King Tupou IV's casket leaves the Royal Palace. Nuku'alofa, 19 September 2006.

Photographs by Pesi Fonua, Linny Folau, Peter Poulsen and Adrienne L. Kaeppler.

The funeral of Tonga's King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, the first of a Tongan monarch in 41 years, today presented to the world a vivid picture of Tonga in the first decade of the 21st century.

The new King, George Tupou V, in full uniform as the Chief in Command of the Tonga Defence Service, with his soldiers, was in full command of the dignified funeral service, with civilians uniformly clad in black carrying out all the religious and cultural activities.



At midday His Late Majesty King Tupou IV was carried from the Royal Palace, his casket on a catafalque that floated on a sea of black shoulders as 1000 pallbearers, men wearing traditional funeral dress, took turns beneath the 700 kilos bier. Led by the Tonga Defence Services and their combined Police brass bands they slowly marched along the tapa-covered Hala Tui, with the bowed heads of the girls of Queen Salote College lining the road that leads to the Royal Tombs, Mala'ekula.



The Royal Palace in Nuku‘alofa today. Nuku‘alofa. 19 September 2006.

The old world mixed with the new as the traditionally dressed Ha'atufunga or royal undertakers, sat cross-legged and dominant on Mala'ekula, waiting to receive the casket on the Mo'unga - a place that was tapu even to the Christian priests and ministers who gathered below them to conduct the service in the Tongan language. Wreath bearers approached only to the base of the Mo'unga and handed over their wreaths to the Ha'atufunga to place on the king's tomb.

A crowd of about 10,000 sat quietly at Mala'ekula throughout the elegant four hour ceremony, while thousands more Tongans at home tuned into to the live broadcasts on local television and radio. It was also broadcast live on Television New Zealand, which provided live feeds to other television stations in the region.



Also attending the funeral were the Crown Prince of Japan, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, the Maori King, the Governor Generals of Australia, New Zealand, and the Solomon Islands, the President of Vanuatu, the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Fiji, and representatives from the Russian Federation, the Ambassador of USA to Tonga, and a representative from the Holy See, and a special envoy from the People's Republic of China. There were also representatives from throughout the region, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, American Samoa, Tokelau, Cook Islands and Niue.



After the six days and six nights that the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV lay in state, the burial will be followed by a period of reflection for Tongans, who are currently in a state of political, social and economic reform.

The funeral showed that Tonga's new king likes his kingdom to be run with the efficiency of a military mechanism.