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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] |
Tonga National Anthem
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 acros ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongan Language
Tongan (English pronunciation: or ; ') is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch native to the island nation of Tonga. It has around 187,000 speakers. It uses the word order verb–subject–object. Related languages Tongan is one of the multiple languages in the Polynesian branch of the Austronesian languages, along with Hawaiian, Māori, Samoan and Tahitian, for example. Together with Niuean, it forms the Tongic subgroup of Polynesian. Tongan is unusual among Polynesian languages in that it has a so-called ''definitive accent''. As with all Polynesian languages, Tongan has adapted the phonological system of proto-Polynesian. # Tongan has retained the original proto-Polynesian *h, but has merged it with the original *s as . (The found in modern Tongan derives from *t before high front vowels). Most Polynesian languages have lost the original proto-Polynesian glottal stop ; however, it has been retained in Tongan and a few other languages including Rapa Nu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tupou VI
Tupou VI (; born 12 July 1959) is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother (a bachelor) had no legitimate children. He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name Tupou VI. Life He was born in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, the third son and youngest child of King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV. He was educated at The Leys School, Cambridge, from 1973 to 1977. He then attended the University of East Anglia, where he read Development Studies, from 1977 to 1980. He started his career in the military, joining the naval arm of the Tonga Defence Services in 1982 and becoming a Lieutenant-Commander in 1987. He graduated from the US Naval War College as ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nukuʻalofa
Nukualofa (; ) is the capital and largest city of Tonga. It is located on the north coast of the island of Tongatapu, in the country's southernmost island group. History First western records of Nukualofa On 10 June 1777, British captain James Cook wrote of his arrival at their anchorage place. His description of the place confirmed, with his map, that this was the bay of Nukualofa. Cook never used the name Nukualofa or any other spelling for the reports of this voyage, but he mentioned the island of Pangaimodoo ( Pangaimotu) which was to the east of his anchorage position. Captain Cook also wrote that he travelled by canoes to visit Mooa ( Mua) where Paulaho and other great men lived. The house that Paulaho provided was on the beach from the ship. Reference to his map shows that he must have landed and stayed in the Siesia area, the eastern part of modern Nukualofa. Cook also drafted the first map of the bay of Nukuʻalofa. The first written record for Nukuʻalofa is s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Siaosi Sovaleni
Siaosi ‘Ofakivahafolau Sovaleni (born 28 February 1970) is a Tongan politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Tonga since 2021. He has previously served as a Cabinet Minister, and from 2014 to 2017, he was Deputy Prime Minister of Tonga. Early life Sovaleni is from Ngele'ia on Tonga's main island Tongatapu and is the son of former Deputy Prime Minister Langi Kavaliku. He attended Timaru Boys' High School in New Zealand and graduated in 1988. He was educated at the University of Auckland in New Zealand, graduating with a Bachelor of Science in computer science in 1992. He subsequently completed a master's degree at the University of Oxford, and an MBA at the University of the South Pacific in Suva, Fiji. He worked as a public servant for Tonga's Ministry of Finance from 1996 to 2010, before working for the Pacific Community and Asian Development Bank. He returned to Tonga in 2013 to work as the Chief Executive in the Ministry of Public Enterprises. Political career ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Legislative Assembly Of Tonga
The Legislative Assembly of Tonga ( to, Fale Alea ʻo Tonga) is the unicameral legislature of Tonga. The assembly has 26 members in which 17 members elected by majority of the people for a 5-year term in multi-seat constituencies via the single non-transferable vote system. There are 9 members elected by the 33 hereditary nobles of Tonga. The Assembly is controlled by the speaker of the House who is elected by majority of the elected members of Parliament and constitutionally appointed by the king. History A Legislative Assembly providing for representation of nobles and commoners was established in 1862 by King George Tupou I. This body met every four years and was continued in the 1875 Constitution. Originally the Legislative Assembly consisted of all holders of noble titles, an equal number of people's representatives, the governors for Ha’apai and Vava’u, and at least four Cabinet Ministers chosen by the monarch. An increase in the number of nobles from twenty to t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Prime Minister Of Tonga
The prime minister of Tonga (historically referred to as the premier) is the country's head of government. Tonga is a monarchy with the king, currently Tupou VI, former prime minister, as head of state. The current prime minister is Siaosi Sovaleni, who was elected on 15 December 2021 and appointed on 27 December 2021. Sovaleni was elected with 16 votes. The office of prime minister was established by the Constitution of 1875, whose article 51 stipulates that the prime minister and other ministers are appointed and dismissed by the king. The prime minister is assisted by the deputy prime minister. 2000s democratization During the 2000s, the country experienced an increase in democratization. In March 2006, King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV appointed Feleti Sevele, a moderate member of the Human Rights and Democracy Movement, as prime minister. Sevele was the first commoner to hold this post since Shirley Waldemar Baker in 1881. All the prime ministers since Baker had been mem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Tonga (1900–1970)
