Tongan hula dancing...striking tradition... a symbol of Tongan heritage.The tau'olunga is very popular in Tongan hula dancing, performed by mainly girls at wedding, along with the lakalaka the arm and hand movements are used to interpret the words in the song. The tau'olunga is a solo dance for virgins, for them to show off on their wedding day and can be danced at any special occasion,mainly performed by a small group of 10 or so girls. Married or older woman rarely dance it, and even rarer but not impossible to be performed by men however, men assist the dance by mimicking the girl movements in an exaggerated and clowning way, which is supposed to make her beauty even more striking. Older woman assist in the dance, but usually limited to only handclaps with the beat of the music.
There are other notable
Tongan hula dancing
styles including the ma'ulu'ulu, this particular dance is done in the sitting position. Then the kailao war dance with added props, the Tongan war club(there are many different types) to simulate combat. This type of dance can and has been compared with Hawaiian hula and Tahitian 'aparima.
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