World of the Tongans

Tongans are considered to be some of the most easy-going people in the world. They are always relaxed and are known for their size, as well as their positive personalities and hospitality. There main practiced religion is Christianity, which was adopted from the western settlers. This results in many of their religious practices being similar to what we have become familiar with. Family is very important in the Tongan Culture. The family units are very close, and each person in the family has their own specific set of jobs and skills and each has their own level of respect, depending of age and gender. The land and home of the family is patriarchal, or in other words, the land is passed down from the father to the eldest son in the family, even though in their strictly adhered to ranking system, the women are always ranked higher than the males, no matter what their age is.

The jobs that Tongans perform in their daily routine are very similar to what one may expect. Men in this culture work the fields, harvest foods, and perform manual labor. Tongan men even cook the meals, because much of the time, the meals are cooked in an “earth oven”, which basically consists of a pit in the ground and large hot rocks. These rocks are hard for the women to handle to therefore; the job of cooking usually rests on the shoulders of the males. The women typically clean, both the home and the laundry, but mainly, their focus is to take on almost the entire responsibility of raising a child.

Though many Tongans live a much simpler life than what we may be accustomed to, as they are working independently to produce and gather enough food and resources to get by, they do partake in some activities that may not be as pertinent as some of their other jobs. For example, the Tongan men are known for their carpentry skills. In early times, these skills were used to create weapons and canoes, and other religious idols. These skills have now been utilized to make more modern day amenities for their people. Women of this culture are expert weavers. They create many different types of mats and weaves that are worn by the Tongans to display a certain level of strength or wealth within the community.