#tonga

[climbhighsleeplow]

Still Waters in the Lagoon

Vava'u Islands, Kingdom of Tonga

[inatungulates]

Southern humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae australis

Observed by wayneosborn, CC BY-NC

[lizard-reads-the-world]

🏝️Pacific Islander Books🌺

Okay, here it is! In "Asian and Pacific Islander" the second group often gets overshadowed, so here it is... a Pacific-only book list. This is of course by no means comprehensive. I tried to cover as many areas as I could find literature for. I've marked queer and disability rep based on book blurbs, but I have not read most of these (yet!). Feel free to comment if you know more!

Novels

Leaves of the Banyan Tree by Albert Wendt classic novel, Samoa The Adventures of Vela by Albert Wendt mythology epic, Samoa Scarlet Lies (series) by Lani Young romance, humor, Samoa (🏳️‍🌈 side character) Mata Oti: Eyes of Death by Lani Young zombie thriller, Samoa Telesā (series) by Lani Young YA paranormal romance, Samoa Scar of the Bamboo Leaf by Sieni A.M. YA contemporary, Samoa ♿ Where We Once Belonged by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa They Who Do Not Grieve by Sia Figiel literary novel, Samoa Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier Pacific fantasy, Guam author Turtle Under Ice by Juleah del Rosario YA contemporary, Filipina-CHamoru-American A Mansion on the Moon: A Guam Love Story by C Sablan Gault historical romance, generational, CHamoru (Guam) Lei and the Fire Goddess (series) by Malia Maunakea MG mythology adventure, Kānaka Maoli (Hawai'i)

House of Many Gods by Kiana Davenport generational novel, Hawai'i Song of the Exile by Kiana Davenport historical novel, Hawai'i The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera classic children's novel, Māori All That We Know by Shilo Kino contemporary, Māori ♿ The Pōrangi Boy by Shilo Kino YA contemporary, Māori How to Loiter in a Turf War by Coco Solid contemporary semi-autobiographical, multiple Pacific characters 🏳️‍🌈 The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach fantasy mystery, Māori 🏳️‍🌈 Kāwai: For Such a Time as This (series) by Monty Soutar pre-colonial epic, Māori Auē by Becky Manawatu contemporary novel, Māori Dawn Raid by Pauline (Vaeluaga) Smith MG historical 1970s, Samoan-Aotearoa Falling into Rarohenga by Steph Matuku YA fantasy, Māori The Imaginary Lives of James Pōneke by Tina Makereti novel, historical, Māori 🏳️‍🌈

The Bone Tree by Airana Ngarewa novel, Māori Dirt Poor Islanders by Winnie Dunn novel, Tongan-Australian The Shark That Ate the Sun by John Puhiatau Pule literary novel, Niue [read here] Breadfruit (series) by Célestine Hitiura Vaite novel, humor, Tahiti Island of Shattered Dreams by Chantal T. Spitz historical novel, Tahiti Kalyana by Rajni Mala Khelawan novel, Fiji, Indian diaspora Maiba: A Novel of Papua New Guinea by Russell Soaba classic novel

Short Stories

This Is Paradise by Kristiana Kahakauwila short stories, Hawai'i Tales of the Tikongs by Epeli Hau'ofa short stories, Tonga The Unpainted Mask by Steven Edmund Winduo short stories, Papua New Guinea

Poetry

‘Āina Hānau / Birth Land by Brandy Nālani McDougall poetry, Kanaka ʻŌiwi (Hawai'i) Ocean Mother by Arielle Taitano Lowe poetry, CHamoru (Guam) from unincorporated territory (series) by Craig Santos Perez poetry, CHamoru (Guam) Coconut Milk by Dan Taulapapa McMullin poetry, Samoa 🏳️‍🌈 Rangikura by Tayi Tibble poetry, Māori Goddess Muscle by Karlo Mila poetry, Tongan-Aotearoa Civilized Girl by Jully Makini poetry, Solomon Islands [read title poem here]

Nonfiction

Polynesian Panthers: Pacific Protest and Affirmative Action in Aotearoa New Zealand 1971 - 1981 edited by Dr Melani Anae, Leilani Tamu, Lautofa Luli Hine Toa by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku memoir, Māori activist 🏳️‍🌈 Mau Moko: The World of Maori Tattoo by Ngahuia Te Awekotuku From a Native Daughter: Colonialism and Sovereignty in Hawaii by Dr. Haunani-Kay Trask Desert Warrior by M.B. Dallocchio memoir, CHamoru (Mariana Islands)🏳️‍🌈 No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies by Julian Aguon memoir, climate essays, CHamoru Don't Ever Whisper by Giff Johnson biography of Darlene Keju, Marshall Islands anti-nuclear activist [author not Pasifika] Samoan Queer Lives by Dan Taulapapa McMullin 🏳️‍🌈 Pasifika Heroes series by David Riley and Michel Mulipola illustrated legends/biographies, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands

Anthologies

Indigenous Pacific Islander Eco-Literatures anthology, climate focus (🏳️‍🌈several contributors) Vā: Stories by women of the Moana anthology, Pacific women Growing Up Torres Strait Islander in Australia, anthology Sista, Stanap Strong! anthology, Vanuatu Indigenous Literatures from Micronesia anthology, Kiribati, Palau, CHamoru, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, more An Ocean of Wonder: The Fantastic in the Pacific spec-fic anthology Hiwa: Contemporary Māori Short Stories edited by Paula Morris

Footnotes below:

Many of these will be indie/small press titles. I've tried to ensure they are available somewhere, even if it's just Kindle. A few (the Papua and Solomon Islands ones) you may need to inter-library loan.

