Mua is a small city in the Hahake (eastern) district on the island of Tongatapu

Tongatapu

Tongatapu is the main island of the Kingdom of Tonga and the location of its capital Nukualofa. It is located in Tonga's southern island group, to which it gives its name, and is the country's most populous island, with approximately 71,260 residents , 70.5% of the national population...

, and it was for centuries the ancient capital of Tonga

Tonga

Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...

. It is divided in the villages Lapaha and Tatakamotonga, is close to Talasiu and famous for the ancient langi (royal burial tombs).

Geography

Mua is situated along the eastern side of the lagoon of Tongatapu. Except for a 50 m to 200 m-wide zone along the shore which is low-lying mud (now largely landfilled with stones), the remainder of the village is on high-lying red volcanic soil of high fertility.

Lapaha is also the home of the Tu'itonga Empire.
Lapaha is also the first capital of Tonga before the Tu'i Kanokupolu move it to Nukualofa.

Demography

According to the 1996 census there were 3900 people living Mua, a number expected to rise to 4900 if confirmed by the November 2006 census.

Most people of Lapaha are Roman Catholic, while Tatakamotonga is largely Wesleyan

Methodism

Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

, although both see an increasing number of Mormons

Mormons

The Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....

. This has a historical reason: the last Tui Tonga was Roman Catholic and lived in Lapaha.

Tatakamotonga has a government primary school in the northwestern part of the village and a high school run by the Wesleyan church (Tapunisiliva, eastern branch of Tupou high school) in the north-east. Lapaha has a government primary school and a high school run by the Roman Catholic Church (Takuilau) at the eastern end of the village.

History

Mua was at one time the center of Lapita

Lapita

Lapita is a term applied to an ancient Pacific Ocean archaeological culture which is believed by many archaeologists to be the common ancestor of several cultures in Polynesia, Micronesia, and some coastal areas of Melanesia...

 culture in Tonga (about 2,000 years ago) and later (twelfth to sixteenth century CE) the capital of the Tui Tonga Empire

Tu'i Tonga Empire

Some early European commentators have propagated the notion of a pre-historic "Tui Tonga Empire" or "Tongan Empire" in Oceania.This idea has long been a source of cultural pride among some Tongans even though it has been seriously challenged and generally discounted by modern archaeologists,...

. After the disintegration of the empire it remained the capital of the Tui Tonga

Tu'i Tonga

The Tui Tonga is a line of Tongan kings, which originated in the 10th century with the mythical Ahoeitu; withdrew from political power in the 15th century by yielding to the Tui Haatakalaua; and died out with Laufilitonga in 1865...

 (Tonga kings), up to the nineteenth century, but was rather a spiritual centre and no longer a source of political power.

The Tui Tonga and his retinue stayed in Lapaha, his residence being Olotele and Ahofakasiu, while Takuilau was for his wives (not to be confused with the current high school of the same name but further to the east). Subchiefs and servants on the other hand lived in Tatakamotonga.

When, around 1470, the Tui Tonga line started to lose power to the Tui Haatakalaua

Tu'i Ha'atakalaua

The Tui Haatakalaua was a dynasty of Tongan kings, which originated in the 15th century by taking over the power from the Tui Tonga line. Lost the power in 16th century to the Tui Kanokupolu dynasty, and disappeared into nothingness by the end of the 18th century.#Moungāmotua – around 1470; might...

, and another century later to the Tui Kanokupolu

Tu'i Kanokupolu

The Ha'a Tu'i Kanokupolu is the most junior of the Ha'a Tu'i in Tonga. They are generally refer to as the Kau Halalalo The Ha'a Tu'i Tonga, the most senior and Sacred Ha'a Tu'i in Tonga are generally refer to as the Kauhala'uta, The inland side of the roads...

, chiefs belonging to these lines were not welcome in Mua, and had to stay on the low-lying coastal areas, separated from the 'real' chiefs (i.e. those belonging to the Tui Tonga) by the Hala Fonuamoa (dry land road). The former became known as the kauhalalalo (low road people) and the latter as the kauhalauta (inland road people), which nowadays are still two important moieties in Tonga.

