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Meʻetuʻupaki
The meetuupaki (mee tuu paki: dance standing ithpaddles) is an ancient Tongan group dance, already reported by early European navigators like captain Cook. This dance has been traditionally designed for men although women may take part if there are not enough men. The mee tuu paki resembles a kind of war dance; albeit, it is done with little symbolic paddles as opposed to arms. Dress The dress for this dance invariably is a large sheet of ngatu wrapped around the body from chest to ankles. A girdle of leaves around the waist (sisi) is often added. Movements The movements are largely with the paddles in the hand, but the proper addition of the small and subtle movements with the head and legs make the difference between a good and poor performance. The paddles are not used for row like gestures, but are rotated around, moved to left and right or up and down. The dancers start in one row, maybe two if there are many, but from time to time split up the rows in what seems chaotic move ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. As of 2021, according to Johnson's Tribune, Tonga has a population of 104,494, 70% of whom reside on the main island, Tongatapu. The country stretches approximately north-south. It is surrounded by Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (France) to the northwest; Samoa to the northeast; New Caledonia (France) and Vanuatu to the west; Niue (the nearest foreign territory) to the east; and Kermadec (New Zealand) to the southwest. Tonga is about from New Zealand's North Island. First inhabited roughly 2,500 years ago by the Lapita civilization, Tonga's Polynesian settlers gradually evolved a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture as the Tongan people. They were quick to establish a powerful footing acr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tapa Cloth
Tapa cloth (or simply ''tapa'') is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands, Futuna, Solomon Islands, Java, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea and Hawaii (where it is called ''kapa''). In French Polynesia it has nearly disappeared, except for some villages in the Marquesas. General The cloth is known by a number of local names although the term tapa is international and understood throughout the islands that use the cloth. The word tapa is from Tahiti and the Cook Islands, where Captain Cook was the first European to collect it and introduce it to the rest of the world. In Tonga, tapa is known as ngatu, and here it is of great social importance to the islanders, often being given as gifts. In Samoa, the same cloth is called siapo, and in Niue it is hiapo. In Hawaii, it is known as kapa. In Rotuma, a Polynesian island in the Fiji group, it is called ‘uha and in other Fiji island ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Futuna Island, Wallis And Futuna
Futuna (; ) is an island in the Pacific Ocean occupying area of with a population of 10,912. It belongs to the French overseas collectivity (''collectivité d'outre-mer'', or ''COM'') of Wallis and Futuna. It is one of the Hoorn Islands or Îles Horne; nearby Alofi is the other. They are both remnants of the same ancient, extinct volcano, now bordered with a fringing reef. Futuna has a maximum elevation of . Futuna is where Pierre Chanel was martyred in 1841, becoming Polynesia's only Catholic saint. The cathedral of Poi now stands on the site where he was martyred. Futuna takes its name from an endonym derived from the local ''futu'', meaning fish-poison tree. Geography The population was 10,765 (as of the 2022 census);. Futuna's highest point is Mont Puke at above sea level, and the island has an area of , with in Sigave and in Alo. Climate Futuna (Maopoopo weather station) has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification ''Af''). The average annual ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wallis Island
Wallis (Wallisian: ''Uvea'') is a Polynesian atoll/island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity (''collectivité d'outre-mer'', or ''COM'') of Wallis and Futuna. It lies north of Tonga, northeast of Fiji, east-northeast of the Hoorn Islands, east of Fiji's Rotuma, southeast of Tuvalu, southwest of Tokelau and west of Samoa. Its area is almost with 8,333 people. Its capital is Mata Utu. Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion. Its highest point is Mount Lulu Fakahega (). Wallis is of volcanic origin with fertile soil and some remaining lakes. Rainfall is plentiful. It was part of the Tongan maritime empire from around the 13th to 16th century. By that time the influence of the Tui Tonga had declined so much that Uvea became important in itself. The big fortress of Talietumu close to Lotoalahi in Mua was the last holdout of the Tongans until they were defeated. The island was renamed "Wallis" after a Cornish navigator, Captain Samuel Walli ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tu'i Tonga Empire
Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, a Tui is an equivalent of God title. Origin of Tui is believed to be Tui Manu'a (the title given to the son of the Polynesian God Tagaloa, and therefore Tui were viewed as living Gods). Tonga See: *Tu'i Tonga *Tu'i Ha'atakalaua *Tu'i Kanokupolu *Tui Harris Fiji See House of Chiefs (Fiji) Samoa There are several Samoan polities and titles (several including the term Tui) in the present kingdom. On American Samoa, the paramount chief is titled Tu'i Manu'a Wallis and Futuna On Futuna island, see Tu`i Agaifo of Alo. There is also the Chief of Sigave; however, depending on the family, they carry the specific title of Sau?, Tamolevai, Keletaona, or Tu`i Sigave. On `Uvea Wallis ( Wallisian: ''Uvea'') is a Polynesian atoll/island in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tu'i Tonga
Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, a Tui is an equivalent of God title. Origin of Tui is believed to be Tui Manu'a (the title given to the son of the Polynesian God Tagaloa, and therefore Tui were viewed as living Gods). Tonga See: *Tu'i Tonga *Tu'i Ha'atakalaua *Tu'i Kanokupolu *Tui Harris Fiji See House of Chiefs (Fiji) Samoa There are several Samoan polities and titles (several including the term Tui) in the present kingdom. On American Samoa, the paramount chief is titled Tu'i Manu'a Wallis and Futuna On Futuna island, see Tu`i Agaifo of Alo. There is also the Chief of Sigave; however, depending on the family, they carry the specific title of Sau?, Tamolevai, Keletaona, or Tu`i Sigave. On `Uvea Wallis ( Wallisian: ''Uvea'') is a Polynesian atoll/island in t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William Mariner (writer)
William Charles Mariner (10 September 1791 – 20 October 1853) was an Englishman who lived in Tonga from 29November 1806 to (probably) 8November 1810. He published a memoir, ''An Account of the Natives of the Tonga Islands, in the South Pacific Ocean'', which is one of the major sources of information about Tonga before it was influenced significantly by European cultures and Christianity. At age 14, Mariner was a ship's clerk aboard the British privateer ''Port au Prince''. In 1806, while it was anchored off the Tongan island of Lifuka, in the Ha'apai island group, ''Port au Prince'' was seized by a chief named Fīnau ʻUlukālala. Of the 26 crew members, 22 were killed, while the chief spared Mariner and three others. Mariner lived in Tonga for four years, and during this time he became known as Toki 'Ukamea ("Iron Axe"). After returning to England, he dictated a detailed account of his experiences, a description of Tongan society and culture, and a grammar and dictionary o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culture Of Tonga
The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3000 years, since settlement in late Lapita times. The culture of its inhabitants has surely changed greatly over this long time period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Tongans were in frequent contact with their nearest Oceanic neighbors, Fiji and Samoa. In the 19th century, with the arrival of Western traders and missionaries, Tongan culture changed dramatically. Some old beliefs and habits were thrown away and others adopted. Some accommodations made in the 19th century and early 20th century are now being challenged by changing Western civilization. Hence Tongan culture is far from a unified or monolithic affair, and Tongans themselves may differ strongly as to what it is "Tongan" to do, or not do. Contemporary Tongans often have strong ties to overseas lands. They may have been migrant workers in New Zealand, or have lived and traveled in New Zealand, Australia, or th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_LACMA_M.2010.160.jpg "Click for more on -> Tapa Cloth")
