Tonga’s Christianization

pyramid seems indistinguishable due to the overlap in responsibilities and status -- a clash in tradition and change due to the changing socio-political landscape.

The nōpele class in Tonga is the same as the hou’eiki as the nobles were appointed from the hou’eiki class in the 1875 Constitution (see Lātūkefu, 1975).

They are also called the hou’eiki nōpele, a combination of the two words.

Since 1966, the domination of the hou’eiki nōpele in the government arena has slowly deteriorated due to the emergence of the new middle class that now controls key portfolios in the state’s bureaucracy. Advanced academic credentials have allowed commoners the opportunity to hold ministerial portfolios, which affords them the rights and privileges usually reserved for the hou’eiki nōpele. Cabinet Ministers, according to government protocol, are entitled hou’eiki minisitā and they are treated in a similar manner to the hou’eiki nōpele. They are starting to overshadow the aristocratic class as a result.

supposed to be caused either by a Maui moving the earth from one shoulder to another, or falling asleep and nodding his head. Hikule’o was believed to control the weather and the fertility of the land (Lātūkefu, 1974).

The Tu’i Tonga was the representative of all the gods on earth, giving him divine rights over his subjects. Apart from the principal gods, each chief and his people had their own gods, usually the spirits of their dead chiefs. It was believed that when members of the chiefly class died, their spirits went to Pulotu where Hikule’o resided, where they became secondary gods. They were thought to return to the earth in various forms, such as sharks and other animal species.

Politics and religion were closely interwoven in Tonga. Every chief possessed mana or supernatural power. However, mana was believed to depend on the goodwill of the gods. Chiefs made offerings to obtain the favor of gods and consulted them on important occasions, particularly before going to war or embarking on distant voyages. When any misfortune or natural disaster occurred, it was attributed to the anger of gods (ibid.). Since the chiefs, who were the political leaders, relied upon the priests and their mediators with the gods, a close alliance existed between them in order to maintain their mutual interests.

The power of the priests was second only to those of the chiefs.

The historical development of Christianity in Tonga is clearly demonstrated in the intimate relationship between the church and state. The strong association between the two is traceable to the early 19^th century when the first group of missionaries set foot in the archipelago (see Lātūkefu, 1974; 1975;

Rutherford, 1977; 1996). Despite the difficulties they suffered in their attempts, especially during the period of civil wars between the various factions for

political control, they slowly established what is believed by most Tongans to be the substratum of Tongan society today.

The first missionaries to land were representatives of the London Missionary Society (LMS) who arrived on the main island of Tongatapu on April 10 1797. Ten male missionaries landed and some remained until 1800 (see Urbanowicz, 1975). The failure of the 1797-1800 mission did not put an end to missionary ventures. Two further attempts were made in Tongatapu in 1822 and 1826. Undoubtedly, the primary motive of the Wesleyans missionaries was Christianization and the first technique utlized was the use of material goods to attract converts. Generally speaking, their work went beyond simply teaching a new theology, because incorporated in that theology were certain priniciples of conduct which included ‘new standards of honesty’ such as ‘one man one wife’

among many others (see Campbell, 1992a).

As part of their strategy, the missionaries first strengthened their relationship with the hou’eiki before they proceeded to other activities, the most important of which was the establishment of schools. The missionaries at first had difficulties preaching Christianity to the native Tongans. However gradually, through their links with powerful chiefs and the establishment of mission schools, they were able to bear witness to the success of their work as missionaries. They received the socio-politcal support of some prominent chiefs who assisted and accelerated the pace of mission expansion.

The introduction of Chrisitanity by the missionaries not only converted the Tongans, but it provided the converts with a new level of understanding, bringing about a psychological revolution in the way in which they understood

their social and political surroundings. Formal education was also introduced at the same time.⁶ Missionary education was vital in speeding up the conversion of native Tongans. Although education in its earlier stage focused primarily on basic Christian principles, and was aimed at converting more people to the new religion, the developing educational system slowly came to include other academic disciplines such as agriculture, chemistry, physics, and astronomy (see Cummins, 2005).

According to Tongan Christian belief, the church is the foundation of the Kingdom. The Wesleyans were the most powerful and influential of the missions due to the kind of strategies they employed, which assimilated key characteristics of Tonga’s social structure into their own organization.

While missionaries annihilated certain aspects of Tongan culture which were believed to represent ‘heathenism’, and were not seen as compatible with the development of ‘civilization’ as defined at that time, they also helped reinforce the existing social and political structure of Tongan society through the establishment of the church. What they succeeded in doing was to lay a strong basis for increasing the power of the church, state and aristocracy. Despite this, there were nonetheless contradictions inherent in the new religion; fusing as it did aspects of oppressive tribalism and Christian individualistic ethics (see Lawson, 1996).

Perhaps the greatest benefit from the partnership between King George and the Wesleyan missionaries was the development of written codes of law.