Burial tombs

Whatever political power the Tui Tonga yielded to their rivals, they gained in spiritual power, and as a kind of high priest they were perhaps even more awesome than as kings. When a Tui Tonga died he was buried in one of the huge tomb hills, known as langi, of which there are still at least two dozen in Lapaha. The Tui Haatakalaua were also buried in such tombs, but they are called fale instead.

The langi are big, artificial hills surrounded by huge slabs of coral rock, usually in three or more tiered layers. These slabs were quarried from several places along the coast of Tongatapu or neighbouring minor islands. The waves of the sea made them over the centuries, by compacting coral sand into layers of 10–20 cm thick. They were only to be dug out and then transported by boat to the building site. Nevertheless the accuracy by which the slabs were cut to shape so that they fit along each other with barely any space to spare is remarkable.

One of the best-preserved langi is the Paepae-o-Telea, which is even more remarkable as the slabs along the corner really have an 'L' shape.

The story that the slabs were moved by magic means from Uvea

Wallis Island

Wallis is an island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity of Wallis and Futuna....

 to Tonga is just a myth. Uvea is volcanic and has not got the proper geology. This fact has always been known, as shown, for example by a stanza of the poem named Laveofo from around the 18th century by Tufui.

Ko e Pangaimotu mo Makahaa tuu mai a e motu ko Fafā nae fai ai e tā maka o uta ki Langi Taetaea mo e otu langi fua o Mua

The islands Pangaimotu and Makahaa and standing here the island of Fafā where the cutting of stone was done and taken to the mound Taetaea and the whole row of mounds of Mua

The last Tui Tonga, Laufiltonga was buried in langi Tuofefafa. His grave is still marked with a huge cross, as he died as Catholic.

The langi are still used nowadays as burial sites. When the Kalaniuvalu chief died in 1999 he was buried in the Paepae o Telea. When the Tui Pelehake

Tu'ipelehake

The Tuipelehake is the 2nd highest ranking traditional chiefly title in Tonga, in the absence of the Tui Faleua title, Tuipelehake is second only to the King in rank...

 chief, Uluvalu and his wife Kaimana died in 2006, they were buried in langi Nā Moala.

Also worthwhile visiting are the remaining groundworks of an old, deserted fort on the border of Talasiu and Lapaha.

List

According to the matāpule Makalangahiva (variations by other informants)

1. Langi Tuo teau
2. Langi Kātoa
3. Langi Fanakava ki langi
4. Langi Tuo fefafa
5. Langi Tau a tonga
6. Langi Malu a tonga
7. Langi Leka
8. Langi Sinai
9. Langi Taetaea
10. Langi Faapite
11. Langi Tōfā ua
12. Langi Nukulau uluaki
13. Langi Nukulau ua
14. Langi Foou
15. Langi Hahake
16. Langi o Luani
17. Langi Tauhala
18. Langi Paepae o Telea (or Paepae o Telea)
19. Langi Nā Moala
20. Langi Hēhēa
21. Langi Esi a e kona
22. Langi Malomaloaa
23. Langi Nakuli ki langi
24. Fale Loāmanu
25. Fale Fakauō
26. Fale Tui(nga)papai
27. Fale Pulemālō
28. Fale Tauhakeleva

Fāonelua

The nickname of Lapaha is Paki mo e toi (picked with sap), referring to the many sweet smelling flowers which were to be picked regularly to be made into kahoa, (flower garlands) for the lords. Likewise Tatakamotonga is also known as Kolokakala (fragrant town) and other variants of this name.

An important tree with beautiful red flowers grew (and still grows) on the coastal marshland. Its name is Fāonelua and it is a unique species of mangrove

Mangrove

Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...

. Only the Tui Tonga was allowed to wear its flowers as a garland, and as such the name has become a symbol for his reign.

Lapaha is also known as the Village of flower or"KOLOKAKALA",In ages ago people of Lapaha were call the King and the chief people are Kakala,that mean the chief people are beautiful like a flower.In long ago,Lapaha was the capital of Tonga and all the Royal family and the most of the highest people were use to live in Lapaha.When they were pass away they buried in Lapaha include the Tu'i Tonga.Start from that time people call Lapaha is a Village of Flower (KOLOKAKALA)because every kakala (flower) of Tonga were buried there.