Langi (burial)

Muʻa is a small town in the Hahake (eastern) district on the island of Tongatapu, and it was for centuries the ancient capital of Tonga. It is divided in the villages Lapaha and Tatakamotonga, is close to Talasiu and famous for the ancient langi (royal burial tombs).

Muʻa is situated along the eastern side of the lagoon of Tongatapu. Except for a 50-to-200-metre-wide (160 to 660 ft) zone along the shore which is low-lying mud (now largely landfilled with stones), the remainder of the village is on high-lying red volcanic soil of high fertility.

Lapaha is also the home of the Tu'itonga Empire. Lapaha is also the first capital of Tonga before the Tu'i Kanokupolu move it to Nukualofa.

According to the 1996 census there were 3900 people living Muʻa, a number expected to rise to 4900 if confirmed by the November 2006 census.

Most people of Lapaha are Roman Catholic, while Tatakamotonga is largely Wesleyan, although both see an increasing number of Mormons. This has a historical reason: the last Tuʻi Tonga was Roman Catholic and lived in Lapaha.

Tatakamotonga has a government primary school in the northwestern part of the village and a high school run by the Wesleyan church (Tapunisiliva, eastern branch of Tupou high school) in the north-east. Lapaha has a government primary school and a high school run by the Roman Catholic Church (Takuilau) at the eastern end of the village.

Muʻa was at one time the center of Lapita culture in Tonga (about 2,000 years ago) and later (twelfth to sixteenth century CE) the capital of the Tuʻi Tonga Empire. After the disintegration of the empire it remained the capital of the Tuʻi Tonga (Tonga kings), up to the nineteenth century, but was rather a spiritual centre and no longer a source of political power.

The Tuʻi Tonga and his retinue stayed in Lapaha, his residence being Olotele and ʻAhofakasiu, while Takuilau was for his wives (not to be confused with the current high school of the same name but further to the east). Subchiefs and servants on the other hand lived in Tatakamotonga.

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Wikipedia