Tongan Cosmos

Now since that Christianity is the major religion in Tonga, many of the people’s beliefs and outlook on the world is similar to that of our own and what we are very familiar with. With that said, I decided to look at the beliefs before the western settlers. Prior to the western introduction of Christianity the Tongans had a much different belief or outlook on the world. The afterlife was full of invisible entities and “pulotu”, which are animal spirits. One of the only similarities between the two beliefs is that each had a heaven and hell. Many of these spirits that were believed in by the Tongan people were evil. These evil spirits would haunt the lives of the people in the area. One very interesting fact was that only the chiefs of each village had a spirit that would pass on to the afterlife.

Though only the chiefs of each village had a spirit that goes on to the afterlife, each Tongan believes that their own village or clan had its own unique animal spirit. This animal spirit was believed to protect the village, and the people were believed to adopt many of the noble traits that their particular animal possessed. It was also considered taboo for a member of the village to eat or kill their respective animal. If they did, they believed that it brought bad luck upon them and the entire village.

Now, as stated before, Christianity and the Christian outlook on the world is dominant among the Tongan people. Many even believe that it would be disrespectful to their new Christian gods if they continue to follow their traditional religious practices. With that said, there are particular example where Tongans are able to combine the two. For example, in both cultures, sex before marriage is considered taboo, but this is extended even further in Tongan society. They also traditionally believed that they should have sex before a big hunt, which is a practice Tongans still, believe in today.