According to legend on the South Pacific island kingdom of Tonga, a maiden was approached in an orchard by a witch in a brightly colored cape. He promised it to her if she could keep the fruit of a tree from hitting the ground as he shook it loose. Of course, she out­witted the witch by juggling each piece as it fell.

 

Tonga

 

Bob Crossley, a professional bridge player and free-lance film maker from San Francisco, CA, leamed both legend and fact while filming there in Septem­ber 1980.

 

His hour-long documentary, in which the Tongan juggling is a small segment, will be released to television and film festivals later this year. Co-producer Kim Hoeg promised to give viewing information to Jugglers World as soon as possible.

 

During a 10-day stay on Tonga, Crossley found totally different approaches to the art than the San Francisco street scene he grew up with.  "Only the women there juggle, and only in a shower pattern," he said.

 

He and his four male companions put on American style demonstrations for the native population during their visit, and were able to interest several Tongan schoolboys to learn. In one film scene, Marty Coffey began juggling clubs outside a school, prompting a mass abandonment of studies inside.

 

"All the kids rushed out of the building. scream­ing and excited," Crossley recalled. Besides Crossley, others on the film crew were Hoeg, John Malvino and Paul Lewis.

 

"Juggling used to be more prevalent in all the islands of the South Pacific - Samoa, Fiji, the GiIbert Islands - it's dying now actually," Crossley said.  "I hope we were able to revive some interest on Tonga."

 

Interviewed on Tongan radio on his arrival, Crossley asked all Tongan jugglers to meet for a filming session at a local school. Many women showed up, and the juggling began after a short trip to pick equipment from a nearby tui-tui tree. Crossley said, "It's mostly schoolgirls who juggle there now. We saw a 4-year-old do three, and they consider five to be routine."

 

But one schoolteacher who said she hadn't tried in a while warmed up with six and then showed Crossley 15 throws of a seven tui-tui nut shower.

 

"The pattern was between 15 and 20-feet high," said Crossley.  Crossley saw two young girls juggling in the airport when he arrived, and many more kneeling on mats in a park juggling and listening to music on their radios.

 

Because the schoolteacher could do seven after such a long layoff, Crossley thinks it's feasible to assumer that earlier Tongans did eight or more.

 

"There's evidence that juggling began as part of a ritual practiced by Tongan noblewomen while making kava," Crossley continued, identifying it as a narcotic drink.

 

The evidence further indicates that the more tui­tui nuts a noblewoman could keep aloft, and the longer she could do it, the better were her chances of marrying a nobleman!