BEFORE AND AFTER 1835

Old gods and the missionaries

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What we know

  • A bure kalou was a temple house with a very tall, steep roof, where ancestral gods were honoured; priests (bete) spoke for the gods.
  • Wesleyan missionaries William Cross and David Cargill landed at Lakeba in 1835; the mission later worked from Viwa, near Bau.
  • Cakobau of Bau accepted Christianity in 1854, and many chiefs and their people followed.
  • The missionary Thomas Baker was killed in the Navosa highlands in 1867; the village offered a formal apology in 2003.

The story

Before conversion, bete served as intermediaries with gods and ancestors, and sacred houses formed part of religious life. In 1835, Wesleyan missionaries William Cross and David Cargill arrived at Lakeba with support from Christian Tongans.

Teaching and conversion depended on relationships with communities and chiefs. Cakobau’s conversion in 1854 encouraged further conversions and Tongan support, but neither religious change nor peace followed everywhere at once. Different districts accepted, resisted or adapted new teachings on different timelines.

Words in this chapter

bure kalou — this chapter is where the museum explains this word. See the whole glossary →

Pictures in this chapter

Sources

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