Lala Sukuna - Lineage

Lineage

Josefa Lalabalavu Vana'ali'ali Sukuna was born into a chiefly family on Bau, off the island of Viti Levu, the largest island in the Fiji archipelago. His father, Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, was the son of the Bauan noble and rebel leader Ratu Mara Kapaiwai. After joining the Audit Office as a clerk at an early age, Ratu Madraiwiwi had steadily worked his way up through the civil service, establishing connections along the way that were later to prove decisive in the life of his son. Ratu Sukuna's mother, Adi Litiana Maopa, was the daughter of the Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba I, the heir of the Tui Nayau, Taliai Tupou (High Chief of Lau) and a maternal granddaughter of Ratu Tevita Uluilakeba II, the Fijian monarch who had unified the nation under his authority in 1871 before ceding it to the United Kingdom in 1874. Throughout his life, Ratu Sukuna was regarded as a credible contender for the title of Tui Viti.