]] and last governor-general
* [[Josefa Iloilo]]; former president
* Sir [[Kamisese Mara]]; [[Father of the Nation|Founding father]]; longest-running [[Prime Minister of Fiji|prime minister]] and president
* [[Tevita Momoedonu]]; former prime minister
* Sir [[Lala Sukuna]]; Soldier, scholar, and statesman. First Fijian university graduate. Read law at Oxford. Former Speaker of the [[Legislative Council of Fiji|Legislative Council]]
* [[Epeli Nailatikau]]; former president and current [[Parliament of Fiji|Speaker of Parliament]]
* [[Joni Madraiwiwi]]; former vice-president, former high court judge and prominent lawyer.
* [[J.A.R. Dovi]]; first fully qualified medical doctor.
* [[Peni Volavola]]; former lord mayor of [[Suva]] and Methodist church official.
* [[Udre Udre]]; [[Guinness World Records|Guinness World Record]] for "most prolific cannibal", reportedly ate between 872 and 999 people

==References==

* '''Lau Islands''', Fiji, By Arthur Maurice Hocart, Published 1929, Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Ethnology, 241 pages, Original from the University of Michigan, no.62 1929, Digitized Feb 23, 2007. ''Page 150 has details on titles like Ratu and Roko and their use''

{{Nobility by nation}}
{{Fiji topics}}

[[Category:Fijian chiefs| ]]
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