Tu'i

Tu'i, also spelled more simplistically Tui, is a Polynesian traditional title for tribal chiefs or princes. In translations, the highest such positions are often rendered as "king". For details, see the links below various polities. Traditionally, a Tui is an equivalent of God title. Origin of Tui is believed to be Tui Manu'a (the title given to the son of the Polynesian God Tagaloa, and therefore Tui were viewed as living Gods).

Tonga

See:

Fiji

See House of Chiefs (Fiji)

Samoa

There are several Samoan polities and titles (several including the term Tui) in the present kingdom. On American Samoa, the paramount chief is titled Tu'i Manu'a

Wallis and Futuna

On Futuna island, see Tu`i Agaifo of Alo. There is also the Chief of Sigave; however, depending on the family, they carry the specific title of Sau?, Tamolevai, Keletaona, or Tu`i Sigave.

On `Uvea (Wallis Island), there is only the Tui `Uvea or Hau (translated by the French as king/queen; from 1858 also styled Lavelua¹).

Tui (bird)

The tui (Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae) is an endemic passerine bird of New Zealand. It is one of the largest members of the diverse honeyeater family. The name tui is from the Māori name tūī and is the species' formal common name. The plural is tui in modern English, or ngā tūī in Māori usage; some speakers still use the '-s' suffix to produce the Anglicised form tuis to indicate plurality, but this practice is becoming less common. The early European colonists called it the parson bird, but, as with many New Zealand birds, the Maori name tui is now the common name and the English term is archaic.

Description

At first glance the bird appears completely black except for a small tuft of white feathers at its neck and a small white wing patch, causing it to resemble a parson in clerical attire. On closer inspection (see image) it can be seen that tui have brown feathers on the back and flanks, a multicoloured iridescent sheen that varies with the angle from which the light strikes them, and a dusting of small, white-shafted feathers on the back and sides of the neck that produce a lacy collar.