Sangone
Encyclopedia
Sāngone
Sāngone (Sāmoan
sā = tribe, Fijian
(n)gone = child), was the name of a turtle
from divine origin and featuring in Tonga
n myths about the Tui Tonga
king named Tuitātui
in the beginning of the 12th century AD. Part of the history features prominently in a famous lakalaka
written by queen Sālote somewhere around 1940, when the shell, claimed to be the original one from Sāngone herself was transferred to the Tupou College
museum.
came to Mokotuu, a tract near Longoteme on Tongatapu
, to wash her hair with the clay and then to dry it. She fell asleep. Then a Sāmoan named Lekapai came along, saw her, and tied her hair to the trees around. He woke her up, but she could not get up, because her head was immovable in the bonds. Hina begged to be liberated, and Lekapai agreed when she would become his wife. So happened and they lived together for a long long time.
Some say that Lekapai had a bunch of coconuts with him on his trip. Contrary to his wife's instructions he broke one open on Sāngone's head and not on her shield. Others say that once he had arrived in Sāmoa he directly went to see his relatives, leaving Sangone behind in shallow water, disobeying orders to have left her behind in deep water. Not only that, he also did not provide Sāngone first with fresh coconuts in a coconut leaf mat as he had promised. Next either he, or his family, or both dragged Sangone out of the sea, killed her, cut her in pieces and ate her. Only the plates of her shield were wrapped in a fine mat and buried beneath a candlenut tree at Tuasivivalu. Or a candlenut was thrown into the hole, so that a tree would grow at that place. And Loau Tuputoka (one of the many Loau in history), who was present said to a young lad: "Lāfai, you will grow slowly (pana), and the day Sāngone is found, you will die." Since that time the other was known as Lāfaipana (Lāfai the dwarf).
Meanwhile Lekapai had gone to sleep, and when he woke up, he found himself magically transported, back into the house of the wind god. His divine wife knew everything, and angrily slew him.
This part of the story has many parallels with the story of Kae
who misused Sinilau's whale in the same way.
, who expressed the wish to have these relics. According to other versions: Sāngone had been his pet turtle, but it had been stolen behind his back by the Sāmoans. He sent several envoys to get the shell. They all failed. Finally he entrusted the mission to his halfbrother Fasiapule (in some versions he went himself). When the party arrived at Savaii
Fasiapule spoke thus: "No one will do the apportioning (the giving around of the kava
at a royal kava ceremony
), except me." And when the first toast was given he said: "Fainting alone in the bush, leaf screeching and whistling." The Sāmoan hosts had no idea what he was talking about, and quickly sought consult with the ancient and decrepit dwarf Lāfaipana who lived in the bush. The latter told them that a wild hopa (plantain
) standing lonely in the bush was meant, as ripe bananas bend down from the stalk; and that taro
leaves picked by pulling them from the stem give a screeching sound. When the Sāmoans after that brought the Tonga party plantain bananas wrapped in taroleaves and cooked in the umu
, Fasiapule knew that the riddle was solved. Then he brought out a new toast with this statement: "Growling and lying down." Lāfaipana said it was a pig, a pig so huge that it could not stand on it legs but lay down and grunted for food all day. So a pig was dressed for the oven and served. Fasiapule took the feet, the back and the head for him, and gave the rest to his hosts.
In other versions, however, it was rather Lāfaipana who asked the riddles, and Fasiapule who had to answer them. The dwarf was extremely unwilling to reveal the burial place of Sāngone, because of the prophecy done to him. He only agreed to tell it to someone who would be clever enough to meet his wits. "Singing winds?", he asked. "A wild fowl flying low over the bush when startled", was the answer. "What gives dust when you clap your (cupped) hands?" Lāfaipana wanted to know. It was a bundle of dried kava roots which emits a cloud of dust when disturbed. And when also Fasiapule showed that he knew how to apportion the kava at the congregation, Lāfaipana admitted defeat.
Queen Sālote summarised the riddles in the following stanza from her famous lakalaka
Sāngone as follows:
, cut a toa
tree and came back. "What is that?", Lāfaipana asked. "The perch for your dove", was the answer. "You fool, to cut a piece of wood for me to sleep with. I thought that if you can make riddles for me to solve, then you should solve mine. That dove is a woman for me."
But now Fasiapule proceeded with digging up the shell, and as soon as it became visible, Lāfaipana shrivelled up and died.
So the shell of Sāngone was brought to Tonga, and was kept as a precious heirloom by successive generations of Tui Tonga. Until Laufilitonga
, after becoming a Christian sold it to a vessel, which sold it in Fiji. And when king Maeakafa heard about it, he went to Fiji, searched it and found some of the shell and brought it back to Tonga where it still is (see above). But it is also said that the remainder was used to make a fishhook in possession of Tungī Mailefihi
.
Sāngone (Sāmoan
Samoan language
Samoan Samoan Samoan (Gagana Sāmoa, is the language of the Samoan Islands, comprising the independent country of Samoa and the United States territory of American Samoa. It is an official language—alongside English—in both jurisdictions. Samoan, a Polynesian language, is the first language for most...
sā = tribe, Fijian
Fijian language
Fijian is an Austronesian language of the Malayo-Polynesian family spoken in Fiji. It has 450,000 first-language speakers, which is less than half the population of Fiji, but another 200,000 speak it as a second language...