Tonga had had its own law for centuries. It was unwritten though clearly

6 Education at its early stage was based on teaching Christian morals and principles.

understood, and it was based on a system of taboos. However, with the coming of Christianity, Tongan culture began to experience a number of significant changes. Apart from the introduction of a new set of taboos based on the Ten Commandments and the beliefs of Wesleyan Methodism, reading and writing slowly began to take effect. By 1839, it was possible to officially announce a written code of laws, the Code of Vava’u, which was limited to the King’s subjects in Vava’u. It was not until 1850, when the King was acknowledged as ruler of all the islands that a Code of Laws for the whole of Tonga was brought into force (see, Lātū, 1998; Lātūkefu, 1975).

According to Helu (1997), the introduction of European religion to Tonga was not simply a one-way process of acculturation, whereby Christianity in Tonga was implanted but remained European in form and content. As has been noted, Christianity itself underwent some changes. For example, many traditional melodies were worked into the church music, together with Sunday feasts developed from pre-existing practices (see Helu, 1999; Lawson, 1996: 89).

Perhaps the best example of the two-way nature of the process was the reinforcement of the power of the aristocracy within a religious context -- the power and privileges of the King and the hou’eiki were seen as divine in origin and granted by God (see Lātūkefu, 1974) – an idea which would have fitted well with European ideas of monarchy of the same period.

After the Wesleyan incursion, Catholic missionaries also arrived in Tonga in 1842. The two churches soon came into conflict due to differences in religious principles. However, in the case of Tonga, these tensions did not merely arise from religion, but also colonial politics. The Catholic missionaries

who allied themselves with the Tu’i Tonga kingly line supported French imperialism (see Rutherford, 1977). They opposed Taufa’ahau (later King George Tupou I) since he was regarded as an avowed champion of Protestant and British interests. Meanwhile, the Wesleyan missionaries allied themselves with the Kanokupolu kingly line, which was the most powerful at the time (see Lātūkefu, 1975; Rutherford, 1977).

Later on, the failure of the Tu’i Tonga’s allies in the mid 19^th century resulted in a shift of Catholic support to the Ha’a Havea chiefs⁷ (see Rutherford, 1977; Lātūkefu, 1974; 1975). The Ha’a Havea chiefs naturally found it difficult to accept or submit to laws which had been heavily influenced by the puritanical teachings of the Wesleyan missionaries. This led to their downfall in 1852, which ended the civil war in Tonga and victory of Wesleyanism as the dominant religious denomination.

The church emerged as the most powerful institution in Tongan society particularly the Free Wesleyan Church. The King was appointed head of the Wesleyan Church and the church was instrumental in the execution of Tongan government administrative matters prior to the promulgation of the Constitution in 1875. Church ministers, the majority of whom were missionaries, became King’s George Tupou I’s allies in the making of modern Tonga, as is clearly demonstrated in the political history of Tonga. In some cases, the King had no other choice but to follow their visions and initiatives (see Lātūkefu, 1974; 1975;

Rutherford, 1977; 1996; Wood-Ellem, 1999). They contributed to the creation of

7 The Ha’a Havea is a large and powerful socio-political unit, which consists of many prominent chiefs.

Tonga’s first Code of Law in 1839. Later they also drafted the 1850 and 1862 Codes with the assistance of British officials outside Tonga, which paved the way for the maintenance of Tonga’s independence. They reduced the power of the chiefs, and thereby elevated to some extent, the socio-economic, religious, and political status of the commoners (Lātūkefu, 1975: 27).

Despite their initial differences, the Catholic and Wesleyan churches slowly developed peaceful relationships based on the basic principles of Christianity. Other religious groups formed such as the Anglican Church in the late 19th century, and the Seventh Day Adventists and the Mormon Church in the early 20^th century. The enthusiasm towards the church was not only due to the notion of salvation which it preached, but also the plea for God’s protection made by George Tupou I in 1862 in the Emancipation Edict.

He unified Tonga and composed the Nation’s motto Koe ‘Otua Mo Tonga Ko Hoku Tofi’a (God and Tonga are my Inheritance) (see Lātūkefu, 1975).

This gave the church political as well as religious legitimacy. There is also a well known maxim in Tonga, Pule’anga Mo e Siasi Kae Mālohi ha Fonua (Unity of church and state fortifies a nation) which is widely regarded as the cornerstone of Tongan society (see Lātū, 1998). Church and state are frequently referred to as Ongo ‘olive, the two olives or pillars.

The history and socio-political structure of Tonga described above are vital in this study. The brief description of Tonga and the evolution of Tonga’s socio-political structure show the dynamics of change in society. The constitutional development and the introduction of Christianity to Tonga brought new ways of understanding Tongan society, even though they reinforced and

retained important elements of Tongan culture. This is important background information for understanding international migration and it sets the stage for its development which is discussed in the next chapter.