Tuʻipelehake
Tongan title ranking second after the king
The Tuʻipelehake (or Tuʻi Pelehake to be more consistent with similar titles, like Tuʻi Tonga, Tuʻi Haʻatakalaua and Tuʻi Kanokupolu) is one of the highest ranking chiefly titles in Tonga. In the absence of the ancient Tuʻi Faleua title, the Tuʻipelehake title is a high title due to, Tuʻi Kanokupolu. There have been several holders of the title mainly from the ruling royal family, from princes to prime ministers. It is Tongan custom to refer to the holder by his customary title, only adding his given name if confusion may arise. For example, Tuʻi Pelehake (ʻUluvalu).
The Estates of the Tuʻi Pelehake are:
Fatai a town estate in Nukuʻalofa on Tongatapu
Village of Pelehake in the eastern district on Tongatapu
Village of ʻAlakifonua in the eastern district on Tongatapu
Tonga's main airport, Fuaʻamotu International Airport, is also situated on his estate and not, as the name misleadingly suggests, in neighbouring Fuaʻamotu.
Village of Vaihoi in Vavaʻu, close to the villages of Leimatuʻa and Holonga
Village of Foa in Haʻapai
Origin
All of the noble titles of Tonga were formalised into their current states through royal decree under the Constitution of 1875. This hierarchy of titles were instituted by King George Tāufaʻāhau Tupou I in 19th century. The Tuʻi Pelehake was one of the six most ancient titles of Tonga. The fact that these six titles were held by some of the most powerful chiefs of the day, ultimately saved from extinction.
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The entry’s evidential value lies in the named roles, institutions and publications that can be tested against primary documentation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q493225. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1875.
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This entry incorporates text from “Tuʻipelehake” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.