The Kingdom of Tonga, also known as the Friendly Islands, consists of over 170 islands scattered over 270,000 square miles in the southern Pacific Ocean. Of those 170 islands only 45 are inhabited. Tonga has a population of 110,000 people and over 70% of those residents live in Tongatopu, the capital city of Tonga. The second largest island is Vava’u where over 4,000 inhabitants live in Neiafu.
Tonga’s history dates back roughly 2,500 years. The settlers gradually evolved into having a distinct and strong ethnic identity, language, and culture. It remains strong and independent to this day. Even though Tonga had British protected-state status for a brief period of time, they never relinquished their sovereignty to any foreign power. Tonga is currently ruled under a fully-functioning constitutional monarchy.
King Tupou VI
Aho’eitu Tupou VI is became the King of Tonga after his elder brother George Tupou V died and had no legitimate children. He was officially condirmed by his brother as heir presumptive in 2006. Aho’eitu served as Prime Minister of Tonga as as Tonga’s High Commissioner to Australia. Aho’eitu learned to love the sea while he served in the Navy.
The Royal Family must marry within the family. In order to continue the royal blood line the royal family is allowed to marry their 1st cousins. However, no other Tongan is allowed to marry family.
Tongan Island Groups
The Tongan islands are divided up into three main archipelagos including Tongatopu the southern islands; Haa’pai the middle islands, and Vava’u the northern islands.
Tongatopu Island Group
Tongatopu consists of the main island Tongatopu which is the capital of Tonga and is home to the majority of Tongans. The King and his family reside here and most of the commerce is conducted on this island. Eua and a few other smaller islands are also part of this archipelago.
Tongatopu Archipelago
Haa’pai Island Group
I think the Haa’pai island group is similar to the Tuamotus in French Polynesia. These islands are made up of shallow lagoons surrounded by reefs, coral shelves and a few active volcanoes. Most are low lying coral atolls.
They are the most remote group of islands and have small villages. Most of the 62 islands are are palm fringed islands and only 17 are inhabited. There are approximately 30 villages spread out across those 17 inhabitied islands housing 7,000 Tongans.
The main hub for Haa’pai is Pangai which is located on Lifuka toward the NE part of the island group. The four largest islands have running water and electricity. However, the remaining 58 islands live a life without those modern conveniences.
Haa’pai Archipelagoa
Vava’u Archipelago
These islands are known for being an incredibly lush, green, tropical paradise. The islands are ringed with white sandy beaches and the crystal clear waters are teaming with wild life. In addition, you will find dramatic limestone cliffs, hidden caves and tropical forests on these islands.
Vava’u Archipelago
Culture
Tongans are closely related to Samoans and other Polynesians in culture, language and general heritage. Local culture is very conservative and very Christian. They do not allow any work or activities on Sunday including laundry, boat chores, shopping, SUP’ng, etc…It is a day of quiet.
Clothing is very conservative. The government requires women to cover their shoulders down to their knees and men are required to wear shirts at all times. Nudity is forbidden and against the law. Most locals swim fully clothed.
Volcano and Tsunami
In 2022, the Hung Tonga-Hunga Haa’pai volcano erupted causing a tsunami which inundated parts of the Haa’pai and Tongatopu archipelagos. This tsunami brought waves as high as 20m tall (66′) washing away islands and villages and taking 4 lives. I will talk more about the damage from the tsunami in upcoming blog posts.
Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behing actual live events. Events from this blog occured in mid-July 2023. Read our last blog where we experience a truly utter rudder disaster?