(n)gone = child), was the name of a turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
from divine origin and featuring in Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
n myths about the Tui Tonga
Tu'i Tonga
The Tui Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the 10th century with the mythical Ahoeitu; withdrew from political power in the 15th century by yielding to the Tui Haatakalaua; and died out with Laufilitonga in 1865...
king named Tuitātui
Tu'itatui
Tui-tā-tui was the 11th Tui Tonga, a dynasty of mighty kings in Tonga, and lived somewhere in the 12th century AD...
in the beginning of the 12th century AD. Part of the history features prominently in a famous lakalaka
Lakalaka
The lakalaka is a Tongan group dance where the performers are largely standing still and make gestures with their arms only. It is considered as the national dance of Tonga and part of the intangible human heritage...
written by queen Sālote somewhere around 1940, when the shell, claimed to be the original one from Sāngone herself was transferred to the Tupou College
Tupou College
Tupou College is a Methodist boys' secondary boarding school in Toloa on the island of Tongatapu, Tonga.It is located on the Eastern District of Tongatapu near the village of Malapo. The school is owned by the Free Weslyan Church of Tonga. Established in 1866 by James Egan Moulton, it claims to be...
museum.
version 1
The beautiful goddess Hinahengi from PulotuPulotu
In the mythology of parts of western Polynesia , Pulotu is the underworld, the world of darkness ....
came to Mokotuu, a tract near Longoteme on Tongatapu
Tongatapu
Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...
, to wash her hair with the clay and then to dry it. She fell asleep. Then a Sāmoan named Lekapai came along, saw her, and tied her hair to the trees around. He woke her up, but she could not get up, because her head was immovable in the bonds. Hina begged to be liberated, and Lekapai agreed when she would become his wife. So happened and they lived together for a long long time.
version 2
One day a great storm destroyed the plantation of Lekapai in Sāmoa. Lekapai swore revenge on the god of the winds and set out in his canoe. He arrived at an island, but there was no opening in the reef. The boat was turned over, but Lekapai made it alive to the shore. He went inland and came at a house where a beautiful girl was standing. She turned out to be the daughter of the wind god, who was sleeping at that momernt. When the god slept it was calm, when he awoke there were storms. The girl told Lekapai to tiptoe to her sleeping father, to take a lock of his hear and to tie it to a big tree, then another lock to another tree, and so on. Next the god was woken up and found himself powerless. Soon he and Lekapai came to an agreement. He would live here and marry the damsel, and the god himself would retire to some other premises in the bush. So Lekapai and the girl lived together for a long long time.Death of Sāngone
Lekapai got desire to visit his family in Sāmoa. His wife acquiesced and said that he could travel on the back of her mother, who happened to be a turtle with the name Sāngone. She gave him instruction what to do and not to do.Some say that Lekapai had a bunch of coconuts with him on his trip. Contrary to his wife's instructions he broke one open on Sāngone's head and not on her shield. Others say that once he had arrived in Sāmoa he directly went to see his relatives, leaving Sangone behind in shallow water, disobeying orders to have left her behind in deep water. Not only that, he also did not provide Sāngone first with fresh coconuts in a coconut leaf mat as he had promised. Next either he, or his family, or both dragged Sangone out of the sea, killed her, cut her in pieces and ate her. Only the plates of her shield were wrapped in a fine mat and buried beneath a candlenut tree at Tuasivivalu. Or a candlenut was thrown into the hole, so that a tree would grow at that place. And Loau Tuputoka (one of the many Loau in history), who was present said to a young lad: "Lāfai, you will grow slowly (pana), and the day Sāngone is found, you will die." Since that time the other was known as Lāfaipana (Lāfai the dwarf).
Meanwhile Lekapai had gone to sleep, and when he woke up, he found himself magically transported, back into the house of the wind god. His divine wife knew everything, and angrily slew him.
This part of the story has many parallels with the story of Kae
Kae and Longopoa
The story cycle around Kae and Sinilau is a well known entity in Polynesian mythology, found back on several places . This article describes the Tongan version, of which the main source is an old poem published in 1876, and some other, incomplete manuscripts.The third player Longopoa in this...
who misused Sinilau's whale in the same way.
Quest of Fasiapule
Once upon a time Loau went to Tonga and reported the happenings to king TuitātuiTu'itatui
Tui-tā-tui was the 11th Tui Tonga, a dynasty of mighty kings in Tonga, and lived somewhere in the 12th century AD...
, who expressed the wish to have these relics. According to other versions: Sāngone had been his pet turtle, but it had been stolen behind his back by the Sāmoans. He sent several envoys to get the shell. They all failed. Finally he entrusted the mission to his halfbrother Fasiapule (in some versions he went himself). When the party arrived at Savaii
Savai'i
Savaii is the largest and highest island in Samoa and the Samoa Islands chain. It is also the biggest landmass in Polynesia outside Hawaii and New Zealand. The island of Savai'i is also referred to by Samoans as Salafai, a classical Samoan term used in oratory and prose...
