The Polynesian connection: Love, war and trade linked Samoa, Tonga and Fiji before the Europeans' arrival

Our Islands Our People By Raquel Bagnol

   The three islands of West Polynesia—Samoa, Tonga and Fiji—already had close interactions about 3,000 years ago, long before European explorers arrived in the Pacific.

Polynesians formed alliances with their neighbors and kept their cultures alive by staying connected. Although they lacked modern technologies, they found ways to sail across the waves and build connections beyond their islands.

Samoa and Tonga shared a stronger mutual connection than with Fiji. Samoa’s pre-contact with Tonga involved marriage, politics and even war.

Samoa had minimal—even non-existent—connection with other distant islands in Polynesia pre-European contact, according to authors Sharn S. Barnes and Terry L. Hunt in their research, “Samoa’s Pre-contact Connections in West Polynesia and Beyond,” published in the Journal of the Polynesian Society in 2005.

How was interaction among the three islands possible? Geography, of course, played a big part. If you look at the map and connect the dots, you will see the three islands form a scalene triangle. The distance between Samoa and Tonga is about 512 nautical miles, while Samoa and Fiji are about 665 nautical miles apart. Tonga is about 487 nautical miles from Fiji.

While air travel was non-existent at the time, the relatively short distances between the three islands made it possible for people to travel by canoes, allowing them to conduct trade and build relationships. The favorable winds and ocean currents also helped people sail between the islands, both on outward and return journeys.

Interisland marriages were common in Polynesian communities, especially among the chiefs. Marital unions were planned cautiously.

In Tongan culture, sisters were considered higher in rank than their brothers, not in terms of political power, but in terms of respect. This created a tricky situation. If the Tongan king’s sister married a powerful Tongan man, their child might end up acquiring too much power and prestige, possibly even more than the king’s. This could create conflict that might even lead to war. To avoid this situation, high-ranking families in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji would arrange marriages across the islands.

In Samoa, the top four noble families were all closely related. To avoid incest, marrying someone from another island was the most acceptable choice.

Interisland marriages were like political events, involving voyages between islands, elaborately lavish ceremonies and the exchange of important cultural gifts such as Samoan fine mats and Tongan barkcloth. The authors said historical records indicated that at least nine marriages occurred between Samoan families and 12 generations of Tongan kings.

But it was not all love and romance between the islands. They had fights, too. One of the most well-known events in early history is the Tongan War. Citing historical sources, the authors narrated Samoan stories about Tonga’s invasion and occupation of Samoa during the 13th or 14th century.

Trading also connected the islands. Fiji was rich in resources that its neighbors didn’t have, such as sandalwood, colorful parrot feathers and strong Merbau hardwood used for building canoes. Samoa had finely woven mats and basalt tools, like adzes. Tonga had valuable items such as barkcloth and whale teeth.

Labor import and export, a common solution for manpower shortages in the Pacific today, originated in the early days.

Tongans, who were skilled warriors, offered services like “warriors for hire” and served as negotiators between warring camps. They also moved goods and people between the islands.

Tongans brought in people from Samoa or Fiji for specialized jobs, such as cutting the king’s hair. Tongans believed that the Tongan king’s body was sacred and they were not allowed to touch him. The rule, however, didn’t apply to outsiders, hence the option to import haircutters.

The authors studied archaeological evidence supporting these connections. When the first settlers arrived on the islands, they brought with them not only their skills and traditions, but also the desire to explore and connect.

Pottery sherds found in Tonga were traced back to Fiji, and ceramic pieces from Samoa might have come from either of the other two islands. Obsidian, a volcanic glass used for tools, had been discovered in all three island groups despite being rare in West Polynesia. That means it must have been traded or transported by sea.

Samoan basalt has been found in archaeological sites in Tonga and Fiji, a clear indication that tools and materials were regularly exchanged between the islands, supporting the notion of a trade network.

Barnes and Hunt said the connections between the three islands were narrated in stories and legends passed down through generations. They studied 218 published Samoan legends from six different sources, focusing on stories that mentioned Tonga or Fiji. Some of the 218 legends are either duplicates or repurposed stories with varying versions.  

The authors found that approximately 40 percent of the published Samoan legends mention either Fiji or Tonga, suggesting that early Samoans were not only aware of their neighbors but were also actively engaging with them.

Later on, European explorers recorded regular canoe voyages, with Tonga often serving as a stopover between islands.

Eventually, these close connections began to fade and the interisland travels became less frequent as each island group became more self-sufficient and independent.

Raquel Bagnol is a longtime journalist. She worked as a reporter for Marianas Variety on Saipan and Island Times in Palau. Send feedback to gukdako@yahoo.com

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