The Geneology Of King George Tupou V Of Tonga

SEE ALSO: King George Tupou V: Monarch For A Time Of Change [Tongan]

Royal lines of noble ancestry: The Geneology of King George Tupou V of Tonga

Nuku'alofa, 28 July 2008 -- King George is the progeny of 3 royal bloodlines, which emerged from a civilisation nearly 3,000 years old. The first settlers in the islands that became Tonga ventured out from Asia in large sailing canoes. The royal lines are the Tu’i Tonga, Tu’i Ha’atakalaua and Tu’i Kanokupolu. They evolved from a rich, cosmogony and mythology which had gods descending from the heavens or living in an underworld.

The divine rulers from the pre-eminent lineages possessed authority, ambition and prowess which some spawned what some historians believed was a hegemonic civilisation. This theory envisaged Tonga as a Polynesian super power. It argues that at its height Tongan influence represented a South Pacific oceanic empire that has never been surpassed. It reputedly extended to islands that were to become known as Niue, Samoa, Tokelau, Futuna, Rotuma, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and the Cook Islands. King George’s ancestor, Ma’afu had powerful influence in Fiji.

The royal lines of noble ancestry became unified in the position of Tu’i Kanokupolu, which had, over time, become the transcendent source of authority. King George is the 23rd Tu’i Kanokupolu. He is also head of the House of Tupou, a dynasty that started with King George Tupou I, who gave Tonga its constitution of 1875, which remains in place.

From the office of the Lord Chamberlain, 28 July, 2008

ENDS

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