Uniquely among the nations of the Pacific Islands, Tonga was never subject to European rule at any point in its history. Since the original settlement of the islands by pottery-making, seafaring colonists about 1200 BC, Tongans have been the masters of their archipelago, developing a distinctive and elegant culture. Amid rapid modernisation, the ancient kingdom has survived, along with many of the traditional ways, giving rise to Tonga's claim that it alone offers today's tourist an authentic taste of ancient Polynesia. Ian Campbell's authoritative and readable account of Tongan history tells the entire story from first settlement to the present day. This new edition is a revision of the original 1992 book, incorporating the results of new research and with an additional chapter on the last decade.
Praise for the first edition: "Tonga is unique among bibliographies in its perception and understanding, and in its affection for Tonga and its people. . . . Daly’s work stands on exceptionally sound foundations. . . . His summaries are excellent, indeed, but Daly writes always with the authority of first-hand knowledge, with a keen eye for the essential, and the ability to interpret and clarify obscurities. . . . A trustworthy introduction to Tonga in all its diversity, a splendid point de départ for all, layman or scholar, needing a reliable guide to the essential literature about this remarkable Polynesian kingdom." —Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "The book is so arranged that it is easy to locate any of the items listed. . . . I found myself spending pleasant hours perusing Daly’s comments on the different publications.. . . I hope the rumor of a second, revised edition of this bibliography is true." —Journal of the Polynesian Society Tonga is a fascinating and subtle combination of a traditional Polynesian kingdom—the only one to survive the impact of colonization in the nineteenth century and remain independent—and a thoroughly Christian country. This comprehensive bibliography is a selective guide to the most significant and accessible English-language books, papers, and articles on every aspect of the kingdom’s history, culture, arts, politics, environment, and economy. It is a much updated and expanded edition of the original version that was published in 1999 as part of the World Bibliographical Series, with the addition of more than 200 new entries. Each of the approximately 600 described and annotated items is organized under broad subject headings, and indexed by author, title, and subject. In addition—and new to this edition—all known Ph.D. theses, although not annotated, are shown within their appropriate subject categories and indexed. Also new is a section on the most important Tonga-related websites. A general introduction describes the Tongan kingdom, its history and society, and its current situation. Tonga: A New Bibliography will be an invaluable resource for anyone with a serious interest in Tonga and an indispensable volume for academic libraries, reference collections, and policy makers focused on the Pacific islands.
Tongan art, with its elegant sculpture, headrests, body adornment, clubs, containers, tools and fibre work, has made an outstanding contribution to the culture of Oceania. In The Art of Tonga, Keith St. Cartmail's achievement is to draw together all the strands of this island kingdom's material culture into a single volume--surprisingly no other work has done this to date. The author begins by outlining the history of Tonga, then comprehensively details all aspects of Tongan art, ancient and modern. He clearly documents the significance and widespread influence of this beautiful art work through West Polynesia, and argues that despite recent neglect, and in spite of being mutilated and destroyed by missionaries, and dispersed by collectors to all corners of the earth, Tongan art is nonetheless alive and well. Authoritative and accessible, The Art of Tonga is lavishly illustrated with superb and important examples of Tongan art from throughout its history. It is essential reading for anyone with an interest in the magnificent cultures of Oceania.
Pacific Island countries suffer from alarming rates of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) and are consistently ranked as the most obese and diabetic in the world. At the centre of this NCD crisis is the underlying problem of consumption of processed imported foods; high in fat, salt and sugar, displacing nutritious local produce; crops and fish from the daily meals of Pacific people. In order to help address this problem, the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), in collaboration with MORDI Tonga Trust, the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Pacific Islands Private Sector Organisation (PIPSO), organised three activities in the Kingdom of Tonga from 3 - 6 December 2018. The integrated four-day event was held under the theme Transforming Nutrition-Sensitive Value Chain Development in the Pacific Islands within the framework of the CTA/IFAD/PIPSO Innov4AgPacific project. The overall objective of which is to “Strengthen the capacity of Pacific Island countries to develop strategies and programmes that would increase accessibility of poor rural peoples to nutritious and healthy foods”.
This book highlights the faith of the Tongan Saints from contact with our first missionaries in 1891 until the centennial commemoration held in Tonga in 1991, with an epilogue that will highlight events until the present. At that centennial commemoration, rain fell upon the Tonga Saints, and so did revelation from the mouth of Apostle Russell M. Nelson. After thanking the congregation for their "great example as Latter-day Saints," he pronounced a blessing upon the local Church members, "that from this island kingdom, faith may radiate through the entire world and affect the lives of people all over the world."
The story continues in the second book of Peter Warner's trilogy -Ocean of Light. This book covers Peter Warner's 30 years living in The Kingdom of Tonga and moving around the Pacific. It includes the famous rescue of castaways on a remote island in the Pacific and his relationship with the Royal Family. Peter also writes about building artificial islands, investigating religions and helping to establish schools. He includes the island way of operating a fleet of small freighters around the Pacific and bringing up a young family in The Kingdom of Tonga. This is an exciting yarn giving a nice insight into living and working in the Pacific.
