NORTH SALT LAKE — Hundreds of voices mingled in the soft beautiful hymns of Polynesia Sunday night, as Utahns hailing from Tonga, or descendants of those from the islands, participated in a memorial service for the late king of Tonga.
King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV died a week earlier at age 88, after 41 years of rule. On Sunday evening, his life and accomplishments were celebrated during an interdenominational service in the Bountiful Regional Center, 835 N. 400 East.
People seated throughout the auditorium sang in Tongan during the program.
Most of the service and prayers were conducted in that language, with some participants wearing traditional cloth or woven palm frond skirts over their black clothing. On the stage, a large photograph of the late king stood on a draped stand. Displays of flowers and ferns were grouped in front of the speaker's lectern.
Viliami Afeaki, identified on the program as commissioner presidential advisor for Asian American and Pacific Islanders, delivered a eulogy in which he discussed the way the king had improved the lives of Tongans. Among other things, King Tupou made improved education for Tongans, he said, according to Tekiteki Vaenuku, an usher at the ceremony.
It was really a royal observance, said Akanesi Fisilau, a Salt Lake City woman. "There's a lot of people here."
A man who noted he was born in Tonga said of the ceremony, "It's beautiful."
The memorial was organized by the Alliance of Tongan Americans. "It's not just one religion," said a member of the group's organizing committee, Uulopa Nuusila. "All the different religions in the Salt Lake Valley we tried to invite."
Indeed, the program noted that speakers included representatives of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Tongan First United Methodist Church, the Wesleyan Church of America and St. Patrick's Catholic Church.
The program also included a message from President George W. Bush, expressing the condolences of the American people, himself and Laura Bush. "The king was a great friend of the United States throughout his life, and that friendship came to the forefront repeatedly during the 41 years of his reign," Bush's message said.
The king "stood alongside the United States in efforts to foster a more peaceful world. Most recently the United States has been honored to have Tongan troops serve with America to bring freedom to the people of Iraq."
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