The Coolidge examiner., 1936-11-26

Prepared by National Geographic society
Washington, d. C.-WNU Service.
TINE sovereign Of Tonga is
lands in the South Pacific is
Queen Salote (Charlotte),
who, from her capital Nukua-
lofa, on part of the archipelago, gov
erns the islands under a British pro-
tectorate. The currency used is Eng
lish money. In language and Gus
toms, the Tongans are like the Ma
oris of New Zealand and the Sa-
means. Being Polynesians, they diff
fer decidedly from the Fijians, who
are mostly Melanesians. Tongan So
ciety is distinct, with hereditary
lines of chiefs, and Niuafoo has its
own peculiarities of culture. The
people are entirely civilized and
Christian; they are strictly gov
erned by a high chief, magistrate,
and police service. There are usu-
ally seven or eight Europeans at
Angaha.
Wesleyan churches with native
ministers and elders are conspicu-
Gus in all the villages. On Sunday,
services start before daylight, with
crowded cations singing CHOIR
al music in parts without any or
gan. The rhythmic and harmonious
blending of the deep bass voices of
the men and the soprano of the wom-
en- is pleasing. The music has a
quality quite unlike Hawaiian mu-
sic, and the Sunday services are
fascinating. There is no need for
pipe organ.
One evening service in the dimly
lamp-it church at Angaha consists
of a musical competition between
the choirs from several villages.
The choirs, each usually composed
of eight persons, men and girls,
rise in turn in their places and
sing. When song is finished rev.
erent chorus of braves, or the
equivalent in Tongan, goes up from
the congregation.
The dusky faces in the lamplight,
many of them beautiful; the splen-
did figures of the men draped in
spotlessly clean valas, which sug-
gest a Roman toga; the minister
exhorting his flock, and elderly pa
triarchs and matriarchs rising at in
tervals to make confessions of faith,
make the scene one never to be
forgotten.
How the People Live.
The Tongan race is dominantly
agricultural, with copra as the lead
ing product At Niuafoo intervals
between shipments CT copra are
long, for the bad anchorage and
landings make visits by even tramp
steamers rare.
The four villages Immediately
around Angaha represent half the
population of the island. Each fam
lily lives in an elliptical, matched
house, with woven mating for the
walls, but these curtains do not lift
up as in the Samoan houses. There
are doors in the ends and sides.
Wealth consists of land, planta-
tions, mats, and tapas The owner
of many and fine mats is respected
for his prosperity and thrift. Numer-
Gus silver shillings circulate from
the traders in return for copra and
back to the traders stores for
shirts, cloth, and chewing gum.
Of native markets there is no
sign. Each adult male has his own
eight and quarter acres of planta-
ton lands assigned to him by the
government. He is required to cul-
tivate this ground and plant GER
tain number of coconut trees.
Men and women work hard, SUBJ
ject to the orders Of the government,
on the roads and cisterns and other
structures required for the progress
of the community. Pigs and chick
ems are abundant, but there are few
cattle. Each householder has his
truck garden in the hills. To this
he goes, leading an old pack horse,
and gathers what is needed of yams,
taro roots, sweet potatoes, oranges,
or the like. The girls
think nothing of trudging miles to
wash the family clothing at the
lake. All are free, happy, and smil-
ing, and all are fine specimens of
humanity, leading a nat
ural life of cultivation of the soil.
Like other Polynesians, these peo-
pie have a fine dignity. Their own
customs are regulated by the die
tates of a host of ancestral tradi-
tions which center about the guilds
of the craftsmen, the requirements