Tongan Ways...

Island living in Vava'u, Tonga

We’ve lived on Kapa island in the Vava'u group of Tonga for three months.  I 'd like to share a few insights and observations.. .  We've found Tongans to be friendly and welcoming to visitors, but they are a proud, complex people and I'm sure there's more to know about their ways. We’ve experienced a blend of traditional island culture mixed with Western influences as this isolated Pacific island plays "catch -up" with the rest of the world.

 A village shares a boat ride into town

Tongans are tribal and communal ruled by an ancient hierarchical system that still exists ( King and commoners) fused with strong Christian morals.  In villages, they live communally in houses made of cement blocks with tin roofs, open doors and louvered glass windows (gone are the thatched roofs)  Some homes are simple one room others are more elaborate two story (higher ranking family) with many rooms.  The village centers usually around a school and a church or two (most popular Mormon or Free Wesleyan) a common area, for gatherings and communal weaving.   Tongans seem to be related to everyone in a village with large extended families all living under one roof.

Otea Village house

 Everyone knows everything about everybody. Even in the next village. Their daily lives center around subsistence farming, fishing, family commitments and church obligations.  Family comes first with church second in importance.  Gatherings seem to be around funerals and weddings when entire villages pause to honor the deceased (a quiet event) or celebrate a wedding (a noisy event).

Colorful grave memorial quilts

A two-story house of an important ranking family

The villages are swept clean and neat with gardens and fenced yards to keep out the many pigs and dogs that roam free.  Land is owned by the King. The right to use the land is passed down to each family to first born son and must be planted to feed the family in produce; coconut, mango, taro and manioc.  Most labor is by hand, though there are a few tractors and heavy equipment about the islands. Copra (dried coconut meat) is still harvested and another lucrative export is Kava.  The roads are paved though poorly maintained in the bigger towns and mostly dirt trails in the villages on the outer islands.  A village community may share a car and a boat for commutes to the main town of Neiafu.

Typical village home

   In the larger towns of Nuku'Alofa and Neiafu, there are more modern opportunities with many Tongans employed in banking, retail, government and tourism.  The village houses blend from one into another and a city is born with more reliance on food and goods purchased from the local markets and income realized working in these more populated areas.

House and garden in village of Otea

I’ve read the informative guide of Tongan customs ‘Making Sense of Tonga’ * that certainly helped me understand the Tongan way of life.

Two story house  in village of Talihua

 Here’s a good passage from the Visitors Guide to Tonga:

” In traveling from one part of the world to another, we (palangi, or foreigner) tend to project the cultural expectations we are used to onto the inhabitants of the new location, forgetting that the ground rules in the new locale may be different; 2+2 might not equal 4 in the new location.” Funny, but true.

Dust to dust...an old tourist bus goes by the way side

I myself have been guilty of imposing my western expectations onto this island culture.  I might think there is a lack material goods or modernization, but maybe, not?  There is an interesting blend of cultures, slow paced and just different than mine that is attractive.

A village church

There are churches everywhere!  Every village has at least two churches (most popular are the Mormon and Wesleyan)  and they are the grandest structures in a village with clean fenced grounds.  Even though Christianity is strong in Tonga with church ministries holding a very strong influence over their congregations, many Tongans still believe in traditional mythologies and spirits, too.  Most Tongans attend church several days a week with Sunday having several services.

Catholic church in Neiafu

The wake-up bell peals loudly at 5:00am.  The church is a vital part of the social structure that holds everything together, governs education and guides social behavior.   There are many church rules, such as no alcohol or caffeine drinking,  dressing modestly and a required tithe to the church. The traditional kava drinking ceremony is still allowed before or after church.

A little about Kava...

Kava is a widely consumed drink of the Pacific Islands made from the ground powdered roots of a pepper tree with mildly anaesthetic  effects like alcohol.  The kava bowl is shared at most gatherings, village meeting and is mostly a male activity, but it depends on the event.  It is a communal group experience like "smoking a peace pipe"...and quite fun to attend, but is usually a formal gathering.

A Kava circle we were invited to in Fiji.

Back to the church...this is my opinion, but it's hard to understand how the church can extort (my words) money from people who barely have enough of the basics.   Most homes don’t have flush toilets or a modern convenience like a washing machine or even a car, but the church members still manage to contribute the required tithe even thought it might be a hardship.

