Tonga - "The Friendly Islands"

As we approached the Island of Tongatapu, Tonga our pilot announced in all seriousness "no worries folks, the volcano has finished erupting, so we should have a clear landing." Tonga would be our final stop in the volcanic Pacific "ring of fire." Supposedly, the three-headed palm tree pictured above proves that we were there.

Captain James Cook, one of the greatest navigators the world has known, stopped by Tonga in the early 1800's and the locals threw him a huge party and feast, after which he bestowed upon Tonga the name of "The Friendly Islands." What Cook didn't know was that the Tongans were actually planning to fatten him up in preparation for slaughter and raiding Cook's obviously rich boats. However, the Tongans dropped the plan due to indecision among the leaders. Thirty years later, a different party of mariners fell to this plot upon reaching Tonga and were massacred. Cook was later killed in a similar manner in the Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) after leaving Tonga.

All the same, we decided to try our luck and enjoy a Tongan Feast.

After the feast, we enjoyed a show of traditional dancing. The highlight for us was the hip dancing (not pictured here) and the Tongan fire dancing (pictured below). In Arambol India we had already attended a professional fire spinning show put on by the local hippies, but watching these Tongan's light their hair and the roof on fire (no exaggeration!) was definitely well worth while.

In addition to the fire spinners, we enjoyed the traditional costumes. It's interesting to consider the different modesty standards we have found around the world. In Tonga it is not appropriate to have your knees show, but the traditional dress is mostly sleeveless. In India, the modesty is wrapping up from head to toe in brightly colored cloths, except that it is completely appropriate to wear a midriff with the belly hanging out. In Vanuatu, women go bare-chested, but showing thighs is considered very inappropriate.


In addition to the traditional food, dancing and costuming, we were also interested by the all-black clothed funeral processions, and the shallow-ground burial mounds.



Tonga has amazing vistas everywhere. The rough surrounding ocean has formed blow-holes and caves at every turn. However, Rusty was reluctant to take too many pictures of the spraying and drenching blowholes (didn't want to ruin another camera), so we instead took a few pictures from the top of these 30 foot cliffs. Just after snapping this shot, a colossal wave smashed the cliff below and show water clear up and over Rusty. Luckily the camera was spared the drenching this time, but so much for trying to protect the camera!


When the seas mellowed out, we took some time to snorkel and kayak around some of Tongatapu's outer islands. The fish-life was abundant and the corals were fairly colorful. We also saw some giant clams unlike anything we'd seen before. The shipwreck below is one of the sites where we enjoyed snorkeling.


Kayaking in the strong currents and winds wasn't too easy, but we had a good time all the same.

In additiona to great culture, vistas, and activities, Tonga is a total tropical paradise. They litterally drop sticks into the ground and Yams, Taro, and other hearty foods spontaneously grow without any needed maintenance. The result is that in Tonga one doesn't need to bother laboring much to feed themselves, making it the perfect place to master "the art of doing nothing," as our Tongan hotel owner concierge it.  While Kelsi and I were mastering the art of doing nothing, we attended a local rugby game.



We found particularly interesting the Tongan "Fakaleiti." These ladies are a long-standing tradition in Tonga, and provide a universally accepted alternate gender and sexuality choice.  Interestingly, for thousands of years, India has also supported a transsexual or transgendered tradition known as "Hijra." In India, the venerable Hijra were even incorporated into the Hindu religious rituals and afforded special roles at some ceremonies. We found it very interesting to consider how different societies around the world handle sexual variation.

Since we didn't quite master the art of doing nothing, we are off for another island in the Pacific. We've now visited two Polynesian countries (New Zealand and Tonga), but only one Melanesian country (Vanuatu). We'll leave you to guess where we are heading next...