Tu'i Tonga Empire
The
Tui Tonga Empire or
Tongan Empire was a powerful
Oceanian
empire. It was centered in
Tonga on the island of
Tongatapu at the capital of
Mua. At its height, the empire stretched from
NiuÄ" to
Tikopia and had an even greater
sphere of influence.
The empire began to form around
950 AD after the decline of
Tui Manua in
SÄmoa and
Tui Pulotu in
Fiji. It would have been contemporary to the
Micronesian empire based in
Yap.
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Area under Tongan influence |
Tonga was under heavy influence from the Tui Pulotu and especially the Tui Manua who controlled large portions of Tonga. After several bloody wars, Tonga managed to free itself from foreign domination around 900 AD. Thus a dynasty under the title
Tui Tonga was formed. The actual independence struggle is now forgotten and has moved into the realm of myths. The first Tui Tonga,
Ahoeitu became the son the god
Tangaloa Eitumatupua and a mortal Tongan mother,
Ilaheva Vaepopua.
The new king located his capital at
Toloa on
Tongatapu, but it would be moved to
HeketÄ near
NiutÅua under the 9th Tui Tonga.
Under the 10th Tui Tonga,
Momo and his son TuitÄtui (11th Tui Tonga) the empire was expanded to include all of Fiji and parts of Samoa. The empire continued to expand the imperial frontiers to include all of Western and Central Polynesia, some parts of
Melanesia, and
Micronesia. The empire at its height influenced over three million square kilometres of ocean. Many areas not under direct control of the Empire were forced to pay
tribute. The capital was moved under the son of TuitÄtui to the most well known and prosperous capital in the Empire's history,
Mua.
Imperial Navy
The success of the Empire was largely based upon the Imperial Navy. The most common vessels were long-distance canoes that usually had square sails. The largest canoes could carry up to 100 men. The most notable of these were the Tongafuesia, Äkiheuho, the Lomipeau, and the TakaipÅmana. The large navy allowed for Tonga to become wealthy with large amounts of trade and tribute flowing into the Royal Treasury.
Decline of Tui Tonga and two new dynasties
The Tui Tonga decline began due to numerous wars and internal pressure. In the 13th or 14th century SÄmoa got its independence under the lead the
MÄlietoa family. In response the
falefÄ were created as
political advisors to the Empire. The falefÄ were initially successful in keeping the dynasty going but pressure persisted and was followed by the assassination of several rulers. The most notable were,
Havea I (19th TT),
Havea II (22nd TT), and
Takalaua (23rd TT), which were known for their
tyrannical rule. Takalaua's son and successor Kauulufonua I pursued the murderers for a long time, until he finally got them on Uvea and he punished them severily. This led to wars on
Futuna which he lost. Meanwhile at home his younger brother MoungÄmotua grabbed the power and established a new dynasty of the
Tui Haatakalaua. Apparently he had not enough support to abolish the Tui Tonga title altogether, but for the next century or so the Tui Tongas lived as exiles in SÄmoa. When Tapuosi (28th TT) finally was allowed to come back, the worldly power was firmly in the hands of the Tui Haatakalaua, and the role alloted to the Tui Tonga was one of a priest, only to perform religious duties. Still priests with enough power to have large tombs built for them, the still remaining
langi in Mua much like the
pyramids in old
Egypt.
For more than a century the 2 dynasties ruled together in their respective fields. Then Ngata, the younger son of Mounga-o-Tonga (6th TH), started his own dynasty, the
Tui Kanokupolu. It seems that for a while both his father and even his older brother, Fotofili (7th TH) did not notice that their
Kanokupolu governor had become disloyal. By the time they found out, it was too late, the Tui Kanokupolu had become a power on itself.
Rise of Tui Kanokupolu
This new dynasty, around
1610 did not replace either of the previous dynasties but instead competed with the Tui Haatakalaua for secular control. The Tui Kanokupolu was highly influenced by SÄmoan politics because the ruler's mother was the daughter of Ama, a Samoan high chief from
Safata. For the next almost 2 centuries now the 3 dynasties tried to increase their support. In Tongan society this is done by careful selected marriages between the dynasty heirs and important, but still non-allied chiefs so that the next generation of chiefs will be obliged by blood to support that particular dynasty. The Tui Haatakalaua declined and the Tui Kanokupolu took over its worldly power, but being considered much lower ranked than the Tui Haatakalaua, this was an opportunity for the Tui Tonga to try to reclaim its old glory.
The road people
By the time (1799) the last vestiges of the empire had crumbled away, even
Haʻapai and
Vavaʻu, and
Tongatapu itself had plunged in a civil war, the Tui Tonga remained a figurehead, a name in history only. Any religious power it had, it lost to Christianity. The Tui Kanokupolu remained the source of whatever worldly power left. The Tui Haatakalaua was reduced to a minor tribe, trying to associate itself with the Tui Tonga again. All the time the Tui Tonga people remained living on the high lands in the centre of
Mua,
Lapaha in particular, while the followers of the other dynasties had to satisfy themselves with some lands reclaimed from the shallow lagoon on the borders of Lapaha and nearby
Talasiu. The dividing line between the two moieties was the old coastal road named
Hala Fonua moa (dry land road). Still today the chiefs who derive their authority from the Tui Tonga are named the
Kau hala uta (inland road people) while those from the Tui Kanokupolu are known as the
Kau hala lalo (low road people). Concerning the Tui Haatakalaua supporters: when this division arose, in the 15th century, they were of course the Kauhalalalo. But when the Tui Kanokupolu had overtaken them they shifted their allegiance to the Kauhalauta.
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History of Tonga*
History of Tonga*
Gov't site on the history of Tonga
