As you fly into Tongatapu you notice that the island is completely flat with coconut trees and other tropical vegetation. It hasn’t rained for three weeks so it is dry and dusty and the supply of fresh fruit and vegetables is short.
Tonga is a Christian Kingdom which is reflected in a conservative, reserved and generous people. (On Sunday’s it is illegal to play and work, and there are no sports on TV).
As I drove into Nuku’Alofa I passed schools with male students wearing the traditional tupenu (sarong) and ta’ovala (mat), a common practice for all levels of society and for both men and women. A symbol of respect the ta’ovala is indicative of the attitude of a people for whom family and face are both the foundations and reason for life.
Nuku’Alofa has not begun rebuilding after the riots of November 2006. Some of the damaged and burnt out buildings still stand empty and desolate, (including what was the new site of The Salvation Army’s Headquarters). Other buildings have been demolished and only concrete slabs remain. Many businesses have moved out of town, others have gone out of business.
In the middle of Nuku’Alofa are the royal graves, with the newest grave being that of the late King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV. Yesterday the people called “the sacred hands” were beginning to dismantle the decorations that surround the new grave. These are a group of people from a specific village on the east of the island who have for hundreds of years been the custodians of Royal funerals. They are the only people allowed to tend to a Royal body and grave. Dressed in black and wearing the ta’ovala as a sign of respect they go about their work with reverence.
