It's very depressing to see people fighting over this. To clear it, the dancers are Fijians in the Lau group of islands. They're related to Tongans through history and blood. You're not either Tongan or Fijian or even an islander if you're tearing down another's culture. Deal with it. We're family ✌️ #TongaFisiareTokos
i guess Im randomly asking but does any of you know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account? I somehow forgot my account password. I appreciate any help you can offer me.
For the people fighting below it is Fijian people performing Tongan dance Fijian people by nationality but with Tongan decendants and the Tongan getting angry at this have respect and listen to the chant it says respect for the Tongan Kings that rests in Malaekula so have some respect and just give the people some credit malie aupito e hiva moe faiva we are just one people :)
As I see it, the Lauans have as much of a right to the lakalaka as any other Tongans, courtesy of their Tongan heritage. As a Tongan, I am at least grateful that the Lauans are passionate about preserving and celebrating their Tongan heritage, which is more than I can say for some of our full-blooded Tongan children growing up overseas who have given up on our culture and language, and desperately want to be Caucasians. Mālō Lau 'a e nofo mo manatu ki homou fanga kui mei Tonga!
Wow can you all read the comments and listen to your useless selfs ? Lau is a group of islands in Fiji that has close links to the Kingdom of Tonga . The Lau group is even closer to tonga then it is to Fiji's main island . The lauan people speak a mixture of tongan and fijian as well as look like it as well . Their customs and traditions are highly influenced by the tongans as their was alot of migration between these islands back in the day with intermarriage and so forth so before you claim to know everything and say that this is a Fijian or Tongan thing , please EDUCATE yourself . The announcer didnt make a mistake . This is part of who we are and stop judging what you dont understand . Im a proud product of a tongan mum and Fijian dad , i think this is beautiful ❤ Bye , hater x
The reason why these Fijians are dancing the Lakalaka which is Tongan is that there is a group in Fiji called the Lau group which is a group of islands in the eastern district of Fiji, where it is very close to Tonga, which is why in Lau we practice similar things the friendly isles do, e.g the Polotu, the Lakalaka, the wearing of the Tawala at special occasions, etc of course we still follow some of the Fijian cultural traditions, like the customs the weaving of the mats, etc but we are also very close to the Tongans, where they say in Fijian that the people from Lau are Tongans, which is why us Fijians from lau can also speak Tongan, but of course we can still speak Fijian. Now does that answer your question?
Interesting,how this lakalaka go all the way from it's root in 'Uiha(a small island in the Haapai group in Tonga)to Fiji.I love how they sing it graciously,and the haka is very similar to how the Uiha folks do it.Oh a
They're from Lau which is a part of Fiji but was settled by Tongans back in the day, that's why they do the Lakalaka. If you see these people you can see that their clearly a mix of Fijian and Tongan, with their fairer complexion but still very curly hair. Just goes to show how our people were going back and forth long before the arrival of Europeans.
Lau is the closest fijian kin......Taufaahau Tupou I , Maafu TuiLau.. Tungi Halatuituia .... they all acknowledged TuiNayau and the people of Lau as one and the same people as Tonga since days of old .... 💪🏽❤🔥💯🇹🇴🇫🇯 .... OfaAtu to my KaiViti Lau people💯
TEU TULOU MO E LUPE HE TAUA MO E LAIONE ‘I MALA’EKULA KA HALA HA LEA KOU HUFANGA HE KOLOSI E ‘AKAU FAKALAVA PE’I NEONGO E FAINGATA’A ‘O VELATA KA NA’A KU TU’U PE ‘O TOU’ANGA MALIE LEA TALU MEI TUAI ME’A ONGO KO E TAMA TANGI MAI
This is actually my first time watching Fijian dance, and to be honest I actually love the way they tell their story, Also love they're culture ❤️ Coming from a Full Samoan girl here. Much love to Fiki. ❤️
All those islands were conquered. Why weren't they annexed to the Tongan 🇹🇴 monarchy? Oh right, Ma'afu was disowned. Why? He was a rogue chief. And he had a mischievous general too, Wainiqolo. So, question, who created the VKB and how were these vulagi entered into it? Time for discussions. Dua na vadji ni 'verevakabau' gona qo? 🤨
I hope people are still arguing about this and just enjoy the video. I'm not from lau but I do know I have tongan blood somewhere in me. Deep down many generations ago. Fiji and Tongan share great bond and no one will ever change that.
