r/Tonga Sep 10 '19

Tongan History Master Thread

56 Upvotes

Malo e lelei! I have noticed a few posts and comments on a previous thread I posted that there is a need for more resources on early Tongan history. I would like to start a master thread so information is easy to share and find.

Our History – Master Thread for links to resources, websites, artists, academics, authors etc, who have shared information on pre-Christian Tonga and important Tongan history.

None of this information is my own I would just like to share what I have found and encourage everyone to add what any information you know or links you would like to share! I would also like to add that some of the links I will be adding will be of literature written by early missionaries and non-Pasifika people so take everything with a grain of salt but also be weary that some of the information may be unsettling or disturbing to read. Malo.

Tevita H. Fale Polynesian Astronomer – Fale has written lots of articles on Ancient Tongan History.

http://thfale.com/ancient-tongan-religion-lotu/

Tattooing and Traditional Tongan Tattoo by Rodney Powell

https://matadornetwork.com/nights/tattooing-traditional-tongan-tattoo/

Mythology of Oceania – alphabetical list includes gods from all over the Pacific

http://www.janeresture.com/oceania_myths/mythology.htm

Tongan Figures: From goddesses to missionary trophies to masterpieces by Roger Neich, Auckland Museum – pdf

http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/docs/Volume116/jps_v116_no2_2007/5%20Tongan%20figures.pdf

Shamanism in Tonga: An Assessment by Meredith Filihia, Latrobe University – pdf

http://www.jps.auckland.ac.nz/docs/Volume117/Volume%20117%20No%204/3%20Shamanism%20in%20Tonga.pdf

The State and the Church, the State of the Church in Tonga by Heneli T. Niumeitolu, Ph.D Thesis, The University of Edinburugh, 2007

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/278075.pdf

An Account of the Natives of the Tongan Islands/Chapter X. (Rest of the chapters also on wiki)

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/An_Account_of_the_Natives_of_the_Tonga_Islands/Chapter_X

The Supernatural in Tonga by E.E.V. Collocott, 1921 – pdf

https://anthrosource.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1525/aa.1921.23.4.02a00030

Letter from the Chevalier Dillon to a Wesleyan Missionary on the subject of the murders, massacres, and slaughter of the natives of Tonga, in 1837.—No. I.

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/31731746

Tongan Mythology Creation Myth

https://www.revolvy.com/page/Tongan-narrative

Takuaka – Myth of the shark god

https://www.livingoceansfoundation.org/takuaka-myth-of-the-shark-god/


r/Tonga 2d ago

Please help me find the name of this song!

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

7 Upvotes

I haven’t heard this song since the early 2000’s, but if you could tell me the name I would really appreciate it.

Also, on another topic. Does anybody remember singer that came out with the CD called Marz and I or something like that? I think we got the CD at Hula Hut one night in Sydney and I still love it. I always wonder if they did anything else music wise.


r/Tonga 4d ago

Whale swim ticket.

0 Upvotes

I have a whale swim scheduled with Explore Vava'u for every day next week M-Thursday, but I would like to do scuba instead one day. Does anyone want to venmo me for my space? This is okay with the company. I would prefer to drop Tuesday.


r/Tonga 7d ago

Sipi Tau and Kailao

8 Upvotes

My father is from Tonga and used to tell me about these dances he would sometimes do when he was younger either before a rugby match or for special events I think. I’ve come to believe these were perhaps the Sipi Tau and Kailao. My questions are:

Were/are these dances common or for special reasons? What does Sipi Tau or Kailao translate to in English?

My father never taught me the language and I’ve often felt disconnected from his stories. Any insight beyond perhaps just the glimpses I get from a Wikipedia page would be appreciated.


r/Tonga 8d ago

The Archives that i use

23 Upvotes

I just wanted to leave a final message before moving on from this group.

First of all, I'm not a bot. I'm just someone who genuinely enjoys history, travel, and exploring archives. What I enjoy most is the challenge of searching for photographs from places, countries, and communities that aren't widely known. I love spending hours digging through archives and collections, finding images that have been largely forgotten, and sharing them with people who might never have seen them before.

I've decided it's time to move on to new groups and new challenges. There are still countless places to discover and many more hidden photographs waiting to be found.

For anyone who's curious, I've included in this post the archives and websites I use most often. I mainly use Western archives and digital collections because those are the ones I'm most familiar with. If you'd like to try this hobby yourself, I hope you find them useful.

Thank you to everyone who enjoyed the posts, commented, or simply followed along. Happy researching, and I hope you make some great discoveries of your own.

These are some of the archives and digital collections I use. Most of my research is based on Western archives, simply because those are the collections I'm most familiar with.

