YAVUSA · MATAQALI · TOKATOKA

Clans and chiefs

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What we know

  • Yavusa, mataqali and tokatoka describe important kin and community groupings; their organisation has varied across places and time.
  • Chiefly authority ranged from local leadership to extensive networks of alliance and tribute.
  • Colonial administration formalised selected social arrangements and used chiefs in indirect rule.

The story

Fiji was not a single pre-colonial kingdom. Leaders ranged from local chiefs to powerful rulers with extensive alliances and tributaries. Kinship, ceremonial standing and the ability to mobilise resources helped sustain their authority.

Terms such as yavusa, mataqali and tokatoka describe important forms of belonging, but their organisation varied. Later colonial administration gave selected arrangements more fixed official forms. Reading the past only through those later categories can hide local differences.

Words in this chapter

yavusa, mataqali, tokatoka — this chapter is where the museum explains this word. See the whole glossary →

Pictures in this chapter

Sources

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