Tongans going to Church

Some of you have asked about the Tongan clothing, especially the woven garments. Tonga is the most conservative and modest country in the Pacific. Women always wear skirts that cover their knees, usually ankle-length. You very rarely see a Tongan woman in pants. Sleeveless garments are not acceptable.

Men nearly always wear a wrap skirt called a

Tupenu (like a Samoan lava'lava') for church, work, special occasions. Even the Stake Presidents wear them to Stake Conference with a white shirt, tie, suit jacket and leather sandles. A few LDS men wear pants, but it is rare. Even men working in the fields wear them. All the Missionaries wear them. Over the tupenu men wear a Ta'ovala everywhere they go. This is a woven waist wrap made from the dried leaf of the pandanus plant. It can take 2 or 3 months to weave one. A very fine one can take 1 to 2 years to make. These woven items are very expensive to buy.

Women also wear either a Ta'ovala over their skirt or a kiekie which is a woven belt with numerous woven strands hanging down from it. They never show their knees. Almost everyone wears black. If you are grieving from a death in the family, you wear a Ta'ovala that is twice as long and comes up to your chin.

After you have been in Tonga a few times, you are completely at ease with these garments. The men have such golden brown skin that they look very handsome in their skirts. I think the same skirt on a palangi (a white skinned foreigner) would look rediculous. This clothing is a sign of respect in the Tongan culture.