Bulou

Bulou is a title used by Fijian women of chiefly rank, in the Provinces of Nadroga-Navosa and Kadavu, and parts of Serua Province, in Fiji.

It is equivalent to Adi, the title given to female chiefs elsewhere in Fiji.

The equivalent title used by male chiefs is Ratu.

The title of Bulou is one of high significance, importance, and of great honor among Fijian Women. The rank in the ancient Pacific islander tribal nation goes back generations and is viewed with the same respect as the tribes chief. Although the title is still used for Women of great tribal significance, not all the provinces within the nation of Fiji appoint the same title. The title is mostly given to women in the provinces of Nadroga-Navosa and Serua Province. These are both located on Fijis southern and largest island of Viti Levu, on the southwestern side of the island.

Earliest archeological findings give modern historians a good guess that the first Fijian natives settled on the islands as early as 3500 BC. With the first prehistoric native pacific population been known as the Lapita. All the is known about the prehistoric race is archeological findings of old pottery or other remanences of the ancient civilization. Archeologists have made the conclusion that the ancient tribes of the Fijian islanders have a stronger connection to the Polynesian cultures then any other ancient pacific culture. Throughout the centuries the islands that make up the now nation of Fiji had created many dense and complicated languages and different tribes. These ways of life and ideas were able to spread through the invention of the canoe from the trees on the island. It has been said that the native tribes have gone to great extent in tribal battles, even to the point of frequent and common acts of cannibalization. With regards to recent history, the British Empire granted the nation of Fiji its independence in 1970.

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