Wikipedia
Mata’uvave was the name given to a dynasty of male chiefs presiding over the Ha’apai Island Group of Tonga from the 15th century until the mid-1980s. The first Mata’uvave was appointed to a gubernatorial role by Tu’i Tonga Kau’ulufonua I to increase the Tu’i Tonga’s control over Ha’apai. The first few generations of the title subdued several islands in northern Ha’apai and undertook several major building projects, most notably pigeon mounds, the Huluipaongo burial mound, and the Velata fortress. Within a few generations the Mata’uvave attempted to rule independently, antagonizing the authority of chiefs in Tongatapu and causing a confrontation that the Mata’uvave eventually lost. They were relegated to a line of nobility called ‘eiki si’i, or “a minor chief without importance.”