Legend of The Tagimoucia

The tragic and poignant story of a young Fijian Princess is the legend behind the origin of Fiji’s unique flower, the Tagimocia. 

The Tagimoucia, pronounced  tang-ee-mow-theea, is unique to Fiji – in fact it can only be found in two locations – on the island of Taveuni and in certain areas of Fiji’s second largest island of Vanua Levu and then only at elevations in excess of 600 meters.

The legend surrounding the origin of the tagimoucia, is poignant to say the least.  The flower came into existence, so at least one version of the legend says, long ago when a beautiful princess from Taveuni was pledged in marriage to an ugly old chief as part of a political settlement.  

The princess was young and in love with a handsome warrior but bound to obey her lord, her grief was so profound that she could not face her fate and ran off into Taveuni’s rainforest.  She climbed ever higher up the slopes of the volcanic Mount Uluigalauuntil she reached the summit where she fell in exhaustion, crying so profusely that her tears formed a lake.  When she could cry no more, drops of blood came out and where these fell, a lovely vine sprung bearing a beautiful blood-red bloom with a lovely white teardrop in its center.

In the meantime, a search party was combing the bush and in due course she was found beside the lake beneath the vine with its blooms. She had died from exhaustion and grief, and those who saw her beneath the flowers knew that her death would be forever remembered.

They named the flower the tagimoucia –“ to cry in one’s sleep’. It maybe found beside Uluigalau’s crater lake, high in the misty slopes of Taveuni, recalling a beautiful princess and her tragic death.

All attempts to transplant the flower from Taveuni, including one to move it to the higher elevations of mount Victoria, which is Fiji’s highest mountain,on Viti Levu, have failed so far despite ideal conditions.  However you can sometimes find the flower in your wallet. It is represented on Fiji’s $50 bank note. The representational design of the tagimoucia flowers on the note is based on the pictures you see here which were taken by James Siers.