Kolonga

Kolonga is the largest village along the northcoast of Tongatapu in the Hahake (Tongatapu) district, in the kingdom of Tonga. It may have gotten its name from having been a collection of huts (see below). Its poetical nickname is okinaUtu longoaokinaa ("noisy shore"), referring to the waves always hitting on the rocky shores.

The word "kolonga" also occurs in the following Tongan proverb: Ala-i-sia-ala-i-kolonga or translated as "Skillful at the mound, skillful in the hut".

This indigenous proverb derived its meaning from the pigeon trappers’ practice of "heu lupe" or the snaring of pigeons. The mound on which the pigeons were trapped was called the "sia", and the (temporary) huts where the hunters stayed and the captured pigeons were stored, the "kolonga". Thus, the proverb, which in normal spelling should be written as: Ala okinai sia, Ala okinai kolonga, was phrased to honour the trapper who was not only skillful in snaring the pigeons but also skillful at storing them at the same time. Later, this proverb became applicable to individuals that have the ability to successfully function in multiple contexts, a trait kept in high esteem by early Tongans. Furthermore, it captured an element of the wisdom that was known to the early Tongans. That is, humans have a better chance of surviving if they are adaptable, skillful and functional in more than one environment.

References

*Tuokinaisoso; Tohi palovepi (Tohi Paloveape)
*okinaO. Māhina; Reed book of Tongan proverbs; 2004; ISBN 978-0-7900-0963-6