The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3000 years, since settlement in late
Lapita times. The
culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...
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
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
. 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
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
, or have lived and traveled in New Zealand,
Australia, or the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
. Many Tongans now live overseas, in a Tongan
diaspora, and send home remittances to family members (often aged) who prefer to remain in
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 ...
. Tongans themselves often have to operate in two different contexts, which they often call ''anga fakatonga'', the traditional Tongan way, and ''anga fakapālangi'', the Western way. A culturally adept Tongan learns both sets of rules and when to switch between them.
Any description of Tongan culture that limits itself to what Tongans see as ''anga fakatonga'' would give a seriously distorted view of what people actually do, in Tonga, or in diaspora, because accommodations are so often made to ''anga fakapālangi''. The following account tries to give both the idealized and the on-the-ground versions of ''Tongan culture''.
Livelihood
Traditionally, fishing and farming have accounted for the livelihood of a majority of Tongans. The main food crops include Sweet Potatoes, Bananas, Yucca, Taro and giant Taro to name a few. Cash crops include
squash
Squash may refer to:
Sports
* Squash (sport), the high-speed racquet sport also known as squash racquets
* Squash (professional wrestling), an extremely one-sided match in professional wrestling
* Squash tennis, a game similar to squash but pla ...
and
pumpkins
A pumpkin is a vernacular term for mature winter squash of species and varieties in the genus ''Cucurbita'' that has culinary and cultural significance but no agreed upon botanical or scientific meaning. The term ''pumpkin'' is sometimes use ...
, which have in recent years replaced
bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
and
copra
Copra (from ) is the dried, white flesh of the coconut from which coconut oil is extracted. Traditionally, the coconuts are sun-dried, especially for export, before the oil, also known as copra oil, is pressed out. The oil extracted from co ...
as the largest agricultural exports.
Vanilla
Vanilla is a spice derived from orchids of the genus ''Vanilla (genus), Vanilla'', primarily obtained from pods of the Mexican species, flat-leaved vanilla (''Vanilla planifolia, V. planifolia'').
Pollination is required to make the p ...
is another important cash crop.
Life passages
Male circumcision
In post-contact Tonga, newly pubescent males were kamu (''tefe''), or circumcised by cutting one slit in the foreskin, on the underside of the penis. This is a Christian practice of biblical context. Afterwards, the family held a feast for the new "man".
Circumcision
Circumcision is a procedure that removes the foreskin from the human penis. In the most common form of the operation, the foreskin is extended with forceps, then a circumcision device may be placed, after which the foreskin is excised. Top ...
is still practiced, but it is now done informally. Sometimes it is done at home, with relatives present. More commonly a boy, or a group of boys, go to the hospital, where the operation is done under sanitary conditions.
First menstruation (Menarche)
In pre-contact Tonga, a girl's first menstruation was celebrated by a feast. This practice continued up until the mid-20th century, at which point it fell out of favor.
Death
Contemporary
funerals
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
are large, well-attended occasions, even for Tongans who are not wealthy. Relatives gather, often traveling long distances to do so. Large amounts of
food are contributed, then distributed to the crowds during and after the funeral. Funeral practices are a mix of introduced
Christian rites and customs (such as a wake and a
Christian burial), and older indigenous customs that survive from pre-contact times. For instance, mourners wear black (a Western custom) but also wrap mats (
ta'ovala) around their waist. The type and size of the mat proclaim the mourner's relationship to the deceased. Immediate family members might also choose to wear a worn or frayed ta'ovala to show respect and love for their family that has passed on.
Tongan families do not necessarily compete to put on the largest, grandest funeral possible, but they do strive to show respect for the deceased by doing all that is customary. This can put great strain on the resources of the immediate family and even the extended family. Sometimes the funeral is called a ''fakamasiva'', an occasion that leads to poverty.
Crime
Violent
crime
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Ca ...
is limited, but increasing, and public perception associates this with returns of ethnic Tongans who have been raised overseas. A few notable cases involve young men raised since infancy in the US, whose family neglected to obtain citizenship for them and who were deported on involvement with the American justice system. At this moment crime increases faster than the police force and is expected to remain a serious problem for the years to come. Increasing
wealth
Wealth is the abundance of valuable financial assets or physical possessions which can be converted into a form that can be used for transactions. This includes the core meaning as held in the originating Old English word , which is from an I ...
has also increased the
gap between the rich and the poor, leading to more and more
burglaries
Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murder ...
