The recent eruption of the Tonga volcano has made it known that there is such a country in the world.
Where is Tonga
Tonga is a group of island nations in the South Pacific, consisting of more than 170 islands, although there are many islands, but the area is very small, the total territory is only 747 square kilometers, not as large as China's Hong Kong.
The main island, Tongatapu Island, covers an area of 259 square kilometers, is the largest island in Tonga, more than 70% of the population lives on Tongatabe Island, the island's Capital of Tonga Nuku'alofa is the world's first city to welcome a new day, also known as the world's first country to rise the sun.
To the south of Tonga is New Zealand, to the west is Australia, and the nearest neighbor is Fiji, which is only 650 kilometers away.
The local rainforest climate is often rainy, so the local fishery and forest resources are very rich.
Located in the Pacific Rim volcanic seismic belt, this apocalyptic volcanic eruption occurred in Tonga.
Origins of the Tongan people
Tonga has a small population, just over 100,000 according to 2020 data, not even as large as some of China's county towns.
Most of the locals are of Polynesian ethnicity, and 3,000 years ago, polynesians found the island of Tonga and settled here.
Tall and strong, with a dark bronze complexion, a high face, deep eye sockets, protruding nosebones, and a lush beard, they look a bit like the mixed Race of Asia and Europe, with some Mongolian characteristics.
Due to his proficiency in making pottery, the Lapita culture was formed. It mainly produces sand-filled pottery with patterns, such as open pots, flat plates, bowls, hemispherical pots, etc.
In terms of life, they mainly live by fishing and hunting and collecting aquatic shellfish, raising chickens, pigs and other livestock, and agriculturally planting bananas, wild potatoes, breadfruit and other fruit trees.
In modern society, Tonga's economy is mainly driven by fishing, tourism and international aid.
The ruling class, the Tawfahau family
Between 1799 and 1852, the three Families of Tonga competed for dominion, culminating in war. In the end, George Tawfachau of the Taufa Ahao family won the victory and crowned himself as George Tupou I.
The rule of the Taufa Ahao family continues to this day, and it is now Tupou VI.
Tonga is the only Pacific island country to have an absolute monarchy, with the King as head of state and the Constitution consisting of the Tonga Constitution Act of 1967 and the Tonga Act of 1970.
There is a strict hierarchy in the country, divided into three classes: royal, aristocratic and commoner, and the royal family rules the country through 33 hereditary nobles.
"Fat country", fat is beautiful
In terms of aesthetics, the Tongans and our Chinese are still very different, they take fat as beauty, and have the reputation of "fat country".
Why?
The first point is the conceptual guidance of the ruling class. According to Tonga's custom, every year the common people were to pay tribute to the nobles for good food, and the nobles chose the best of them to offer to the king. Therefore, the kings of Tonga were able to eat the best food in the country, and their bodies were extremely fat, and over time, Tonga became a kingdom with its own unique customs and the beauty of obesity.
From the perspective of people's living habits, they eat foods with very high carbohydrate content every day, such as sweet potatoes, taro, potatoes, coconuts, pork, bananas, etc., and the cooking method is mostly fried, so the locals are generally obese.
In their conception, the fullness of the body represents the blessed appearance, and in turn, the thin body will appear malnourished, but will be inferior.
Some slender women even wrap cloth belts around their waists to modify their "defects" of not being fat enough.
Today, Tonga has one of the highest per capita obesity rates in the world, with an average weight of more than 90 kilograms for adult men and more than 73 kilograms for women, and the former King Tupu IV weighed 209.5 kilograms, which is recorded by the Guinness Book of World Records as the fattest king in the world.
All year round, only skirts are worn
Located near the equator, Tonga has a tropical rainforest climate, and due to the hot weather, summer clothing has become a must-have for locals throughout the year.
In the local area, men and women, young and old, everyone wears no pants, only skirts.
Wearing a skirt on the one hand ventilated and heat dissipated, more comfortable, on the other hand, it can adapt well to the huge physique of the locals.
Every major festival, everyone will also dress up, the so-called dress, in fact, the local people made of tree bark dress. They peeled off the bark of the fig tree, soaked it in water, beat it repeatedly, and then dyeed it to make the famous "kapabu".
The cloth is as thin as a cicada wing and sells for a very high price, with a 20-meter "capabu" selling for nearly $1,000.
In addition, there is also a local saying that "noble people wear torn skirts". The higher the status of the person, the more worn the grass skirt will be, because the old, historical clothes will look more solemn. It is said that when TupOU III greeted the Queen of England, he wore a grass skirt that was 500 years old, and this dress is still an heirloom of the royal family.
polygyny
Tonga is polygamous and allows a man to marry two wives, but the two must know each other, and Tonga's law does not allow strangers of grand wives to marry their own husbands.
If a local man wants to marry a second wife, the person must be selected by the eldest wife, but the range of choices is limited, mainly the women who know the eldest wife, such as girlfriends, relatives, and friends.
Under normal circumstances, the eldest wife will choose her sisters and relatives to marry a husband, which is also considered to be blessed to share, the fat water does not flow to the fields of outsiders, and the family's property will not be robbed by outsiders.
However, it is not easy to marry two wives, it is inseparable from a certain economic foundation, and it is not bad to marry a wife if many family conditions are not good.