In 1800 the warriors from the Hihifo district of Tongatabu fought the people of the Hahake district. When Hihifo won, they erected a monument in Hahake to commemorate their victory. This was a monument to the idea that small things can lead to big things. This monument was not made of stone or wood, it was of bodies of the people of Hahake who had been killed in this war. The heap of bodies was so high that one could see 'Eua island from its top.

The death of so many people was a big thing indeed, and it happened because of many little things that had their start many years before in the household of the 5th Tuikanokupolu chief, Maafuotu'itonga. One of the wives, Kavakipopua was not as high in rank as one of the other wives, Latutama. This was not a big thing; but you see, little things can lead to big things.

Two of the sons of Latutama grew to be important chiefs in Tonga. The oldest son, Tupoulahi, became the Tuikanokupolu after his father was dead. As the Tuikanokupolu, he was the supreme ruler of the Hihifo district of Tonga. When this son, Tupoulahi, died, he had no sons to replace him, so his title as Tuikanokupolu was offered to his brother, Maealiuaki. But neither Maealiuaki or Maealiuaki's son, Mulikihaamea, wanted to become the Tuikanokupolu.

At this point, it appeared that the title was going to go to their half-brother, Muimui. However, the mother of Muimui was not as high in rank as the mother of Tupoulahi and Maealiuaki, so the children of Tupoulahi and Maealiuaki were jealous. They did not want the title of their grandfather passing to relatives who were not as high in rank as they were. Jealousy between brothers, sisters and cousins is often just a little thing, but you see little things can lead to big things.

Tupoulahi had a daughter, Tupoumoheofo. She certainly did not want her father's half-brother, Muimui, to be the Tuikanokupolu. Since neither her uncle or her cousin wanted to take the title, she did a very unusual thing, she took the title of Tuikanokupolu upon herself. Although some women in Tonga were higher in rank than even the highest chiefs, no woman had ever become the Tuikanokupolu. This was still a little thing, but you see, little things can lead to big things.

When Tupoumoheofo became the Tuikanokupolu, it prevented her uncle Muimui from getting this title. Muimui had a son, Tukuaho, and Tukuaho was angry at his cousin because she had prevented his father from becoming the Tuikanokupolu. Tukuaho came to Tongatabu from 'Eua island and he sent his cousin fleeing to Vava'u island. Then Tukuaho established his father, Muimui, as the Tuikanokupolu. Tupoumoheofo did not forgive Tukuaho for driving her from Tongatabu. When people do not forgive it is sometimes a little thing, but you see, little things can lead to big things.

In Vavau, Tupoumoheofo stayed in the household of two chiefs, 'Ulukalala and Tupouniua. She told them bad things about Muimui and Tukuaho. She talked evil about them for years and made 'Ulukalala and Tupouniua resent Muimui and Tukuaho. People talking bad about others behind their backs is a little thing, but you see, little things can lead to big things.

When Muimui died, his title passed to his son, Tukuaho. Tukuaho is famous for being a very cruel chief. Right and wrong did not matter for him. Some chiefs in Tonga were like that at this time. Although Tukuaho's cruelty was a very bad thing, it was a little thing, but you see, little things can lead to big things.

Because Tupoumoheofo talked bad about her cousin, Tukuaho, she made Tupouniua and 'Ulukalala angry at him also. Tupouniua first had the idea that they should assasinate Tukuaho, but 'Ulukalala didn't want to. But as 'Ulukalala heard stories about Tukuaho's cruelty and heard Tupoumoheofo's bad words about her cousin, he changed his mind. It was Tupouniua who crept into Tukuaho's house and clubbed him to death on the night of April 22, 1799. This was no longer a little thing.

Since Tukuaho, the Tuikanokupolu, was the supreme chief of the Hihifo district, the people of Hihifo attacked 'Ulukalala to take revenge for the death of their chief. 'Ulukalala and the people of Hahake drove back the warriors of Hihifo. Some of the Hihifo warriors sought refuge in a house which was a sanctuary where they should have been safe from their enemies. But right and wrong meant nothing to 'Ulukalala. The house was burned, everyone inside was killed, some were eaten. This was a big thing.

