Culture of Tonga

Malo e lelei! Welcome to the Kingdom of Tonga.  

We have a collection of replicated Fale (or buildings) that are significant in our culture. We also have culturally based activities that you will enjoy when you participate.

As you explore our village, note how the Tongan culture is steeped in tradition and protocol. Fatongia (responsibilities) are seen as a beautiful, functional and highly respected aspect of village life. Even our plants and animals have a functioning status. Our villagers are willing and waiting to share our rich culture, so please ask questions.

Tonga is located about 3,200 miles southwest of Hawai’i and rests between Samoa and Fiji.

The approximately 170 islands in the Kingdom of Tonga are divided among three groups: Tongatapu, which derives its name from the main island where the capital of Nukualofa is located; Ha’apai, a series of smaller islands to the north of Tongatapu; and Vava’u, the northernmost islands. Unlike the homes of their Polynesian cousins, most Tongan islands are relatively low-lying but very fertile.

According to the Tonga Statistics Dept. there were approximately 100,179 Tongans living in the kingdom as of 2021. Roughly 60% of the population lives on the main island. Over the past centuries, Tongans spread their empire widely over the western part of Polynesia. Additionally, many people in Samoa, Uvea, Futuna, and the Lau Islands of Fiji share Tongan blood.

Tongans did not have a written language (so to say) to record their early history; but anthropologists recognize them as being among the most ancient of the Polynesians, and believe that they migrated to these islands about 3,000 years ago. Tonga’s first contact with the western world came when Dutchmen Schouten and LeMaire came upon the islands in 1616. The Europeans found a socially advanced society which had already extended its influence beyond its own islands. Over a century-and-a-half later, British explorer Captain James Cook was equally impressed in his first two visits in 1773 and again in 1774. It was during this visit that he gave the nickname of the “Friendly Islands” to the Ha'apai island group which later became adopted by the entire Kingdom. He returned for his final visit in 1777. It is then that he gifted the Tu’i Tonga a giant tortoise (Tu'i Malila) from Madagascar which roamed and lived at the palace until it died in 1966 almost 200 years later. The intrepid Capt. Bligh and those cast adrift with him from the Bounty mutiny successfully passed through Tongan waters in 1789, though not without some fatal skirmishes. European sandalwood traders, whalers, and Christian missionaries became more prevalent in the first half of the 19th century.

By 1845 Taufa’ahau Tupou I was the first King to unite all of the Tongan islands under one rule. He took the English name King George Tupou I. In 1875, King Tupou I instituted a constitutional monarchy, which still reigns to this day. In 1901, the kingdom entered into a Treaty of Friendship with Great Britain, which left the Tupou dynasty in power. The agreement was rescinded in 1970, but Tonga remains a member of the British Commonwealth.

Tongan and English are the main languages spoken in Tonga.

The Fales (buildings) displayed in the Polynesian Cultural Center’s Tonga Village represent traditional historical architecture.

FALE 'a KUINI SALOTE: Queen Salote’s Summer House 

This building is called the Fale 'a Kuini Salote. Queen Salote's summer house in Tonga is four times larger than this scaled replica. The original structure was built at the Polynesian Cultural Center by a couple of TUFUNGA (carpenters). This royal house is highly decorated with elaborate sennit lashings, fine reed walls, finely woven mats, and cowry shells. The cowry shells show high rank or nobility whether displayed on a FALE or on a person.  Dried coconut leaves are placed on the floors and then covered with finely woven mats for comfort. This current FALE was built under the direction of our master craftsman Tui'one Pulotu.

FALE FAKAKOLO (also known as FALE FAKATAHA): Meeting House 

Most community meetings are held in this meetinghouse.  Community information was dispersed here at meetings that were commonly referred to as Fono. Village would gathered here to drink Kava. It is also where a village would recieve guests and visitors for any formal affairs which would have protocols that would include Kava.

Kava

Kava is an integral part of our culture. The legend of Kava stems from the greatest sacrifice a parent could ever give, their only child. From the grave of the child sprouted two new plants that had never been seen before. One was Kava, the other was the Sugar Cane. Lo’au (the king’s trusted advisor) then had the Kava brought and was used in the first official Royal Kava Ceremony.

It is a symbol of the sacrifices one would make for your King, Kingdom, village, and family. It shows your loyalty to the crown. It also represents our fonua (homeland/country) that we might always take it with us wherever we might live. In fact, our lawn that centers the village is reserved for any of our royal protocol or traditional gatherings that has and will transpire here at the Polynesian Cultural Center.

FALE HANGA:  Women’s Work House Koka’anga (Ngatu making) & Lalanga (weaving) 

In Tongan society, this is the fale where women usually demonstrate their skills, such as NGATU (bark cloth) making. Some of the many uses of NGATU was for clothing, bedding, various protocols such as wrapping the bodies of the dead, red carpet for our royalty. Today, however, NGATU is used mostly at ceremonial occasions for gift giving such as weddings or funerals. Here in the islands, we also use it as dancing costumes. In Tonga NGATU is made from the inner bark of the paper mulberry tree.

While making NGATU is the traditional work of women, Tongan men have the responsibility to grow the plants. During the growing period they will carefully prune excess leaves and branches in order to eliminate notches which may mar the overall quality of the NGATU. It takes approximately two years for the trees to reach the best height and width for NGATU making.