.
At this moment most
prisons in Tonga still abide with the old ''laissez-faire'' attitude. Usually having no fences, no iron bars and so forth, that makes it very easy for the inmates to escape. This system may be required to change, adapting for the influx of foreign born/raised
criminals
In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
who may treat such a system with contempt, alternatively a minimum/maximum security prison system may need to be developed placing escapists or repeat offenders into closed prisons, but for the moment the jailors can trust on the goodwill of the inmates. Some are glad to be in prison, not to be bothered by demanding family members. There is no social stigma on being in prison (although that may change now too), but then of course it also does not serve as a deterrent against crimes.
More troublesome are the youth offenders "schoolboys who want to have money to show off" and are apprehended in burglaries. As there are no juvenile prisons, they are to be locked up in the main prisons together with hardened criminals. For a while it was tried to confine them on
Tau
Tau (uppercase Τ, lowercase τ, or \boldsymbol\tau; el, ταυ ) is the 19th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300.
The name in English ...
, a small island offshore
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 ...
but that was not ideal either.
In the 1990s Chinese immigration caused resentment among the native Tongan population (especially those from
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
, who bought a Tongan passport to get away before the Beijing takeover). Much violent crime nowadays is directed against these Chinese.
Art
Literature
Modern poetry and short stories
The genre of short stories in Tonga is most associated with
'Epeli Hau'ofa, whose most popular collection of stories, ''Tales of the Tikong'', was published in 1973.
Konai Helu Thaman
Konai Helu Thaman (born 1946) is a poet and academic from Tonga.
Career
Between 1969 and 1972, Thaman was a teacher in Tonga. She has worked at the University of the South Pacific since 1974 and currently holds a Personal Chair in Pacific Edu ...
was one of the country's earliest published poets.
Traditional women's crafts
In pre-contact Tonga, women did not do the cooking (cooking in an earth oven was hard, hot work, the province of men) or work in the fields. They raised children, gathered shellfish on the reef, and made ''koloa'', barkcloth and mats, which were a traditional form of wealth exchanged at marriages and other ceremonial occasions. An industrious woman thus raised the social status of her household. Her family also slept soundly, on the piles of mats and barkcloth that were the traditional bedding.
On sunny days, these were spread on the grass to air, which prolonged their life. The mats can also be worn as ta'ovala, which is worn around the waist. Wearing the ta'ovala is a sign of respect, and it is said that in early times men returning from a long voyage at sea would cover up these mats before visiting the chief of the village.
Among the typical ''koloa'' are:
* Bark cloth, or
tapa (but it is called ''ngatu'' in Tonga)
*
Mats
* Waist mats, called
taovala
* Waist girdles, called
kiekie
* And any other type of traditional (dance) clothing
Mat-weaving
Woven mats serve a variety of purposes, from the ordinary to the ceremonial. Many woven mats are passed down from generation to generation, acquiring greater status with the passage of time. It is in fact a collection of these mats in the palace that forms the true crown jewels of Tonga. These royal mats are displayed only on high state occasions such as the death of a member of the royal family or the coronation of a monarch.
Traditional men's crafts
Wood carving
Before Western contact, many objects of daily use were made of carved
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
: food bowls, head rests (''kali''), war clubs and
spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...
s, and
cult images. Tongan craftsmen were skilled at inlaying pearl-shell and ivory in wood, and Tongan war clubs were treasured items in the neighboring archipelago of
Fiji.
Canoe-building
Tongan craftsman were also adept at building
canoes
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using a single-bladed paddle.
In British English, the ter ...
. Many canoes for daily use were simple ''pōpaos'', dug-out canoes, shaped from a single log with fire and adze and outfitted with a single outrigger. Due to a dearth of large trees suitable for building large war canoes, these canoes were often imported from Fiji.
Traditional navigation techniques
Tongan navigators used wayfinding techniques such as the navigation by the stars, and observations of birds, ocean swells, and wind patterns, and relied on a large body of knowledge from oral tradition.
Anthropologist
David Lewis, in the 1960s & 1970s, confirmed that traditional navigation techniques had been retained by navigators from Tonga in conversations with Fe’iloakitau Kaho, Ve’ehala and Kaloni Kienga.
These wayfinding techniques were similar to those of other
Polynesian navigators, which skills were also retained into the late 20th Century by
navigators of the Caroline Islands and the
Santa Cruz Islands
The Santa Cruz Islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean, part of Temotu Province of the nation of Solomon Islands discovered by the Spaniards. They lie approximately 250 miles (400 km) to the southeast of the Solomon Islands ...