'Ulukalala returned to Vavau, but before he did, he established a white pig to be the Tuikanokupolu, that is, to be the chief of the Hihifo people. In the following year, 1800, the warriors of Hihifo prepared their revenge. They took mats, tapa cloth and other presents and marched into Hahake. They told the people of Hahake that these were presents that they were taking to a funeral. There was no funeral. The warriors of Hihifo were concealing weapons in the mats and the tapa cloth that they were carrying. When the warriors of Hihifo were in the midst of Hahake, they revealed their weapons and started to fight. They killed many, many people and built that monument of dead bodies that we spoke of. This was the biggest thing of all.

If we could go back to Tonga to 1800 and see the dead, we would weep. That would be so terrible a sight, that we would be different people from then on, just from seeing the dead. If you see little things that you or ot others are doing, think of this story about little things that led to big things. Then, if you control your anger, or warn others what might happen, you will only be doing a little thing, but you see, little things can lead to big things.

Papaihia:

In 1797, Tukuaho became the Tuikanokupolu. Because he had the title of Tuikanokupolu he was the supreme chief of Tonga. Tukuaho was a cruel man. After two years of his rule two chiefs of Vavau, Finau 'Ulukalala and Tupouniua, decided that they would assassinate Tukuaho on the night of the 'Inasi ritual.

The plan was for Tupouniua to go into the house of Tukuaho at night with a club. Because many people slept in the same room with Tukuaho and because it was going to be quite dark, Tupouniua planned to find Tukuaho because of Tukuaho's smell. This was possible because Tukuaho was rubbed with a special oil before he slept.

If one knew the smell of the oil then he could identify that it was Tukuaho just from the smell.

On the night of the 'Inasi, Finau 'Ulukalala waited outside of Mu'a (the village where Tukuaho lived) while Tupouniua went into Mu'a with his club. Their plan to kill Tukuaho would have worked perfectly except there was one problem: Tukuaho had a servant named Kepa Falekaono who knew of Tupouniua's plan. Kepa Falekaono was the friend of Tupouniua so he had a difficult choice. If he warned Tukuaho, Tupouniua would die, if he did not warn Tukuaho then Tukuaho would die. You and I would have been forced to choose between these two choices. But Kepa Falekaono came up with a third choice: when Tukuaho went to sleep that night, Kepa Falekaono took the bottle containing the oil for Tukuaho, then he rubbed that oil on himself and lay down next to Tukuaho. Ask yourself, how did Kepa Falekaono feel as he lay there next to Tukuaho waiting for Tupouniua to come and knock his brains out?

Tupouniua came into the house with his club, smelling among the sleeping bodies looking for Tukuaho. When he came to Kepa Falekaono, he recognized the smell as the smell of Tukuaho, so he clubbed his friend to death. Kepa Falekaono's plan would have worked, but Tukuaho awoke and cried out, "Ko hai oku i hena? Ko au ko Tukuaho! (Who is there? It is I Tukuaho!)" Tupouniua knew immediately that he had killed the wrong person. Then he clubbed Tukuaho to death.

This is a poem about Kepa Falekaono:

(Another version of this story says that everyone in the house of Tukuaho was murdered by Tupouniua and his warriors. A chief from Vavau named Kepa Falekaono, knew in advance of the attack but went to the house anyway because he thought that Tupouniua and Finau 'Ulukalala would not attack if they knew that he was there. They attacked the house anyway. I do not know which version of this story is true.)

This is our next story. Once there was a Tu'itonga named Havea who lived about 600 years ago. Havea was murdered while he was taking his bath in the sea. The people who murdered Havea cut his body in half and they threw both halves into the sea. The top half of Havea's body washed onto the shore and was found by some kalae birds which pecked at his face. For that reason there is a beach in Tongatapu named Houmakalae because that is where the kalae birds pecked at Havea's face. The bottom half of Havea's body was never found.

At this same time there was chief who lived in Folaha, Tongatapu who was named Lufe. Lufe was the chief of Havea's mother's family. When Lufe heard what had happened to Havea he went to his relatives and said, "The Tuitonga has died a bad death, we only have the top half of his body to bury him. Kill me and cut me in half. Put my legs with Havea so that he will be buried with legs."

So Lufe's relative killed him and cut him in half. They put his legs with Havea's body. Havea is buried with legs but the legs are Lufe's not Havea's.

