THE CHIEFLY CLASSES IN THE KINGDOM OF TONGA BY DAPHNE GRACE CANT B.A. Memorial University of Newfoundland, 1977 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES DEPARTMENT OF ANTHROPOLOGY We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA SEPTEMBER 1984 © Daphne Grace Cant, 1984 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. Department of A^TT-r^-o ^Lpc, The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date S^-T 2-H | DE-6 (3/81) - /'( ' ABSTRACT This thesis analyses the role of the chiefly classes in the Kingdom of Tonga during three distinct decades between 1770 and 1980. Using six variables, the roles of the chiefly classes are compared and evidence is presented in support of a contention that the power base of the chiefly classes has shifted from the local village level to the centralized national government. Dr. C.S. Belshaw, Supervisor - Ill - THE CHIEFLY CLASSES IN THE KINGDOM OF TONGA TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 1-8 CHAPTER ONE Geographic and Historical Background 9-24 CHAPTER TWO Tongan Chiefs 1770-1780 25-45 CHAPTER THREE Tongan Chiefs and Nobility 1870-1880 46-63 CHAPTER FOUR Tongan Nobility 1970-1980 64-83 CHAPTER FIVE Discussion of the changes over the three time periods . • 84 - 88 Conclusion BIBLIOGRAPHY 89-91 - 1 - INTRODUCTION Many recent anthropological writings on Tonga have focused on the noble or chiefly class. Irving Goldman's Ancient Polynesian Society is in large part a study of systems of aristocracy. Goldman contends that: "... in the larger historical perspective, aristocracies have been the agents of the most powerful and significant cultural developments." (1) On Tonga specifically he notes that: "...the Tongan status structure is built around two distinct principles: one, in a sense, linear, represents the clear gradations of genealogical rank via patriliny and seniority; the other, complementary, sets off one type of status against another." (2) He further points out that this structure can be viewed as in a state of balance which is not static but, in fact, extremely active. The structure can and does allow for shifts in power relationships. Marshall Sahlins, in Social Stratification in Polynesia (3), also writes about Polynesian society from the perspective of the chiefly classes. This is evident in his conclusion that in Tonga the patrilineal ha'a system can be equated with the kinship system. This conclusion could only have been reached (1) Goldman, Irving (1970) Ancient Polynesian Society, The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, p.XVI. (2) Ibid, p.304. (3) Sahlins, Marshall (1958) Social Stratification in Polynesia, University of Washington Press, Seattle. - 2 - by viewing the society from the perspective of chiefs. If he had written from the commoners' point of view the ha'a system would not have been deemed important and significant enough so as to bear comparison with the kinship system. Ordinary commoners did not consider themselves a part of the ha'a system. Elizabeth Bott (198 2) says the following: "In theory, the ha'a consisted of all descendants of the kings' sons through males, but in practice it was only the title holders and certain other leading families who were considered to belong to the ha'a. Close relatives on the male side and tehina and John of the title were also included. The ha'a was thus considered to be a thing that concerned title holders ..." (4) Numerous other anthropologists have written on Tongan nobility. (Bott 1972, 1982; Coult 1959; Gifford 1929; Marcus 1980; Kaeppler 1971). Although the noble view of Tongan society is more widely represented in anthropological literature there are anthropologists including Beaglehole (5) and Aoyagi (6) who have written from the commoners' viewpoint about commoners in Tonga. (4) Bott, E. (1982) Tongan Society at the Time of Captain Cook's Visits: Discussions with Her Majesty Queen Salote Tupou, Memoir No.44, Wellington, The Polynesian Society (Incorporated), p.156. (5) Beaglehole, Earnest and Pearl Beaglehole (1941) Pangai: Village in Tonga, Wellington, Polynesian Society Memoir No.18. (6) Aoyagi, Machiro (1966) "Kinship Organizations and Behavior in a Contemporary Tongan Village", Journal of the Polynesian Society, No.75, P.141-176. - 3 - The study of chiefs in Polynesian societies has long been of great interest to those who seek to understand life on these remote (7) islands. The traditional role of the chief was important to maintaining the fabric of society and supporting local ideologies connecting the social, political, economic, and religious parts of the community. In the 1770's, when Captain Cook visited Tonga, he was greatly impressed by the chiefly classes. Cook was particularly taken by the dignified behaviour which he witnessed. One story from Cook's journals tells of how the people would greet a chief by touching his feet with the palms and backs of their hands. This gesture was called "moemoe" and served the dual purpose of a respectful greeting and an opportunity for people of lower rank to remove the "tapu" (taboo) on using their hands. They would incur this tapu by inadvertently touching a chief or any of his possessions. After performing the moemoe, they would wash their hands and the tapu would be completely removed. The moemoe could be done on any chief of equal or higher rank than the chief or his possessions which you touched. Tu'i Tonga was the sacred king and had the highest rank in the land, so was very much in demand since a touch of his feet could remove the tapu of anyone. Cook's description of what sometimes happened is quite amusing: (7) The notion of remote is used to mean that the distance from one island to another is great enough to prohibit regular contact. Despite this fact, the development of many islands' societal infrastructure is very similar and consequently represents a subject of great interest to those wishing to understand Polynesian society. - 4 - It appeared that the king could not refuse anyone who chose to pay him this compliment, for the common people would frequently take it into their heads to do it when he was walking, and he was always obliged to stop and hold up one of his feet behind him till they had done; This, to an heavy unwieldy man like him, must be attended with trouble and pain, and I have seen make a run, Tho very unable, to get out of the way, or to a place where he could sit down. (8) Examples, such as this one, serve to illustrate how interesting and different life must have been in these small island kingdoms compared to Captain Cook's England. The intent of this thesis is to compare the role of Tongan chiefs during three vastly different time periods. In Chapter 2, we will look at the chiefly classes between 1770 and 1780. This was the time of Captain Cook's visits to the Tongan group. He was so impressed by the people that he named the islands the "Friendly Islands". He and his men made a valiant effort to understand the society and were much confused by the number of kings. As Englishmen, they were accustomed to a one king monarchy, thus finding it very difficult to comprehend what they called the three king system of Tonga. It was a highly stratified society which had a number of forms of social differentiation which not only overlapped, but were often contradictory. (9) The difference between authority and rank in the Tongan kinship system is a good example. Within the (8) Cook, Capt. J. (1961 and 1967) The Journal of Captain Cook on his Voyages of Discovery, edited by J.C. Beaglehole. Hakleyt Society, Vol.11, p.175-176. (9) The main sources used to describe the Tongan nobility during the decade of 1770 to 1780 are Bott 1982; Gifford 19 29; Cook 1961; Langdon 197 7; Marcus 1980; Poulsen 197 7; Goldman 1970. - 5 social order there was a political aspect and a domestic aspect. As well, there was a system of patrilineal authority and a system of ceremonial rank. Translated, this meant that fathers and elder brothers had authority and control over access to land. Within the system of rank, however, sisters had a higher rank than brothers. Sisters did not have authority over brothers but they did outrank them. Fathers and brothers had the means to land, the right to command, and the ability to give, or withhold. Sisters had the rank and, consequently, the right to ask for what the brothers produced. Chapter 3 will deal with the Tongan chiefs and nobility one hundred years later (1870-1880). This important decade represents a period of great change for Tonga. It was in 1875 that the Tongan constitution was promulgated and Tonga took its first steps into the international world of politics. The reigning monarch at this time was King George Taufa'ahau Tupou I. He had a strong belief that Tonga's only chance to remain an independent nation was to control western influences. He felt that Tonga could take on the facade of a nation state and still maintain many of its traditional ways.