Kolonga

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Kolonga is the largest village along the northcoast of Tongatapu in the Hahake (Tongatapu) district, in the kingdom of Tonga. It may have gotten its name from having been a collection of huts (see below). Its poetical nickname is ʻUtu longoaʻa (noisy shore), referring to the waves always hitting on the rocky shores.

The word kolonga also occurs in the following Tongan proverb: Ala-i-sia-ala-i-kolonga or translated as Skillful at the mound, skillful in the hut.

This indigenous proverb derived its meaning from the pigeon trappers’ practice of heu lupe or the snaring of pigeons. The mound on which the pigeons were trapped was called the sia, and the (temporary) huts where the hunters stayed and the captured pigeons were stored, the kolonga. Thus, the proverb, which in normal spelling should be written as: Ala ʻi sia, Ala ʻi kolonga, was phrased to honour the trapper who was not only skillful in snaring the pigeons but also skillful at storing them at the same time. Later, this proverb became applicable to individuals that have the ability to successfully function in multiple contexts, a trait kept in high esteem by early Tongans. Furthermore, it captured an element of the wisdom that was known to the early Tongans. That is, humans have a better chance of surviving if they are adaptable, skillful and functional in more than one environment.