I told the story of Lufe once to a friend of mine. At the end of the story he asked me, "Did Lufe think that he would come back to life again?" I replied, "I don't think so." My friend said, "Well, Lufe was dumb." I thought about what my friend said. I think that he was wrong. You see, it has been hundreds of years and we still remember Lufe. He has not been forgotten.

Neither Lufe or Kepa Falekaono ever came back to life again. But because they were willing to give up their lives for others, we remember their names even though they died hundreds of years ago. They live forever in our memories because of the good that they did for others.

Papaihia

Many Tongan young men wear t-shirts with pictures of Polynesian warriors on the back with big muscles who stand in front of the Haamonga-A-Maui holding a snake with the words 'Ivi Kehe' written on the back. By wearing these shirts they are honoring their Polynesian warrior tradition. I think that if one of those warriors came to the homes of the young men that these young men would be really surprised. Then after their surprise was over, they would give their chair to the warrior and ask him if he wants any food. They would do this to show respect to the warrior because of his big muscles and his club.

Sometimes, when some young men wear these shirts to honor their Polynesian warrior tradition it is funny. Because I see that some of these young men mock young women and treat them like they are not important. I usually say nothing, but once I said, "Faka'apa'apa!" This surprised that young man because he did not expect me to speak Tongan.

When I see the young men being disrespectful to young women or to their mothers I am reminded of the following story.

In January 1837 there was a war in Tonga between the heathens and the warriors of Taufaahau. The heathens conquered the fort (kolotau) of Hule which is near the village of Nukunuku. The warriors of Taufaahau attacked the fort and they overthrew the fort. This was a good thing. But then a bad thing happened. The warriors of Taufaahau killed everyone in the fort. I don't want to say that these warriors of Taufaahau were bad. But they did a bad thing. Maybe they did this because they were excited. If you are angry and excited be careful what you do, you may do a bad thing that you will be sorry for later.

When the fort of Hule, was conquered only three people escaped: a mother and her two children. They hid in a tree. The warrior who had led the warriors of Taufaahau was looking for people who may have escaped. He was approaching the tree that this woman and her children were hiding in. This mother was scared that he would find her and her children. So she jumped out of the tree and attacked this warrior. She killed him. The warriors who were with this warrior who had just been killed attacked this woman and she was killed. But her children escaped.

Now some people might be surprised at this story. They may wonder how a woman killed a warrior. Was the warrior sick? Was he weak? I don't think so. This warrior did not lose because there was something wrong with him.

Because this mother was protecting her children, she had an inner strength that was greater than this warrior's outer strength. She deserves as much respect as any warrior with big muscles and a club.

If young men wish to honor their Polynesian warrior tradition it is fine if they wear t-shirts with warriors on them. But I think that young men should give as much respect to mothers, grandmothers and to young women as they would to a Tongan warrior with big muscles and a club, because you see, women sometimes have an inner strength that is more than the outer strength that comes from big muscles and a club. That strength is the women's mana and mana is a greater thing than big muscles and a club.

Papaihia

A long time ago, a man called Lekapai lived in Samoa. In his garden, he grew breadfruit, plantains, bananas, yam, taro and many other kinds of ruit and vegetables.

Then, as time went on, there was a great hurricane, and his plantation was almost ruined. After it was over, Lekapai set to work to replant his gardens. But alas, there was another hurricane the next year, and the next, so that three food crops were destroyed one after the other. Poor Lekapai became disheartened and after pondering what he should do, said to his relatives: "I shall go and try to find out where the wind lives, and ask why he seeks out and destroys my plantation."

So Lekapai launched his boat and sailed south towards Tonga where the wind comes from. After he had journeyed for several days he saw a ig rock ahead of him. When he drew near to it, he could not find a landing place anywhere. So he sprang up, grasped the branch of a white-flowered pandanus tree, and managed to clamber ashore. He then saw a narrow pathway and followed it, down and down under the ground.

On and on he went, and presently, looking ahead, he saw a woman facing him. They say that she was a very beautiful woman. "Where do you come from?" she asked him, "and how did you find your way down here?"

"I have come," answered Lekapai, "to try to find out where the wind lives--the wind that keeps on destroying my garden."

