Queen Mother’s “human side” seen in hymn as hundreds remember her tonight

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23/02/2017

Oku ʻi lalo he ngataʻangá ʻa e ongoongó ni he lea faka-Tongá

The Queen Mother of Tonga’s favourite hymn was revealed tonight as hundreds gathered in mourning to remember her in South Auckland.

It was the Free Wesleyan Church hymn 398 in which the lyrics were apparently written by late Dr James Egan Moulton in 1890s.

The hymn, known as “ʻOiau he ʻOfa ʻa e ʻOtua”, was sung tonight during the memorial service.

It is now performed in two different tunes, one of which was composed by Samuel Stanley (1767 – 1822), while Arthur Henry Mann (1850 – 1930) composed the other version.

The first line of the hymn tells listeners, in Tongan, about the great love God has given to all human beings.

In the first verse it says that that love “leads and follows me in front and back and on the left and right sides”.

This photo was uploaded to Facebook by Nusifaifio Vave Pahulu who says the pianist is the Queen Mother Halaevalu Mataʻaho in a performance in Britain.

The second verse refers to Jesus as he is in agony on the cross and compares him to someone without a place to live. Having that in mind, no one can explain how great Jesus “looked after me”, the hymn goes.

The third verse refers to Jesus and how he came to the world and prepared places for his people to rest.

The Queen Mother was regarded not just as a very significant royal figure, but also a very humane person that cared for and loved her people.

She was well known for her passion about providing assistance to those with disabilities.

Her willingness to establish a facility in Tonga for people with disabilities in the early 1980s saw the Ālonga Centre became the largest charity organisation to provide assistance to Tongans suffering from the effects of blindness, disfigurement, paralysis and mental disorders.

The Queen Mother’s initiative allowed Tongans with disabilities to receive special treatment in the kingdom from staff who were employed to look after patients 24 hours a day. A great deal of financial assistance for the programme was sourced from overseas donors.

The two-hour service this evening was attended by Princess Pilolevu Tuita, Princess Lātūfuipeka Angelika Mataʻaho Tukuʻaho, Hon. Sālote Maumautaimi Tukuʻaho as well as the royals’ immediate family.

The Queen’s coffin is currently resting at ‘Atalanga until next week when it will be flown back to Tonga.

Queen Mata’aho was a pianist and was very passionate about religious music.

Mourners were welcomed to the church by the Free Wesleyan Church president Dr ‘Ahio.

He asked that the people of Tonga pray for the royals at this time of sorrow.

About the hymn:

Dr Moulton, an English-born Missionary, composed hundreds of hymns during his time in Tonga.

When creating new hymns he would either translate the original lyrics from English to Tongan, or he would couple borrowed English music together with Tongan lyrics of his own creation

It was not immediately clear how Dr Moulton composed the 398 hymn and why.

Police investigate “confidential” letter to China said to be written by Tongan PM

By

Kaniva Staff

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23/02/2017

Local police are now investigating a controversial letter published online which had allegedly linked Prime Minister ‘Akilisi Pohiva to Chinese authority, amid strong denial from Chinese embassy and the Prime Minister’s Office.

This has been confirmed this afternoon in a statement from the Police Commissioner Steve Caldwald who said ““The matter is an issue of national security and I have directed that this matter be given urgent priority”.

Caldwald said an official complaint was received from the Office of the Prime Minister of Tonga on Tuesday 21 February 2017, concerning a „Letter‟ that was attributed to the Hon. Prime Minister circulated via the Nepituno Tonga Online News Website.

“As the matter is now under Investigation, no further information will be released at this point in time”, he said.

As Kaniva reported earlier this week, the Chinese Embassy in Tonga has described a letter purporting to be from Prime Minister ’Akilisi Pohiva as “groundless and not true.”

And the Prime Minister’s office said the letter was clearly intended to denigrate the Prime Minister while he was facing a vote of no confidence motion that has been tabled in parliament.

The document was posted to Facebook and widely shared online and was published on the Nepituno website this afternoon.

