A story of repatriation

Veisinia Tonga 

Museums Victoria / Collections & research / Journals / PRISM / PRISM Volume 2 / A story of repatriation
People gather at a tomb. There group dressed in black sitting on the steps of the monument, there is another group dressed in blue sitting on the grass facing the monument.
Royal Tombs at Malae Kula, Nukualofa, Tonga. The men dressed in black are the Nima Tapu, the hereditary custodians responsible for the care and handling of the Tongan monarch in death. Malae Kula is the royal burial ground of the kings and queens of Tonga. Pacific Docs; Photographer: Kalo Foleti; copyright Kalo Foleti.

Introduction

The English word ‘taboo’ comes from the Tongan word ‘tapu’. It is believed that Captain James Cook adopted it after his visits to Tonga in the 1770s. The true meaning of the word, unfortunately, is lost in the translation.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.24199/QUFH6318

Citation

Tonga, V. (2026). A story of repatriation. PRISM, 2, 16–19. https://doi.org/10.24199/QUFH6318

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