The jewels in my crown

I just got to be part of one of the best celebrations I think I've ever witnessed. Tongans definitely know how to have a good time. And it was a good reason to celebrate too - the King's Coronation. I know next to nothing about what's going on with the American presidential elections right now, but I do know that when the new leader is picked, nothing that comes afterwards will even come close to the joy I saw today.

It's school break! The end of the second of three terms and two free weeks all to myself. After a couple of days recouping in my village, I hightailed it to Neiafu (my island group's capital) to celebrate the new King's Coronation! He became the King last year when his father died, but scheduled the official ceremonies for this month, which is his birthday?

First up was a very special kava (important traditional beverage) ceremony that essentially acknowledged the new king's status and presented him to all of the people. All of Vava'u's nobles sat in a huge square around the king's tent and dozens of enormous roasted pigs and woven baskets of every meat you can get here were presented, slapped, yelled about and counted. The preparation of the kava (pounded from the plant's roots) was elaborately presented and then served to the king and each noble in turn. Pretty regal ceremony. That afternoon different villages came and went from the palace presenting traditional songs and dances. You should have seen the other PCV's and I running around town trying to figure out what was happening where. There was an official schedule of sorts that was loosely followed but literally the best way to find out what was happening was just to walk around until you ran into it, asking everyone along the way to see if they knew anymore than you did. My favorite was watching one of the PCVs perform a lakalaka (one type of dance) with her village. I knew it had taken hours to prepare and they were wonderful, all fruffed out in pure white but adorned with all the Tongan ornaments, feathers sticking out of the hair, woven mats around the waist, shells around the wrists and ankles, etc. The more the better!

(P.S. Do you know what I'm doing right now? Eating a bag of ripe tomatoes like they're apples. That's how much I miss them. Can only get them here in town)

That evening was an absolutely beautiful sight - the Tutupaukanava. Like the kava ceremony, this tradition goes back hundreds of years, when Tonga was still in the throes of unifying. The night the new king is crowned all of the surrounding villages light torches at the shoreline to show their support and acceptance of him. This signals to the king that all of his subjects are still loyal and willing. Absolutely a tremendous sight to see from the Neiafu harbor while listening to the military band play on a boat docked just off the wharf.

The next day was a military parade highly remniscient of the 40's or 50's due to the style of uniforms and the cars driven around. The best was watching the king being driven in between the ranks in a little drab green jeep with the bed converted into a pedestal he could wave to everyone from, complete with red carpet. Then all the high school kids lined up on the road to fanfare the king to a large field where the real party would be held! Luscious feasts were prepared for by the villages, mine included. What do I eat in Tonga? So many of you have asked. Well, here's a sampling of the best of the best (I'm biased, I ate at my village's table):

whole roasted pig
whole roasted wild chicken
smoked fresh lobster
ota 'ika (raw fresh fish in coconut cream, lime juice, hot peppers and bell peppers)
fried chicken
hot dogs
canned corned beef
faikekai
watermelon
orange soda

With the exception of the three meats I listed last, all the food is from my island. Amazing. Ota 'ika and faikekai are my two favorite Tongan dished. Faikekai is boiled firm flour dumplings (can also be root crops, mixed with fruit, etc.) smothered in a sticky sauce of coconut cream and sugar. Delic!

So yeah we ate well (Tongans' fav conversation topic) but the best part came afterwards - more traditional dance and song performances followed by a sometimes grand, sometimes ridiculous but always energetic military band performance, complete with skits, concentric running circles and the Macarena. Awesome! I haven't laughed so hard in one day in a long time. The following night was an island wide block party in the center of town where I got my dance on (you know me - I can't get enough) until a drunk Tongan woman turned our dance showdown sour by yanking fistfuls of my hair. Good thing there were 6 DJs to choose from.

Really the best part of the whole thing - everyone was so happy! Yes, it's true, Tongans are happy people in general, but it was a blast to see my whole island group out on the town and celebrating. The enthusiasm pervaded everything.

