Kubuna is one of three confederacies which comprise Fiji's House of Chiefs, to which all of Fiji's chiefs belong. It consists of the provinces of Tailevu, Naitasiri, Lomaiviti, and parts of the western provinces of Ba, Ra, and Namosi. The term House of Chiefs is a collective term used to refer to the Fijian nobility, which consists of about seventy chiefs of various ranks. ... Ratu is a title inherited by Fijians of chiefly rank. ...

The capital of this confederacy is Bau Island in Tailevu Province.

The paramount chief of Kubuna, who is generally considered to be the highest-ranked chief in Fiji, is the Vunivalu of Bau. This position has been vacant since the death of Ratu Sir George Cakobau, a former Governor General, in 1989. Succession is not necessarily from father to son, although there is a hereditary element. Currently, there are five eligible contenders: Ratu Epeli Nailatikau (the Speaker of the House of Representatives) and his brother, Ratu Tu'akitau Cokanauto, Ratu George and Ratu Epenisa Cakobau (sons of Ratu Sir George Cakobau), and Ratu George Kadavulevu. It is thought that clan politics is part of the reason why none of these candidates has, of yet, been installed. Ratu Sir George Cakobau (1912-1989) was Governor General of Fiji from 1972 to 1982. ... Fiji became a British Crown Colony in 1874, and an independent dominion in the British Commonwealth in 1970; the British Monarch (Queen Elizabeth II remained the Head of State until 1987, when she formally abdicated following two military coups). ... 1989 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Ratu Epeli Nailatikau (born 1941) is a Fijian politician. ... Overview The House of Representatives is the lower chamber of Fijis Parliament. ...

Another high chief from Kubuna is the Roko Tui Bau, currently Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi, the Vice-President of Fiji. According to sources within the Great Council of Chiefs (a traditional body which, among other things, functions as an electoral college to choose the President and Vice-President), he was chosen for the Vice-Presidency because it was thought that as President Ratu Josefa Iloilo was from the Burebasaga and his predecessor, Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara from Tovata, the current Vice-President should be from Kubuna. Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi Ratu Joni Madraiwiwi (born 1957) is the Vice-President of Fiji. ... The Fijian vice-presidency is a mostly ceremonial office. ... The Great Council of Chiefs (Bose Levu Vakaturaga in Fijian) is a constitutional body in the Republic of the Fiji Islands. ... An electoral college is a set of electors who are empowered as a deliberative body to elect someone to a particular office. ... Fiji became a republic in 1987, when Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom formally abdicated as Queen of Fiji, following two military coups led by Lieutenant Colonel Sitiveni Rabuka. ... Ratu Josefa Iloilo Uluivuda (born December 29, 1920) is the President of Fiji. ... Burebasaga is the largest of the three confederacies that comprise Fijis House of Chiefs, to which all Fijian chiefs belong. ... Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara (May 6, 1920-April 18, 2004) is considered the founding father of the modern nation of Fiji. ...

Sources: Maori News (Fiji supplement) (http://maorinews.com/karere/fiji/stratmarr.htm); Vunivalu of Bau (http://www.uq.net.au/~zzhsoszy/states/fiji/vunivalu.html)