.
Traditional architecture
The tradition Tongan ''
fale'' consisted of a curved roof (branches lashed with
sennit
Sennit is a type of cordage made by plaiting strands of dried fibre or grass. It can be used ornamentally in crafts, like a kind of ''macramé'', or to make straw hats. Sennit is an important material in the cultures of Oceania, where it is use ...
rope, or ''kafa'', thatched with woven palm leaves) resting on pillars made of tree trunks. Woven screens filled in the area between the ground and the edge of the roof. The traditional design was extremely well adapted to surviving hurricanes. If the winds threatened to shred the walls and overturn the roof, the inhabitants could chop down the pillars, so that the roof fell directly onto the ground. Because the roof was curved, like a limpet shell, the wind tended to flow over it smoothly. The inhabitants could ride out the storm in relative safety.
There are many surviving examples of Tongan stone architecture, notably the
Haamonga a Maui and mound tombs (
langi) near
Lapaha,
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 ...
. And so several on other islands. Archaeologists have dated them hundreds to a thousand years old.
Tattooing
Tongan males were often heavily tattooed. In
Captain Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
's time only the
Tui Tonga (king) was not: because he was too high ranked for anybody to touch him. Later it became the habit that a young Tui Tonga went to
Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
to be tattooed there.
The practice of
Tātatau disappeared under heavy missionary disapproval, but was never completely suppressed. It is still very common for men (less so, but still some for women), to be decorated with some small tattoos. Nevertheless, tattoos shows one's strength.
Tattoos
A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, and/or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing pr ...
also tell a story.
Domestication of Western arts and crafts
Western textile arts
Tonga has evolved its own version of Western-style clothing, consisting of a long
tupenu, or sarong, for women, and a short tupenu for men. Women cover the tupenu with a ''kofu'', or Western-style dress; men top the tupenu either with a T-shirt, a Western casual shirt, or on formal occasions, a dress shirt and a suit coat. Preachers in some Methodist sects still wear long
frock coat
A frock coat is a formal men's coat characterised by a knee-length skirt cut all around the base just above the knee, popular during the Victorian and Edwardian periods (1830s–1910s). It is a fitted, long-sleeved coat with a centre vent at th ...
s, a style that has not been current in the West for more than a hundred years. These coats must be tailored locally.
Tongan outfits are often assembled from used Western clothing (for the top) mixed with a length of cloth purchased locally for the tupenu. Used clothing can be found for sale at local markets, or can be purchased overseas and mailed home by relatives.
Some women have learned to sew and own sewing machines (often antique treadle machines). They do simple home-sewing of shirts, kofu, and school uniforms.
Nukualofa, the capital, supports several tailoring shops. They tailor tupenu and suitcoats for Tongan men, and matching tupenu and kofu for Tongan women. The women's outfits may be decorated with simple blockprint patterns on the hems.
There is also some local production of knit jerseys by Tongans operating imported sergers. They produce on speculation and sell at the Nukualofa market.
Women who attend the Wesleyan Methodist girls' school, Queen Sālote College, are taught several Western handicrafts, such as embroidery and crochet. They learn to make embroidered pillowcases and bed coverings or crocheted lace
tablecloth
A tablecloth is a cloth used to cover a table. Some are mainly ornamental coverings, which may also help protect the table from scratches and stains. Other tablecloths are designed to be spread on a dining table before laying out tableware and ...
s, bedcovers, and lace trim. However, Western-style handicrafts such as these have not become widely popular outside the school setting. They require expensive imported materials that can only be purchased in major towns. Village women are much more likely to turn their efforts to weaving mats or beating barkcloth, which can be done with free local material.
Painting
A few Tongan village churches are decorated with freehand murals or decorations done in house paint, which may mix crosses, flowers, and traditional barkcloth motifs. The practice is uncommon and the execution is always crude.
Coral and tortoise-shell jewelry
In the 1970s there was a small factory near Nukualofa that made simple jewelry from coral and tortoise-shell for sale to Western tourists. It is not clear if this factory is still operating. The government may have protected sea-turtles and corals (as has been done in most other countries) and ended this line of manufacture.
