Thomas Malm

The Catch of Maui: Coral Gardens in the Past and Present of the Tongan Islands

This chapter explores the cultural significance of reefs, coral and limestone in the past and present of the Polynesian Kingdom of Tonga. Based on the author’s own fieldwork and a thorough study of archaeological and ethnographic works by others, an overview is given of (1) how the near-shore marine environment (“coral gardens”), coral and limestone have been perceived, classified and used for a number of purposes (e.g. jewellery, construction works, tools, fishing implements, cooking stones, and lime for bleaching hair), and (2) what the transition from an environment with restricted access to a commons has meant for the coral reefs. The author argues that a sustainable scenario must be founded upon community-based biodiversity conservation where indigenous ecological knowledge and modern ecological understanding are combined in a neo-traditional system.