12/06/2025
|▪️The Origins of the Veitauvutaki between Rewa and Lau: Our Adi Keletu of Nayau 🌸🌼
Long before Fiji became the nation we now call home—before the lines on a map, before titles and divisions—our islands were shaped by great voyages, sacred bonds, and stories whispered from one generation to the next. One of the most powerful of these stories is ours—the tale of Adi Keletu of Nayau, and the origin of the veitauvutaki between the people of Rewa and Lau.
This is not just history. This is family. This is memory. This is who we are.
▪️Our Ancestors and the Early Migrations 🗺️
Our ancestors were among the first to cross the oceans to Viti Levu, settling its coasts and climbing its mountains. They moved with purpose—sometimes pushed by conflict, other times by curiosity, seeking peace, abundance, or refuge. No matter how far they traveled, they carried with them the roots of where they came from and the names of those who walked before them.
These ancient connections never faded. They lived in the way we greet one another, the names we pass on, and the veitauvutaki—the sacred kinship that binds us still, reminding us that although we may now live on different islands, we once came from the same.
▪️Adi Keletu: Our Princess of Nayau👸
At the heart of our story is a young woman whose name still stirs the heart: Adi Keletu, our princess of Nayau. She belonged to a people descended from the mighty Verata, a kingdom that once reigned over much of eastern Fiji.
Adi Keletu was noble not only by birth, but in spirit—renowned for her grace, wisdom, and quiet strength. Her long, flowing hair, known as tobe, was more than a marker of her chiefly rank; it was sacred. It symbolized her purity and the path she was destined for as a daughter of high lineage.
She carried herself with the delicate refinement expected of one chosen to marry into another chiefly house, and she was never without her retinue of maidens—companions who served her and trained alongside her in the customs of chiefly life. To all who beheld her, Adi Keletu embodied the essence of nobility, both seen and unseen.
She was a daughter of her land. Our land. And one day, the sea would take her, only to return her in a way that would bind our people forever.
▪️The Shark and the Sea 🌊
One day, Adi Keletu and her attendants set out to fish, as they often did when the tide was low. With her net in hand and her itoci—a sharp shell tool—tucked behind her ear, she joined the women in the shallows, wading out into the familiar waters of Nayau.
The sea was quiet that day, offering little near the shore. They ventured farther, casting their net once more. It caught something massive—so powerful that the women panicked and turned for shore. In the confusion, Adi Keletu was taken by a great shark.
Back on the beach, her maidens returned in shock to share the news. The people searched the waters, but no trace of Adi Keletu could be found.
▪️Inside the Beast 🦈
Inside that darkness, Adi Keletu endured. For ten days she lived, breathing what little air remained, growing weak, but never losing hope. She found the itoci behind her ear and used it to cut from within the belly of the beast. It was an act of will, of defiance, of survival.
The shark, wounded and raging, fled west—toward Rewa.
It was there, near the creek of Cavura in Navakā, that the shark expelled her onto the banks. Her body collapsed, but her spirit remained unbroken.
She had crossed the sea not by boat, but through the belly of the ocean itself.
▪️Found by the People of Noco📍
At dawn, a man from Bureonoco saw her—bathed in golden light, radiant and alive. He asked: “Are you spirit or human?”
She answered, “I am Adi Keletu of Nayau.”
And just like that, our destinies were entwined.
He took her in, tended to her with the leaves and waters of the land, and shared her story. The Ratu of Bureonoco welcomed her, and she became more than a guest—she became family.
Adi Keletu later married into the chiefly house of Noco. Through her, our bloodlines merged. And with her, a sacred bond was born between Nayau and Noco, between Lau and Rewa.
▪️The Veitauvutaki We Carry🤝
From that union came more than descendants—it gave us identity. The veitauvutaki that we hold today is not just ceremony or formality. It is ours. It lives in our laughter, our silences, in the way we embrace one another, and in the stories we pass down like precious heirlooms.
The four warriors who first took Adi Keletu to Nabudrau came from Matanimoli. Their descendants are known as the Matakinayau, guardians of her memory, and through them, we honor her always.
▪️Not Just Kin—Sacred Kin🤝
Today, when the people of Rewa and Lau meet, they do so with instant familiarity. Though they may begin as strangers, they are Tauvu—bound by a shared origin, a common bloodline, and a story that echoes across the generations.
But the relationship between Noco and Nayau stands apart from other veitauvutaki ties. It is not marked by teasing or lighthearted exchange, as seen in many Tauvu connections. Instead, it is a bond woven with deep respect and sacred remembrance. The people of Noco regard the people of Nayau with reverence—aware of their chiefly lineage, and ever mindful of the princess whose journey forever joined their destinies.
In return, the people of Nayau honor the land and the chiefly line that sheltered their daughter, nursed her back to life, and welcomed her as one of their own. This is a relationship not of jest, but of dignity. Laughter gives way to solemnity; casual words are replaced by silent recognition. It is a kinship built not only on ancestry, but on legacy.
The story of Adi Keletu is more than a tale of survival—it is a living memory of origin, a sacred thread that binds us still. It reminds us that family is never truly lost—only carried forward in name, in heart, and in the way we honor one another.
Through the veitauvutaki between Rewa and Lau—rooted in Nayau and Noco—this memory lives on.
📌DISCLAIMER: ▪️If some of our stories differ from what others may know or have been told, please understand that it is written based on oral traditions passed down by our forefathers. We acknowledge that there may be different versions across families and villages. Our intention is not to cause division or dispute, but simply to honour our elders, share our stories, trace our origins, and strengthen the ties that bind us as relatives.
