Ilaijia Varani was a chief of Viwa, Bau, Tailevu in Fiji in the mid-to-late 19th century.. He was an important leader both as a pagan as a Christian. A friend and the right hand of Ratu Seru Cakobau, feared by all, renowned as a warrior, respected as a leader – it cost him a great deal to risk all and become a Christian as he did on Good Friday, 1845. Yet as a Christian, his powers passed not from him. His island of Viwa, became a haven of refuge for persecuted Christians. Yet despite the limitation placed on him by his new faith, he was never disloyal to his king.

Varani played a vital role in the protection of the early missionaries such as Reverend John Hunt and Wiliam Lyth to the Fiji group in the early 19th century. Under his protection, Christian missionaries managed to spread the influence of Christianity much more quickly than would have been expected. Cannibalism was still practiced at that time in Fiji.

His story still stands today to show how a leader may be loyal both to GOD and country. His energies were expended in endeavor to lead fighting tribes to peace – and in so doing he eventually paid the supreme price at Lovoni

Lovoni

The Tikina of Lovoni is made up of the villages of Lovoni, Nasaumatua, Vuni-ivi-savu, Visoto, Nukutocia and Nacobo. The latter three villages are located on the coast of Ovalau.- History :...

, Ovalau

Ovalau

Ovalau is the sixth largest island in Fiji's Lomaiviti Archipelago. Situated at 17.70° South and 178.8° East, , the island is about 13 kilometers long and 10 kilometers wide...

.

Ratu Ilaijia Varani is a fine example of real leadership – leadership which does not lose sight of its Christian responsibility in public life.

One of the four houses at the Lelean Memorial School

Lelean Memorial School

Lelean Memorial School is one of the largest co-ed schools in Fiji today. It was established in 1943 and is run by the Methodist Church of Fiji. It is co-located at the Davuilevu Methodist Compound with the and the Young People's Department, which runs training for Methodist catechists...

, a Methodist Church of Fiji

Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma

The Methodist Church of Fiji and Rotuma is the largest Christian denomination in Fiji, with 36.2 percent of the total population at the 1996 census...

 run school at its Davuilevu

Davuilevu

Davuilevu, the name of the site upon which three Methodist Church of Fiji institutions are located, can be translated as "the large conch shell"....

 compound at Nausori, Fiji, is named after this great Christian Fiji

Fiji

Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...

an chief.

Reference

• Tippett
  Alan Tippett
  -Life:Tippett was born in Australia and was a missionary to the Fiji Islands for more than 20 years. He earned his Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Oregon in 1964 and taught part time in the Institute of Church Growth, Fuller Theological Seminary....
  
  , A.R., 1954, The Christian (Fiji 1835–1867), Auckland Institute and Museum, Auckland
• GARRETT, John, 1982, To Live Among the Stars: Christian origins in Oceania,World Council of Churches in association with the Institute of Pacific Studies of the University of the South Pacific, Geneva/Suva.
• CABENALEVU, Peni, 1996, ‘Viwa and Ratu Varani/Ko Ratu Ravisa Varani’,in Thornley and Vulaono 1996:73–86.