Kingship and Kinship the House of Tupou, Democracy and Transnationalism
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Kingship and Kinship The House of Tupou, Democracy and Transnationalism in Tonga Areti Metuamate February 2019 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy of The Australian National University © Areti Metuamate All rights reserved 2019 ii Declaration Except where specific reference is made to other sources, the work presented in this thesis is solely that of the author. _____________________________________________ Areti Metuamate February 2019 iii Page intentionally left blank iv This thesis is dedicated to my maternal grandparents, Rongomate David Metuamate and Helen Te Ara o Rehua Metuamate (nee Tangimoana Rakatau), two people who loved their children and grandchildren unconditionally and taught us to pursue our dreams. Completing this PhD is one of mine. v Page intentionally left blank vi Abstract Tongan kingship has roots in an ancient system of Tu‘i (paramount ruler) that stretches back over a thousand years. The present king, Tupou VI, is the twenty-fourth Tu‘i Kanokupolu and the sixth monarch of the Tupou dynasty. What has enabled these institutions to survive so long is a range of accepted social arrangements and relationships that make up an intricate kinship system that underlies the very fabric of Tongan society. The rise of democracy, while an important modern development in Tonga’s recent political history, has not significantly affected this. Even Christianity, with its transformational impact on Tonga in the nineteenth century and beyond, was not able to shift Tonga’s deeply kinship-oriented social hierarchy. The image often portrayed in the Western media is that Tonga is a small (read insignificant), traditional (read out-dated) Polynesian society ruled firmly by a King and his noblemen; consequently this view is one that is shared by many in Australia and New Zealand. My thesis will show that such a view is simplistic and misses a key point about the centrality of kinship in Tonga, as in many parts of Oceania. In Tonga today, as it has been for centuries, kinship plays the essential role in determining how society is governed. While the King has a prominent role as the constitutional Head of State, to Tongans his role as Tu‘i is more important because it connects him as kin to each and every Tongan person, wherever they are in the world. The role and place of the King is only possible because of the existence and continuity of a complex range of (reciprocal) practises that make up the Tongan kinship system. This study builds on research on Tongan transnationalism, governance, history, and culture, and draws on material gathered in my fieldwork in Tonga and amongst vii Tongans in the diaspora, and in over 50 interviews I undertook in Tonga, the United States, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. My research, which has a particular focus on King George Tupou V, demonstrates that the king is important to Tongans, but primarily as a part of a broader kinship system which positions him in relation to others. As an individual the king is expected to embody a range of qualities, which this study outlines as layers of kingship. But going one step further it will show that the king is a representation of what it means to be Tongan and his role is but one of many layers of kinship. The core argument developed in this thesis is that Tonga is not governed by kingship, but by kinship. viii Table of Contents List of Illustrations xiii Acknowledgements xv Notes on Language xix Tongan and Māori Glossaries xxi Titles and Styles of the Tongan Nobility and Royalty xxiii Map of Tonga xxvii PROLOGUE. SOMEWHERE BETWEEN INSIDER AND OUTSIDER 1 He mihi 1 Opening eyes 2 Walking a fine line 5 King or queen 9 CHAPTER ONE. INTRODUCTION: LAYERS OF KINGSHIP, LAYERS OF KINSHIP 11 The Tu‘i system 12 Research approach 16 Interview principles and protocols 22 Research questions 25 Research ethics considerations 27 Conceptual framework 30 A sacred topic? Exploring the literature 32 Thesis outline 37 CHAPTER TWO. SITUATING TONGAN KINGSHIP 40 Pre-Christian Tonga 43 The arrival of Christianity 48 Kīngitanga 51 Hawai‘i 54 New access to leadership: An elected king 61 The palace and the Palasi 63 The Tongan Palasi 69 Thailand: The Tongan monarchy’s ‘closest’ neighbour 72 Contemporary Tonga: A Christian nation 78 ix CHAPTER THREE. CONTEMPORARY TONGAN HIERARCHY, 79 CLASS AND KINGSHIP The middle class and the rising class 82 Rank and status: Fixity and fluidity 85 The guiding force of anga fakatonga 88 ‘At the market: A prized bracelet’ 91 ‘On the beach: Covering up’ 92 Understanding the fahu system 93 Royal protocol 99 ‘To sit on the floor or not?’ 101 The influence of anga