Ha'amonga 'a Maui Trilithon

Haʻamonga ʻa Maui, which means 'the Burden of Maui', is a stone gate made of three huge slabs of coral limestone. It stands in the village of Niutōua on the island of Tongatapu in Tonga, in the Pacific Ocean. Two upright stones carry a third stone laid across the top, and the whole gate is 5.2 metres high.

Many people call it the 'Stonehenge of the Pacific'. Historians say it was built around 1200 AD by King Tuʻitātui, the eleventh Tuʻi Tonga, or king of Tonga. Each upright weighs roughly 30 to 40 tons. It was declared a protected national park in 1972.

What is it made of?

The monument is built from three slabs of coral limestone. It is 5.2 metres high, 1.4 metres wide and 5.8 metres long. Deep slots called mortises are cut into the top of each upright so that the cross stone fits in snugly, a bit like a giant wooden joint. The name means a pole carried over the shoulder with loads on both ends, and Maui is a hero from Polynesian stories.

Why was it built?

Historians believe it was built in honour of the king's two sons, shown by the two upright stones, while the stone across the top stands for the bond between them. It may also have been a gateway to the royal compound. In 1967 King Tupou IV suggested it could mark where the sun rises at the solstices and equinoxes, but an astronomer disagrees. Tongan tradition says the hero Maui carried the stones from ʻUvea Island in a giant canoe.

On the globe

The model shows the three-stone gate of pale coral limestone. Look for the cross stone sitting on top of the two uprights.