My Trip to Tonga
1.9.-8.9.2014
I left Helsinki on
Monday 1st of Sept at 4:00 pm and arrived to NZ on Wednesday morning
the 3rd at 10:00 o’clock. I stayed in Auckland for several days and left to
Tonga on Monday morning 8th of Sept.
New Zealand
From my mother’s garden
In Auckland I stayed with my mother, Ipu and the house was always full
with visitors. My younger sister, Silia her children and her grandchildren live
quiet near. One of my older sister’s daughter, Tule and family also live few
blocks away. My in laws are also around the block. They brought food and noises
with them whenever they came. Come to think of it, they hardly left at all… J.
Thursday 4th of Sept
I was fortunate to attend the marking of the “Tongan Week” during my
stay in Auckland. The primary school “Onepoto” just next door cerebrated the
Tongan Week with a cultural event. It was the first occasion to see the Tongans
cerebrate their culture after many years. The children were in their Tongan
costumes, in different forms and colours. They were so beautiful and they enjoyed
the event also. As an IMPORTANT part of the culture, the food was even bigger
and tastier.
Our future; the kids were amazing with their kahoa
(lei) ta’ovala (mat around the waist), kiekie (ta’ovala for women) and the best
of all their smiling faces.
Behind, hanging on the wall is the tapa cloth.
It is our traditional wear. It comes in different sizes and designs. Small one
can be worn in performances, weddings and in different social functions. The
bigger ones can be used as decoration, gifts, and etc. Tapa is one of the most
important and most valuable handicrafts of the Tongans.
I attended my first kava party on Thursday night. The “kava club” was at
the back of my sister’s house and when I arrived around midnight the party was
in full swing. The party goers, except the “tou’a” were all men. I wonder why? J
The To’ua is the woman who served the kava and kava
is our traditional drink. Going to a kava party is like going to a bar to drink
beer without the women. The tou’a’s task is much easier now days somehow. The
kava is mixed by a man and the tou’a is only served it from the kava bowl with
a long spoon. Of course, she has to endure the sitting long hours and all the
attentions given by admirers and neuters.
There was a “string band”, two guitars and a ukulele. I remembered in my
yester years in Tonga, I did not like singing during the kava party. I liked talking
and enjoyed discussion…. As the night progressed and we got drunk, no one
wanted to talk therefore they started to sing. Since I didn’t know much how to
sing, I normally felt asleep.
After every song we had a round of kava. To tell you the truth, I really
enjoyed the music. The band led the songs but everyone was singing. Some of the
songs I knew and some didn’t but still enjoyed it all the same. The harmony was
beautiful and I really enjoyed listening.
I was introduced as the visitor from Europe… I got the feeling; there
was an understanding or assumption among the group that I should take it easy
and “nipi nipi” served in a very small quantity. Most of the kava drinkers
brought their own kava cup. Those with
bigger cups have bigger serves and with small cups accordingly. Unless
requested otherwise. You can tell from the cups who are the heavy drinkers…
The to’ua left around 4.00 am and so most of the kava drinkers. By 7 am,
there were only 4 of us. We decided to call the night off. I was so thankful
for being “nipi nipi” but I still spent the whole Friday in bed and even got
sick…
Saturday 6th of
September
I woke up in the morning, there was a commotion outside. It was our
Tongan neighbour preparing for a “tunu puaka”, roasting pigs for a church
function in the afternoon. How long would it take, I asked? 5 hours one of them
answered. I was so interested to see how they go about with the task. I did not
see much firewood around to last even one hour. But one of them produced from a
little shack some blocks of wood/timber. After a while the fire was up and they
started to work... We left short after but when we came back in the afternoon,
the daughter brought some food and of course a delicious piece of pork.
The “puaka tunu” (roasted pig) is an important
part of the Tongan cuisine. No function without a puaka tunu. The skin is
crispy but the meat is tender and juicy, vey delicious in deed.
My father’s Grave
We visited my father’s grave. I was here almost 10 years ago. My father
passed away in October 2004. I visited to his funeral with my youngest
daughter, Tahine. This visit was happier though, my mother said few words and
we took pictures. On our way back, my niece’s husband, Osika joked to my
mother; “…we always pray when we visited Tevita, we did not pray today…” “… I did ask you guys when we arrived, what do
you normally do when visited but no one said anything... I guess your prayers
on your previous visits covered today also” I said.
My
father, Rev. Tevita Elone was a minister at the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga
(Methodist Church). We traveled around the islands from Tongatapu, Eua, Ha’apai
and Vava’u groups because of my parents’ work. Family prayer was a part of
everyday life. Every morning and evening there was a family prayer. In Tonga,
there is no occasion without praying…
Sunday 7th of
September
The church started a 12 noon but since we were early I went to the
“faikava”, kava drinking at the hall just behind the church. Usually the senior
members of the church sit around and drink kava before the service. They talk
about current affairs, what has happened since last Sunday and sometimes discuss
the bible readings for the day and so on.
Today, was the normal Sunday service, followed by the “sakalameniti” (sacrament)
and followed by the “po lea fakamalo ki he Misinale” (speeches and words of
thanks for the church annual donation, the Misinale. Despite the long service,
I enjoyed the singing and I sang along when I remembered the lyrics. The choir was
accompanied by a brass band. I knew the choir master, Paula. I knew the
minister’s wife, Valeti. Her older sister and brother were my teachers in high
school. There were few people we were at high school together. Some of the
people still remember me from my last visit. It is really a small world. We
finally got out of the church at 3.00 pm. I took few pictures and exchanged
greetings with the rest of the church goers.
Normally these programs can run individually in
different times on Sunday but considering the living situation in Auckland, the
logic was better to do them all in one go than coming back again in the
evening.
After the church, the sisters
After the service, the extended families were at my sister’s house for
lunch. It was a feast again. Few kava drinkers were still at the club since
last night joined too. I have been amazed with amount of food the Tongans are
eating. They hardly go for a second serve and never took a 3rd
serve. They took the 1st – 4th serves all at once. J Do you know the different between breakfast,
lunch and 100 other meals? They are in different time of the day all right, but
the amount and kind of dishes are the same. You can’t stay “slim” for long with
the Tongans, food is around 24/7 and delicious also. If you forget the gym, in no
time, you will have a Tongan “lovely figure” J.
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