Tongan culture shared at Timaru showcase Featured
Kololciholeua Langi, 9, dances at the Fakahoifua Kihe 'Eiki Group Ladies Tonga Day Showcase at Timaru Boys' High School on January 1.
6 January, 2022. Timaru Fakahoifua Kihe 'Eiki group members shared their culture in a belated Tonga National Day ladies showcase.
Fakahoifua Kihe 'Eiki group (an honour to please God) president Leilani Fotofili said the group was established a year ago and made their own craft such as tapa cloth instead of having to import it from Tonga for special occasions.
“It’s our own stuff instead of having to buy it,” Fotofili said.
Traditionally tapa, made from inner bark, was used as a form of value and for clothing, costumes, bedding and wall hangings. It is ceremonially displayed at funerals, weddings and events, according to the Polynesian Cultural Centre.
Fotofili said the ladies showcase, on January 1, comprised a display of the crafts women had made and dancing, representing four of the 150 Tongan Islands.
The islands sit about 2011 kilometres north of New Zealand.
“We were going to hold it in November but delayed it,” she said.
Some of the Fakahoifua Kihe 'Eiki Group's traditional craft on display at the Ladies Tonga Day Showcase at Timaru Boys' High School on New Year's Day.
She said the original date clashed with another Pacific event so it was postponed until January.
It was the first time the group had organised such an event which was held at Timaru Boys’ High School.
Fakahoifua Kihe 'Eiki Group president Leilani Fotofili at the Ladies Tonga Day Showcase.
- Stuff NZ
