Tongan Clothing
Peace Corp Volunteer in Tonga
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In our Peace Corps "what to pack" instructions, it was stressed that in Tonga it is appropriate to always cover your shoulders and knees. This is the best way to translate Tongan dress into a packing list for Americans. Really women wear dresses or skirts and shirts. Pants are ok, but not for work. On many occasions women wearing pants will also have a wrap around skirt. Jeans are becoming more and more popular, mainly in the city, and only worn by the younger generations. Men generally wear a tupenu which is a wrap around skirt with pockets. To work men will wear a button up shirt but a t-shirt is fine for casual dress. Some men are starting to wear pants or shorts, but in my village, tupenu’s are still the preferred garment.
On any occasion that calls for dressing up, men will wear a ta’uvala and women a kiekie. A ta’uvala is a woven or crocheted mat worn over the tupenu. These are generally made of leaves or plastic. A kiekie is similar as it is worn tied around the waist over the skirt, but generally it is more like a belt with many decorative strips hanging down. These can be woven, crocheted, macramé, braids or strips of tapa. Really the sky is the limit with kiekies so whatever creative ideas women have they can take them out on a kiekie and it will fit the bill. They can be flat woven leaves, plastic, tapa cloth or a softer more malleable (braid able) leaf. As you may imagine the fiber artist in me is in heaven with all the different kiekies and how to make them.
Wearing a ta’uvala or kiekie is similar to putting on a tie in the states. It is not necessary every day, but a way to dress up for work or a special occasion. It can be appropriate for women to wear tupenu (although womens tupenus don’t have pockets?) and ta’uvala, but I have never seen a man wear a skirt and kiekie.
Guests of honor can usually be identified by their ta’uvalas. For weddings the bride, groom and parents or guests of honor will all wear very large ta’uvalas. Many times these will be from chest level to the floor with decorative shells, feathers or ribbons on them. Sometimes there are several layers of woven and tapa ta’uvala or even fabric draped behind like a train.
Funerals are different yet. Everyone wears all black and ta’uvalas. Kiekies are never appropriate at a funeral, in fact it is better to only wear black clothes than to add a kiekie. Even the tauvalas are special. Usually one would look for light colored leaves to make the tauvala, but for a funeral only dark tauvalas, or a mix of light and dark is appropriate. There are also funeral tauvalas that look almost like grass skirts. Family of the deceased will wear very large tauvalas. These will usually extend above the shoulders, some have arm holes to hold them up at neck level. The ‘grass skirt’ tauvala can be worn over the large tauvala to show you are mourning. Close family will continue to wear black and a large tauvala (though not above chest level) and ‘grass skirt’ ta’uvala for the entire mourning period. Depending on the relationship to the diceased mourning can last anywhere from 3 days to a year.
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