Music and dance
Scholars know relatively little about the music of Tonga as it existed before Tonga was encountered by European explorers. Early visitors, such as
Captain Cook
James Cook (7 November 1728 Old Style date: 27 October – 14 February 1779) was a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the British Royal Navy, famous for his three voyages between 1768 and 1779 in the Pacific Ocean and ...
and the invaluable
William Mariner, note only the singing and drumming during traditional dance performances. Scholars can assume the existence of the
lali or
slit-gong, and the
nose flute
The nose flute is a musical instrument often played in Polynesia and the Pacific Rim countries. Other versions are found in Africa.
Hawaii
In the North Pacific, in the Hawaiian islands the nose flute was a common courting instrument. In Haw ...
, as these survived to later times. Traditional songs, passed down over the generations, are still sung at chiefly ceremonies. Some ancient dances are still performed, such as
ula,
otuhaka and
meetuupaki.
Church music
Methodists were known for their extensive use of hymns in their emotional services. True to their tradition, the early missionaries introduced hymn-singing to their congregations. These early hymns—still sung today in some of the Methodist sects, such as the
Free Church of Tonga
The Free Church of Tonga ( Tongan: ''Siasi ʻo Tonga Tauʻatāina'') is a religious denomination of Methodist extraction in the Kingdom of Tonga. The Church was established in 1885 by King George Tupou I and his government at Lifuka, Ha'apai, as ...
and the
Church of Tonga - have Tongan tunes and simple, short Tongan lyrics. There is a special
Tongan music notation for these, and other, musics.
Traditional music
Traditional music is preserved in the set pieces performed at royal and noble weddings and funerals, and in the song sung during the traditional ceremony of apology, the lou-ifi.
Radio Tonga
Radio Tonga (also known by call letters A3Z) is Tonga's main commercial radio station, founded in 1961 by Queen Salote Tupou III, and operating as a service of the Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC). Its slogan is ''"The Call of the Friendly Is ...
begins each day's broadcast with a recording from Honourable Veehala, a nobleman and celebrated virtuoso of the nose flute. This music is not popular music; it is a cherished heirloom, preserved by specialists and taught as needed for special occasions.
Cuisine
In former times, there was only one main meal, a midday meal cooked in an earth oven. Villagers would rise, eat some leftover food from the previous day's meal, and set out to work in the fields,
fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
, gathering
shellfish, etc. The results of the morning's work would be cooked by the men, and served to the assembled household. The remnants would be placed in a basket suspended from a tree. This food is served as an end-of-the-day snack as well as the next day's breakfast. Food past its prime was given to the pigs.
The diet consisted mainly of
taro
Taro () (''Colocasia esculenta)'' is a root vegetable. It is the most widely cultivated species of several plants in the family Araceae that are used as vegetables for their corms, leaves, and petioles. Taro corms are a food staple in Afri ...
,
yams,
bananas
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
,
coconuts
The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...
, and
fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of ...
baked in leaves; shellfish were usually served raw, as a
relish
A relish is a cooked and pickled product made of chopped vegetables, fruits or herbs and is a food item typically used as a condiment to enhance a staple. Examples are chutneys and the North American relish, a pickled cucumber jam eaten with ho ...
. The liquid from the center of coconuts was commonly drunk, and the soft "spoon meat" of young coconuts much relished. Baked
breadfruit was eaten in season.
Pigs
The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...
were killed and cooked only on special occasions, such as
weddings
A wedding is a ceremony where two people are united in marriage. Wedding traditions and customs vary greatly between cultures, ethnic groups, religions, countries, and social classes. Most wedding ceremonies involve an exchange of marria ...
,
funerals
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
,
feasts
A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival con ...
honoring a visiting chief, and the like. Tongans also ate
chickens.
Food could be stored by feeding it to pigs. Pre-contact Tongans also built elevated storehouses for yams. Yams would keep only a few months. Hence a household's main security was generous distribution of food to relatives and neighbors, who were thus put under an obligation to share in their turn.
Many new foods were introduced in the 19th and early 20th centuries, following Western contacts and settlements. The
cassava
''Manihot esculenta'', commonly called cassava (), manioc, or yuca (among numerous regional names), is a woody shrub of the spurge family, Euphorbiaceae, native to South America. Although a perennial plant, cassava is extensively cultivated ...
plant was one such introduction; it is called ''manioke'' in Tongan. While it lacks the prestige of the yam, it is an easy plant to grow and a common crop. Introduced
watermelons
Watermelon (''Citrullus lanatus'') is a flowering plant species of the Cucurbitaceae family and the name of its edible fruit. A scrambling and trailing vine-like plant, it is a highly cultivated fruit worldwide, with more than 1,000 vari ...
became popular. They were eaten either by themselves, or pulped and mixed with
coconut milk, forming a popular drink called ''
'otai
''otai'' is a drink which originated in western Polynesia and is usually made as a refreshing accompaniment to large meals.
