When one of the Polynesian Cultural Center’s most senior managers recently retired after 45 years of service, Alamoti “Moti” Taumoepeau — “chief” of the PCC’s Tongan Village — gave him a traditional laufala mat hand-woven from strips of dried pandanus leaves, and told him he should wear it as a ta‘ovala. According to one … Continue reading Tongan Taovala: Meaning, Origins & Cultural Significance