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On Saturday Tonga began 11 days of celebrations to mark the coronation of monarch King Tupou VI with an ancient kava ceremony and gifts of pigs and yams from the country’s chiefs.
In the ceremony an ancient Tongan title called Tu’i Kanokupolu, that pre-dates the monarchy by centuries, passes to Tupou VI.
The coronation will take place on Saturday 4 July.
In 1845 an ambitious young warrior, strategist, and orator Tāufaʻāhau united Tonga into a kingdom.
He held the chiefly title of Tuʻi Kanokupolu, but had been baptised with the name Siaosi in 1831.
He was proclaimed king in 1845 after winning control of the monarchy from two other royal lines.
In 1875, with the help of missionary Shirley Waldemar Baker, he declared Tonga a constitutional monarchy; formally adopted the western royal style; emancipated the “serfs”; enshrined a code of law, land tenure, and freedom of the press; and limited the power of the chiefs.
US anthropologist Adrienne L. Kaeppler of the Smithsonian Institution said Tongans’ attitudes towards the monarchy had changed over the years but there was still a deep affection for the royals.
Kaeppler said that for Tongans, the kava ceremony, or Taumafa Kava, is as important as the official coronation.
She said everyone is waiting to see the Western-style coronation.
“They’re dressed like European monarchs, they have the cloaks of velvet and ermine, and crowns are put on their heads.”
Last month a Tongan pastor said the coronation of King Tupou VI would be different from previous such events because the country has a more democratically elected parliament.
Reverend Simote Vea says most people in his generation have seen three coronations in their lifetimes but this year’s coronation will see more commoners participating rather than watching from the sidelines.
“It’s a new coronation in the sense that it’s a new era now that we have a more democratically elected government and the government is prepared to host an exciting event meaning that it’s the people who are involved in government now.”
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