the sounds of tonga

Unfortunately, my match on Saturday never eventuated. The Kolofo'ou team arrived half-an-hour late and had to forfeit. It was a bit disappointing to have ridden all that way and not play, but given it was a grey, rainy day I wouldn't have been doing much other than soccer.

As it was, I did get to watch a couple of games whilst I was out at Veitongo. The most entertaining was a junior match where the muddy conditions did little to disrupt the spirit of the players.. About a third of the players didn't have boots and were running, or more accurately sliding, around in socks. There was also a pair of innovative kids, one with the left boot and the other with the right. To add to the absurdity, the game began with one team conceding three goals in quick succession, before settling into a muddy midfield scramble only to come back in the dying minutes and score three goals also. Not world cup quality, but great viewing.

Given I don't have much to report about from my soccer non-match, I though I would move on to the next of my planned insights into Tonga. This week, the sounds of Tonga.

The overwhelming sound of Tonga is UB40. Yes, the Birmingham bred reggae band - that most of us have avoided listening to since their hit about that very unreggae topic of alcoholism in the 80s - are huge in Tonga. UB40 toured here in March shortly before I arrived. If they weren't popular beforehand, they certainly are now. There are probably a few people looking forward to the next major touring artist to take the place of UB40 on the airwaves. It would be impossible to go a day without hearing UB40. In supermarkets, workplaces, restaurants and emanating from peoples cars and homes UB40 is being played continuously somewhere in the Kingdom - except on Sundays.

Tonga's love of reggae is not limited to just UB40. I have heard plenty of Bob Marley as well as a cover of Every breath you take with more of a reggae feel than The Police ever intended. The cover band at our most frequented haunt is gauranteed to play this song, something by UB40, Queen and - recognising their location below the equator - Men at Work's Land Down Under all infused with an extra dose of reggae.

I hope to record some of the more improbable reggae covers and place the recordings on my flickr site for your listening pleasure.

During the day reggae competes with the sounds of Tongan culture - tapa mallets and church bells.

Tapa is the traditional tongan cloth that featured as the photo of the week with my last post. To produce the cloth, Tongan women pound the bark of the mulberrry tree from 5 cm wide strips into a thin cloth about 20 cm wide. The rhythm of this pounding can be heard over most of the island during daylight hours. Sometimes this is quite therapeutic, at others it is headache inducing.

On Sundays, church bells ring out from before 5am calling people to mass. They continue on every hour or so through to the mid-afternoon or early evening. In between, the sound of hymns drifts gently across the island. I think the church nearest my house is at least 500 metres away, but the singing carries quite clearly over that distance. There might be a church nearer to me that I haven't noticed yet. This is very possible as there are churches everywhere.

The last major family of sounds in Tonga come from animals. Every Tongan seems to own their share of dogs, puaka (pigs) and chickens. Even in downtown Nuku'alofa pigs and chickens aren't too far away.

Pigs in Tonga are like cows in India. They are everywhere and treated as sacred. If you run a pig over whilst driving, then you have to pay for not only that pig, but all its potential offspring as well. Pigs aren't too noisy, but they can certainly keep me awake sniffing around in the dirt if I forget to shut the gate at night.

In the early hours, the neighbourhood roosters compete with the church bells to wake us up. I always thought that roosters crowed at dawn. Tongan roosters must be able to see over the horizon, because the sun is rarely up when they start making a racket.

Dogs in Tonga aren't too keen on people. Rightly so, they are treated appallingly. We were told on arrival that having a dog would be good security, and to have a dog all we needed to do was feed one. Haven't taken to feeding any dogs, their barking is incessant and vicious. They go bark for crow with the roosters. Alongside Tongan drivers, dogs rate as the greatest danger whilst out cycling. Ahead of potholes even.

Finally, my photo of the week that accompanied my last post was nicked by the Tonga Visitors Bureau to promote a forthcoming cultural festival. I will have to find out about the royalties I am due.