The Kingdom of Tonga was a protected state of the United Kingdom from 1900 to 1970, when its protectorate status was removed. History Tonga became a British protected state under a Treaty of Friendship on 18 May 1900, when European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs tried to oust the second King. The Treaty of Friendship and protected state status ended in 1970 under arrangements established prior to her death by the third monarch, Queen Sālote. An unspoken agreement of the treaty that was common in British protected states was a new British monopoly on Tonga's thriving vanilla industry, and their small deposits of minerals. On 18 May 1900, to discourage German advances, the Kingdom of Tonga became a Protected State with the United Kingdom under a Treaty of Friendship signed by George Tupou II after European settlers and rival Tongan chiefs attempted to overthrow him. Foreign affairs of the Kingdom of Tonga were conducted through the British Consul. The United Kingdom had v ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monarch Of Tonga
This is a list of monarchs of Tonga since 1845, after the Constitution of Tonga established the role of the monarch. The first monarch of Tonga was George Tupou I. 2008 cession of powers Three days before his coronation on 1 August 2008, then-King George Tupou V announced that he would relinquish most of his powers and be guided by the Prime Minister of Tonga's recommendations on most matters. Budget allocation to monarchy Annual budget allocation to monarchy is Tongan paʻanga, T$ 4,894,900 ( US$2,116,799). Lists of earlier monarchs of Tonga *Tuʻi Tonga, rulers of Tonga from 950 to 1470. *Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua, rulers of Tonga from 1470 to 1800. *Tuʻi Kanokupolu, rulers of Tonga from 1800 to the present day. George Tupou I, the first king of Tonga, was the 19th Tuʻi Kanokupolu. List of monarchs of Tonga (1845–present) Timeline Royal standards File:Royal Standard of Tonga (1862-1875).svg, Royal standard of Tonga (1862–1875) File:Royal Standard of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongans
Tongans, a Polynesians, Polynesian group, represent more than 98% of the inhabitants of Tonga. The rest are European (the majority are British people, British), mixed European, and other Pacific Islanders. There also are several hundred Chinese in Tonga, Chinese. Almost two-thirds of the population live on its main island, Tongatapu. Although an increasing number of Tongans have moved into the only urban and commercial center, Nukuʻalofa, Nukualofa, where European and indigenous cultural and living patterns have blended, village life and kinship ties continue to be important throughout the country. Everyday life is heavily influenced by Polynesian traditions and especially by the Christianity, Christian faith; for example, all commerce and entertainment activities cease from midnight Saturday until midnight Sunday, and the constitution declares the Sabbath in Christianity, Sabbath to be sacred, forever. Other important Christian denominations include Methodists (Free Wesleyan) and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tongan Paʻanga
The paanga is the currency of Tonga. It is controlled by the National Reserve Bank of Tonga (''Pangikē Pule Fakafonua o Tonga'') in Nukualofa. The paanga is not convertible and is pegged to a basket of currencies comprising the Australian, New Zealand, and United States dollars and the Japanese yen. The paanga is subdivided into 100 ''seniti.'' The ISO code is TOP, and the usual abbreviation is T$ (¢ for seniti). In Tonga, the paanga is often referred to in English as the dollar, the seniti as the cent and the hau as the union. There is also the unit of hau (1 hau = 100 paanga), but this is not used in everyday life and can be found only on commemorative coins of higher denominations. Etymology ''Paanga'' is the Tongan name for '' Entada phaseoloides'', also called the box bean or St. Thomas's bean, a bean-like vine producing large pods with large reddish-brown seeds. The seeds are roundish, up to 5 cm diameter and 1 or 2 cm thick. When strung together they are us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ko E Fasi ʻo E Tuʻi ʻo E ʻOtu Tonga
"" () is the national anthem of Tonga. The title literally means "song of the king of the Tonga Islands" in the Tongan language Tongan (English pronunciation: or ; ') is an Austronesian language of the Polynesian branch native to the island nation of Tonga. It has around 187,000 speakers. It uses the word order verb–subject–object. Related languages Tongan is on ... but is in daily life better known as "", which translates to "National Song". The lyrics of the anthem were written by Tongan Prince Uelingatoni Ngū Tupoumalohi, with the music by German-born New Zealand composer Karl Gustavus Schmitt. It was first used in 1874. Lyrics Music notation The music in Western music notation and the , or Tongan music notation: Notes References External links * *YouTube Ko E Fasi 'O E Tu'i 'O E 'Otu Tonga (The Tune of the King of the Tongan Isles) Oceanian anthems National symbols of Tonga Tongan music National anthems National anthem compositions in F ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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