What is "gagaja"

Gagaja is a Rotuman word denoting the position of "Chief" or "Lord". This could be a formal chiefly position in one of the seven districts (gagaj 'es itu'u) or a village chief (fa 'es ho'aga) as well as to anyone else, such as the Chairman of the Rotuma Island Council (Gagaj Jeaman ta) to whom respect and deference is owed based on their own skills and attributes. Unlike in many other Pacific cultures, the official chiefly positions are not allocated according to any strict primogeniture, but rather are elected from all eligible males within certain kạinaga (family or clan groups) to whom the chiefly title belongs.