Today, the beverage is most associated with Tongan cuisine, although similar versions of otai'' were made and enjoyed in ot ...
''. Other fruits, such as
oranges
An orange is a fruit of various citrus species in the family Rutaceae (see list of plants known as orange); it primarily refers to ''Citrus'' × ''sinensis'', which is also called sweet orange, to distinguish it from the related ''Citrus × ...
,
lemon
The lemon (''Citrus limon'') is a species of small evergreen trees in the flowering plant family Rutaceae, native to Asia, primarily Northeast India (Assam), Northern Myanmar or China.
The tree's ellipsoidal yellow fruit is used for culin ...
s, and
limes
Limes may refer to:
* the plural form of lime (disambiguation)
Lime commonly refers to:
* Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit
* Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide
* Lime (color), a ...
, became popular. Tongans also adopted
onion
An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onio ...
s,
green onions
"Green Onions" is an instrumental composition recorded in 1962 by Booker T. & the M.G.'s. Described as "one of the most popular instrumental rock and soul songs ever" and as one of "the most popular R&B instrumentals of its era", the tune is a ...
,
cabbage,
carrots,
tomato
The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...
es, and other common vegetables. In the last few decades, Tongan farmers with access to large tracts of land have engaged in commercial farming of
pumpkins and other easily shipped vegetables as cash crops.
Tongans now consume large quantities of imported
flour and
sugar. One dish that uses both is ''topai'' (doughboys), flour and water worked into a paste and dropped into a kettle of boiling water, then served with a
syrup
In cooking, a syrup (less commonly sirup; from ar, شراب; , beverage, wine and la, sirupus) is a condiment that is a thick, viscous liquid consisting primarily of a solution of sugar in water, containing a large amount of dissolved sugars ...
of sugar and coconut milk. Topai are a common funeral food, being easily prepared for hundreds of mourners.
There are now bakeries in the larger cities. The most popular loaves are soft, white, and bland. There are also local soft drink bottlers, who make various local varieties of
soda
Soda or SODA may refer to:
Chemistry
* Some chemical compounds containing sodium
** Sodium carbonate, washing soda or soda ash
** Sodium bicarbonate, baking soda
** Sodium hydroxide, caustic soda
** Sodium oxide, an alkali metal oxide
* Sod ...
. A Tongan who might once have breakfasted on bits of cooked
pork
Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE.
Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...
and yam from a hanging basket may now have
white bread
White bread typically refers to breads made from wheat flour from which the bran and the germ layers have been removed from the whole wheatberry as part of the flour grinding or milling process, producing a light-colored flour. This milling p ...
and soda for breakfast.
Purchased prepared foods have also made great headway, even in remote villages. Canned
cornbeef is a great favorite. It is eaten straight from the can, or mixed with coconut milk and onions, wrapped in leaves, and baked in the earth oven. Tongans also eat canned fish, such as
tuna
A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae ( mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max len ...
. In villages or towns with refrigeration, cheap frozen "
mutton flaps" imported from New Zealand are popular. Tongans also eat the common South Pacific "ship's biscuit", hard plain
crackers once a shipboard staple. These crackers are called ''mā pakupaku''.
Tongans no longer make an earth oven every day. Most daily cooking is done by women, who cook in battered pots over open fires in the village, in wood-burning stoves in some households, and on gas or electric ranges in some of the larger towns. The meal schedule has also changed, to more Westernized breakfast, light lunch, and heavy dinner. Tongans say that the old schedule is unworkable when household members have Western-style jobs, or attend schools at some distance from home; such family members cannot come home to eat, then have a doze after a heavy mid-day meal.
As well as drinking soda, Tongans now drink
tea
Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured or fresh leaves of ''Camellia sinensis'', an evergreen shrub native to East Asia which probably originated in the borderlands of southwestern China and north ...
and
coffee
Coffee is a drink prepared from roasted coffee beans. Darkly colored, bitter, and slightly acidic, coffee has a stimulating effect on humans, primarily due to its caffeine content. It is the most popular hot drink in the world.
Seeds of ...