Nepituno editor Dr Viliami Latu said he was handed the original letter from a “very reliable source” before he photocopied it and published.

He said the letter was “authentic” and he sought advice from a legal adviser before their publication.

He said he received a number of contacts after he published the letter and he was not the only one who received the letter including leading figures in the community.

The documented, dated January 9, purports to have been written by Prime Minister ʻAkilisi Pohiva to the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China.

A spokesperson for the Chinese embassy, Wang Xuejun, said the embassy had never received such a letter.

“We suspect that the letter is fabricated because there is no such an institution like Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China, and the Prime Minster of Tonga never visited Beijing.”

The letter

The document published by Nepituno reads:

“Thank you for the warm welcome in Beijing. l am writing this to you to accentuate the important parts from the discussions that we had in China. There is a big problem in Tonga that is preventing us from transitioning into a democracy. Religion and its institutions are halting our country’s progress.

The church has too much power and the people are too religious as a result. They listen to the church, the King and the monarchy, who are the “protectors” of the church. They hold on to outdated beliefs that only serve to hurt Tonga.

We have to create a plan to decrease the influence of religion. I cannot say this publicly, because the people and my constituents would tum against me. I am writing this to formulate a confidential 2-3 year plan with the goal of secularizing the country and eventually removing all power from the monarchy.

We must at the very least institute plans to erase all religious teachings in school, allow businesses to open on Sunday and crack down on religious leaders in the country. If we can accomplish this, then I have no doubt that we can transition into a fully democratic Tonga. We must also remove the nobility from power, as they only serve to increase the influence of the King.

Suffice to day, that this letter is to be treated with the utmost secrecy because we all know what is at stake here. I also would like to confirm from our previous talks your help with scheduling treatment for my medical condition.”

The Prime Minister’s office said the Prime Minister had travelled to Singapore in January, but not continued to china as originally planned.

The Prime Minister did not write the letter and the document published by Nepituno was fabricated, it said.

Fake news?

Has the curse of ‘fake news’ come to Tonga?

The document purporting to be from Hon. Pohiva is a strange piece of work.

It appears to be a clumsy and deliberate attempt to stir up resentment of the Chinese, insinuate that the Prime Minister is anti-religious and opposed to the monarchy.

It uses American spelling and phrases like “transition to democracy” that appear to have been borrowed from somebody else. In short, it simply doesn’t sound like the Prime Minister.

This totally contradicts the Prime Minister’s public statement on the role of the monarchy in Tonga’s new democratic society and his government’s demonstrable sensitivity to the opinion of the country’s religious leaders.

It is also written by somebody who thinks there is only one church in the kingdom – presumably their own.

The really questionable aspect is the throw-away reference to “my medical condition” at the end, as if the author wanted to throw in everything he could to stir up antipathy to Hon. Pohiva. Surely if the Prime Minister was ill, he would specify whatever ailed him.

If this is fake news, then the next task for the media is to find out who wrote it and why.

First public memorial service as Queen Mother’s body moved to ‘Atalanga

By

Kalino Latu

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22/02/2017

The Tongan community will honour Queen Mother Halaevalu Mataʻaho in south Auckland tomorrow Thursday 23.

The first public memorial service will be held at the Tuingapapai church in Mangere at 6pm.

The service was formally announced last night during a meeting with the Tongan community conducted by Princess Latufuipeka.

It is understood the Queen Mother’s body would be taken from the Fountains Funerals and Monuments in Papakura to the ‘Atalanga Royal residence in Epsom, Auckland tomorrow morning at 11am.

Tomorrow’s memorial service will mark the beginning of a five-day evening service that will be held until Monday before Her body will be flown back home to Tonga on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, a nationwide clean up for the royal funeral began in Tonga today in Nukuʻalofa.

The Queen Mother married her husband, the late king Tāufaʻāhau Tupou IV on June 10, 1947. Taufa’āhau Tupou IV died in 2006.

They had four children. The Late King George V, Princess Salote Mafile’o Pilolevu Tuita, Late Lord Maʻatu and King Tupou VI.

