The kailao is a cultural dance from the South Pacific country of Tonga. It originates from Wallis and Futuna.
ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI is the King of Tonga. He is the younger brother and successor of the late King George Tupou V. He was officially confirmed by his brother on 27 September 2006 as the heir presumptive to the Throne of Tonga, as his brother had no legitimate children. He served as Tonga's High Commissioner to Australia, and resided in Canberra until the death of King George Tupou V on 18 March 2012, when ʻAhoʻeitu ʻUnuakiʻotonga Tukuʻaho became King of Tonga, with the regnal name ʻAhoʻeitu Tupou VI.
The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga is a Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is often mistaken to be its state church. It has its roots in the arrival of the first missionaries from the London Missionary Society and the ministry of the Wesleyan Methodist Mission Society, the latter of which cemented its Methodist identity.
Kolonga is a village and the most populated settlement located on the northeast coast of Tongatapu in the Hahake District, Kingdom of Tonga. Kolonga is a hereditary estate of Lord Nuku.
Ovaka is an island in Tonga. It is located within the Vava'u Group in the far north of the country. It is 2800 meters long east–west, and more than 800 meters wide at its widest point. The namesake village is located on the northeast coast. The island had a population of 96 in 2021.
Vaimalō, is a village in the western district of Vavaʻu in Tonga. The population is 114.
Aleamotuʻa was the 18th Tu'i Kanokupolu of Tonga, the third lineage of Tongan Kings with the political and military power who ruled in support of the Tu'i Tonga.
The Free Church of Tonga is a religious denomination of Methodist extraction in the Kingdom of Tonga. The Church was established in 1885 by King George Tupou I and his government at Lifuka, Ha'apai, as a nationalist reaction to attempts at colonising the Friendly Isles. In 1924, its membership was enlarged by the admittance of the entirety of the Wesleyan Church of Tonga, whose district synod voted to reconcile with the Free Church. This union was rejected by the former President, Jabez B. Watkin, and a minority who continued under the old banner long after the united Church had reverted to its original name, the Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga. The Free Church name is now synonymous with the group that repudiated the church union of 1924.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has had a presence in Tonga since 1891. The Tongan Mission was organized in 1916. However, due to anti-Mormon rumors and government policies, the LDS Church did not grow steadily in Tonga until 1924. Between 1946 and 1956, church leaders published Tongan translations of the scriptures and built a church-sponsored school known as the Liahona School. In 1968, Tonga's first LDS stake was organized and the Nuku'alofa Tonga Temple was dedicated in 1983.
The Church of Tonga is one of the churches in Tonga. It is located in the capital Nukuʻalofa.
Pangai is the administrative capital village of the Haʻapai Group in Tonga.
Sioeli Nau also known as Joel Nau was a Tongan Methodist minister. He was the son of Lu'isa Ma'ukakalafo'ou Lauaki and Filipe 'Onevela. He was also the grandson of Matapule Lauaki the Nima Tapu.
Siosa'ia Ma'ulupekotofa Tuita is a Tongan royal and diplomat. He is the current Chief Tuita, Lord Tuita.
Halaevalu Mata'aho ʻAhomeʻe was the Queen Consort of Tonga from 1965 to 2006, and the widow of the late King Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV of Tonga. She was the mother of King George Tupou V and the current reigning King of Tonga, Tupou VI.
Tongan kava ceremonies play an integral part of Tongan society and governance. Ranging from informal “faikava” or kava “parties” to the highly stratified, ancient, and ritualized Taumafa Kava, or Royal Kava Ceremony, Tongan kava ceremonies continue to permeate Tongan society both in Tonga and diaspora, strengthening cultural values and principles, while solidifying traditional ideals of duty and reciprocity, reaffirming societal structures, and entrenching the practice of pukepuke fonua, or tightly holding on to the land, a Tongan cultural ideal to maintain, preserve, and live traditional Tongan culture.
Tupoumoheofo was 12th Tu'i Kanokupolu of Tonga, and the only female to ever hold that title. She was the principal wife to the Tu'i Tonga though she may have been of higher social rank than him because of her matrilineal descent. After a vacancy in the Tu'i Kanokupolu title, she used her status to designated herself successor, reigning on Tongatapu for slightly less than one year starting in perhaps 1792 before being forcibly deposed by her distant relative Tuku’aho. Tupoumoheofo retreated to retirement in the northern Tongan Island of Vava’u under the protection of the 'Ulukalala family.
Tuku’aho was the 14th Tu’I Kanokupolu of Tonga, reigning approximately from 1793 to 1799. He was considered the “strong man” of the Tupou family despite coming from a lower lineage, and he used his power to depose the 12th Tu’I Kanokupolu, Tupoumoheofo, who was of the higher line. Tuku’aho placed instilled his own father, Mumui, as the 13th Tu’I Kanokupolu and then took the title for himself upon Mumui's death. Tuku’aho reigned Tonga as a tyrant, for which he was assassinated by a team of high chiefs. His death sparked a civil war that lasted for nearly a half century.
'Aunofo Havea Funaki is the first woman from Tonga to become a licensed sea captain. The owner of a business that takes tourists to "swim with the whales", she has captained a traditional Polynesian canoe that sailed from the Pacific islands to the USA.
Sione Ikamafana Tuku'aho is the second son of Prince Fatafehi 'Alaivahamama'o Tuku'aho and a member of the Tongan Royal Family.
