From Matangi Tonga Magazine Vol. 14, no. 2, May 1999.

By Pesi Fonua.

The recent funeral of Tonga’s respected former Prime Minister HRH Prince Fatafehi Tu‘ipelehake, brought the country to a standstill for ten days. The occasion, however, reminded us again that Tonga is run by two sets of interwoven political orders, one so old that it has its origins in a mythical heaven, and the other so relatively new that it has not yet replaced the old.

Considering that Tonga is experiencing an economic recession, the closing down of night clubs and curbing of entertainment in hotels and restaurants for ten days was, no doubt, a nightmare for some of Tonga’s struggling tourism businesses. More frustrating was the fact that it was difficult to find any of the top echelon of government ministries in their offices during those ten days, because they were involved one way or the other in ceremonials attendant to the funeral.

The old order was first proclaimed by the sky god Tangaloa ‘Eitumatupu‘a about 1200 BC, when he sent his son ‘Aho‘eitu back from heaven to be the first Tu‘i Tonga. Accompanying him were ‘Aho‘eitu’s five brothers who were to be his attendants. These young people were supposed to have climbed down a casuarina tree from the sky in order to rule over Tonga.

Under the old order the King at the apex is supported by the Hou‘eiki (now called nobles), the Matapules (talking chiefs), and the Ha‘as (clans). During the past 3,000 years this evolving system of government has linked us all together under the leadership of HM Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV–and every Tongan knows exactly where he or she fits in under this order.

On the other hand, a new political order came into being following the proclamation by Tupou I of the Constitution and a Constitutional Monarchy in 1875. The structure of this new order has the King in Privy Council at the top, and there is a Cabinet, a Judiciary and a Parliament.

During our daily lives, we are more familiar with the influence and the power of the new order. But during Prince Fatafehi Tu‘ipelehake’s funeral we saw the power of the old order when the Hou‘eiki, the Matapules and the Ha‘as asserted their influence and stopped what they considered to be undesirable activities in the community as they mourned the death of one of their most chiefly title holders. Tu‘ipelehake’s honorific title ‘Eiki Ha‘ele and Tu‘i Fale Ua can be traced right back to the first Tu‘i Tonga ‘Aho‘eitu and his five brothers.

When Tupou I set out to establish a modern state, he accepted Christianity, established schools, gave the people land and freed them from the rule of tyrant chiefs.

Eerily, the Hou‘eiki and the Matapules emerged to take control of all the events and procedures during the funeral. At times, there were a few clashes as top public servants tried to lead in situations where Matapules asserted that they were the only people who had the right to give directions.

The question remains to be answered: can the two orders co-exist as they appear to have been doing on the surface during the past 124 years, or shall we let go of one and keep the other?