On 18 March 2005, it was announced that five elders from his home island of Lakeba had visited him in Suva to invite him to succeed his late father as Tui Nayau, or Paramount Chief of the Lau Islands. Although not strictly hereditary, the title is traditionally held by a male in the chiefly Vuanirewa Clan, a tradition his father reportedly wanted upheld. One village elder, who chose not to be named, said that Mara had both the blood ties and the modern education expected of a Paramount Chief. ""He is a high chief, whose parents are both paramount chiefs and have strong blood ties with all the chiefly households in Fiji and Tonga, is young and can look after his people,"" the elder said.