How was the Tongan me'etu'upaki paddle dance performed before European contact?

In pre-European times, the me'etu'upaki was a significant paddle dance performed by a large group of men. The dancers carried paddle-shaped boards that were traditionally carved or painted with abstractions of the human body.12

The performance was accompanied by singing and the sound of a slit gong, which was frequently played by a high-ranking chief. As with other forms of Tongan dance, the movements were deeply intertwined with the social organization and served as a visual extension of poetry, which often referenced mythology, chiefly genealogies, and historical events. While the dance remains a part of Tongan culture today, its origins as a structured group performance date back to this pre-contact era.12