fakapalangi 102 Recognising tu‘a status relative to royalty 104 Mana: A not so commonly used word 108 Language 108 The golden pillars of Tongan society 109 CHAPTER FOUR. THE TONGAN KING AS SYMBOL 112 The Song of the King 115 Different representations of the King 117 Modern symbols of kingship 119 The life and death of a symbol 122 Artistic representations: The King as crown 128 Artistic representations: The King in tapa 131 Artistic representations: The King and clothing 134 Poetic meditations on the King 136 CHAPTER FIVE. THE CONSORT QUEEN 144 Nanasipau‘u Vaea 145 Being of the right birth 147 The rank of the Queen consort 150 Balancing kingship: Born to be Queen 160 Tongan perspectives on the role of the consort 165 CHAPTER SIX. EXPANDING TONGAN KIN(G)SHIP 169 Globalisation and transnationalism 171 Tongans as voyagers 174 Tongans in the world today 178 x Tonga: Expanding or shrinking 181 Being Tongan outside of Tonga 182 From surfing the Pacific Ocean to surfing the internet 188 Tongans as Tonga 197 Projecting kingship across oceans 199 Conclusion 200 CHAPTER SEVEN. FROM TU‘I TO TU‘A: THE EVOLUTION OF 202 TONGAN POLITY The first roadmap to Constitutional Government in Tonga 204 Treaty with the British Crown: The period of the protectorate 208 Tonga’s unique version of democracy 210 Democracy in a kinship-oriented society 213 ‘Unity of power’ 217 Relinquishing powers of the monarch – the King’s words 218 Monarchy and democracy: Not one or the other 223 The rise of the tu‘a: Tonga’s first elected commoner Prime Minister 227 Conclusion 234 CHAPTER EIGHT. CONCLUSION 237 Focus on the voices of interlocutors 237 Recommendations for further research 239 Chapter conclusions 240 Principal conclusions 244 APPENDICES Appendix A – Participant Information Sheets and Consent Form 249 Appendix B – List of Interlocutors 252 Appendix C – List of Noble Titles 254 BIBLIOGRAPHY 255 xi Page intentionally left blank xii List of Illustrations Map 1. Map of the Kingdom of Tonga xxvii Figures 1. King George Tupou V’s body being interred at Mala’e Kula 4 2. King George Tupou V with a monocle hanging above his belt 26 3. Model One: Kingship to kinship 30 4. Model Two: Tongan kinship 31 5. Model Three: Tongan kinship as layers 31 6. Population history of Oceania 42 7. Carved wood. Label on back reads: ‘Goddess of Lefuga hung by Tāufaʻāhau 47 on embracing Christianity, Hapai, July, 1830’ 8. Good friends: Te Arikinui Tuheitia Paki and King Tupou VI prior to 54 the King’s official coronation 9. Copy of letter from King Kalākaua to King George Tupou I 60 10. ‘Iolani Palace Honolulu, Hawai‘i 65 11. Professor Margaret Jolly and the author outside ‘Iolani Palace 65 12. Tongan Palasi, Nuku‘alofa, Tongatapu 70 13. Nobles and talking chiefs (matāpule) sit on the deck during 71 the kava ceremony 14. Princess Angelika sits in the doorway of the palace as the person of honour 71 at the kava ceremony at the Palasi, attended to by her assistant Volasinga Salakielu ‘Ahio 15. The community brought gifts of pig and kava roots to present to the princess 72 as part of the kava ceremony at the Palasi 16. Thai Prime Minister almost lying down on the floor to show respect to 73 Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, daughter of the then King 17. Princess Pilolevu Tuita of Tonga about to walk over women who have prostrated 75 themselves on the ground as she disembarked from her vehicle 18. King George Tupou V being crowned at his Coronation, 2008 76 xiii 19. Traditional and modern symbols of power: The King in a velvet and ermine 76 cloak, standing on ngatu cloth 20. Queen Elizabeth II in front of the Tongan Palace, a symbol of an independent 77 kingdom legitimately recognised by other kingdoms, 1953 21. The Tongan Palace, with ngatu on the ground and a funerary catafalque for 77 King Taufa’ahau Tupou IV bearing the crown in gold, 2006 22. Crown Princess Nanasipau‘u seated on the ground at her aunt’s funeral 87 23. At the same funeral, Crown Princess Nanasiapau‘u’s mother-in-law 88 (the Queen Mother), and her niece (the Hon Lupepau‘u Tuita) are seated and under shelter 24. ‘The King has chosen an old London taxi from the 1950s as his official 121 state coach’ 25. Schoolgirl wipes photo of King George Tupou V 126 26. King George Tupou V’s casket being carried on a catafalque towards 127 his gravesite 27. School students seated along pathway lined with tapa cloth leading to 128 King George Tupou V’s gravesite 28. King George Tupou V’s casket being carried on a catafalque 128 29. Emily Mafile‘o, ‘God and Tonga are my Inheritance’ 129 30. Tongan Coat of Arms 131 31. Robin White and Ruha Fifita working on ngatu with a women’s group at 132 Haveluloto village, Tongatapu 32. Seen Along the Avenue, earth pigment and plant dye on barkcloth 133 33.