Writing and Printing
The history of Tonga is recorded since the ninth century BC. Tongatapu was the first island to be settled in Polynesia, when people from the Lapita culture settled there around 3000 years ago. The region is now controlled by the Kingdom of Tonga. Along with Samoa, Tonga served as a gateway into the rest of Polynesia. Ancient Tongan mythologies recorded by early European explorers report the islands of 'Ata and Tongatapu as the first islands having been hauled to the surface from the deep ocean by Maui.
Bété syllabary.
European Geniza.
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