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The Tongan archipelago has been inhabited for perhaps 3,000 years, since settlement in late Lapita times. The culture of its inhabitants has surely changed greatly over this long time period. Before the arrival of European explorers in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, the Tongans were in frequent contact with their nearest Oceanic neighbors, Fiji and Samoa. In the 19th century, with the arrival of Western traders and missionaries, Tongan culture changed dramatically. Some old beliefs and habits were thrown away and others adopted. Some accommodations made in the 19th century and early 20th century are now being challenged by changing Western civilization. Hence Tongan culture is far from a unified or monolithic affair, and Tongans themselves may differ strongly as to what it is "Tongan" to do, or not do. Contemporary Tongans often have strong ties to overseas lands. They may have been migrant workers in New Zealand, or have lived and traveled in New Zealand, Australia, or the United States. Many Tongans now live overseas, in a Tongan diaspora, and send home remittances to family members (often aged) who prefer to remain in Tonga. Tongans themselves often have to operate in two different contexts, which they often call anga fakatonga,[1] the traditional Tongan way, and anga fakapālangi, the Western way. A culturally adept Tongan learns both sets of rules and when to switch between them.
Any description of Tongan culture that limits itself to what Tongans see as anga fakatonga would give a seriously distorted view of what people actually do, in Tonga, or in diaspora, because accommodations are so often made to anga fakapālangi. The following account tries to give both the idealized and the on-the-ground versions of Tongan culture.
^Services, International Education (2021). "Tongan Culture". Archived from the original on 2020-03-28.
8 May) List of museums in Tonga Outline ofTonga Demographics ofTonga Makafeke Services, International Education (2021). "Tongan Culture". Archived from...
Tonga (/ˈtɒŋə/ TONG-ə, /ˈtɒŋɡə/ TONG-gə; Tongan: [ˈtoŋa]), officially the Kingdom ofTonga (Tongan: Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is an island country...
Music ofTonga refers to music derived from the island Tonga in the islands of Polynesia. Music ofTonga today generally falls under the category of traditional...
The history ofTonga is recorded since the ninth century BC, when seafarers associated with the Lapita diaspora first settled the islands which now make...
important part of the cultureofTonga, especially if it concerns the death of a member of the royal family or a high chief. The influence of Christianity...
predominant religion in Tonga, with Methodists having the most adherents. The constitution ofTonga establishes the freedom of religion, which is respected...
list of monarchs ofTonga since 1845, after the Constitution ofTonga established the role of the monarch. The first constitutional monarch ofTonga was...
only in the Pacific islands of Hawaii, Federated States of Micronesia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Samoas, and Tonga. An inventory of P. methysticum distribution...
cloth (or simply tapa) is a barkcloth made in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, primarily in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, but as far afield as Niue, Cook Islands...
Pacific regions ofTonga. The heilala flower is the national flower ofTonga. Garcinia sessilis, which can also be known as heilala in Tonga or seilala in...
specifically to understand the history and cultureofTonga, as well it can also be studied more broadly within the fields of history, anthropology, and mythology...
Culture of Samoa Cultureof Tokelau (NZ) CultureofTongaCultureof Tuvalu Cultureof Wallis and Futuna (France) Cultureof South America Cultureof Argentina...
The beginnings of the postal history ofTonga can be traced to the Wesleyan missionaries, who landed in the islands in 1826, and sent regular communications...
As female residents ofTonga, women in Tonga had been described in 2000 by the Los Angeles Times as members of Tongan society who traditionally have a...
Polynesian culture that are almost certainly rooted in the Samoan culture. Samoa's ancient history with the kingdom ofTonga, chiefdoms of Fiji and French...
dance ofTonga and part of the intangible human heritage. It is the ideal dance at formal occasions, like the birthday of the king or the opening of a church...
the South Pacific country ofTonga. It originates from Wallis and Futuna. The kailao originated on the island collectivity of Wallis and Futuna, where...
ofTonga. They are double-hulled canoes in the Austronesian tradition, similar to catamarans. outrigger canoe "Tongiaki in Tongatapu, Tonga (3rd of 3)"...
A makafeke is a Tongan octopus snare which consists of a shell lashed to a line. The word is derived from the Tongan words maka ("stone" or "rock") and...
Tonga has competed in six Rugby World Cups since 1987. The 2007 and 2011 Rugby World Cups were Tonga's most successful to date: Tonga won two out of four...
said to be the name for the Fijian 'land of death' Pulotu, a similar concept in the Polynesian culturesofTonga and Samoa T. Williams, J. Calvert, Fiji...