A member of the Takumasiva dynasty, she acceded to the throne on 5 December 1858,[1] a few weeks after the death of her brother
Soane-Patita Vaimua Lavelua,[2] who chose her to succeed him.[1] The Catholic mission played an important role in her nomination, with Jean-Claude Roux saying they "pushed [her] to the throne".[3]: 126
In 1859, she encountered difficulties with a French merchant, who had to leave Wallis.[3]: 69
Her coming to power revived conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, converted by Wesleyan missionaries (Methodists) from Tonga.[1] Thus, in 1866, she refused to grant the islanders religious freedom, as requested by the captain of a Royal Navy ship who had come to support the Protestants,[3]: 285 and also refused the request of a Wesleyan pastor the following year.[2]
Her niece Amelia Tokagahahau Aliki succeeded her on February 19, 1869[4] and she died the next day.
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abcdefChave-Dartoen, Sophie (2018-09-24),
"Chapitre 2", Royauté, chefferie et monde socio-cosmique à Wallis ('Uvea) : Dynamiques sociales et pérennité des institutions, Monographies (in French), Marseille: pacific-credo Publications, pp. 105–144,
ISBN978-2-9563981-7-2, retrieved 2022-01-06
^Tjibaou, Marie-Claude; Felomaki, Savelio; Beauvilain, Thierry; Pantz, Pierre-Alain (2009). Tavaka lanu ʻimoana : mémoires de voyages : [exposition, Centre culturel Tjibaou, Nouméa, Nouvelle-Calédonie], 25 juillet-1er novembre 2009. Nouméa: Agence de développement de la culture kanak.