NUKU ALOFA,

THE KINGDOM OF TONGA

RAINY, RAINY TONGA!

Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 75 Degrees, 86% Humidity, [email protected] mph

It had to happen eventually, a totally rainy day in Tonga. We’ve been on the Cruise for 33 days. Our luck couldn’t hold forever! We’ve had brief showers here and there, but basically, sunny, beautiful blue skies. Not in Tonga! When we arrived in port, despite the light rain, we were greeted by dancers (male and female) in traditional garb. It’s different here than any of the other islands we’ve visited. Many of the men wear a black ankle-length “lava lava,” which we’d call a wrap-around skirt. For “formal” wear (church, legal business, some jobs), they wear a piece of tapa around the waist. The women, too, wear tapa skirts rather than the grass skirts and sarongs we’ve seen elsewhere. Unfortunately, when we left the ship for our tour at about 10 AM, the rainy dancers had given up and gone home – no photographs on the pier. Later, our guide told us Tongans loved the rain and willingly went out in the rain, calling it a “Rain Bath”. I guess our dancers already had their baths for the day!

The Kingdom of Tonga is an archipelago in Oceania, South Pacific Ocean, composed of 169 islands, only 36 of which are inhabited. Tongatapu is a flat, raised atoll, unlike the other mountainous volcanic islands we have visited. It’s located about a third of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand. Tonga is the only surviving monarch among the island nations in the Pacific, but the King’s power is limited. Tonga is a democratic nation and a constitutional monarchy with elected officials, including a Prime Minister. It is the only Polynesian kingdom that has never been colonized but it is a member of the British Commonwealth. Tonga has been able to preserve its cultural heritage and traditions. Family is the most important unit in Tonga's life. Traditionally, many generations of families share a house and land. If one member catches fish or raises a crop, it would be “unseemly” not to share it with the whole family.

The Monarchy is revered in Tongan culture. The Royal Palace, originally built in 1867, expanded 5 times and could be seen from the ship. If the King is in residence, the flag will be flying, but none was the day we were in port. The Royal Tombs are another attraction, usually visible but fenced off from visitors. When we were there, the fences were covered in plastic, and we could not see anything – the Chinese were building a parking lot, but no one is really sure why! There is a large Chinese presence in Tonga, as there is on most of the Polynesian islands we visited. Our guide made several comments about how things were changing because of the Chinese. Every village has a Chinese-run store, and people are becoming dependent upon it. We definitely got the impression she was not happy about their increasing influence. Another “cruiser” who had spent the day with a native Tongan friend said some are leaving the island to move to more remote islands to preserve the old ways.

We made a rainy visit to Captain Cook’s Landing Place, just a bronze plaque on a stone base. There was also an engaging program about Tonga culture. We learned how they made clothes from pounding bark and wove hats and baskets from palm branches. Finally, a beautiful, graceful dancer performed for us while wearing traditional garb. Refreshments were served in keeping with their generous, friendly nature before we took a rainy ride back to the ship.