Talatama is named as the oldest son of
Tuitātui and succeeded him as the 12th
Tuʻi Tonga
The Tuʻi Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the tenth century with the mythical ʻAhoʻeitu, and withdrew from political power in the fifteenth century by yielding to the ''Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua''. The title ended with the death ...
''(king of
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 ...
)'' somewhere in the middle of the 12th century AD.
They lived at Heketā, along the northcoast of
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of Tonga and the site of its capital, Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with 74,611 residents (2016), 70.5% of the nation ...
, with its rocky shore. Launching and landing canoes was difficult and the surf of the sea was always noisy. The nearby village of
Kolonga, nowadays is nicknamed Utulongoaa ''(noisy coast)'', because that was what Talatama's sister Fatafehi said.
Either to please her or just to find a better harbour for themselves Talatama and his younger brother Talaihaapepe decided to move the royal court to
Mua ''(meaning: first'', because as the new capital, the village would be the first to receive honours). Indeed, the coast there was sandy and muddy, safe for the boats, the big royal canoes, named Ākiheuho and Tongafuesia, and it was quiet. The place was named Fangalongonoa ''(silent shore)''.
Since that time, up to the last Tui Tonga,
Laufilitonga, the dynasty has always remained in Mua.
When Talatama died he had no sons. Talaihaapepe seemed to be the most straightforward one to succeed him, but he himself saw it as a bad omen to break the tradition from father to son. Now when Talaihaapepe had been a boy (some say he was still a boy at that time) he had a doll, made of
tou wood, called
Tamatou. This doll was declared the son of Talatama and installed with all the pomp and splendour of a Tui Tonga, even a queen was assigned to him, and he was named Tui-Tonga-nui-(ko-e)-tama-tou (Great Tonga king (that is) tou person).
Three years later Talaihaapepe declared that the king, Tamatou, had died and would be buried in a vault,
[No vault has ever been found at the place pointed out by tradition.] while his wife was supposed to have been pregnant and born a son. This son, Talatama's grandson, would succeed as the 14th Tui Tonga. Needless to say that this was Talaihaapepe himself.
Notes
References
* I.C. Campbell; Classical Tongan kingship; 1989
* E. Bott; Tonga society at the time of Captain Cook's visit; 1982
* {{okinaO. Māhina; Images from the history and culture of Tonga; 2006
* E.W. Gifford; ''Tongan myths and tales''; BPB bulletin 8, 1924
Tongan monarchs
Year of birth unknown
Place of birth unknown
Year of death unknown