Tongans

ethnic group
group=Tongans


poptime=
popplace=Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, United States
rels=countless Christian sects
langs=Tongan, English
related=other Polynesian peoples

Tongans make up the vast majority of the inhabitants of Tonga. They are a Polynesian ethnic group with little mixture of Melanesian and European.

The Tongan People

see Tonga and Demographics of Tonga

The Tongan Language

see Tongan language.

Sports & Recreation

see Culture of Tonga

ome children games

All of these, except the hiko, are modern introductions.

Hiko :

Hiko is a juggling and dancing game. You can choose almost anything to juggle like fruit or tennis balls. You compete with others for how long you can juggle or who can juggle the most objects. You can also juggle with other people. It is rare, however, to find people nowadays who can do it.

Pani :

Two teams play this game with about 10 or so empty tins and tennis balls. One team builds a tower with the tins. Once it is built the opposing team has to throw the tennis balls and knock it down. If you get hit by a ball you're out. If the building team rebuilds the tins into the same shape they have to count aloud to 10 then shout 'pani.' A team gets one point each time they shout 'pani'.

Lanita :

Two teams play this game with a soft ball and two bases. The batter throws the ball into the air and hits it with the hand. If the ball is caught on the full then the batter is out. If not the batter runs between the bases until the fielding team throws the ball & hits the running batter. Each time the batter touches a base it is a run. Each time a batter is out, teams change from batter to fielder.