From the Kingdom of TONGA -Sept. 26, 1999

Position: From the Kingdom of TONGA -Sept. 26, 1999

TONGA is a group of 171 islands with only 40 inhabited. The islands conform into 4 groups covering 350,000 sq. miles of water, but only 700 sq. miles of dry land or comparable to half the size of the city of Los Angeles. Total population is 97,000 with the majority residing in Tongatapu and Vava'u next, the two main ports we visited. Traveling non-stop it took us 3 days from Samoa to reach the beautiful harbor of Vava'u. It is a natural very deep protected harbor surrounded by luscious green hills and very popular for the visiting sailboats. We arrived on a Monday morning with several others waiting to clear custom formalities before embarking.

Each of these island groups has retained their traditions, customs and dress. We saw ladies, men, young and old wearing the distinctive pandanus mats called ta'ovala around their waist with a cord of coconut sennit or kafa to secure them. Ta'ovalas are worn to school, work, church, town, all formal and important occasions. It signifies the wearer is dressed up and is showing respect just as does wearing a tie by our men or a special dress by women. The Ta'ovala is handed down through generations as valued heirlooms and the older and tattier they appear, the more they are prized. The men and young boys wear an over the knee length wrap skirt, with a ta'ovala, often a shorter length than the ladies. All dresses of the young girls are below the calf. The women wear ankle length skirts with tunic type tops and ta'ovala around their waist. They frown on short shorts and men without shirts may be fined. Very few have swimming suits-they just hop into the sea in whatever they happen to be wearing at the time.

Education is compulsory for children between 5 and 14 with the majority attending Christian institutions.

We attended a local Tongan feast where the food was prepared in the underground umu and a pig was roasted on a hand turned wooden spit. They served us chicken, shellfish, taro cooked in coconut cream, ceviche, octopus, breadfruit pudding, sweet potato, fresh fruits and their favorite corned beef boiled in taro leaves and other things I could not name. All were served on Tara leaves, coconut shells, palm heart shells and eaten with a spoon made of a coconut spike and fingers. The children of the village danced in their fine costumes and smiled the biggest smiles possible.

The evening ended with the KAVA ceremony. It seems most Polynesian special occasions begin and end at the kava bowl. We have been treated a few times. The ceremony is very nice but the kava is questionable. It starts with the root of the pepper plant ground or pounded into the kava bowl, water added and stirred. Actually they now use the powdered mix rather than the actual root---progress. It looks like gray dishwater and is rather tasteless. Mostly men participate in the ceremony. They sit in a circle with the bowl at the
head. Each man in turn claps 2 times and receives a coconut shell full of the kava.. He will down it, reserving a bit to sprinkle over his shoulder. He then hurls the shell across the floor back to the server. The next one claps and the process is continued on into the evening. It is part of traditional Tongan culture. A marriage is not considered sealed until the bride has consumed a coconut half-shell of kava offered to her by the groom.

Vava'u is the area the Antarctic humpback whale migrates to from June to November each year. Here they mate, bear their young and care for their baby calves. This lead to many whale watching tours and sometimes you can swim with them. We saw a few large and baby whales breaching and playing, but chose not to join their swim. Interesting these whales do not mix with the northern Arctic whales.

Another three day sail to the south brought us to the main island of Tongatapu. This island is pancake flat. It is ideal for farming and they have used the good soil well. They have many coconut palm trees and under them they grow taro, copra, pineapple, papaya, kava, vanilla beans, tapioca trees and all of our common vegetables. The largest crop is a squash they call pumpkins. They look like a large acorn squash and they produce them by the thousands for export to Japan raising two crops a year. Their roads turn into trails that take you through all their fields. Adventuresome as John is we saw all the pigs, chickens, goats, young and old men working in the fields that would put down their hand tools to wave. One even climbed a tree and tossed us some coconuts.

Tongatapu has been the capital of Tonga for at last 600 years so most of the historical remains are also here. This is the site of the King's palace. The present King has the distinction in the Guinness Book of records of being the largest king in the world, over 400 lbs. To set and example for the country he went on a diet and exercise program. He lost over 200 lbs. At 80 years of age he is still exercising regularly and lifting weights. We saw him on a local TV program and he looks to be in great shape.

If you look at the globe you will see that Tonga has moved the International Date Line five degrees east to 175 degrees, so it can claim to be the first country to see the new day. Present promotion is that Tonga will be first country to see the sun rise in the year 2000.

We hope for a pleasant sail further into the southern latitudes that take us to New Zealand.

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