This has got to be the greatest performance in a lakalaka ... unity and mafana including the langitu'a and the awesome vocal performance...obviously a lot of practice to perfect this rare performance
I love watching this lakalaka, what a lots of people don't understand that Lauan are decentent of Tongan, Tonga and Fiji are so close, their are connections to the Tongan royal family, the lakalaka is keep repeating from generation to generation, I'm very proud to watch the Lauan sing and dance to it, some of the Tongan dance, are from other islands, and they improved it, what's wrong with that, the south pacific island are mixed, I myself a Samoan/Tongan, I hope people stopped arguing, enjoy the video and be proud of who you are, from Adam and Eve down through the ages, we are a mixture of a lots of different nationalities, you would be surprised if you were to do a DNA to find your root, be happy, respect and love one another, for we all come from Adam and Eve, ofa atu
Yes it is Tongan language sung and performed by Lauans (from the Eastern Group of islands of Fiji, closer to Tonga) whom are majority descendants of Tongans that settled in Fijian territory back in the days. There are many parts of Fiji that have Tongan roots evidently here in this group of Lauan Fijian (have Tongan blood in them). Many of them have preserved their Tongan ways/traditions/dances and even language to this day hence this lakalaka.. So yea, they are Fijian w/ Tongan blood.
Lol some of these comments are hella funny. Sorry to disappoint you folks but these are definitely Fijians from the Lau group. The people performing the lakalaka are from my island Lakeba. The Lau group is smack dab in the middle of Fiji and Tonga and yes many of us are part Tongan, hence the reason for the strong Tongan influences in our features, dialect, songs, dances etc. However we are Fijian. Tongans were settling in Lau and other parts of Fiji long before Ma'afu's time. Sa Malo :)
rvmakasiale omg yes!!!! I'm from Lakeba myself and know this, Lakepa in Tonga is also named after Lakeba in Fiji arrrgghhh annoying some people don't even know lol
@@melefololesole6775 I agree with what you guys are saying and I am Tongan. Yes there is Tongan influences but you guys are still Fijian in the end of the day and it’s good to see what the Lau group is doing melting and welding the two cultures together. Fantastic. Vinaka
@@jimpaea5473 I'm Samoan/Tongan, and like you sad that they are Fijian at the end, this people have Tongan blood line, you can't disregard their Tongan ancestors, like I have strong blood ties to my Samoan family, you can't ignore that, we are on this earth because of our ancestors, look at the Niua, one of the Niua, talk and sound like Samoan, yet they are Tongan, I'm sure that Niua Island is close to American Samoa, may have been a part of Samoa, who knows, I hope this argument stop, and we focus on the positive, let's face it, we are all a mixed race, LIKE ME, hahahahaha.
white man commentator: a performance to honour their queen Lau performers sing: Respect to the Head of the Royal Family (of tonga) and the fallen kings that lay in mala'e kula (Tongan Royal burial grounds) those colonisers got punked!!! made good TV though LOL
actually Mala'ekula used to exist next door to the Birmingham Palace...but Maui fished it up and dropped it between Pasilika n QSC...hhh...Happy Birthday n long live Your Majesty!
Anyone else have the history of the Tongan's that moved to the West of Fiji? There's a tribe in Nadroga that is Yavusa Toga or Tongan Tribe. I'd love to learn more about that. Cheers!
Isa vinaka Ratu, how long ago was that? Because we seem to only think that Lau was settled by Tongans, but then in the West and like you said Kadavu there are yavusa's that are Tongan in origin? Do you have a book or something I can go look up to read about this history?
@@ifameya The Moala Islands in Fiji also hold strong Polynesian ties predating Ma'afu's arrival. Best answer is that these Yavusa links are from earlier times. Most likely from the Burotu period which is a very hard to produce linear timelines with. Another factor is that the Nadroga dialect emphasise a lot of H's and J's, reminiscent of the earlier form of Tongan where J's where used instead of S's until the turn of the 20th Century despite Ma'afu never reaching Viti Levu let alone the highlands of Nadroga-Navosa. This mispronounciation is what led to Viti's current name Fiji which was given to Captain Cook by his Tongan companions before the linguistic shift (Fiji, Fisi, Fiti, Mofiji, Mofisi, Mofiti).
@@ifameya you can find articles about it. I'm descended from those people on my maternal grandmother mom's side. The influence is very subtle but still proud of it!!! Hakwa Nadro!!!!
@@TM686K Moala is a Tongan name, interesting to be able to find out the Tongan/Fijian connection, Samoan have a connection to Tongan, we have a village called Kanokupolu, but apparently the name is Kano'o'upolu, kano-flesh, 'o-of, 'upolu-'Upolu, that where the Samoan were settled back in the days, and also the Tu'i Kanokupolu, so before white man explored the south pacific, we were already a mixture of our islands kingdom, our generation should love and respect each others,
1st Verse... Ke Tulou moe Lupe he Taua Moe Laione I Mala'ekula Ka hala ha Lea kou Hufanga He Kolosi e Akau falala a. 'Ofa ke Ata kau fakamatala Kau ki ono'aho mo hono Faingata'a Na'aku veteki ia 'i Velata Ke mahino Ko'eku Fanautama....
