Huge slabs
Cut limestone.
Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 2.5 · Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Tauʻolunga — CC BY-SA 3.0
In the town of Muʻa in eastern Tongatapu stand ancient royal tombs called langi: rectangular stepped platforms of large limestone slabs among lawns and trees. They are the burial places of the Tuʻi Tonga kings, who ruled a maritime empire across the Pacific islands. For centuries Muʻa was the old capital of the Tuʻi Tonga empire. It lies on the eastern side of the Tongatapu lagoon and is divided into the villages of Lapaha and Tatakamotonga. The last Tuʻi Tonga lived in Lapaha. The tombs were built of huge, carefully cut stone slabs, laid in steps one above another. You walk among the stepped stone platforms on the grass, seeing the huge slabs and their cut corners, with big trees above. Some tombs are wrapped in dense trees and others stand in open lawns. They are deeply respected places for Tongans, so do not climb on them and keep your voice low. The tombs are about 10 km in a straight line east of Nukuʻalofa and 8 km from the Haʻamonga ʻa Maui trilithon. The site is open and free. Dress modestly, as it is village land.
Cut limestone.
Platforms in tiers.
Muʻa and Lapaha.
Lapaha village, Muʻa, eastern Tongatapu
No, they are sacred places.
Yes.