Manu Etoni, 12, enjoys being king for a day. Photo / Paul Estcourt
Another king of Tonga was crowned yesterday, in a lavish and traditional ceremony in South Auckland's Otara.
Manu Etoni, 12, was given the ultimate royal treatment at school yesterday afternoon, as he was crowned in a re-enactment of the coronation of Tonga's new king: King George Tupou V.
Wearing traditional Tongan dress, students in the Tongan bilingual unit _ Fonuamalu _ at Otara's Clover Park Middle School bowed to their new king before performing a lakalaka (standing dance) while singing a song composed by the late Tongan Queen Salote.
Sitting rigidly with his chin slightly raised and his hands resting comfortably on his lap, the "king" smiled gently as he watched the performance.
Manu, who is the youngest of the 32-member class, said it was an honour to be chosen to act as king in the re-enactment.
Decked out in a ta'ovala (mat worn around the waist), he was crowned with a tata _ an ancient warrior's helmet that was used as a crown for Tongan royalty in historic times.
The 12-year-old, who is Maori on his mother's side and whose Tongan family hails from the village of Fahefa, said he would hope to be a good king if he was the real thing, but said he has other aspirations for the future.
"If I was the real king, I would support the students and be fair to the people. But when I grow up, I want to be an All Black," he said.
Teachers 'Ilifeleti Samiu and Sinai Talanoa said the re-enactment allowed for the students to understand their study topic: My inheritance _ and to better connect with their Tongan identity.
Mr Samiu said: "Most of them haven't been to Tonga, only some. For the rest, it's only a myth. But they've learned a lot today _ they know that you have to wear full traditional clothes or you can't enter the palace."
With more than 50,000 Tongans living in New Zealand, the students' re-enactment acts as a tribute from those Tongans living overseas, for the crowning of their new king in their homeland.
