Various
myths and legends attribute the Lovoni people to different origins. It is believed that they were the first
settlers of the
island having
migrated from mainland Vitilevu to settle
Ovalau. Popular beliefs link them to the High Chiefdom of Verata and inevitably to the Nakauvadra epic. The founding ancestor of the Lovoni is popularly referred to as Rakavono, nephew to the mythical founder of the Bureta people, Bui Savulu, daughter of Lutunasobasoba. At the time of
European contact, written sources refer to this group of people as the predominant rulers of Ovalau. They were responsible for torching the settlement of
Levuka, at least twice, causing a dispersal of its early European settlers to
Savusavu. They were an independent
Fijian Kingdom with kinship ties to the Roko Tui Bau, the people of Verata, Wainibuka and
Naitasiri. Their allies within the
Lomaiviti group lay with the Tora ni Bau of
Batiki. They also had strong ties with the people of
Bua and
Cakaudrove. To the east, they had extensive ties and allies with the Yasayasa Moala and
Ono-i-Lau. Their ties to the west of Fiji were direct kinship ties with the noblehouse of the
Tui Nadi. The Lovoni people, being an
independent kingdom with several strategic tributaries, ensured their role as
mercenaries of war in the central Fijian province of
Lomaiviti, which at the time of European contact, was undergoing a major power struggle between the Noble Houses of Verata and their ally and kin the House of the Roko Tui Bau and the rising power of the
Vunivalu of Bau. This period also saw the growing power of the
Tongans influx to the east of Fiji, the rise of
Rewa and its tributaries and the presence of the Europeans and their efficient
firearms. The Lovoni people found themselves in the center of this major conflict and power struggle and often played the determining role of supporting whichever side suited them best, based on kinship ties. Their unfailing support of the ailing and declining house of the Roko Tui Bau and his descendants would mark the fate of this fiercely independent and proud people. ==References==