Photos by Pesi Fonua and Linny Folau

Story by Pesi Fonua

The burial of the Prince Tu'ipelehake and Princess Kaimana at Lapaha's ancient tombs this afternoon, July 21, revitalised a kingship link with the ancient dynasty of the Tu'i Tonga.

Following the funeral service at the Free Wesleyan Centenary Church at 12.30 today, the caskets of the Prince and the Princess were transferred to the village of Lapaha. There they were placed on a Catafalque and carried by about 400 strong men to the Langi Na Moala.

Today was the first time that members of the modern Tongan Royal Family have ever been buried at the 'Otu Langi, the burial place of the Tu'i Tonga Dynasty whose rule from about 950 AD was known as the Classical Period of Tongan History. In ancient times the Tu'i Tonga were regarded as demi-gods, and their burial grounds have been held sacred and taboo by Tongans for centuries.

The burial ceremony today was not an attempt to re-enact an ancient funeral ritual, but rather to revitalise a kingship link.

Today's burial was a Christian ceremony, even though the presence was still required of the Nima Tapu, a group of men whose traditional responsibility is to make sure that Prince and the Princess will have a comfortable journey to Pulotu, the abode of the dead.

The setting was picturesque, with the Queen, and the Prince Regent, other members of the Royal Ramily and foreign dignitaries seated on top of an adjacent Langi, the Paepae 'o Tele'a, while the two separate graves for the Prince and the Princess were built on the adjacent Langi Na Moala.