Fonua as Makatu'u, A Tongan Sociology-Ecology Bedrock: A tāvāist critique of tauhivā and faifatongia
The socioecological makatu'u (bedrock) is deeply grounded in the Tongan tāvāist philosophical concept and practice fonua (variously known in the region as hanua, honua, vanua, fanua, enua, fenua, and whenua) — marking a circular movement from fā’ele (birth) through mo’ui (life) to mate (death) — as in the valevale (foetus) and manava (mother’s womb / placenta) in the first fonua, kakai (people) and the kelekele (land) in the second fonua, and the mate (dead) and fa’itoka (burial place) in the third fonua. As inseparable yet indispensable hoa / soa (pairs) or hoatatau / hoamālie (equal) and / or hoakehekehe / hoatamaki (opposite) binaries as another fundamental tāvāist philosophical concept and practice, kakai (persons) are temporal definers / markers of ‘ātakai (places / spaces) and ‘ātakai (places / spaces) are, in turn, spatial constitutors / composers of kakai (persons).
On another sociecological level, the same applies to the tāvāism underlying tauhivā (keeping sociopolitical / sociospatial relations) and faifatongia (performing socioeconomic / sociomaterial obligations / functions) as indivisible but inevitable temporal-spatial hoa / soa (pairs) both within and across contexts — as in faifatongia as a temporal definer / marker of tauhivā which is, in turn, a spatial constitutor / composer of faifatongia, on the macro level — as are tauhi (keeping) as a temporal definer / marker of vā (sociopolitical relations) which is, in turn, a spatial constitutor / composer of tauhi — and fai (performing) as a temporal definer / marker of fatongia (socioeconomic / sociomaterial obligations / functions) which is, in turn, a spatial constitutor / composer of fai, both on the micro level.