Island Images




Wednesday, April 30, 1997

Relatives honor deceased
in Tongan tradition

By Dennis Oda, Star Bulletin

The queen of Tonga, Halaevalu Mata’aho, above, cuts the hair of a
weeping Elenor Me Tongolei. Below, friends and relatives of Elenoa Me
Brown Mataele of Honolulu, who died April 19, wait to have their hair
cut off by the queen. Although some of the women cried, overall this is
a somewhat happy and honored occasion. This ceremony is called a
“maumau,” or the formal ending of the traditional period of
mourning after death. The hair is offered to the queen, Mataele’s
cousin, as a token of respect. It will be woven into a treasured
“kafa,” or human hair rope, which will be worn on
special occasions by Mataele’s descendants.