Photos by Linny Folau

The finest Tongan handicrafts were on display today at a Cultural Tourism Convention, that was opened by Princess Mele Siu’ilikutapu, at the Fa‘onelua Convention Centre.

Around 300 participants, including women's handicraft groups from Tongatapu and the outer islands of Vava’u, Ha’apai and ‘Eua, participated in the inaugural two-day event that began with a colourful float parade in central Nuku’alofa.

The Princess viewed the beautiful displays of fine woven mats, tapa cloths (ngatu), and Tongan jewelry, while models showcased Tonga’s traditional wedding attire and tau’olunga (dancing) costumes.

Monalisa Palu the National Coordinator of the Handicrafts and Cultural Program, funded by NZAid, said the aim of the convention was to bring together handicraft makers from the grassroots level and stakeholders to see how they can help develop cultural tourism, especially handicrafts in Tonga.

She said the turnout was great “shows the importance of handicrafts as a livelihood in every level of our society.”

“We hope that after this participants will walk away with a better understanding of what the current situation is in regards to the challenges, the opportunities and the marketing of handicrafts. A session for speakers will be delivered on handicrafts as a livelihood, its role in our culture with an outcome statement to be agreed upon at the end,” she said.

Also on display is a precious comb collected by Captain Cook in Tonga during the late 1700’s and loaned from the Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa.