Tu'itatui
Encyclopedia
Tui-tā-tui was the 11th Tui Tonga
, a dynasty of mighty kings in Tonga
, and lived somewhere in the 12th century AD. If the number of stories told about him is an indication, then he was one of the mightiest kings of the dynasty for many generations before and after him.
, his court in Heketā (meaning: cripple hit), near the village of Niutōua
on Tongatapu
. It was there that he built, as an impressive gateway to the royal compound, the Haamonga-a-Maui
. From the Haamonga a path proceeded about 50 m to the slightly elevated esi maka fākinanga, (stone to lean against) where the king sat against with his back, safe from any assassin from that direction. He was a huge, strong man, and easily handled a large stick as whether it was nothing. He hit everybody against the knees who would approach him too closely from the front. At par with this was his introduction of a new kava
circle layout (a formal gathering of the chiefs of the country under him), in which the king sat more apart from the others (including supposed assassins) than before.
He also built there at Heketā the earliest known langi (burial tombs)– Langi Heketā and Langi Moungalafa (where four of his children were buried). But he himself would not arrive in using them. He also made a sporting field to play sikaulutoa (reed throwing stick).
, Tuitātui also inherited from his father-in-law Loau as a kind of prime minister. Together they put through landownership and social reforms, re-shuffled and strengtheneth the royal council of the Fale Fā (house of four), the ancient royal counsel
ors and royal guardians of the Tui Tonga
. Tuitātui removed from the Fale Fā, Matakehe and Tuifolaha and replaced them with Tuitalau and Tuiamanave from Talau of the northern island of Vava'u.
As a prince Tuitātui probably had had a sheltered life, away from others. He did not know that he had an older stepbrother, until the latter stepped forwards one day when the people from the Haangongo tribe came to bring their dues. Fasiapule, as was his name, introduced himself with riddles. The king was impressed and made him a kind of governor.
At one stage Fasiapule needed all his cunning to get rid of two nasty goddesses, named Sisi and Faingaa, who were a white and a black heron. He said he had a surprise for them. If they would sit in coconutleaf baskets and look up at the sky, he would carry them around with a pole on his shoulder. So was done, but when Fasiapule came along a suited tree he hang up the pole with the two baskets over a limb and disappeared. Sisi and Faingaa, still looking at the sky and moving in the wind, thought they were still carried around. Until the baskets had rotten away and they fell through. They started to look all over the country for the evildoer, but he had by then left for Fiji
.
for another origin). One day the Sāmoans, a certain Lekapai in particular, stole it and ate it. By the time Fasiapule came with a recovery expedition to Savaii
, only the shell was left over, buried at a secret place and guarded over by the dwarf Lafaipana. Only when Fasiapule had shown he was sharper witted than Lafaipana in solving riddles, he was able to get the shell and return it to Tonga.
This story might be symbolic for the start of a revolt in Samoa by the chiefs Lekapai and Lafaipana, counteracted by Loau Tuputoka and Fasiapule. It would still take a century or so before Sāmoans drove out the last Tongan occupier from their soil.
Nua bore him a son: Uanga. Another son: Afulunga. A daughter: Fatafehi. A last son: Sina. Uanga built the Langi Leka, the first langi in Mua
, he also moved the royal court there after his father's death.
One day the king climbed up on such a raised platform (some say it was on the Haamonga itself) and yelled to his sister, Lātūtama below: "Oh, some big vessels are coming, from Haapai
very likely." "Lies!", his sister answered. She was a female Tui Tonga. "Not lies, come up and see it for yourself. It is a large fleet, 1, 2, 5, no 100 boats I think", the king retorted. So the woman went up, and there was of course nothing to be seen. Then the king seized her and had intercourse with her, knowing that no one could see them. Lātūtama's maiden attendants below saw blood trickling down and asked what it was. "Oh, it is from a flying fox", Tuitātui answered. As such the place is still known as Toipeka (blood drip of the peka (flying fox)). But the attendants understood what was going on.
Lātūtama's brothers were enraged on hearing this and swore to kill the king. Tuitātui had to flee to Eua
, but even there he did not escape his fate.
Meanwhile Fasiapule had returned from Fiji, and hearing that Tuitātui was in Eua, he, and a Fijian friend, embarked in their canoe there. They were attracted by a strange light, which on arrival turned out to be the funeral torches of the dead king. Fasiapule killed his Fijian friend, substituted him on the place of Tuitātui and smuggled the body of the latter away from Eua. Approaching Tongatapu, he rested at one of the outer islands and that island from then on was called Motutapu (sacred island), because it had served as a resting place for a Tui Tonga. He then went on to Malapo
. But night came, and the procession had to stop on an island in the lagoon, close to Folaha, and that island is still known as Moungatapu (sacred mountain). Next day Malapo was reached and the body was taken cared of by Tuitātui's mother's tribe, the Haangongo.
