Ratu

Ratuș is a commune in Telenești District, Moldova. It is composed of five villages: Mîndra, Ratuș, Sărătenii Noi, Zăicani and Zăicanii Noi.

Ratu ( ) is an Austronesian title used by male Fijians of chiefly rank. An equivalent title, adi (pronounced ), 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 culture (though it has since been used in modern contexts to refer to both queen regnant and queen consort of any nation, e.g. "Ratu Elizabeth II" and "Ratu 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 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 and Tailevu, roko in parts of Naitasiri, Rewa and Lau (particularly the Moala group), ra in parts of Vanua Levu, particularly the province of 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) Phillip (name), Duke of Edinburgh (noble title). In Fijian, one would say, Gone Turaga Na (Styling) Roko Tui Bau (noble title), Ratu (address/title) Joni Madraiwiwi (name).

Notable chiefs

Sir George Cakobau; Fiji's first native-born governor-general Seru Epenisa Cakobau; Fijian monarch who ceded the islands to the United Kingdom Sir Penaia Ganilau; Fiji's first president and last governor-general Josefa Iloilo; former president Sir Kamisese Mara; Founding father; longest-running 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 Epeli Nailatikau; former president and current 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 Record for "most prolific cannibal", reportedly ate between 872 and 999 people

References

Lau Islands, Fiji, By Arthur Maurice Hocart, Published 1929¹, 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

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