"You have come to the right place," replied the woman. "The winds are my children. And if you wish to see them, come with me and I will call them."

"Thank you," said Lekapai, "for making my journey worthwhile."

They went on a little further, and the woman called out: "Let the strong north wind blow this way!" And immediately it began to blow, becoming stronger and stronger.

"Let the whirlwind come!" the woman commanded. And the whirlwind began to sweep round and round.

"Let the gale come!" the woman called. And the coconut palms began swaying and snapping, and all around them trees of all kinds came crashing down.

"Let the hurricane come!" the woman called out. And once again the wind blew: and this time it was so strong that Lekapai could no longer stand against it, and the earth began to split, and great rocks began to fly. Lekapai was afraid and begged the woman to tell the winds to forbear and rest. "I don't want to see any more," he said"I am nearly dead with fear. I do not mind about my gardens, I only wish to return home safely to Samoa."

So the woman spoke again. "Go away and rest," she said. At once the strong wind eased off, the sun shone again, and the breeze that now blew was warm and pleasant.

They then came back and went to the woman's home, and she told Lekapai that her name was Hina. "And mine is Lekapai," he said. Then Hina said: "Stay here for a while and when my mother goes, she will take you with her."

A few days passed, and Lekapai asked again to go back to his own country. "Then go and get some coconuts to take with you," said Hina. So he went and picked them.

When Lekapai came back, Hina was sitting there with a turtle beside her. "This is my mother, who is now a turtle," she said, "and will take you with her." If you should want a drink while you are out on the ocean, do not break your coconut on the turtle's head, but on its back. And when you reach Samoa," she added, "go and bring a piece of tapa cloth, and a bottle of oil, and a large coconut leaf, and give them to the turtle to bring back. Her name is Sangone, the sacred turtle. Do not betray her or evil will surely befall you and your family."

Then then said goodbye, and Lekapai mounted on the turtle's back, and Sangone swam with him out to sea. Soon Lekapai became thirsty, and not believing the truth of Hina's story or caring to obey her, he took a coconut and broke it on the turtle's head. When they reached Samoa, he took the turtle ashore, killed it and cut it up and divided it among his relatives; and the shell of the turtle they buried secretly beside a candelenut tree where no one could find it. Then, noticing that a boy named Lafaipana had observed them Lekapai called to him to come. When the boy came running across, Lekapai put out his hand and laid it on Lafaipana's head, and said: "So that you may not reveal my secret, you will be Little Lafaipana: slow be your growth, and small your stature! And the day that Sangone the Turtle is found, you will die!"

So Lafaipana grew very slowly; and he soon forgot the threat about his death. For he was but a boy and death has no meaning for children.

Many, many years passed and then the Tu'i Tonga heard a rumour of what had happened to Sangone the Turtle in Samoa. He gave orders for his younger brother, Fasi'apule, to go to Samoa and find, if possible, Sangone's shell, and return it to Tonga. So Fasi'apule set out. When he reached Samoa, however, he could not find anyone who seemed old enough to remember where Sangone had been buried. So, after drinking kava with the Samoan people in accordance with the custom of the land, he gave them a riddle to solve. "Guess this one," he said. "O that I might drink a clap-it-and-it-smokes!"

So they all began asking one another what he meant. Then finally, Lafaipana, now a very old man, told them to go and bring some tiny pieces of dried kava root which sends up dust like smoke when they are clapped between the hands. So they brought some and gave them to Fasi'apule; and at once he began to wonder whether there was an old person still living who had solved the answer to the riddle and who might know the secret of Sangone's burial place.

The pieces of kava root were then pounded and mixed with water. They drank this, and Fasi'apule gave them aother riddle. "Guess this one," he said. "A stalk fainting in the forest."

So the people ran to Lafaipana and asked him what it meant. "Go and find a bunch of plantains that has fallen and ripened lying on the ground out in the forest," he said.

So they searched and found one, and gave it to Fasi'apule. He was delighted, and gave them yet a third riddle to solve. "Guess this one! A leaf that tings. Guess that! A leaf that cries and makes a noise like a parrot!"

They asked Lafaipana again, and he told them to bake a fowl and wrap it in young taro leaves, which make a faint tinging sound when they are stripped. This they prepared and brought to Fasi'apule, and he gave them still another riddle. "Guess this one. Grunting and lying down."

