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 ...
's ancient religion was practiced for over 2000 years. Missionaries arrived and persuaded
King George Tupou I
George Tupou I (4 December 1797 – 18 February 1893), originally known as Tāufaʻāhau I, was the first king of modern Tonga. He adopted the name Siaosi (originally Jiaoji), the Tongan equivalent of '' George'', after King George III of the ...
to convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
; he ordered and strictly enforced that all Tongans become Christian and no longer practice the ancient polytheistic religion with its supreme god
Tangaloa
Tangaloa was an important family of gods in Tongan mythology. The first Tangaloa was the cousin of Havea Hikuleo and Maui, or in some sources the brother or son or father of them. He was Tangaloa Eiki (''T. lord''), and was assigned by his father ...
.
Pulotu
Pulotu
Pulotu is the resting place of those passed on in the Polynesian narrative of Tonga and Samoa, the world of darkness "lalo fonua" (as opposed to the human world of light).
Tonga
In the Tongan narrative, Pulotu is presided over by Havea Hikule ...
was the unseen world, the domain of the god or goddess Hikule'o believed to be reached by sea. Stories told of journeys to Pulotu. Tongans identify Pulotu with the underworld, ''Lolofonua''. Pulotu is also identified with the cemetery or graveyard. Long ago, it was believed that Pulotu could be visited by a man to recover a dead wife. Hikule'o would assemble the spirits so the wife could be found, reanimated and released.
Two entrances are pointed out by Tongans. One is ''Ahole'' a deep hole on the island of Koloa, Vava'u. Ahole was the opening from which ''Maui Kisikisi'' brought fire from the underworld to this world. The second opening was through the island of Tofua. There are three divisions of Pulotu called ''Pulotu Tete'', ''Pulotu 'Aka'aka'', and ''Pulotu Tu'uma'u''.
Gods and deities
Tangaloa
Tangaloa
Tangaloa was an important family of gods in Tongan mythology. The first Tangaloa was the cousin of Havea Hikuleo and Maui, or in some sources the brother or son or father of them. He was Tangaloa Eiki (''T. lord''), and was assigned by his father ...
, the sky god, was regarded in Vava'u as the deity who hauled up the islands of the Vava'u group, his
fish hook
A fish hook or fishhook, formerly also called angle (from Old English ''angol'' and Proto-Germanic ''*angulaz''), is a hook used to catch fish either by piercing and embedding onto the inside of the fish mouth (angling) or, more rarely, by impal ...
catching in what is now the island of ''Hunga''. The Vava'u people attributed this great act to Tangaloa instead of Maui due to the importance of Tangaloa worship in Vava'u. ''Tangaloa Tufunga'', though said not to be a god in
Niuatoputapu
Niuatoputapu is a high island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its highest point is , and its area is . Its name means ''sacred island''. Older European names for the island are Traitors Island or Keppel Island.
Niuatoputapu is ...
, is the patron of carpenters elsewhere in Tonga.
Maui
The ''Maui'' were special men or demigods; they appeared human. Maui drew up the islands of Atata, north 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 ...
, as well as
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 all its associated islands, then
Lofanga
Lofanga is an island in Tonga. It is located within the Ha'apai Group in the centre of the country, to northeast of the national capital of Nukualofa. The island had a population of 137 at 2016, and an area of 1.45 km2.Ha'apai islands, and lastly the Vava'u.