Fasiapule spoke thus: "No one will do the apportioning (the giving around of the kava
Kava
Kava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....
at a royal kava ceremony
Kava culture
Kava cultures are the religious and cultural traditions of western Oceania which consume kava. There are similarities in the use of kava between the different cultures, but each one also has its own traditions.-Hawaii:...
), except me." And when the first toast was given he said: "Fainting alone in the bush, leaf screeching and whistling." The Sāmoan hosts had no idea what he was talking about, and quickly sought consult with the ancient and decrepit dwarf Lāfaipana who lived in the bush. The latter told them that a wild hopa (plantain
Plantain
Plantain is the common name for herbaceous plants of the genus Musa. The fruit they produce is generally used for cooking, in contrast to the soft, sweet banana...
) standing lonely in the bush was meant, as ripe bananas bend down from the stalk; and that taro
Taro
Taro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
leaves picked by pulling them from the stem give a screeching sound. When the Sāmoans after that brought the Tonga party plantain bananas wrapped in taroleaves and cooked in the umu
Earth oven
An earth oven or cooking pit is one of the most simple and long-used cooking structures . At its simplest, an earth oven is simply a pit in the ground used to trap heat and bake, smoke, or steam food...
, Fasiapule knew that the riddle was solved. Then he brought out a new toast with this statement: "Growling and lying down." Lāfaipana said it was a pig, a pig so huge that it could not stand on it legs but lay down and grunted for food all day. So a pig was dressed for the oven and served. Fasiapule took the feet, the back and the head for him, and gave the rest to his hosts.
In other versions, however, it was rather Lāfaipana who asked the riddles, and Fasiapule who had to answer them. The dwarf was extremely unwilling to reveal the burial place of Sāngone, because of the prophecy done to him. He only agreed to tell it to someone who would be clever enough to meet his wits. "Singing winds?", he asked. "A wild fowl flying low over the bush when startled", was the answer. "What gives dust when you clap your (cupped) hands?" Lāfaipana wanted to know. It was a bundle of dried kava roots which emits a cloud of dust when disturbed. And when also Fasiapule showed that he knew how to apportion the kava at the congregation, Lāfaipana admitted defeat.
Queen Sālote summarised the riddles in the following stanza from her famous lakalaka
Lakalaka
The lakalaka is a Tongan group dance where the performers are largely standing still and make gestures with their arms only. It is considered as the national dance of Tonga and part of the intangible human heritage...
Sāngone as follows:
Kisu kava ē mei Haamoa naʻe tali hapo e meʻa kotoa kisu ē: fūfū mo kokohu mo e: kau pōngia i vao ʻa e: lou tāngia mo kokī pea mo e: kapakau tatangi kau ai e: ngulungulu mo tokoto mo e vahe taumafa ʻo e fono. | Kava spitting (toasting) from Sāmoa were all answered and caught state this: clap with [cupped] hands it gives dust and: bunch fainting alone in the bush this: leaf that screeches and whistles and then: singing winds belong to it: growling and lying down and the sharing of the royal toast of the congregation. |
Obtaining the shell
Before he let the Tongans start digging under the, then dead, candlenut tree, Lāfaipana had a personal request to make: he would like to have a branch for his dove to perch on. Fasiapule agreed, went to NiuaNiuatoputapu
For the 2009 tsunami, see the main article: 2009 Samoa tsunami.Niuatoputapu is an island in the island nation of Tonga, Pacific Ocean. Its name means sacred island. Older European names for the island are Traitors island or Keppel island.Niuatoputapu is located in the north of the country,...
, cut a toa
Casuarina
Casuarina is a genus of 17 species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australasia, southeast Asia, and islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It was once treated as the sole genus in the family, but has been split into three genera .They are evergreen shrubs and trees growing to 35 m tall...
tree and came back. "What is that?", Lāfaipana asked. "The perch for your dove", was the answer. "You fool, to cut a piece of wood for me to sleep with. I thought that if you can make riddles for me to solve, then you should solve mine. That dove is a woman for me."
But now Fasiapule proceeded with digging up the shell, and as soon as it became visible, Lāfaipana shrivelled up and died.
So the shell of Sāngone was brought to Tonga, and was kept as a precious heirloom by successive generations of Tui Tonga. Until Laufilitonga
Laufilitonga
Fatafehi Laufilitonga was the 39th and last Tui Tonga, a dynasty of kings in Tonga during the Tui Tonga Empire.-Biography:Only little is known about Laufilitonga's life....
, after becoming a Christian sold it to a vessel, which sold it in Fiji. And when king Maeakafa heard about it, he went to Fiji, searched it and found some of the shell and brought it back to Tonga where it still is (see above). But it is also said that the remainder was used to make a fishhook in possession of Tungī Mailefihi
Viliami Tungi Mailefihi
Viliami Tungī Mailefihi was a Tongan chief and consort of Queen Sālote Tupou III.He was the son of Tukuaho who was the son of Tungī Halatuituia. The line of Tungī chiefs from Tatakamotonga was descending from the then defunct Tui Haatakalaua which in that time was more or less seen as an...
.