Tangaloa & Maui Through Polynesian Eyes

Tangaloa & Maui. My latest article Tonga – Worlds Oldest Active Civilization has been viewed, read, shared on social media by tens of thousands of readers from around the world. I have also received numerous comments, Facebook Messages, and emails regarding a wide range of support, questions, and even some critics.

Reader Responses. These overwhelming responses from our people validates my efforts in the last step of my life’s work, to share my lifework with the next generation; and hopefully for many more generations regarding the true history of our people. A lifework that I have self-funded, self-performed, and devoted a lifetime to studying, researching, verifying, compiling, and disseminating not only to the whole world but most importantly to all our people.

Thank You Early Missionaries. This work is not to spite the efforts of early missionaries, many of whom were only recording what they were able to understand through foreign eyes. In fact, we are grateful for the efforts of the early missionaries and their earnest desire to record our history. However, despite their good intentions these same foreign points of view in the academia clouds the minds of even our Polynesian Academia in their efforts to understand Ancient Polynesian history.

A Flawed Foundation. When a building’s foundation is structurally flawed and/or compromised you do not rebuild on this compromised foundation. Neither do you carelessly dispose of the existing foundation without studying how and why the foundation is compromised. The wise approach is to understand the root cause then rebuild the building with a new foundation with the knowledge obtained from the compromised existing foundation.

Founding Fathers Tangaloa & Maui Misunderstood. There are many foundational errors on how ancient Polynesian history was formulated by foreigners. One severe error is the understanding of Tangaloa and Maui the two founding fathers of the Ancient Polynesian Civilization.

The well-documented phrase from Tongan history: “Tangaloa came from Langi and Maui from Lalofonua/Lolofonua.”

Foreign Eyes. This oral history as seen and understood by Foreign Eyes is that Tangaloa came from langi i.e. heaven or the skies and Maui came from Lalofonua i.e. the underworld. With this perspective coupled with the current fallen state of the Polynesian Civilization foreign eyes drew the conclusion that Tangaloa and Maui were figments of the imagination of a savage culture where demigods are a common theme. They could not be further from the truth.

Polynesian Eyes. The same statement about where Tangaloa and Maui live tells a very different historical account when viewed through Polynesian Eyes that understand not only oral history but the history that is written in the name of the land, properties, and other historical accounts.

True Tangaloa. Tangaloa lived in Langi an actual location on Tongatapu where the title Tangaloa was passed from one Tangaloa to another until the last Tangaloa instituted the Tu’i Tonga title which effectually replaced the Tangaloa title. The Tu’i Tonga maintained the naming of their residences “langi” throughout their various settlements on Tongatapu, a residue of the continuation of the Tu’i Tonga from the Tangaloa.

True Maui. Maui, on the other hand, lived in Lalofonua/Lolofonua a site on the eastern side of Tongatapu not too far from the location of the Ha’amonga ‘o Maui. It is well documented orally and through ancient earthworks that includes an Earth Work in the same shape as that of the Stone Ha’amonga. Thus Maui was a title held by a man who possessed great influence due to the vast astronomical and navigational knowledge, a great burden placed on the title of Maui and his descendants. Hence the literal translation for Ha’amonga ‘o Maui as Maui’s Burden.

More to Come. There are several other pivotal errors of Ancient Polynesian history such as the understanding of Pulotu, Vaihi, Astronomical knowledge, Mound Builders, Kava Ceremony, etc. I will look to address these errors not based on a flawed foundation of viewing Polynesian history through the eyes of foreigners but to express this history through Polynesian Eyes that has been shored up and verified through my lifework. A lifework driven to uncover my history which also is the history of all Polynesians around the world!

Tangaloa & Maui