Liwiindi festival

Just this past weekend I went to Chikanta for the annual Liwiindi festival. I rode with the Radio Macha crew and therefore I was a guest of Chief Chikanta. Chief Chikanta sees the value of keeping with the traditions and wants to keep the Tonga Traditions alive, by exposing the younger generations and other cultures to the dances, songs, and customs that are observed during Liwiindi. We drove from Macha on a very rough road for an hour. This festival is a time to celebrate the previous harvest and to hope for a good upcoming harvest. Also, it's a time for the people of Chikanta to unite with one another and to reunite themselves with their Ancestors. This video is a video of one memorials services they had for their 9th Chief. The Grave stone is round because the Chiefs used to be buried in a seated position. In this video you will see members of the royal family singing, dancing, and spitting Chibwantu (traditional Drink) on the grave stone. The chief explained to me that the Chibwantu is similar to leaving flowers on the grave site of a loved one. As I drove around with them to many grave sites of chiefs, he told me that he wants to do what he can to perserve the Tonga culture and would like for me to put this on the internet for others to experience.