. Usually this is of the cheapest variety, and served with tinned
condensed milk.
Some men drink
alcohol. Sometimes this is imported Australian or New Zealand
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
; more often it is home-brew, ''hopi'', made with
water
Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
, sugar or mashed
fruit
In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering.
Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...
, and
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...
. Imported drinks are sold only to Tongans who have liquor permits, which require a visit to a government office, and limit the amount of alcohol which can be purchased. There are no such formalities with ''hopi''. Drinking is usually done secretively; a group of men gather and drink until they are drunk. Such gatherings sometimes result in drunken quarrels and assaults.
Traditional Tongan dishes
*
Lū
*
'otai
''otai'' is a drink which originated in western Polynesia and is usually made as a refreshing accompaniment to large meals.
Today, the beverage is most associated with Tongan cuisine, although similar versions of otai'' were made and enjoyed in ot ...
*
'ota ika
*
Vai siaine
Vai or VAI has several possible meanings:
* Vai people
** Vai language
** Vai syllabary
** Vai (Unicode block)
* Vai (Crete)
* Văi, a village in Lupșa Commune, Alba County, Romania
Abbreviation
* VAI, Video Artists International, a classical ...
Kava
Formal
kava drinking is an important and intrinsic part of Tonga culture. However, The drinking of kava by men at kava clubs is somewhat equal to drinking beers in the bar in western cultures.
Tongan cuisine and health
Tonga is notable for its high obesity rates with over 90% of the population being overweight. Consequently, many Tongan islanders have an increased risk of
heart disease,
diabetes
Diabetes, also known as diabetes mellitus, is a group of metabolic disorders characterized by a high blood sugar level ( hyperglycemia) over a prolonged period of time. Symptoms often include frequent urination, increased thirst and increased ...
and other obesity related diseases which place the nation's health service under considerable strain. Much of this is related to the nation's cultural love of food and eating as well as the modern influx of cheap and high-fat content
meat, with
corned beef and
lamb
Lamb or The Lamb may refer to:
* A young sheep
* Lamb and mutton, the meat of sheep
Arts and media Film, television, and theatre
* ''The Lamb'' (1915 film), a silent film starring Douglas Fairbanks Sr. in his screen debut
* ''The Lamb'' (1918 ...
belly remaining firm favourites in Tongan cuisine. Despite being a highly obese population, there is little stigma attached to being overweight as one might find in many Western civilizations. Like a great number of South Pacific cultures, large bodies are often revered, though there is growing acknowledgment of the health risks involved.
Clothing
Tongan men wear a
tupenu, a cloth that is similar to a
sarong
A sarong or sarung () is a large tube or length of fabric, often wrapped around the waist, worn in Southeast Asia, South Asia, Western Asia, Northern Africa, East Africa, West Africa, and on many Pacific islands. The fabric often has woven plaid o ...
, which is wrapped around the waist. It should be long enough to cover the knees or the shins of the legs. In daily life, any
shirt (T-shirt, jersey, woven shirt) will do to top the tupenu. Usually shirts are used clothing imported from overseas. Some men will go shirtless working on their plantations, but by law they are not allowed to go shirtless in public.
On formal occasions a
taovala, a woven mat, is worn over the tupenu. It is wrapped around the waist and secured with a
kafa rope. The tupenu may be smartly tailored and have a matching suit jacket. If a man cannot afford to have a suit tailored to fit him, he will buy a used Western
jacket, or wear a threadbare jacket inherited from an older relative.
Women too wear a tupenu, but a long one which should reach to the ankles. They sometimes wear a shorter tupenu for working in the house or picking shellfish on the reef. The tupenu is usually topped with a ''
kofu'', or dress. This may be sewn to order, or it may be an imported used dress. Sometimes women wear blouses or jerseys.
On formal occasions women too wear a taovala, or more often a
kiekie, a string skirt attached to a waistband. It is lighter and cooler than a mat. Kiekie are made from many different materials, from the traditional (pandanus leaves, as used in mats) to the innovative (unspooled magnetic tape from tape cassettes).
Huge taovala are worn at
funerals
A funeral is a ceremony connected with the final disposition of a corpse, such as a burial or cremation, with the attendant observances. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember and respect th ...
.
The largest Methodist church holds a yearly celebration for the women of the congregation. Churches hold special church services to which women wear white clothing. All the Methodist churches have adopted the Western custom of women wearing
hat
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
s to church. Only women who have been admitted to the congregation can wear hats; those denied admittance (because they are still young, or because they are considered to be living immoral lives) are only "inquirers" and go hatless.