Mormon school in Otea Village; both English and Tongan languages are taught 

  But, the church positives for the village far exceeds the negatives. There is opportunity and education for the children.   The Tongans seem to have everything they need. Everyone is taken care of by someone be it a family or church member.  No one goes hungry.   It’s tribal and communal.

School girls in Neiafu

As a visitor its interesting to see the traditional ways mix with the modern influences.  For example, everyone in Tonga has a cell phone and access to  the internet.

Thanks to the Trans-Pacific Internet cable under the ocean connecting Australia (2013), New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga to the outside world.  Access to far away families as well as the world has changed Tonga forever..  In the towns, the new generation wears “hip” clothing, the baseball caps and low hung shorts like many modern youth influenced by You Tube videos, while yakking on their cell phones.  The dichotomy is these same kids return home to a village that still fishes at night for the next day’s meal or to sell at the market.

The blend of a traditional culture melding into the modern world is the charm of visiting a developing country like Tonga.

Pigs on the beach...eating fish, jellyfish..anything they can!

But, some Tongans feel their tranquil lifestyle is disappearing and the islands are suffering from tourism, pollution and the influence of American culture at the expense of Tongan traditions. *  It's probably true.  There's no stopping evolution...and change...

Women in funeral black attire topped with a ta'ovala, a woven mat 

The ever busy Tongan women dress in colorful tops and long pants prefer modest clothing but dress more formally for church in long skirts with fancy shoes, while the men dress in white shirts, traditional lava lavas (long skirts) and ties.  It’s a mix of traditional and modern styles.

Line-up for USA  t-shirt give away

As visitors, we brought T-shirts to give away to the children of a village, thinking (our world) that this might be a treat, but it seems they have plenty of clothes to pass around. The kids were most impressed if an athletic sport shirt was offered.  Sports and sporting events at the schools are very big with most villages attending.

Until just last year, the Tongan outer islands had no electricity or lights.  They used gas or battery lanterns. Thanks to the Japanese government who installed solar panels for each home in exchange for fishing rights in Tongan waters. (The Tongan government charges a monthly rental fee to each family) Now villages have power to run lights, watch TV and recharge cell phones. A step into the modern world...

Typical outer island home with rain water catchment

Island home with solar power unit

 Tourism income is slowly replacing subsistence  fishing and farming as many people leave the village to work at a resort.  Many young Tongans leave the islands altogether to find work in America, New Zealand or Australia and send home money to the village.

Ana and her family, live in Otea Village and both work at a resort

Our Tongan neighbor, Ana in Otea village on Kapa Island lives a traditional village life raising four kids and caring for her aging parents all under one roof.  She and her husband, Sione are one of the families making the transition from communal living within a village group to working "outside” at a resort to earn income. Sione still fishes at night for food for the family.  She still must participate in the communal weaving and other village sharing, then home to clean and care for her own household.

Otea Village women weaving

 How she keeps up is a wonder!  She wants to buy a washing machine to help with her workload.  She must apply for a loan from the town bank.  It must be hard to stretch her income for the modern appliance and still willingly give to the church.  This is where outside help is needed? I put a request out to the International Rotary Groups for help to Otea Village for reading books for the school and a washing machine or two for the women?  There are many other needs that might be addressed if we just ask?

Ana and her family are happy living in the village she grew up in.  And she'll get by.  Still she needs a washing machine.

Lapi Island sells their  handicrafts to tourists 

  Some of the islands are surviving financially by selling handicrafts to the seasonal tourists. Tourism is the future of Tonga.   Change happens slowly in Tonga. That is one of the reasons we like Tonga.  We like the slower pace.  The culture is years behind our busy material consumed lives of the western world.  We chose to visit Tonga because it has kept it’s traditional, Polynesian life style in spite of the western influences.
But, it won’t take long before this culture is absorbed and disappears.  Try to visit these Pacific islands before it's too late.  We are glad we did.  Thanks for the memories!

Visiting sailing school schooner in Port Refuge, Neiafu

Malo Aupito, Tonga!
April 20, 2014


* A Visitor’s Guide to the Kingdom’s Rich Polynesian Culture, by McCoy & Havea
* The Lonely Planet's Guide to Samoan Islands & Tonga