Once the branches are cut, they are left in a shady place for up to a week. Then the bark is carefully nicked and slowly stripped from the branch. The outer bark is peeled away leaving the creamy-colored inner bark, which is soaked in water for up to a day according to the desire of the crafter. After a bark strip has been stretched to its maximum width, it is laid aside and pounding begins on another two-inch-wide length of bark. In order to have a bed-sized piece of NGATU, quite a few strips must be glued together. A small tapioca root is used to make the glue: Tongans harvest the right-sized roots, boil them until they are half-cooked and let them cool. The women lay all the pieces of the first layer in the same direction, then they gently rub the tapioca over the layer. When it is completely covered, a second layer is placed over the first, but with the new strips running cross-wise.

This strengthens the NGATU. This process is continued until the desired size is reached. Sometimes there are holes in the NGATU where knots occurred in the tree branch. The women eliminate these by cutting little patches and gluing them over the defects.

Once the NGATU is glued together and patched, the women prepare it for imprinting traditional Tongan designs using a die, and a design mat called the kupesi. The women make the stiff base of the kupesi from a fiber-like part of coconut blossoms to which they have sewn coconut leaf midribs in the desired pattern. Because they use kupesi over and over again the edges are nicely finished. To imprint the design, they place the kupesi underneath the blank bark cloth. Then the women dip a specially folded wad of ngatu into a container of natural dye, and lightly paint the surface of the new ngatu, which the coconut rib pattern of the kupesi presses upward so it catches the dye first. Tongan dyes are made according to old traditions: Brown dye is obtained from either the bark of the mangrove tree or the kukui nut tree, and black dye by boiling brown dye with red hibiscus flowers. The women continue imprinting the design until all of the large ngatu is covered with the basic design. To complete the process, the women outline larger design elements in black, using a paintbrush made from the dried seed of pandanus fruit. It’s not unusual for Tongan women to make a ngatu 50 yards long, which is called a launima which usually takes a whole day to imprint. Of course, a 100-yard-long ngatu, or a lautefuhi, takes twice as long.

Before European fabrics were introduced, Tongans used ngatu for clothing, blankets, wedding costumes, dancing costumes, gift exchanges, and interior house decorations. There are specific ngatu for special occasions: Black ngatu uli, for example, is used for funerals, while ngatu with certain designs reflect high rank.

Pandanus weaving 

Two plants that are key to the craft of weaving in Tonga and the rest of Polynesia is the lou’akau or pandanus (Pandanus odoratissimus Linnaeus) and louniu or coconut (Cocos nucifera) leaves. Lou’akau leaves are favored for weaving fine household items such floor mats, bedding mats, storage baskets, table mats, and fans. They are also used for special needs such as canoe sails; and for personal items such as fine mats for clothing and waist mats (ta’ovala), hats, bracelets, and slippers. Lou’akau leaves are cut when they are still green. They are then laid out to dry in direct sunlight. There is a particular kind of pandanus which is edged with short prickly thorns. These are trimmed off before the drying process. When whiter colored leaves are desired, the freshly-picked leaves must first be parboiled in a large pot before they are laid out to dry. They can also be bleached in sea water. When the leaves are dry approximately two weeks later, women smooth them, and roll them into larger “wheels” about one foot in diameter. They are then secured, stacked and stored for future use. When a weaver starts a project, she unrolls the leaves carefully, and using a smooth shell such as a pipi, she rubs the leaves until they’re flat and pliable. Using a different shell (perhaps a clam shell), she then strips the leaves according to the widths required for the completion of the desired project. The thinner the strips, the more important and valuable the project, because weaving thinner strips takes longer and more skill. Tongan women basically use an interlocking weaving method, or they use a binding technique using strips which are wound around and around coconut midribs. Tongans treat items made from lou’akau respectfully. For example, they take their shoes off before walking on most mats. This custom also has a modern form throughout Polynesia today, where many people observe the custom of taking their shoes off before entering a house, even if there are no pandanus mats in the house.

Coconut Leaf Weaving

The availability of fresh coconut leaves makes them the most important weaving material in Polynesia, especially for everyday use. The leaves are chopped off the trees and particularly used for outside needs. They also have the advantage of being disposable.

Once a green coconut frond is cut, it’s relatively easy for a person to split off one side along with a thin piece of the mid-stem. The piece of mid-stem, which is woody, can be easily made into a circle, secured at the ends, and formed into the rim of a basket. Weaving the individual leaves now hanging below the rim follows the usual alternating over-and-under pattern. When the basket is sufficiently deep, or the leaves almost all plaited, the ends are clumped into three strands and braided into a long line across the bottom. Finally, the three strands are tied into a knot, sealing the basket.

Tongans and almost all Polynesians frequently make such baskets and use them to carry coconuts from the plantation, carry food, hold materials for crafts and many other uses. Coconut leaves can also be woven into interesting toys for children, such as a windmill, ball, fish, grasshopper, bird, pineapple, or musical instrument, or a three-leaf piece from one side of the frond can be quickly braided into a cool coconut headband. We also use coconut leaves to quickly finish off a house: For example, they can be layered to make a roof, woven to decorate walls, used to screen out the wind and rain, or made into mats to line floors over which finer mats would be place.

The traditional craft of weaving is also enjoyed for the companionship it promotes among women, as well as the creative pleasure it gives, and the comfort and utility woven goods provide. Finally, in the islands weaving materials are a free part of nature’s bounties.

Named Ha'apai the “Friendly Islands” by Captain James Cook, who was impressed by the warmth and generosity of the islanders. This would later be adopted by the entire kingdom.