There are claims that Tuitātui is not even buried in Malapo, but in Mua
. The people of Uiha claim that he's buried there in the southeast corner of the island. In a remote area is an ancient grave which contain the bones of a huge man and it is Tuitātui's. There is also a claim that he is buried somewhere in one of the small islands south of Uiha
known as the Otu Motu Kinekina, as they have become a symbol for the Tui Tonga for this reason.
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...
, a dynasty of mighty kings 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...
, and lived somewhere in the 12th century AD. If the number of stories told about him is an indication, then he was one of the mightiest kings of the dynasty for many generations before and after him.
Heketā
Tuitātui had, like his father MomoMomo (Tonga)
Momo was the 10th Tui Tonga, a dynasty of mighty kings in Tonga, and lived somewhere in the 11th, maybe 12th century AD. He was named after one of the original gods of Tonga, a trio known as Kohai, Koau, mo Momo...
, his court in Heketā (meaning: cripple hit), near the village of Niutōua
Niutoua
Niutoua is a village in Tongatapu, Tonga. It is located close to the Ha'amonga 'a Maui stone on the extreme northeast corner of the island. It was the first capital of the Tu'i Tonga Empire....
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...
. It was there that he built, as an impressive gateway to the royal compound, the Haamonga-a-Maui
Ha'amonga 'a Maui
Haamonga a Maui - is a stone trilithon located in Tonga, in the north of the island of Tongatapu, near the village of Niutōua, in Heketā....
. From the Haamonga a path proceeded about 50 m to the slightly elevated esi maka fākinanga, (stone to lean against) where the king sat against with his back, safe from any assassin from that direction. He was a huge, strong man, and easily handled a large stick as whether it was nothing. He hit everybody against the knees who would approach him too closely from the front. At par with this was his introduction of a new kava
Kava
Kava or kava-kava is a crop of the western Pacific....
circle layout (a formal gathering of the chiefs of the country under him), in which the king sat more apart from the others (including supposed assassins) than before.
He also built there at Heketā the earliest known langi (burial tombs)– Langi Heketā and Langi Moungalafa (where four of his children were buried). But he himself would not arrive in using them. He also made a sporting field to play sikaulutoa (reed throwing stick).
Rule
In addition to the Tui Tonga maritime empireTu'i Tonga Empire
Some early European commentators have propagated the notion of a pre-historic "Tui Tonga Empire" or "Tongan Empire" in Oceania.This idea has long been a source of cultural pride among some Tongans even though it has been seriously challenged and generally discounted by modern archaeologists,...
, Tuitātui also inherited from his father-in-law Loau as a kind of prime minister. Together they put through landownership and social reforms, re-shuffled and strengtheneth the royal council of the Fale Fā (house of four), the ancient royal counsel
Counsel
A counsel or a counselor gives advice, more particularly in legal matters.-U.K. and Ireland:The legal system in England uses the term counsel as an approximate synonym for a barrister-at-law, and may apply it to mean either a single person who pleads a cause, or collectively, the body of barristers...
ors and royal guardians of 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...
. Tuitātui removed from the Fale Fā, Matakehe and Tuifolaha and replaced them with Tuitalau and Tuiamanave from Talau of the northern island of Vava'u.
As a prince Tuitātui probably had had a sheltered life, away from others. He did not know that he had an older stepbrother, until the latter stepped forwards one day when the people from the Haangongo tribe came to bring their dues. Fasiapule, as was his name, introduced himself with riddles. The king was impressed and made him a kind of governor.
At one stage Fasiapule needed all his cunning to get rid of two nasty goddesses, named Sisi and Faingaa, who were a white and a black heron. He said he had a surprise for them. If they would sit in coconutleaf baskets and look up at the sky, he would carry them around with a pole on his shoulder. So was done, but when Fasiapule came along a suited tree he hang up the pole with the two baskets over a limb and disappeared. Sisi and Faingaa, still looking at the sky and moving in the wind, thought they were still carried around. Until the baskets had rotten away and they fell through. They started to look all over the country for the evildoer, but he had by then left for Fiji
Fiji
Fiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
.
Sāngone
Tuitātui had a pet turtle, of which he was very fond (but see SāngoneSangone
Sāngone , was the name of a turtle from divine origin and featuring in Tongan myths about the Tui Tonga king named Tuitātui in the beginning of the 12th century AD...
for another origin). One day the Sāmoans, a certain Lekapai in particular, stole it and ate it. By the time Fasiapule came with a recovery expedition to 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...
