Tongan Update, 08 Aug 2008, Recap of Coronation
Thanks to all of you who have submitted your votes! All lines will be closed in 24 hours. The voting is close, and has all the Tongans on edge. The missionaries are nervous and filled with suspense. His Majesty King George Tupou V awaits the announcement of the final results and is preparing to knight the winner. What event will it be?
Now for a recap.
Prior to the coronation of His Majesty King George Tupou V, there were two weeks of festivities.
1. First we noticed the “doors” being assembled along the main road that passes through most of the villages of Tonga. “Doors” are bridges or arches that extend from one side of the road to the other.
Some were primitively made out of log poles; others were high-tech made of metal scaffolding.
Many of the “doors” were strung with lights, balloons, and palm branches. All of them had words of congratulations to the king: Happy Coronation, Long Live Your Majesty, In Celebration of Coronation of King George V, etc. There were about ten lighted “doors” erected in downtown Nuku’alofa. It felt like the Christmas holidays (at home) to us as we would drive under all these arches.
2. In town two stages were set up—one smaller for daily afternoon performances and a larger one with a huge sound system and back drop for the evening action.
Traditional dances and songs,
the hip hop competition, the Miss Heilala Beauty Contest,
band concerts, contemporary dances and action songs,
skits, and other forms of entertainment could be watched both day and night.
3. The Float Parade was fun. There were high school bands marching
and dancing down the street with mostly beauty queens on decorated flat-bed trucks intermixed between the bands.
The floats were made of items that were available to the Tongans. They were having a great time.
4. Australia, New Zealand, and the United States docked their military ships in the harbor. It was an impressive sight to see those big destroyers
out there acknowledging their country’s support for the new king.
5. The bands of all three countries plus the Tongan military band provided the music for the formal Tongan military parade.
When we arrived, we were escorted to a tent where dignitaries sat.
After sitting for a few minutes, we decided that we were out of place with all these people who were dressed for the festive occasion so we left and walked to the other end of the field. We sat with the commoners, but we had front row seats. The military men marched with exactness stopping to raise their guns to salute the king who was watching with the elite invited guests who were dressed in formal wear (Coat-tails and high hats for the men, and fancy dresses and hats for the women). The military band did a slow paced march that was so impressive.
With each step the leg stretched forward, the toe touched the ground first, then the body moved forward, then they did a fast-step march to the delight of all. The king then got in his open-air jeep and rode around the parade grounds inspecting the troops and saluting them.
6. We saw advertisements for the Royal Rumble Boxing matches and a comedy team called the Laughing Samoans, but did not attend these events.7. They dropped truck-loads of sand onto an empty cement pad in downtown Nuku’alofa, set up a net, and various village teams challenged each other in volleyball.
8. One night, an area in the downtown Nuku’alofa was blocked off. It was called “Cultural Night,” and it was something like our New Year’s Eve First Night in the states. There were mini-villages set up representing Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Samoa, the Philippines, and Germany. They had displays, food, and entertainment at each village.
9. The Royal Luncheon and Royal Ball were attended by invitation only.
10. The royal parade, with bands from almost every school, provided a festive atmosphere, particularly when the King drove by.
Wow! What a couple of weeks! I’m sure there were a lot of other activities going on; this is a list of the main ones we heard about. Some we attended, and others we did not. During all these activities, we continued to do our missionary work in the office and did our marathon days with President McMurray in Vava’u by helping out with a missionary Zone Conference and Fireside, boat training, and house inspections.
LONG LIVE THE KING! LONG LIVE THE MISSIONARIES! ‘Ofa ‘atu, John and Diane
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