Customs of the Tongese. 



TONGATABOO. English schooner " Currency Lass." 



183 



would I protect them fully ? In reply to this, I 

 sent the strongest assurances of protection to them. 

 My hopes, however, of producing a peace and re- 

 conciliation among them, began to decline ; for it 

 was evident that King George and his advisers, 

 and, indeed, the whole Christian party, seemed 

 to be desirous of continuing the war, either to 

 force the heathen to become Christians, or to carry 

 it on to extermination, which the number of their 

 warriors made them believe they had the power to 

 effect. I felt, in addition, that the missionaries 

 were thwarting my exertions by permitting war- 

 like preparations during the pending of the nego- 

 tiations. 



On the 28th, our boat returned from Moa, bring- 

 ing an old blind chief, called Mufa. The wife of 

 Faatu came in place of her husband, accompanied 

 by four or five lesser chiefs, who had been deputed 

 to attend the council. The wife of Faatu is a 

 large fat woman. He himself was willing to at- 

 tend, but his chiefs and people interfered and pre- 

 vented him, as he was coining to the boat, fearing 

 lest he should be detained as a hostage ; and they 

 made such an outcry (according to the officer) 

 against it, that he was obliged to yield. 



Mufa is the grandfather of Taufaahau, and was 

 supposed would have some influence with him. 

 From every thing we saw, we became satisfied that 

 the heathen were desirous of making peace, at 

 least the people of Moa. I gave orders to provide 

 them with every thing for their comfort, giving 

 them full assurance of my protection, and their 

 safe return ; and finding them ill at ease on board 

 ship, I ordered a tent to be pitched on shore for 

 their accommodation, and had them supplied with 

 rice and molasses, as well as the food they are in 

 the habit of eating, consisting of yams, taro, &c. 



Deeming it advisable that Faatu should be pre- 

 sent himself, I again sent a boat for him. The 

 people of Moa, though heathens, have not taken an 

 active part in the late disturbances, which are for 

 the most part confined to Bea and Houma ; and 

 although the Moans are more strongly allied to the 

 latter, they have always kept up an intercourse 

 with Nukualofa. 



One can readily enter into the feelings of the 

 heathen, who are inhabitants of the sacred Tonga, 

 and have always been looked up to by the inhabit- 

 ants of the rest of the group, who were obliged to 

 carry thither offerings, &c., to the gods, as superior 

 to themselves, when they see an attempt made to 

 subjugate them, by those whom they have always 

 looked upon with contempt, and to force upon them 

 a new religion, and a change in every thing they 

 have hitherto looked upon as sacred. Such feelings 

 are enough to make them war against any inno- 

 vation in their social polity and laws ; and after 

 having been acknowledged from time immemorial 

 as pre-eminent throughout the whole group, in- 

 cluding Wallis, Hoorn, Traitor's and Keppel's 

 Islands, it is not surprising that they should be 

 found the active enemies of religious encroach- 

 ments. Their vexation is augmented by the disap- 

 pointment they experienced in the last election of 

 the king of Tonga (Tui Kanakabolo) ; Tubou, 

 although the brother of his predecessor, was chosen 

 by them in preference to Mumui, the son, because 

 they believed him to be favourable to their side, 

 and opposed to the Christian party ; Mumui, on the 

 other hand, was brought up by the missionaries, 



speaks English tolerably well, and is the mission- 

 aries' principal school-teacher. Mr. Tucker in- 

 formed me that Mumui is now considered as the 

 son of Tubou, and will be entitled to the succession, 

 for which both Faatu and Taufaahau, are likewise 

 candidates, on the death of Tubou. 



The singular custom is said to prevail in Tonga, 

 that none of the royal family ever receive a title of 

 office ; for by so doing, I was told, they would 

 virtually renounce their right to the kingdom. 

 The Tui Kanakabolo has the power of rescinding 

 titles. In one view, the government may be con- 

 sidered a kind of family compact, for the persons 

 holding titles and offices address one another by 

 the names of father, son, uncle, and grandfather, 

 without reference whatever to their real degree of 

 relationship. 



The titles generally consist of the name of the 

 district over which the chief rules, and of which 

 they receive the revenues, with " tui," a word 

 synonymous with lord, before it. This, however, 

 is not always the case, for there are others who 

 have distinct titles, as Lavaka, the king of Bea, 

 one of the bitterest opponents of the Christians, 

 and who is determined to die rather than submit to 

 them; and Ata, Takafauna, and Vaea, the great 

 chief of Houma. The latter was deposed a short 

 time since, yet still retains his title among the 

 heathen. 



Shadrach, or Mumui, as he is also called, is a 

 good sample of the Tongese. I saw him at Mr. 

 Tucker's, where he was introduced to me; and I 

 must confess myself not a little surprised to hear 

 him address me in tolerably good English, asking 

 me the news, and what occurrences had taken 

 place in Europe. It appeared ridiculous to be 

 questioned by a half-naked savage upon such sub- 

 jects; but I must do him the justice to say he 

 seemed quite familiar with some of the events that 

 have taken place during the last fifteen or twenty 

 years. He is one of the missionaries' most zealous 

 converts, and I believe to Mrs. Tucker is due the 

 credit of teaching him; he has, I understood, sole 

 charge of their large school of three hundred scho- 

 lars, and it, in order and regularity, equals, if it 

 does not exceed, any in our own country. Mrs. 

 Tucker thinks this is partly to be ascribed to his 

 being a high chief, whom they are brought up to 

 have a great respect for. Mumui's countenance 

 shows much intelligence, but his figure is rather 

 out of proportion : his age is under thirty. 



On the 27th, I visited Nukualofa, on business 

 respecting the English schooner Currency Lass, 

 Captain Wilson, which vessel was found here. The 

 master reported that two of his men had been 

 seized by King George, and imprisoned, until a 

 ransom was paid, and the four Feejee women he 

 had on board were delivered up. On inquiry, it 

 proved that two of the crew of the Currency Lass, 

 with the knowledge of the commander and owner 

 (who was present), had taken the Feejee women on 

 board at Vavao, knowing it to be against the laws 

 of that island; they thence sailed for Tonga. On 

 their leaving Vavao, a canoe was immediately de- 

 spatched to Tonga, to inform King George of the 

 occurrence, and it arrived before the vessel. King 

 George, on her arrival, immediately sent on board 

 for the purpose of a search ; but the women were 

 concealed below, and they were believed not to be 

 on board. It however became known, in some 