They ran and asked Lafaiapana, and he told them to bake a huge pig that was no longer able to stand, but just lay down grunting all the time. So they killed a great big pig and baked it, and took it along to Fasi'apule. Then Fasi'apule kenw that there was an old and wise person who could answer the riddle of Sangone's hiding place.

So he asked the people who it was that had enabled them to solve his riddles. "It was Lafaipana," they confessed. So he ordered them to bring him. When Lafaipana sat before him, Fasi'apule asked him whether he knew where Sangone the Turtle was buried. "I know the place," he replied, "and I will lead you to it."

So off they went, and Lafaipana directed them to the candlenut tree, where he had gone so many years before. They dug down, and found that he was right. And it is said that when Sangone's shell was brought from the ground, it shone almost like a flame. As soon as it appeared Lafaipana cried out and fell dead. And they buried him with fine mats in the grave of Sangone.

Fasi'apule and his attendants then made preparations to return to Tonga. The Samoan chiefs, recognising the rightful ownership of the Tu'i Tonga, gave him two finely woven mats to accompany the shell of Sangone on its journey south to Nuku'alofa.

As soon as Fasi'apule arrived back in Tonga, he took the shell, as custom required, to give to his brother, the Tu'i Tonga. And the Samoan mat which he presented with it was called Hau 'o Momo (the honour shown to Momo). The other mat, however, Fasi'apule took to a cave and no man knew where it was hidden.

As time went on, Fasi'apule became old and died. Shortly afterwards an elderly woman, on her way to the sea to get some salt water, saw the second Samoan mat spread out on top of a bush. So she folded it up and took it home with her and put it away.

Then one night, a matapule of the Tu'i Tonga dreamed that Fasi'apule came to him and told him that they should go and get the mat from the old woman: for it was a finely woven mat, the fellow of the one known as Hau 'o Momo, and its name was Laumata 'o Fainga'a (the eyelid of Fainga'a).

Messengers were sent ot retrieve the mat from the old woman, and she explained to them how she had found it. After that the care of the two fine mats became the responsiblity o the Tu'i Tonga and his people; and so these precious relics have been handed down, generation after generation, right up to the present day.

At the marriage of Queen Salote in 1918, her husband Uiliame Tungi wore ten fine mats wrapped round him, including those two historic mats brought long before from Samoa with the shell of Sangone the Turtle.

And at the joint wedding of the Queen's two sons on the 10th June, 1947, Crown Prince Tungi wore the mat called Laumata 'o Fainga'a, while his brother, Prince Tu'ipelehake, wore the one called Hau 'o Momo.

The shell of Sangone is held by the Tupou College Museum.

In the beginning there was just the sea, and the spirit world, Pulotu; and between them was a rock called Touia'o Futuna. On the Rock lived Biki and his twin sister, Kele, 'Atungaki and his twin sister, Maimoa'o Longona, Fonua'uta and his twin sister, Fonuavai, and Hemoana and his twin sister, Lupe. Biki lay with his own sister and she bore him two children, a son, Taufulifonua, and a daughter, Havea Lolofonua; 'Atungaki also lay with his sister and she bore him a daughter, Velesi'i.

When Taufulifonua grew to manhood, his sister, Havea Lolofonua, bore him a son, Hikule'o, Velelahi bore him a son, Tangaloa, and Velesi'i bore him a son, Maui. Hikule'o, Tangaloa and Maui divided the creation between them. Hikule'o took as his portion, Pulotu, Tangaloa took the sky and Maui the underworld. Hemoana, whose form was a sea snake, and Lupe, whose form was a dove, then divided the remainder between them, Hemoana taking the sea and Lupe taking the land.

Tangaloa had several sons in the sky: Tangaloa Tamapo'uli'Alamafoa, Tangaloa 'Eitumatupu'a, Tangaloa'Atulongolongo and Tangaloa Tufunga. Old Tangaloa grew tired of looking down from the sky and seeing nothing but sea, so he sent down Tangaloa'Atulongolongo in the form of a plover to see if he could find land. All Tangaloa'Atulongolongo could find was a reef below the water, where 'Ata is now. So Old Tangaloa told Tangaloa Tufunga to throw down into the sea the chips from the wood carving on which he was working. Tangaloa Tufunga continued to do this for a long time, and on two occasions Tangaloa'Atulongolongo flew down in the form of a plover to see if anything had happened, but found nothing. On the third occasion, however, he found that the chips had formed an island. This was 'Eua. Later, Tangaloa Tufunga threw down more chips to form the island of Kao and Tofua.

