Sitiveni Waqa has stepped into a role that threads customary duty with everyday industry: the newly confirmed Qase ni Turaga of Nubumakita Village in Ra, he spends each morning balancing his obligation to stand in service of his chief with running a small farm that now provides the family’s primary income.
“My role requires me to always be the first to step up in carrying out village duties or obligations,” Waqa said, describing the expectation that he attend meetings at the tikina, vanua and provincial level and walk alongside the chief as decisions affecting the community are weighed. That ceremonial and leadership work sits alongside practical labour: Waqa cultivates banana, dalo and yaqona, with yaqona now the backbone of his household earnings because of strong demand.
“What we earn from the farm has sustained us daily,” he said, noting that income from yaqona outstrips returns from his other crops. A change for villagers in Nubumakita is that buyers now come directly to the village to buy yaqona, removing the travel burden for farmers and making sales more convenient. “They come right to our doorstep. It has made things easier for us,” Waqa added.
His day begins at 5.30am and, by his account, most field work is completed by mid‑morning — a schedule that allows him to meet both farming and chiefly responsibilities. “No one dictates your work. You are your own boss. You just have to manage your time well,” he said, reflecting on the independence farming provides even as he fulfils traditional duties and family obligations.
Waqa’s connection to public service is not only customary. He previously worked for the Public Works Department, a posting that included a notable five‑month stint in Rotuma. “I never imagined I would one day visit Rotuma, so that was a great experience for me,” he recalled, describing the trip as transformative for someone who has otherwise spent most of his life in the village.
The household’s livelihood is a shared effort. Waqa’s wife contributes through weaving, adding another income stream and cultural skill to the family’s mix. Beyond sustaining the family, Waqa says his obligations extend to the church and wider vanua, underscoring how customary leadership and daily labour remain entwined in village life.
This profile of Nubumakita’s Qase ni Turaga highlights a rural pattern now seen in parts of Fiji: customary leaders who combine chiefly responsibilities with market‑oriented agriculture, particularly yaqona production, as buyers move closer to producers. For Waqa, the convergence of tradition, travel and cash crops reflects both the endurance of village roles and the shifting practicalities of sustaining a household in Ra.
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