Now see what Ma'afu has done , look at the comments ppl are confused whether it's Fijian or Tongan. Fiji is the link to poly & Melanesian. If you look at the map, the polynesian triangle doesn't look like a triangle unless a part of Fiji is on it.
Maafu o tui tonga was an exiled prince of tonga. Ended up in Lau Fiji. Became a fierce warrior and managed to conquer the whole Lau group. Brought his Tongan culture with him, which explains this lakalaka and the ta'ovala that Lauans still wear to this day and their Tongan/Polynesian looks. Maafu was defeated by the Fijians as he continued to extend his territory to mainland Fiji.
All this arguing over who is who and what is what is a palangi/Kaivalangi mentality of mine, mine, mine. Ownership and individualism instead of the moanan way of communalism and ofa (love/sharing ). WE ARE ONE IN THE MOANA. Respect each other.
As a decendant of the Maafu lineage from my maternal Fotofili link. There is no reason for any argument here. These traditional ties go back before the arrival of Europeans. Our chiefs through marriage bloodlines strengthen those bonds of kinship. And from my early days there before a lakalaka is planned to be the choice of the events celebration. Our elders in their various roles as composers or chreographers seek permission first from the Tui Tonga before they perform a lakalaka that befits this occasion. Thus a lineup is set up according to chiefly rank if there is any available to lead this group of dancers. Our Chiefs r noble and respect one another and do come to the aid of important state events such in this case, Fijis independence.
It's quite funny when the narrator says they will now perform in honour of their queen & then they start to perform a song that pays reverence to Queen Salote (lupe he taua), King George Tupou 1st (Laione I mala'e kula) and the Tongan royal family. I don't mean to offend anyone but I just find it a bit funny
MALIE AE lakalaka mahalo PE koha SII KAKAI ENI OKU IAI hanau KONGA KI UIHA Haapai he koenau lakalaka ENI ,KE tulou MO E Lupe he Taua MO E laione I MALAEKULA OFA ATU
@FurryThug I dont know what world you're living in or whether you've been to school or not, but don't be tryna tell me what my heritage is! I know where I'm from. Im Fijian and my family has Tongan bloodlines. Your ignorance shows in your writing cause it sure as hell don't make no damn sense! All power to you for being anti everything else except Fijian. But don't go around dissing every other culture/ethnicity. A true Fijian doesn't go around putting himself above others! Vinaka.
Soo the History between Lau and Tonga goes back to The 18th or 17th(Maybe way far back but I dont know) century! Tupou 1 (king of Tonga) nd Ma'afu(Ruler of the Lau group who is from Tonga) set foot on Fiji nd ruled over Lau ! I think Ma'afu is goal was to Rule the entire Fiji but did not succeed! The reason why they look like Tongans bc Tupou 1 brought Tonga is strongest worriors their to help ma'afu(They were big worriors) I think this also tells why the Lauans are big people ! They took over Lau but they did not took over the Eastern Fijian side ! I truly respect The Lauans , How they are proud to perform the Tongan dances ! 'Ofa adu fanga Kasini!
No such real viwekani in Fiji called 'yanu'. It was created during colonial days in Suva city by settlers who distinguished themselves from Viti Levu land owners & attempted to identify with each other. It doesn't carry weight & should stay like that.
@@NasinuWarrior85 if it's up to me 🤔I'll prefer "Yanu" more than "Tau" . Yanu carries alot more than tau in modern day's....as TAU has a different meaning in nowadays. Yanu is more respectable even though it's not ancestry. TAU is the vise versa of the "veibatki". When we call each other Yanu we can feel a great bond of respest same as my Tovata from Vanualevu . Peace
@@mosesetalemaivavalagi6239 Tovata too is not a formal actual relationship. That was simply a Zoning that was created by the Colonial regime (1872 - 1970) to ease their administration. First they divided us. Then they grouped us according to their own limited views. When we have our own, ancient systems that exist and function. The adage "Why fix it when it's not broken?" applies. They tried to deconstruct something that is of little to no interest to them. Many suffered a perilous sad consequence or death. Others fled back. They didn't know what they had tampered with was inspired by God himself.
There from the part of Fiji in where we settled and dominated back then. Because our influence, our culture is now theirs. (Just in that region) Ask Pops...
Dominated??? Lau and Tonga are of the same breed dumb ass......in fact if you dont know Ma'afu is the direct descendant of former Tui Nayau himslef thats why their culture are similar. How old are you???
We share the exact same mau'ulu'ulu in 'Uiha Ha'apai (skip to 12:38 on this link ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-IlYjKlkJ2Bk.html) .. always knew I was lauan.. wehh haha
All I know is that they're speaking clearly tongan so tonga it is if a dog barks u clearly won't call it a cat..so they're doin a lakalaka witch is a tongan dance and speak tongan witch is TONGAN.So lets just stoppet!!
