TONGA CULTURE IN POLYNESIA

TONGA MEANS SOUTH ACCORDING TO ARCHAEOLOGISTS THEY ARRIVED FROM FIJI IN 1500 B.C. IT HAS 150 ISLANDS AND 36 HAVE SETTLEMENTS. MOST ISLANDS HAVE RAISED CORAL. THEY HAVE TROPICAL VEGETATION. BY 1996 THEY HAD 98,000 PEOPLE. SOME INTERNAL MIGRATION HAS FROM OUTER ISLANDS HAS OCCURRED. TONGA FOLKS SPEAK AUSTRALIAN LANGUAGE. THEY HAVE SEVERAL DIALECTS.THEY MEDIATE IN CEREMONIES. SEVENTY YEARS AS A BRITISH PROTECTORATE . RESULTED IN WIDESPREAD KNOWLEDGE OF ENGLISH. IN ELEM SCHOOLS ENGLISH IS TAUGHT, BUT TONGAN IS COMMON ON STREETS AND CHURCHES.

THEIR CREATION MYTH DESCRIBES HOW THE ISLANDS WERE FISHED BY MAUI, 1 OF 3 MAJOR GODS. TONGANS WERE FIERCE WARRIORS AND SKILLED NAVIGATORS. WITH OUTRIGGER CANOES THAT COULD HOLD 200 PEOPLE. BY THE 1700'S WHEN THE FIRST EUROPEANS ARRIVED THEIR EMPIRE COLLAPSED. THEIR CONSTITUTION WAS MADE IN 1875 AND UNIFIED 4 ISLAND GROUPS. IT WAS PREPARED UNDER CHRISTIAN PRINCIPALS.

BY 1970 ALL POWERS WERE RESTORED TO TONGAN PEOPLE. STUDENTS LEARN THEIR HISTORY POETRY, AND MUSIC AND DANCING WITH WOOD CARVINGS AND BARK CLOTH MAKING. THEIR FOLKS LIVE IN VILLAGES AND SMALL TOWNS. THEY ARE AROUND EMPTY AREAS CALLED MALAE USED FOR SOCIAL GATHERINGS. THEY LIVED IN HOUSES ON PLATFORMS. THEY BUILD PLATFORMS TO PROTECT FOR FLOODS. THEY HAVE A TOILET AND KITCHEN IN SEPARATE HUTS. CONTEMPORARY HOUSES ARE USUALLY BIGER AND OF TIMBER. THE ROYAL TOMBS ARE LAYERED WITH PYRAMIDAL STRUCTURES BUILT OF MASSIVE STONE SLABS IN 1200 A.D. THEY ARE MADE OF A NOTCHED COLOMN OF INTRICATE STONE TECHNOLOGY.

THEIR FOOD IS MADE OF ROOT CROPS, TARO, ROASTED MEAT OR FISH. THEY HAVE BANANAS, PINEAPPLES, AND MANGOES. THEY STILL DRINK KAVA , A NARCOTIC THAT IS POPULAR IN FIJI TOO. THEY HAVE A KAVA CEREMONY FOR FORMAL RECEPTIONS AND BIRTHS, ETC. THEY HAVE KAVA CLUBS HERE.

THEIR ECONOMY IS ON AGRICULTUREAND FISHING. THEIR TOURIST INDUSTRY IS GROWING. THEY COOK IN AN UNDERGROUND OVEN. TRADITIONALLY THYE HAD KINGS AND NOW THEY HAVE NOBLES VS. CHIEFS.

EVERY CITIZEN HAS A PLOT OFLAND BY 16. THEY CAN GET LOW INTEREST LOANS FOR ENTREPRENUERS THE PEACE CORPS CONNECT WITH THE ACTIVE AID AGENCIES. TODAY THE WOMEN WORK. MEN TAKE CARE OF LAND AND ANIMALS. BOTH RAISED CHILDREN AND ANIMALS. FOOD PREP IS SHARED. OLD3ER CHILDREN CAN HELP WITH ALL ACTIVITIES.

DURING A WEDDING A BRIDE AND GROOM "WEAR THEIR WEALTH". THEIR BEST MATS AND BARK CLOTHS, AND SHINE THEIR BODIES WITH OILS AND WEAR FLOWER NECKLACES. TODAY A FEMALE IS CONSIDERED OF HIGHER RANK THAN A MALE. AT THE END OF A CHILD'S FIRST YEAR AN IMPORTANT CELEBRATION OCCURS. TODAY MOST MOMS BABIES IN HOSPITALS. ALL CHILDREN ARE LITERATE. ADOPTION IS POSSIBLE. SOME CEREMONIES LAST WEEKS.

MEN'S FORMAL ATTIRE MAY BE A TUPENU OR SKIRT WITH A COCONUT TUPENU OR SKIRT WITH A COCONUT FIBER BELT. THEY AALSO MAKE HUMAN HAIR BELTS. THEY WEAR A SHIRT AND TIE. THEY MAKE LOG DRUMS FOR CHURCH SERVICES AT THE CRACK OF DAWN. MANY BELONG TO FREE WESLEYANISM CHURCH.

KNOWLEDGE OF MEDICINE IS PASSED FROM PARENT TO CHILD A NATIVE DR. USES MAINLY HERBS. THEY ALSO USE MASSAGE. THEY RESPECT TRADITIONAL MEDICINE. WOMEN MAKE BARK CLOTH ABOUT 50 ' LONG AND 15' WIDE TO DECORATE OR USE AS MATERIAL. THEY PRINT NATURAL FIGURES, TREES, FLOWERS, AND ANIMALS ARE USED. WOMEN MAKE FLAX BASKETS. THESE ACTITIVITIES ARE ALWAYS CONDUCTED IN GROUPS WHILE TALKING, GOSSIPING, OR SINGING. MEN CARVE JEWELRY, WOOD AND TURTLE SHELL, AND WHALE BONE. SEED AND SHELLS ARE WOVEN INTO NECKLACES.

CHORAL SINGING IS DONE IN CHURCHES AND KAVA CLUBS. THEIR TRADITIONAL DANCE IS A PADDLE DANCE. A SOLO DANCE AND A LINE DANCE.

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