Very early on the morning of Monday 11 September, I lay awake listening to the sound of bells chiming. At first I didn't think much of it. Bells chime early every morning in Tonga. But the bells kept ringing and I started to turn my mind to why they hadn't stopped after more than thirty minutes. The answer was obvious. The King was dead.
Over breakfast, the Radio Australia news failed to confirm my suspicions and I assumed that all the forewarnings about the King's poor health had made me jump to conclusions and went to work dressed as per normal. When I passed another AYAD wearing all black, my suspicions were raised again. At work, the news finally made it to me. The King had died the previous evening, the country was in mourning. Now to work out what that meant.
As AYADs, we have been receiving advice about what to expect following the King's passing since well before we arrived in Tonga. The scenarios have ranged from a tapu (taboo) period of a few months of mourning to a year, when we would be expected to wear black, act more conservatively than usual. Shops, bars, cinemas, hotels and airlines would close. Government shuttnig down for a significant part of the tapu had me excited, I could take another trip to Samoa.
As it turned out, and as the foreign press largely failed to report, the tapu will only be one month. I will be wearing black only until 17 October. The shops haven't closed, apart from the day of the funeral. The bars and hotels are still open, though not playing music. Life is going on as normal. This is the most remarkable part of the King's passing, the extent to which the new King has dispensed with tradition. There has been some sadness and I have been fortunate enough to attend parts of the elaborate funeral proceedings, but the part that most makes this an historical time to be in Tonga is the departure from tradition.
That aside, the ceremony of the King's funeral has been impressive. It is hard to describe, so I won't. Instead check out my photos on http://www.flickr.com/photos/zerogetsamgow
Better still read what the Tongan's have to say. The Government site http://www.tonga-now.to has more about the funeral than I can describe and the online paper http://www.matangitonga.to is equally informative.
22 September 2006
15 September 2006
palangi wanadaras
A few years ago, I was chatting to a friend about the possibility of me playing cricket. They were fairly dismissive of the idea, suggesting that it was no fun to bat at number 11 and spend all day in the field without getting a bowl. Well they were wrong. Either they, completely misjudged my skill level, or, more likely, they never thought I would get the chance to play cricket in Tonga for the Palangi Wanadaras.
Here I have had the chance to bowl, even taking a wicket, and score some runs batting as high as number six. A fair bit of this is due to the generosity of the captain and opposition bowlers and the discombobulated nature of our team, with players arriving late, that is a reflection of the whole competition.
The competition consists of twelve teams. Eleven represent villages around Tongatapu, the twelfth is the Wanadaras made up of palangis and a few Tongans who like the idea of playing for this team for some reason. Other than the over representation of white people, the Wanadaras are fairly typical of a Tongan cricket team with about half the team made up of people who know what they are doing and the other half living out dreams from the backyard of their childhood and generally having some fun.
Possibly only in Tonga would a cricket competition be so adversely affected by mourning. The cricket season started three weeks ago, after being delayed due to the funeral of the Tui Pelehake. Our second match was a funeral forfeit as somebody in the village we were due to play had passed away. Not someone from the team mind you, just the village. Of course the season is now in recess until late October following the passing of the King.
At least this way I can keep my batting average in double figures until mid way through the season (thanks to two sixes in my first innings), but it does dash my hopes of taking five wickets (for the season). After going for 15 runs off my last over, the captain might have something to say about this last ambition as well.
Here I have had the chance to bowl, even taking a wicket, and score some runs batting as high as number six. A fair bit of this is due to the generosity of the captain and opposition bowlers and the discombobulated nature of our team, with players arriving late, that is a reflection of the whole competition.
The competition consists of twelve teams. Eleven represent villages around Tongatapu, the twelfth is the Wanadaras made up of palangis and a few Tongans who like the idea of playing for this team for some reason. Other than the over representation of white people, the Wanadaras are fairly typical of a Tongan cricket team with about half the team made up of people who know what they are doing and the other half living out dreams from the backyard of their childhood and generally having some fun.
Possibly only in Tonga would a cricket competition be so adversely affected by mourning. The cricket season started three weeks ago, after being delayed due to the funeral of the Tui Pelehake. Our second match was a funeral forfeit as somebody in the village we were due to play had passed away. Not someone from the team mind you, just the village. Of course the season is now in recess until late October following the passing of the King.
At least this way I can keep my batting average in double figures until mid way through the season (thanks to two sixes in my first innings), but it does dash my hopes of taking five wickets (for the season). After going for 15 runs off my last over, the captain might have something to say about this last ambition as well.
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