Queen Mataʻaho became the Queen of Tonga from 1965 – 2006 and since 2006 she became the Queen Mother of the kingdom.

Power restored to Neiafu as strong wind warning remains in force

By

Kaniva Staff

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22/02/2017

Power has been restored to Neiafu, but outages remain in some areas after strong winds hit the groups this morning.

Deputy Prime Minister Siaosi Sovaleni said on Facebook the power had “been turned off as trees are falling on lines and also precautionary measures (especially) about safety”.

Our correspondence in Vavaʻu said breadfruit trees had been toppled and badly affected.

She said the winds appeared to be eased off this afternoon.

Met Service said this afternoon at 1pm a strong wind warning remains in force for Vava’u and the Niuas land areas but was cancelled for the rest of Tonga land areas.

It said a heavy rain warning remains in force for Vavau and the Niuas.

A flash flood warning remains in force for Niuas and Vavaʻu.

Tributes to Queen mother must be correctly worded to avoid discourtesy to Their Majesties

By

Kalino Latu

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22/02/2017

ʻOku fakamatalaʻi atu ʻi lalo e ongoongó ni ʻi he lea faka-Tongá

Tributes to mark the Queen Mother’s death should use correct Tongan metaphorical expressions to avoid any disrespect to Their Majesties and the deceased, Rev. Dr Mohenoa Puloka has warned.

Dr Puloka said Their Majesties the King and Queen of Tonga were still alive and the wording of tributes to the Queen Mother, whose death was reported on Sunday, should not make the public into thinking the condolences were meant for Their Majesties.

“Fakafeta’i ‘Eiki, ‘oku kei Tonga pe ‘a Tonga, kei huhulu e Huelo’i La’a Koula, he ‘oku kei lakoifie Tamasi’i Tu’i, Tupou V1…”, Dr Puloka said in Tongan.

(Translated: “Thanks be to God Tonga is still Tonga, the golden rays of the sun still shine as His Majesty the King Child is still alive and healthy…”)

Dr Puloka referred to the form of Tongan respect in which the king and the royals were mentioned using the zodiacal system instead of calling them by their birth names.

Traditionally and according to Tongan poets, the king is referred to as the sun, the queen as the moon and their children were referred to with the rest of the planets.

Since the death of the Queen Mother, Halaevalu Mata’aho, many tributes have referred to Her passing on social media using the phrase “Kuo to e laʻā ʻo Tonga” (Translated: The Sun of Tonga is set).

Some tributes have said: “Kuo pulonga e māhiná”. (Translated: The Moon is dark or invisible.)

These were normal references to the royals in times of death, but they were wrongly applied to the deceased Queen Mother.

Dr Puloka said it was more respectable to leave the “cosmological moon” to be used to refer only to Her Majesty Queen Nanasipauʻu.

Dr Puloka said there were special metaphorical expressions to be used for the Queen Mother.

“Ka ‘oku kehe ange naunau ‘o e Kuini Fehuhu”, he said (Translated: But the Queen Mother’s entitlement was especially exceptional.”

He said the Queen Mother could be referred to with certain kakala ʻeiki (honorary garlands with significantly fragrant flowers) such as Ve’eve’e Heilala Tatakamotonga (kakala ‘o Tungi Mailefihi), Pa’angahea, Papaifa, Faka’ofilani, Faka’otusia, Nusi Palataha, Fakamatamoana, Faka-loto-Mu’a, Heilala fakavahamapa and fakavainiaku’aki e mapo’i hingano mei Tau-‘a Tonga.

Dr Puloka, who is also a member of the Takalaua lineage, made the comments after some warnings had been made on social media for commoners to stop the fiematamu’a or being impertinent and using the Queen Mother’s photos as their profile image on Facebook.

Those who supported the idea agreed and said commoners should know their limits when it comes to royal matters.

However, some said she was the Queen Mother of Tonga and there was no disrespect at all when using her photos as their profile image.