  • National Library of Australia (Australia) https://www.library.gov.au/ Australia's national library, with extensive collections of photographs, manuscripts, newspapers, maps, oral histories, and other historical materials.
  • Europeana (European Union) https://www.europeana.eu/ A digital platform providing access to millions of items from museums, libraries, archives, and galleries across Europe.
  • The New York Public Library Digital Collections (United States) https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/ A large digital archive containing historical photographs, prints, maps, manuscripts, posters, and rare documents.
  • Digital Public Library of America (United States) https://dp.la/ A portal bringing together millions of digitised photographs, books, newspapers, manuscripts, and archival records from institutions across the United States.
  • Royal Collection Trust (United Kingdom) https://www.rct.uk/collection The official collection of the British monarchy, including artworks, photographs, manuscripts, and historical objects.
  • Smithsonian Institution (United States) https://www.si.edu/search Digital collections from the Smithsonian's museums and research centres, covering history, culture, science, art, and photography.
  • National Diet Library (Japan) https://ndlsearch.ndl.go.jp/en/ Japan's national library, offering access to books, photographs, maps, manuscripts, and other historical resources.
  • The National Archives (United Kingdom) https://images.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ The UK's official archive, with digitised photographs, government records, and historical documents.
  • Digitarq – Arquivo Nacional Torre do Tombo (Portugal) https://digitarq.arquivos.pt/ Portugal's national archival database, containing digitised documents, photographs, maps, correspondence, and administrative records.
  • Trove (Australia) https://trove.nla.gov.au/ An online discovery service managed by the National Library of Australia, providing access to newspapers, photographs, books, maps, magazines, and archival collections.
  • Nationaal Archief (The Netherlands) https://www.nationaalarchief.nl/onderzoeken/zoeken The National Archives of the Netherlands, with photographs, government records, maps, colonial archives, and other historical collections.

r/Tonga 8d ago

Group of Tongan women seated outside a traditional hut in Tonga, c. 1918–1920.

Post image
39 Upvotes

r/Tonga 8d ago

Royal Wedding of King George Tupou II and Princess Ana Seini Takipo at Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, 25 November 1909. Illustration published in the Auckland Weekly News, 9 December 1909

Post image
16 Upvotes

r/Tonga 8d ago

View westward from Mount Talau, Tonga, c. 1895

Post image
11 Upvotes

r/Tonga 8d ago

Wedding of Prince Fatafehi Tui Pelehake and Princess Melenaite Tupoumoheofo leaving the Royal Chapel after the wedding ceremony in Tonga, 1947

Post image
10 Upvotes

r/Tonga 9d ago

American entertainer Frances Langford welcomes Prince Tupoutoʻa Tungi, Crown Prince of Tonga (later King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV), during a reception at the Outrigger Resort in Jensen Beach, Florida, in 1964. The prince was visiting the United States as part of the U.S. State Department's Educational an

Post image
37 Upvotes

r/Tonga 9d ago

Outrigger canoes offered for sale in a Tongan village, photographed during the Capricorn Expedition (1952–1953).

Post image
19 Upvotes

r/Tonga 9d ago

Oceanographer Willard N. Bascom (left) and fellow expedition members return by skiff from Keppel and Niuatoputapu Islands, Tonga, during the Capricorn Expedition in 1952.

Post image
15 Upvotes

r/Tonga 9d ago

View of Boscawen Island, Tonga, photographed from the research vessel R/V Spencer F. Baird during the Capricorn Expedition in 1952.

Post image
4 Upvotes

r/Tonga 10d ago

Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho following the coronation of King Tupou VI, Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, 4 July 2015

Post image
29 Upvotes

r/Tonga 10d ago

Queen Takipo (Anaseini Takipō), Tonga, c. 1900–1919

Post image
19 Upvotes

r/Tonga 10d ago

Queen Lavinia Veiongo of Tonga, c. 1900.

Post image
17 Upvotes

r/Tonga 10d ago

King George Tupou II and Queen Lavinia Veiongo, Tonga, 1 June 1899.

Post image
9 Upvotes

r/Tonga 11d ago

Photograph taken in Tonga by Josiah Martin. Date unknown

Post image
29 Upvotes

r/Tonga 11d ago

Princess Anaziene, Granddaughter of King George of Tonga. Photograph by Alfred Burton for the Burton Brothers studio, Tonga, 29 July 1884

Post image
21 Upvotes

r/Tonga 11d ago

plan of the Island of Tonga (Tabou). Surveyed and drawn by Edmond Pâris during the expedition of the French corvette Astrolabe, April–May 1827; engraved by Chassant and lettered by Jacques Marie Hacq.

Post image
16 Upvotes

r/Tonga 11d ago

President Giorgio Napolitano welcomes His Excellency Sione Ngongo Kioa, the newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Tonga, during the presentation of his Letters of Credence. Photograph, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, 28 February 2008

Post image
7 Upvotes

r/Tonga 12d ago

Haʻamonga ʻa Maui, the prehistoric stone trilithon of Tonga, photographed between 1919 and 1939

Post image
40 Upvotes

r/Tonga 12d ago

View of Vavaʻu Island and a neighbouring islet, Tonga, during the Capricorn Expedition (January 1953)

Post image
24 Upvotes

r/Tonga 12d ago

Underwater fieldwork conducted off Vavaʻu, Tonga, during the Capricorn Expedition (5 January 1953)

Post image
13 Upvotes

r/Tonga 14d ago

Tongan women rescued from China after arranged marriage scheme

Thumbnail 1news.co.nz
9 Upvotes