Editor,
It was very nice of E L Saafi to speak highly of Ms Lynch...s letters. However, her letter titled "Lavish display of delicious waste and materialism" published on 20/10/2006 unfortunately came across as rude, patronising, disrespectful and downright insulting. Here is a reminder of what she actually said in the first two paragraphs.
Quote:
"I was watching the funeral and mourning ritual of the late King Tupou IV from a distance and savoring all the traditional excesses and richness affordable only on a royal budget. The Ha'amo, pongipongi tapu, appointment of Lavaka to Crown Prince Tupouto'a, cutting of the royal hair by a Maori Princess and King Tupou V's fashion statement have all been a perfect mix of mockery, excess and preserving tradition with no act of conservation. It was the Tongan version of the 18th century French overindulgence without the messy aftermath.
A tapestry of two hundred or more dead large pigs, and calves, kava plants, fine mats and tapa cloths adorning the field of Pangai were the gifts of the cake eaters (in this case, pig eaters) to the new King. This far away Kingdom is not only omnivorous but this lavish display of delicious waste and materialism is a relentless struggle to preserve tradition no matter the costs. The royal family welcomes the ritual while protecting their rightful claim to the dynasty by taking their imperial position seriously."
Whatever positive and constructive points Ms Lynch wanted to put across in her letter were buried completely just by these two paragraphs. Take the first paragraph, for example, here Ms Lynch literally spat at our Late King's funeral, the Tongan culture, the Royal Family and us, the Tongan people, by declaring that this funeral was the Tongan version of the 18th century French over-indulgence without the messy aftermath. The second paragraph was even worse. Now, she is accusing the Royal Family of welcoming the ritual while protecting their rightful claim to the dynasty by taking their imperial position seriously.
I am sorry E L Saafi but I disagree with you here. If Ms Lynch was that successful and clever, she would know that when a human being dies, regardless of who he or she is, no one should speak ill of the dead, especially in the early days of such a sad occasion. In this particular case, Ms Lynch is actually insulting the funeral of our King. Yes, insulting His widow, sons and daughter, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Not to mention the nobles and the Tongan people in Tonga who actually carried out these tasks.
By all means debate how to develop Tonga and put across ideas of how to help our people back home. It is healthy to debate such issues. But must we degrade our culture and the Royal Family in the process. I think not. And I say that Ms Lynch is the one who has antagonised people and she should apologise for writing such filth.
Just think Ms Lynch, if you were King George V or Princess Pilolevu, how would you feel if you read such garbage about your father's funeral?
Senolita Swan
senolita_swan_3 [at] msn [dot] com
