page_title: Women in Tonga
section_title: Traditional position in society
hierarchical_section_title: Women in Tonga / Traditional position in society
caption_attribution_description: English: Ofa-ki-Vavaʻu, the daughter of Māʻatu from Niuatoputapu, who was related to the Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua line. She was the potential bride of King George Tupou II. She is pictured here with Mrs. Dyer during the visit of the Premier Richard Seddon to Tonga. Taken from the supplement to the Auckland Weekly News 31 August 1900 p005.
context_page_description: As female residents of Tonga, women in Tonga had been described in 2000 by the Los Angeles Times as members of Tongan society who traditionally have a "high position in Tongan society" due to the country's partly matriarchal foundation but "can't own land", "subservient" to husbands in terms of "domestic affairs" and "by custom and law, must dress modestly, usually in Mother Hubbard-style dresses hemmed well below the knee". Based on the "superficial dealings" of LA Times Travel Writer, Susan Spano with the women of Tonga in 2000, she found that Tongan women were a "little standoffish", while Patricia Ledyard, former headmistress of a missionary school for girls in Tonga, confirmed that such "aloofness" of Tongan women were due to the nation's "rigid class system" and the country's "efforts to retain its cultural identity". There were presence of Tongan women who are professionals engaged in jobs as travel agents, as vendors selling an "exotic cornucopia of root vegetables and tropical fruit", and as basket weavers.
context_section_description: The LA Times further described that Tongan women have a mehekitanga (meaning "auntie") or "fahu" (the eldest aunt), a senior women who shared with a brother the authority and power over a family group. The mehekitanga has a special position during "weddings, funerals and birthday parties". The mehekitanga is usually seated in front during these special occasions. Prior to getting married, permission was to be asked from the mehekitanga.
caption: A picture of Ofa-ki-Vavaʻu, the daughter of Māʻatu from Niuatoputapu, who was related to the Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua line. She was the potential bride of King George Tupou II. She is pictured here with Mrs. Dyer, an Australian music publisher and patron of the arts, during the visit of New Zealand Premier Richard Seddon to Tonga. Taken from the supplement to the Auckland Weekly News 31 August 1900, page 5, 31 August 1900.
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