Some authors have more books than listed, so please look into their full bibliography. Witi Ihimaera and Albert Wendt especially are pillars of Pacific literature and have many publications.

There are more Māori authors than listed here! But I wanted to keep a balanced list.

I have left out children's picture books of which there are many, though some may be locally published.

I included Sia Figiel for her contributions to Samoan literature despite her recent... troubles.

I am not PI, I just make lists. Feel free to correct any mistakes I've made or add more to the comments!

[biggielean]

THE COUSINS!!

Me and my friends made this really silly gf theme mixed w a bit of our culture, augh my sheilas

Shermie, Nana, Marty and the twins in leis drawn by: @bigmanpiwi

Ford, Samo, the triplets that look like alvin and the chipmunks, and Hera were drawn by: @samo-nkey

[rjzimmerman]

Excerpt from this story from Inside Climate News:

Tonga, a Pacific Island nation with deep connections to the ocean and its non-human inhabitants, could become the first country in the world to recognize that whales have inherent rights. 

Speaking in Nice, France, where the United Nations Ocean Conference is taking place, Tongan Princess Angelika Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho called for the recognition of whales as legal persons.

“The time has come to recognize whales not merely as resources but as sentient beings with inherent rights,” Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho said.

The announcement indicated that Tonga, a constitutional monarchy, could move forward with recognizing whales as legal persons and appointing human guardians to represent them in court. 

“This would effectively give whales agency within the legal system, allowing them to assert and defend their own rights,” said Grant Wilson, executive director of the U.S.-based advocacy group Earth Law Center, which is not involved in the initiative.

Legal personhood is a mainstream legal concept most often used for corporations, allowing them to enter into contracts, sue and limit the liability of shareholders. Legal systems also allow for the representation of individuals who cannot act on their own behalf—such as children or incapacitated adults—through mechanisms like guardianship.  

Melino Maka, chair of Huelo Matamoana Trust, has worked on the initiative with Lātūfuipeka Tukuʻaho and said the trust is engaged with legal experts to propose the “Whales (Legal Personhood and Protection) Act 2025,” building on Tonga’s legacy as a whale sanctuary.

[tropic-havens]

Mapu'a Vaea Blowholes, Houma, Tongatapu, Tonga

[folkfashion]

Tongan woman, Tonga, by Careena Tipoti

[lizardsaredinosaurs]

Bears, sharks? They get to be grumpy all they want. But me? Can I have a bad day? Oh, no, I’m the friendly dove! Oh so friendly! *waddles away muttering incoherently*

Tongan Ground Dove (Pampusana stairi) AKA Friendly Ground Dove

Samoa, Tonga, Fiji, Wallis and Futuna

Status: Vulnerable

Threats: habitat loss

[omgthatdress]

Tonga!

Ngatu (tapa cloth), Tonga, Museum of New Zealand Te Papa

[redpandamerchdaily]

Red panda merch of the day: Tonga Niuafo'ou Animals of India and Gandhi 2015 Red Panda and Lotus Flower Stamp

[miku-earth]

Tongan Miku by fishyy33

[inatungulates]

Southern humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae australis

Observed by wayneosborn, CC BY-NC

[pplndplcs]

On the island of Tonga, women ink intricate designs onto a tapa cloth in honor of Queen Salote, who died in 1965.

Gordon Gahan

[noasimss]

Group 8 of my "Around the World" sims up for download. Available for free on my Patreon <3

Top row: Australia, New Zealand, Tonga

Bottom row: Samoa, Fiji, Papua New Guinea

[famousinuniverse]

Anahulu Cave, Haveluliku, Tonga: Anahulu Cave's Underground Swimming Pool is Located in Haveluliku, on the Eastern side of Tongatapu, ‘Anahulu Cave is made up of a network of large limestone caverns, as well as Tongatapu’s only freshwater pools. 'Anahulu Cave is approximately 400m long and has freshwater pools and the biggest pool is the most popular bathing area. There are stairs and a path leading to the pools which are up to 8m deep and Anahulu Beach is 50 metres from the entrance of the cave and is great for snorkeling and swimming.... Haveluliku is a town in Tatakamotonga District, Tonga. Wikipedia

[tropic-havens]

Mt Talau National Park, Utulei, Vava‘u, Tonga