I saw my first whales yesterday! It's been whale season (mostly humpbacks) for awhile but everyone's been saying there are a lot fewer this year and they're staying outside the outer islands and not coming in the channels as much. I was coming home after my run yesterday and some of the men working on their boat spotted them. They started out pretty far away, two adults and a calf but soon a tourist boat came along and they headed straight for 'Otea. It was incredible to watch them coming closer and closer, right at us. Soon they were only 20 yards off the beach! Thus cornered, they headed out to toward the open sea and I followed as best I could scrambling along the rocks. I was rewarded with a perfectly upright fluke view before they headed out. YES! Just the friendly neighbors dropping by for a visit.

So I'd seen whales before in the States, but I'd never been treated to their harmonious voices until this past week. I got back to 'Otea just in time to tag along with my neighbors as they went shellfishing. We walked along the exposed reef, scraping off chitons, spearing crabs and slurping tubeworms. As all the women headed back I got to hop in the water with 'Isi to go spearfishing. My silly pup tried to follow but I pushed her back up. This is the third time I've gone with him, but the first time we'd stayed so close to the reef wall that drops immediately down from the cliff walls of our island. The coral gardens were without a doubt the most lush I have ever seen. I was so distracted by the beauty that I almost didn't hear them. At first I thought 'Isi was trying to get my attention but the longer I stayed down the more mesmerized I was my melodious relatives. It was the whales. Who knows how far away they were but they were serenading us all the same. So gifted. And then there was even a second prize - a Crown of Thorns! Do you know this irregular echinoderm? I know you've seen bright glossy photographs of it in books, it's thick thorny bits pointing in all directions as its multiple arms sprawl over the equally colorful coral it gorges on. There was no mistaking it for anything than what it was - a fiercely alive, ferocious predator of coral sprawling over the formations. It's body was blue and purple, its spines green at the base and fading to orange. Magnificent. Bold enough to keep me a few feet away and once my mesmerized mind cleared I remembered that it's poisonous (don't worry Mom, I didn't touch it). Jewel number three? I kept close to 'Isi as we left the coral and swam over the open water to the next spearing spot. We were kicking fast, dragging out catch behind us when the biggest sea turtle I've ever seen zoomed across our few from left to right. My first (live) Tongan turtle! Have I mentioned that 'Isi really has stopped killing turtles after all the the times we've talked about it? So it was a dive to remember and I am quickly becoming better at identifying all the different kinds of seafood Tongans eat and how to harvest them. Fangota (shellfishing) is one of my favorite things to do here.

Last night I had my first go at reading Tongan music. We had ako hiva (learning new songs) to prepare for Women's Day in September. The notes are written as numbers horizontally across the page just like our notes. Since we were just learning we sang the numbers as numbers (think do, re, mi) and will add the words later. Tongans are wonderfully natural musicians. Haven't met one yet who can't sight read and harmonize.

Capped off the night with some lavelave (hanging and chatting) at my neighbors. Turns out the Town Officer had been by that day to get a haircut (my neighbor 'Isi is the resident barber). He knows how close I am with my neighbors and was checking up on me (ah the Tongan way, have an excuse for showing up then ask sideways questions to get at the info you want) as he's very busy and doesn't actually see me that much. He'd heard I'd gone diving with 'Isi, told him he'd be worried if I'd gone with anyone else, but because I'm (essentially) part of their family it's totally fine with him. He knows how much I want to learn and how much I like to just LOOK. Hurray! This is huge! I've explained before how frustrated it makes me that my activities here are so limited by my gender, but I'm learning to be patient and culturally appropriate. These words from my Town Officer were a huge affirmation of all the hard work I'm putting in to integrate with my community while also taking care of myself and my happiness. This acceptance was the equivalent to me of a good end-of-year report and raise from my employer. This sort of thing happens so rarely hear and it filled with happiness as well as ensured my ability to continue to my relationship with the Tongan sea and its people's connection to it. AH :)

And one more last ruby: the Wesleyan minister has asked me to hold English workshops for the high schools students Friday and Saturday night when they're back in 'Otea from going to school in town. And he's approved the use of the church hall and its generator (for electricity) and announced it to the people. All this mean it's actually going to happen, it's not just talk. And I'll have a chance to really affect the older students, which is something I really wanted to do here that I've been missing. And another vote of confidence by the village in me!

The all-important annual entrance exams are coming up first week in October so this next month will be very busy as we all gear up for them. I also won't be able to overnight in Neiafu as I'll be running the night school on my weekends, so who knows when the next blog post will be? But thanks for reading, thanks for writing and God bless the King!