A Dream to Return to Yaqara
For years, the villagers of Drauniivi in Rakiraki have always wanted one thing from the Government – to get back Yaqara.
Yaqara was first inhabited and cultivated by the elders of Drauniivi Village before the colonial era. The land was their main source of livelihood.
Today, 15,000 acres of Yaqara is owned by the Yaqara Pastoral Company Limited (YPCL). The company is a state-owned entity primarily focused on large scale cattle farming.
Yaqara is known for its hilly and mountainous terrain, and dry season. It is a 30 minutes drive from Rakiraki Town.
The story re-told over generations was shared by curren village headman, Tomasi Tuibua.
To remove Drauniivi villagers from their land, the colonial government, led by Sir Arthur Gordon, had the villagers (young and old) exiled to Kadavu in the late 1800s.
Their farms, homes and belongings were flattened to the ground so as to not have a single trace of the Drauniivi people alive on the land.
The colonial Government felt a member of the village’s yavusa Vatukaloko was a threat to its operations in Fiji.
Mosese Dukumoi, referred to as Navosavakadua, was a bête levu (high priest). He gained followers because of the so-called supernatural powers that he possessed.
Because of this, he was exiled to Rotuma where he died and was laid to rest. But for the villagers, their hope to return to their land and home was crushed.
Yaqara was no longer theirs. After eight years in Kadavu, the villagers found themselves taking refuge at Nukuloa.
Their land was leased by Frederick Arthur Thomas and Charles Wimbleton Thomas.
In April, 1907, the villagers of Vunitogoloa agreed to sell Yaqara to the Thomas brothers at a cost of 900 pounds sterling (F$2592.35).
The approval by Vunitogoloa villagers was given during a Raviravi district meeting in Narewa, Nadi.
Vunitogoloa is about 25 minutes’ drive from Drauniivi Village. They had also laid claims over Yaqara when the people of Drauniivi were exiled.
How Yaqara was given up for lease during the colonial days remains a mystery to the villagers. And they continue to search for answers.
To this day, they still regard themselves as slaves of the colonial government.
Drauniivi Village is about a 15 minutes’ drive away from the Yaqara on-site office. However, the village is surrounded by acres of fenced cattle grazing ground owned by YPCL.
“Today, we have to apply for a pass to enter the Yaqara fenced area if we are to look for firewood, or get food. It was not like that back in the days,” Mr Tuibua said.
“Where is the share for the people of Drauniivi? We want our land back because it was owned by our forefathers.”
Village elder Apimeleki Ratu said they were grateful to the late Sakeasi Butadroka.
At the time he was a minister in the Alliance Government before forming the Fijian Nationalist Party.
He was instrumental in giving back a piece of their land where the village’s secondary school sits today.
Villagers are employed at the ranch. However, they have raised concerns about the wages they receive.
He added that despite management changes in YPCL, workers are treated the same.
“In the early days, workers were paid sixty shillings and now it’s $2.60. That’s not enough for the kind of workers carried out by villagers. That is still below the poverty line.”
Today, we have to apply for a pass to enter the Yaqara fenced area if we ARE tO LOOK FOR fiREwOOD, or get food. It was not like that back in the days. Tomasi Tuibua Headman, Drauniivi Village