More and more Tongan men are abandoning the traditional tupenu for
trousers
Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending across both legs as in robes, skirts, and ...
, at least when it comes to working in the fields. Women can be innovative in terms of color and cut within the context of the traditional kofu/tupenu combination.
Sports
Rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
is the national sport in Tonga. The nation has a
national rugby union team, which played in the
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
,
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...
,
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
,
2003, 2007
Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...
and the 2015 competitions. Though Tongans are passionate rugby followers, the small population base means that internationally, Tongan rugby continually struggles. Often, young talent emigrate to countries which offer greater prospects of individual success such as
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
and
Australia. Some notable rugby union players of Tongan descent include
Jonah Lomu
Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. Lomu is considered to have been the first true global superstar of rugby, and consequently had a huge impact on the game. He is widely regarde ...
(played for the All Blacks) and
Toutai Kefu (plays for Australian Wallaby).
Rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...
is a popular sport enjoyed by Tongans.
Football has a following, while
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
,
surfing,
volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...
, and
cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...
have gained popularity in recent years.
Religion
The king and the majority of the royal family are members of the
Free Wesleyan Church (
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...
) which claims some 35,000 adherents in the country.
There are four other Methodist denominations in the country, as well as a number of (much smaller)
Pentecostal
Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement and
Evangelicalist congregations.
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and each have a strong presence in the country as well. There is a small
Seventh-day Adventist Church group, an
Anglican church, and a few adherents of the
Bahá'í Faith in Tonga. There are even some Tongan
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
.
The second largest religious group is
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ch ...
, which has over 18,000 followers.
[
Tongans are ardent churchgoers. Methodist services usually follow a call and response structure. Singing in the church is often done a cappella. Although church attends primarily to the spiritual needs of the population, it also functions as the primary social hub. As consequence people who go to a church of another denomination are absolutely not shunned.
Sunday in Tonga is celebrated as a day for rest and worship; strict ]Sabbatarianism
Sabbatarianism advocates the observation of the Sabbath in Christianity, in keeping with the Ten Commandments.
The observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is a form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded ...
is enshrined in the constitution. No trade is allowed on Sunday, except essential services, after special approval by the minister of police. Lawbreakers risk a fine or imprisonment.
Public holidays
The ''Public Holidays Act'' declares the following days to be public holidays:
* New Year's Day (1 January)
* Good Friday
* Easter Monday
* Anzac Day (25 April)
* Emancipation Day (4 June)
* King Tupou VI's Birthday (4 July)
* Crown Prince's Birthday (17 September)
* National Day (4 November)
* King Tupou I Day (4 December)
* Christmas Day
Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...
(25 December)
* Boxing Day (26 December)
Most public holidays are Mondayised, and celebrated on the preceding or next-following Monday.
Festivals
Popular Tongan festivals included (new scheme still to be established since the change of public holidays):
* Heilala Festival Week (around 8 July)
* Vavau Festival Week (around 8 May)
* Haapai Tourism Festival (around 8 June)
* Royal Agricultural and Industrial Show (triennial, August–September)
* Eua Tourism Festival (around 8 May)
See also
* List of museums in Tonga
This is a list of museums in Tonga.
* Afā Eli Historical Museum and Research Library
*Tonga Maritime Museum
* Tonga National Museum
* Tonga Traditions Committee
* Tuku'aho Memorial Museum
See also
* List of libraries in Tonga
* List of archi ...
* Outline of Tonga
* Demographics of Tonga
Tongans, a Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the p ...
* Makafeke
Notes
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
* Koch, Gerd, ''Suedsee-Gestern und Heute: Der Kulturwandel bei den Tonganern und der Versuch einer Deutung dieser Entwicklung'' (Pacific – yesterday and to-day: acculturation with the Tongans and an attempt at an interpretation of this development) was published in 1955 as Volume 7 of Research into the history of culture, edited by Dr Nabil Georg Eckart, Professor of Kant University, Brunswick, and Dr Herman Trimborn, Professor of Bonn University. Translation to English by P.E. Klarwill, Wellington, NZ published by Albert Limback Verlag, Brunswick with the assistance of the German Research Association (1958).
*
*
*
External links
Tonga Visitors Bureau, Ministry of Tourism, Kingdom of Tonga
{{DEFAULTSORT:Culture Of Tonga