Tongatapu and most of the other islands were the work of Maui. One day Maui visited Manu'a and there and old man, Tonga Fusifonua, gave him a fish-hook. Maui went fishing with this hook, but when he tried to pull in his line he found it was caught. He exerted all his strength and succeeded in hauling the line in, to find that he had dragged up Tongatapu from the bottom of the sea. Maui continued fishing with this wonderful hook and so pulled up from the deeps the rest of the islands of Tonga, and some of those of Fiji and Samoa as well.

'Ata began as a reef below the water and slowly rose out of the sea. One day Tangaloa'Atulongolongo visited 'Ata in the form of a plover and dropped a seed from his beak upon the island. The next time he visited 'Ata he found that the seed had grown into a creeper until it split in two. Then he returned to the sky. A few days later he returned to find that the root had rotted and a fat, juicy worm was curled up in it. He pecked the worm in two. From the top section a man was formed called Kohai. The bottom section also turned into a man called Koau. Then the plover felt a morsel left on his beak; he shook it off and it turned into a man called Momo. Kohai, Koau and Momo were the first men in Tonga. Maui brought them wives from Pulotu and they became the ancestors of the Tongan people.

This story is about the first Tu'i Tonga, 'Aho'eitu.

There was a chief from Niue who wanted his daughter, 'Ilaheva to marry a Tongan. He commanded his servants to take his daughter to Tonga, so they departed to Tonga in a canoe. When they passed Vava'u she didn't want to stay there because Vava'u had a mountain. When they reached Ha'apai she did not like it either because there is a volcano in Ha'apai and she was scared of it. When they reached Tongatapu the servants left her on a beach and returned to Niue.

This woman lived near Popua in the bush. Sometimes the people of Popua saw her in the distance and so they named her 'Ilaheva Va'epopua, which means, 'Ilaheva-who-lives-near-Popua. There was a god in the sky named Tangaloa 'Eitumatupua who also saw this woman. He came down to earth and made friends with her. Out of this relationship she became pregnant. After she became pregnant Tangaloa stopped coming to see her because he already had a family in the sky. In time this woman gave birth to a boy that she named 'Aho'eitu. Although his father, Tangaloa, lived in the sky, he still took care of 'Aho'eitu and his mother because he dropped down some clay from the sky so that 'Aho'eitu would have good dirt to grow food.

When 'Aho'eitu had grown to be a man he asked his mother to tell him where he could find his father. She pointed to a certain tree and told him that if he would climb the tree then he would see a path that goes through the sky. 'Aho'eitu climbed the tree, saw the path in the sky and then went along the path. He soon came to a plantation where his father was working. He stopped and talked and those two soon realized that they were father and son, so they were very happy to meet one another.

The father, Tangaloa, told 'Aho'eitu to go further and he would come to some people playing games near a hill. 'Aho'eitu was told that he would find his five half-brothers near the hill. So 'Aho'eitu went on and found his brothers. When 'Aho'eitu approached the hill, he was introduced to the people as being the son of Tangaloa. 'Aho'eitu's brothers were jealous of him because he was so handsome.

So they took him away secretly, chopped off his head and threw it underneath a hoi bush. Since then the hoi bush is poisonous. Then they roasted 'Aho'eitu and ate him. Their father returned from the plantation and asked his sons if they had seen their brother. They denied having seen him. But their father could tell that they had eaten their brother. So the father took a kumete (a large wooden bowl) and placed it in front of his sons and told them to tickle their throats so that they vomited into the kumete. Then they took the head of 'Aho'eitu and put it into the kumete and covered the kumete with a mat. They placed the kumete behind the house. Through the evening they kept returning to the bowl and looking underneath the mat. They could see that the body of their brother was taking shape from the vomit in the bowl. The next morning they looked under the mat and their brother had come back to life in the kumete.

