Neiafu, Vava'u Island, Tonga
Harmonie
Don and Anne Myers
Fri 20 Jun 2008 09:54
Upon arrival in the main town of Neiafu, on the main island of Vava'u in
the Vava'u island group of Tonga on Tuesday, June 10th, in true World ARC
rally fashion, there was a cocktail party and a Tongan barbeque waiting
for us at the nearby Paradise Hotel. After dinner we were treated to the
Tongan version of South Pacific dancing - first by some young boys, and
then their female counterparts (pictures 1 and 2). Once the traditional
dancing was over, the traditional '60's, '70's and '80's American and
British music began and there was much dancing by all. All good. Or not
so good depending on your opinion of a bunch of middle aged boaters
dancing wildly to Madonna.
All of which once again brings up that interesting mix of traditional and
contemporary, old customs and new technology. In the Marquesas and
Tuamotus, we were amazed by the remote nature of the islands, the small
villages, the traditional families and crafts - all mixed in with cell
phones and satellite dishes. In Tonga, at least in the Vava'u group of
islands which are all very close together, there is not that feeling of
remoteness, but there is a strong sense of family and tradition. There
are no satellite dishes, but there are cell phones in the main town along
with modern American music blaring from open windows.
Unlike French Polynesia, Tonga is extremely conservative. We were warned
before arriving that it is against the law for a man to appear in public
without a shirt on, and ladies are encouraged to wear long shorts (past
the knee), tops that cover the shoulders, and certainly no low cut
necklines. Tongan dance is also more conservative. All of this of course
has been brought on by the missionaries that have had such an impact on
all the South Pacific nations. It's just funny that the degree of
conservatism seems to increase as we head westward. In the Marquesas and
Tahiti, the dance costumes were brief and the butt and hip shaking
positively wild. In Niue, the dance was quite a bit more conservative -
no butt shaking per se, but a bit of hip wiggling. In Tonga, the butt and
hips don't move. Instead, the hands tell most of the story. And the
head. A bit. By just a slight turn of the head, the dancer adds to the
story that the hands tell. So subtle. Tahitian dancing is anything but
subtle. Again, all good, just different.
The Tongan people are friendly, if only a little bit reserved at first.
When passing people on the street, most will say hello (in English, yea!
although they speak Tongan to each other), but only if you speak first.
Also, I read somewhere that the typical greeting when passing someone on
the street is eye contact followed by a quick eyebrow raise. It's true,
we've received the eyebrow raise several times and it made us feel
welcome.
The dress here is definitely conservative. The women wear long skirts,
and sometimes long shorts, but not often. The men also wear long skirts
or long shorts. Yes, the men wear long wrap-around skirts. Sometimes,
when they are dressed up, they add a wrap-around mat to their wrap-around
skirt. One craft that the Tongans are well known for is weaving. They
use all the natural raw materials at their disposal (coconut tree fronds
and leaves from various other plants and trees) to weave baskets, jewelry,
and clothing. Yes, clothing. Mainly mats. Mats that they wear on top of
their wrap-around skirts. The mats the men wear are all one piece and
reach anywhere from halfway down their legs to the full length of their
wrap-around skirts. The women's mats are a little different. They are
more ornamental in that they are strips of woven mats strung from the
waistband by a woven belt of sorts. So the women's mat strips flutter and
flip around when the walk and the men's one piece mats just lay against
their wrap-around skirts. Wearing a woven mat in Tonga is like wearing a
coat and tie for a man or a dress or suit for a woman in western
societies. I keep trying to unobtrusively take a picture of a group of
men or women in their wrap-around skirts and mats, but I haven't found the
right moment. Most of the kids go to private catholic schools and all
wear uniforms. The girls wear maroon jumpers with a white blouse
underneath. All have gorgeous long black hair that they weave into two
braids and tie with yellow ribbons. The boys wear blue wrap-around skirts
with matching tops. Again, I've tried to get a picture of the kids
walking through town when on lunch break or after school, but haven't
found the right moment without appearing obnoxious.
The Tongans who have something to sell are not quite as reserved as those
that don't. For example, the first couple of mornings we spent on a
mooring in Neiafu Harbor, we received a knock on the hull (no fish
knocking this time) and a loud, 'Good morning!'. Don and I, still in bed
of course - who wants to get up early when you're retired? - looked at
each other and choose to ignore the knocking and the loud greetings.
Finally, one morning I happened to be on deck when one of these
slightly-more-aggressive-than-the-normal-Tongan vendors showed up in his
mostly dilapidated, wooden, one step above a canoe boat. I said hello, he
said good morning and immediately asked me if we had any coffee. I was
surprised by the question, but said yes and he immediately indicated that
I should take his boat line and tie it to our boat so he could come
aboard. Ok.....I did so. He hopped aboard and introduced himself. 'I'm
Make' he said (pronounced Mah-key). Not awake yet, I introduced myself
and indicated I would be right back with his coffee. He settled happily
in the cockpit to wait. 'Nice boat' he said when I returned. Smart man,
he knows how to get to a boater's heart. He drank his coffee. I waited
for the sales pitch. After a little bit of small talk, and an
introduction to the half-awake Don, Make decided it was time to show us
his wares. Out came the jewelry. It was similar to what we had seen in
the Marquesas and Society Islands - bone carvings, shells and even some
necklaces made from colorful seeds. All nice, but not as nice as that
from the Marquesas. Then came the real Tongan treat - baskets. Aha! Now
these I was interested in. We settled on two and Make was happy. He then
went on to show us some wood carvings - mostly masks and tikis. Not the
kind of thing that there is a lot of room for on a boat. After the basket
transaction was complete, I asked Make if we could take his picture. 'Of
course!' he said, 'But only if one of you sits with me!'. Ok. Don was
instructed to go sit by Make and picture 3 is the result - complete with
Make's favorite carving (made from the bone? cartilage? sword? of a blue
marlin).
That pretty much sums up our welcome to Tonga in Neiafu Harbor. More to
come on the various islands we visited in the Vava'u group.
Anne
