Taliai Tupou
| Chief Taliai Tupou of Nayau | |
|---|---|
| Issue | |
| Father | Rasolo |
| Mother | Radavu |
Roko Taliai Tupou (17??-1875) was a Fijian nobleman. He is considered to be the progenitor of the noble household Vatuwaqa in the chiefly Vuanirewa clan and as such, was the first member of this noble household to hold the title Tui Nayau. His reign marked the growth of Christianity in Lau and the slow expansion of Tongan ambitions in Fiji, led by Enele Ma'afu. As this period marked increasing contact with Europeans, records from this point forward in regard to the history of Lau are well documented.
Taliai was the son of Chief Rasolo and Radavu. He was the younger half-brother of Malani and the 3rd Tui Nayau.
Taliai Topou’s early reception of missionaries appears lukewarm. He never took them seriously, until he was later influenced by his family members. It is recorded that he only allowed the Methodist missionaries, David Cargill and William Cross, to stay on Lakeba and establish a church after the support of his nephew and heir, Vuetasau. The latter conversion of his favourite daughter, Tagici (after being nursed back to health from a serious illness by a missionary) and the emerging role of Vaubula, Vuetasau’s brother, as an early Fijian preacher appears to have induced him to finally and publicly accept the Christian faith in 1849. From this point forward Christianity gradually replaced the old religion and gained hold in Lau and the rest of Fiji.
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