head. Shaking the hips, as elsewhere in Polynesia, is forbidden. Most of the time the legs are standing still, knees must be together and bent (taulalo). Some small steps--never large--or a turn around can be performed. Overall, the girl's movements should be graceful and soft, as should be her whole body. A unique feature of any Tongan dance, not found elsewhere in Polynesia, is the rotational movements of the hands and wrists in many of the haka. Dress A tauolunga girl is usually dressed in a wrap around dress, either made from ngatu with traditional designs; a mat (kie) from handwoven pandanus leaves; a piece of cloth covered with green leaves, grass, fragrant flowers or shells; any shiny piece of cloth, decorated with sewn-on traditional patterns; or even a grass skirt. Every type of costume (teunga) has its own proper name. The dress reaches from just above the breasts down to the knees (or sometimes past the knee), leaving her arms and legs bare. As long skirts are the traditional apparel for Tongan girls, this is an occasion to show off her legs. If they are fair, the better. Putting oil on her exposed skin parts so that they shine enhances her beauty even more in the Tongan mind. Around her middle she wears a belt (kafa) also usually made from leaves and fragrant flowers. Wristlets and anklets (vesa) may be worn, ranging from simple bands of cloth or ngatu to elaborate belts of leaves and flowers again. Around her neck she wears a black ribbon with a white cowry shell on it or not (puleoto). On her head she wears a little crown (tekiteki), which will enhance her head movements during the dance, consisting of feathers or some light plant material. The more natural materials are used for her whole dress the better it is. Unfortunately plastic is slowly making its inroads nowadays. History Many technical motifs of the tauolunga are derived from the ancient Tongan ula / faahi-ula / fahaiula. The original ula was a group dance of young chiefly daughters who, on the rhythm of a quite monotonous song, made a series of postures beautiful to look at. The formalization of the dance as a distinct genre followed the introduction of the Samoan "taualuga" during the early 19th century and its institution among Tongan aristocratic circles (especially those associated with the Tu'i Kanokupolu lineages). The postures originally