, only the shell was left over, buried at a secret place and guarded over by the dwarf Lafaipana. Only when Fasiapule had shown he was sharper witted than Lafaipana in solving riddles, he was able to get the shell and return it to Tonga.
This story might be symbolic for the start of a revolt in Samoa by the chiefs Lekapai and Lafaipana, counteracted by Loau Tuputoka and Fasiapule. It would still take a century or so before Sāmoans drove out the last Tongan occupier from their soil.
Nua
One day Tuitātui in his canoe came along the weatherside of Eueiki island and saw a woman with her legs in the sea. For a while he was not sure whether she was a person or an evil ghost, but after some discussion and solving riddles, he decided for the former, and asked her to come to Olotele (the residence of a Tui Tonga). She then told her name was Nua, and agreed to come with the king, she directly had recognised him because of his big, long head, unlike as any other man.Nua bore him a son: Uanga. Another son: Afulunga. A daughter: Fatafehi. A last son: Sina. Uanga built the Langi Leka, the first langi in Mua
Mu'a (Tongatapu)
Mua is a small city in the Hahake district on the island of Tongatapu, and it was for centuries the ancient capital of Tonga. It is divided in the villages Lapaha and Tatakamotonga, is close to Talasiu and famous for the ancient langi .-Geography:Mua is situated along the eastern side of the...
, he also moved the royal court there after his father's death.
Last years
Tuitātui had several big houses in Heketā, and they were provided with a high platforms, called fata, made rom fehi wood, and as such called fatafehi. The word has since become a royal name in Tonga, one Fatafehi was the king's daughter.One day the king climbed up on such a raised platform (some say it was on the Haamonga itself) and yelled to his sister, Lātūtama below: "Oh, some big vessels are coming, from Haapai
Ha'apai
Haapai is a group of islands, islets, reefs and shoals in the central part of the Kingdom of Tonga, with the Tongatapu group to the south and the Vavau group to the north. Seventeen of the Haapai islands are populated....
very likely." "Lies!", his sister answered. She was a female Tui Tonga. "Not lies, come up and see it for yourself. It is a large fleet, 1, 2, 5, no 100 boats I think", the king retorted. So the woman went up, and there was of course nothing to be seen. Then the king seized her and had intercourse with her, knowing that no one could see them. Lātūtama's maiden attendants below saw blood trickling down and asked what it was. "Oh, it is from a flying fox", Tuitātui answered. As such the place is still known as Toipeka (blood drip of the peka (flying fox)). But the attendants understood what was going on.
Lātūtama's brothers were enraged on hearing this and swore to kill the king. Tuitātui had to flee to Eua
'Eua
Eua is a smaller but still major island in the kingdom of Tonga. It is close to Tongatapu, but forms a separate administrative division. It has an area of 87.44 km2, and a population in 2006 of 5,165 people.- Geography :...
, but even there he did not escape his fate.
Meanwhile Fasiapule had returned from Fiji, and hearing that Tuitātui was in Eua, he, and a Fijian friend, embarked in their canoe there. They were attracted by a strange light, which on arrival turned out to be the funeral torches of the dead king. Fasiapule killed his Fijian friend, substituted him on the place of Tuitātui and smuggled the body of the latter away from Eua. Approaching Tongatapu, he rested at one of the outer islands and that island from then on was called Motutapu (sacred island), because it had served as a resting place for a Tui Tonga. He then went on to Malapo
Malapo
Malapo is a small village in the eastern district of Tongatapu in the kingdom of Tonga. It is located in the fork of the road junction, where the main road to Nukualofa splits into the road to Mua and beyond and the road to the airport near Fuaamotu...
. But night came, and the procession had to stop on an island in the lagoon, close to Folaha, and that island is still known as Moungatapu (sacred mountain). Next day Malapo was reached and the body was taken cared of by Tuitātui's mother's tribe, the Haangongo.
There are claims that Tuitātui is not even buried in Malapo, but in Mua
Mu'a (Tongatapu)
Mua is a small city in the Hahake district on the island of Tongatapu, and it was for centuries the ancient capital of Tonga. It is divided in the villages Lapaha and Tatakamotonga, is close to Talasiu and famous for the ancient langi .-Geography:Mua is situated along the eastern side of the...
. The people of Uiha claim that he's buried there in the southeast corner of the island. In a remote area is an ancient grave which contain the bones of a huge man and it is Tuitātui's. There is also a claim that he is buried somewhere in one of the small islands south of Uiha
'Uiha
Uiha is an island in Lifuka district, in the Haapai islands of Tonga. It had a population of 638 and an area of 5.36 km².More about Ha'apai at http://www.nelligennet.com/horst.com...
known as the Otu Motu Kinekina, as they have become a symbol for the Tui Tonga for this reason.