The main points

Tributes to mark the Queen Mother’s death should use correct Tongan metaphorical expressions to avoid any disrespect to Their Majesties and the deceased, Rev. Dr Mohenoa Puloka has warned.

Dr Puloka said Their Majesties the King and Queen of Tonga were still alive and the wording of tributes to the Queen Mother should not make the public into thinking the condolences were meant for Their Majesties.

“Fakafeta’i ‘Eiki, ‘oku kei Tonga pe ‘a Tonga, kei huhulu e Huelo’i La’a Koula, he ‘oku kei lakoifie Tamasi’i Tu’i, Tupou V1…”, Dr Puloka said in Tongan.

(Translated: “Thanks be to God Tonga is still Tonga, the golden rays of the sun still shine as His Majesty the King Child is still alive and healthy…”)

Date error could make No Confidence motion unlawful as the House allow PM to respond

By

Kalino Latu

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21/02/2017

Oku ʻi lalo heni ʻa e ongoongó ni ʻi he lea faka-Tongá

The Tongan Parliament was told yesterday the Vote of No Confidence Motion could be void if they would not correct an error on a date written on the motion.

The date was written by Lord Tu’ilakepa when he signed as part of the 10 signatories required by the law to submit the Vote of No Confidence motion.

The noble wrote the date and it could be interpreted as it was either 31.09.2017 or 31.07.2017.

The Minister of Police spotted the numerical blunder and told the House the motion would be unlawful if they would not correct it.

The Speaker told MPs to correct the mistake and let the Lord Tu’ilakepa put his initial on it.

The Speaker said that although the Parliament has no policy which allowed the Prime Minister to provide a response to the accusation against him, Hon Pohiva was given an opportunity.

The Prime Minister said he would provide his response today Tuesday 21.

The motion was tabled in parliament by Lord Tu’iha’angana yesterday, one of seven Nobles’ Representatives who signed it.

Six other nobles were Lord Tuʻilakepa, Lord Vaea, Lord Tuʻiʻāfitu, Lord Nuku, Lord Tuʻihaʻateiho and Lord Fusituʻa.

Three independent MPs who signed the motion were Deputy Prime Minister Samiu Vaipulu, Vili Hingano and Fe’ao Vakata who Mr Pohiva sacked for misconduct last year.

According to the motion the Prime Minister was accused of nepotism by hiring his son Po’oi Pohiva as his personal assistant and is being blamed for putting people into a number of high ranking government positions without going through due process.

Hon Pohiva was also accused of trying to interfere with the king’s power and to remove the Acting Attorney General.

He was also accused for his attempt to dismiss the CEO of the Pacific Games Organising Committee but it was quashed by the court.

The Prime Minister’s part in defending his former Cabinet Minister who was found guilty of bribery charges was part of the claims laid out in the motion.

He was also accused for damaging relations between Tonga and Indonesia with his comments supporting the struggle for West Papuan independence.

Queen Mother’s body returns home to Tonga

By

Kalino Latu

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21/02/2017

The body of Tongan Queen Mother Halaevalu Mata’aho is expected to arrive back in Tonga on Tuesday next week.

The Queen Mother died in Auckland at 10:15 pm on Sunday, 19 February after an illness.

Crown Prince Tupouto’a ‘Ulukalala made the announcement this afternoon and it was broadcasted nationwide in Tonga.

He said the Queen Mother will be taken to the Nuku’alofa Royal Palace when her body will arrive in the kingdom.

Prince Tupouto’a said the royal family will observe the cultural taboo for only 10 days.

She would be laid to rest at the Mala’ekula Royal Tombs on Wednesday morning, March 1, the Crown Prince said.

HM King Tupou VI had returned to Tongatapu this afternoon from Niuatoputapu.

Chinese embassy, PM’s office, call online letter attributed to Pohiva ‘fabricated’

By

Philip Cass

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20/02/2017

ʻOku ʻi lalo heni ʻa e ongoongó ni ʻi he lea faka-Tongá

The Chinese Embassy in Tonga has described a letter purporting to be from Prime Minister ’Akilisi Pohiva as “groundless and not true.”