Toki Ukamea: The story of William Mariner

In 2007, an online listing for a unique copy of Mariner's account was discovered in a bookstore in Canada. In the blank pages in the back of this copy was a letter, a transcription of a letter written in Tongan and addressed to a William Mariner. The book, it turned out, once belonged to Mariner's daughter and the letter in the back pages was transcribed from an actual letter that was delivered to Mariner from Mafihape. 

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A European vessel is spotted in the western horizon of Vava'u and no one is more excited than William Mariner. Our boy is going home!

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What does a post-'Ulukālala look like? For one thing, his son, Moengāngonga, the new Finau, proves to be a much different ruler than his father. He's kinder and gentler, with a mind focused on revitalizing agriculture and cultivating the happiness of his people. And then here's the issue of Tupouto'a in Ha'apai. Is he a threat or an ally? And what will they do with the annual 'inasi now that the Tu'i Tonga is residing in Vava'u but Finau has cut off all contact with Ha'apai and Tongatapu. 

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Shortly after his daughter Saumailagi passed away, Finau 'Ulukālala falls ill during the post-funeral celebrations. From Mariner's description of his condition, it seems like the great warrior king of Vava'u succumbed to heart failure. He eventually passes away too, and in his dying breath he utters the word "fonua." Vava'u prepares for a state funeral for 'Ulukālala while his son, Moengangongo, advised by his widely respected and wise uncle Finau Fisi, assumes leadership. He renounces war with the neighboring islands and isolates Vava'u from the rest of Tonga, and instead admonishes his people to focus their energies on rebuilding Vava'u. 

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Saumailagi, a young daughter of Finau 'Ulukālala falls ill. He pleads with the gods to spare her life but Saumailagi's condition shows no improvement. Mariner witnesses and documents the funerary customs at Saumailagi's funeral, a mix of Samoan and 'Ulukālala's own twist on tradition, perhaps, as Mariner theorizes, an act of defiance to the gods and tradition. And unexpectedly, 'Ulukālala's health suddenly declines. 

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