At this point 'Aho'eitu wanted to go back down to Tonga. His brothers felt sorry that they had eaten their brother, so they asked their father if they could go down to Tonga with 'Aho'eitu. The father agreed. But he told his sons that because they had eaten their brother, that they and their descendants would have to serve 'Aho'eitu. The descendants of the older brother have become the Tu'ipelehake chiefs and the four other brothers became the falefa, that is, the four houses. When the king of Tonga has a kava drinking ceremony or a funeral, they organize it. These words are done.

There are several symbols that I see in this story.

'Aho'eitu was a great king in Tonga. He was the king who conquered Samoa. Sometimes, if someone in Tonga acts like they are very important, people will get mad at that person and say to him, "Are you the king who came down from the sky?" When they say this they are talking about 'Aho'eitu who really was the king who came down from the sky.

Once I was telling some stories to some Tongan boys. One of the boys recognized another boy as being half Samoan. This Tongan boy started to mock that boy by saying, "The Samoans are slaves to the Tongans." This made me mad, but I did not say anything. But I was thinking, that young man thought that the Tongans should conquer Samoa again, maybe he thought that he is the king who came down from the sky.

This is another thing. These brothers killed 'Aho'eitu, then later they felt sorry. How many times has someone done something bad, then later, they wished with all their heart that they had not done the bad thing. The brothers of 'Aho'eitu were very lucky. Because, you see, their father was able to bring their brother back to life. We should consider our actions, because if we do something bad, we may not be able to go back in time and undo the bad thing that we did.

Sometimes there are young men who think that they are strong because they have a gun and that gives them the power to take someone's life. If you have the power to take someone's life, you should not be proud because almost everyone can do that. But if you can bring someone back to life after they have died, that is a very great thing. Destroying or killing things is nothing. But if you can fix or build things, or make them come back to life, then you are worthy of respect and honor, like Tangaloa 'Eitumatupua, the father of 'Aho'eitu.

Papaihia

Mr. Cheyenne Morrison of Coldwell Banker Greater Australia forwarded the following story which he references from:

Tales of Sea and Shore
by Juliet Heslewood
ISBN: 0192781057
ISBN-13: 9780192781055
Oxford University Press. 1983

'Ana Fakapatú

On the southern tip of the island of Mo'unga'one is a cave named 'Ana 'o Fakapatú. Fakapatú means 'the pounding of the feet'.

Island legend tells of a giant (taula tevolo) named Fakapatú that lived in this cave, and it was customary for this giant to walk around the cave pounding his feet; hence, the cave's name.

On another nearby island called Tofua, there was another giant, Taufatahi. Taufatahi knew of Fakapatú and he was curious to see who would be the strongest of them two. One day, Taufatahi decided to challenge Fakapatú at his home island, Mo'unga'one.

Fakapatú, learning of his competitor's visit to his homeland, decided that he would morph himself around the mouth of his cave, opening his mouth so wide that his mouth became the entrance for the cave.

Upon Taufatahi's arrival, he was about to step into the cave but he quickly learned of Fakapatú's trick. Taufatahi then started to boast (as would any taula tevolo) about the many tricks that he could do. His boasting's went on for some time, changing from form to another, and forgetting to be cautious, as he was dealing with another taula tevolo who can perform many tricks. All of a sudden, there was no sign of Fakapatú.

Taufatahi suddenly felt an unbearable pain in his abdomen. His stomach grew bigger and bigger. He then realized that Fakapatú had outsmarted him. While he was busy teasing Fakapatú, morphing from one form to another, Fakapatú changed into a small balloon fish and flew into Taufatahi's mouth. Taufatahi could not bear the pain anymore that he promised Fakapatú he would surrender and grant him anything he deemed.

Fakapatú then made Taufatahi promise that the people of Mo'unga'one would not be harmed by sharks.

Tongan legend tellers attest that this is why residents of Mo'unga'one had never been harmed by sharks. To prove this legend, a man from Mo'unga'one named Manunga swam the channel from Mo'unga'one to Ofolanga unharmed, although presence of sharks were prevalent (kou tui pe na'e fiu e fanga 'anga he taimi ko 'eni...LOL). Manunga talked of how he spent four hours swimming with sharks around him.

You can off course try to source the book through Amazon or other retailers.

Mo'unga'one - is an island in the Ha'apai Group.