The Origin of Mana & The Massacre at Hule
Many Tongan young men wear T-shirts with pictures of muscular Polynesian warriors. By wearing these T-shirts, they are supposedly honoring their Polynesian warrior tradition. I think that if one of those warriors came to the homes of these young men, he would be met with great hospitality and respect, all because of his big muscles and club.
I sometimes find this rather odd because I see some of these young men mock young women and treat them like they aren't important. And this sort of behavior of being disrespectful to women reminds me of the following story.
In January of 1837 there was a civil war in Tonga between the pagans and Christian warriors of Taufa'ahau. One of the battles that took place was near the village of Nukunuku, at Fort Hule. Taufa'ahau's forces overthrew the fort and began to kill everyone there. A mother and her two children managed to escape, and they took refuge in a tree. A detachment of Taufa'ahau's men scoured the outlying area for anyone that may have escaped. One of the warriors was approaching the tree where the woman and her children were hiding. The mother was scared that he would discover her and her two children. So she jumped out and attacked the warrior, eventually killing him. His comrades, hearing the commotion, found the woman and killed her. But her children were able to escape.
Now some might be surprised at this story. They may wonder how a woman was capable of killing a warrior. Was the warrior sick? Was he weak? Probably not. This warrior did not lose because there was something wrong with him, but rather because this mother was protecting her children. She had an inner strength that was greater than the warrior's outer strength. This inner strength is what many in the islands call mana. It's believed that a man's strength, whether physical, mental, or spiritual, is derived from the mana of his mother, his sisters, grandmothers, aunts, female cousins. And that such strength is determined by his demeanor towards women in general.
If young men wish to honor their Polynesian warrior tradition, then it is fine if they wear T-shirts with warriors on them. But I think that young men should give as much respect to mothers, grandmothers and to young women as they would to a Tongan warrior with big muscles and a club.