ʻAta is a small, rocky island in the far south of the Tonga archipelago, situated on 22°08′56″S 176°10′41″W / 22.149°S 176.178°W / -22.149; -176.178. It is also known as Pylstaart island. It should not be confused with ʻAtā, which is an uninhabited, low coral island in the string of small atolls along the Piha passage along the northside of Tongatapu, and for sure not with the populated ʻAtatā island, also north of Tongatapu. And also not with...
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ʻAta is a small, rocky island in the far south of the Tonga archipelago, situated on 22°08′56″S 176°10′41″W / 22.149°S 176.178°W / -22.149; -176.178. It is also known as Pylstaart island. It should not be confused with ʻAtā, which is an uninhabited, low coral island in the string of small atolls along the Piha passage along the northside of Tongatapu, and for sure not with the populated ʻAtatā island, also north of Tongatapu. And also not with Ata, which is a traditional chiefly title from Kolovai.
According to , there exist old traditions which tell of small people living on ʻAta before the Polynesians came. (Such menehune stories are found more in Polynesia).
Although ʻAta must have been known to Tongans from times immemorial, as it features in old myths, it may have been mixed up with ʻAtā, and it is alleged not to have been remembered until the Tongans were told about it by the Europeans. In fact the following myth is rather from the original Tongans in the Lau Islands (Fiji)...
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