Futa Helu
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Futa Helu (17 June 1934 – 2 February 2010) was a Tongan philosopher, historian, and educator. He studied philosophy under the Australian empiricist
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and in 1963 launched an educational institute named Atenisi (Tongan for
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, to pay homage to the ancient Greek philosophers,
Herakleitos Heraclitus (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Achaemenid Empire, Persian Empire. He exerts a wide influence on Western philosophy, ...
in particular). The institute began as a continuing education programme for civil servants, then initiated a high school in 1964 and a university in 1975.


Life

Helu was born 17 June 1934 in the village of Lotofoa on the island of Foa in the Haapai archipelago in the (
Polynesia Polynesia ( , ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of more than 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are called Polynesians. They have many things in ...
n)
Kingdom of Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. according ...
. Helu, in fact, is a minor chiefly title, carrying the task of managing both the people and land of the village. In Haapai, Futa was a bright, although headstrong, student. In 1947 he was selected to be part of the founding class of the newly established Tonga high school sited in Tonga's capital, the school being a project of a promising Crown Prince who would accede to the throne as Tāufaāhau Tupou IV in 1967. Helu studied in Australia at
Newington College Newington College is a multi-campus Independent school, independent Uniting Church in Australia, Uniting Church Single-sex education, single-sex and Mixed-sex education, co-educational Pre-school education, early learning, Primary school, primar ...
(1953–1956) and the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...
(1957–60). At Sydney he focused on philosophy, English literature, mathematics and physics. Back in Tonga in April 1961 he did not become – as one might have expected – a government bureaucrat, but held himself out as tutor to those having trouble keeping up at school. His way of teaching soon became famous, and many Tongans who are now important figures claim he instilled a love of learning that impelled their careers. Atenisi Institute was initially a downtown night school providing continuing education for civil servants, evolving into a daytime secondary school in 1964. In 1966 Helu registered Atenisi's high school with the government and at the end of that year leased a parcel in Tufuenga, a western district in the Tongan capital of Nukualofa. The parcel is, in fact, below sea level and students often speak of the ''swampus'' instead of the ''campus''. At the end of 1975 a small university joined the high school on the site, its first Bachelor of Arts degrees being awarded in 1980, followed a few years later by Bachelor of Science degrees. By the 1990s, some Master of Arts degrees – and even a PhD degree – were awarded in collaboration with universities in Australia and New Zealand. Dr. Helu not only administered his institute but – like
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at the University of Virginia in early 19th century America – designed its classrooms, laboratories, and libraries, often in classical style. Whilst small contractors were, of course, employed in Atenisi's construction, in the early days its director was not above roofing a new building after class. In 1992 Dr. Helu joined Tonga's
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bishop, Patelisio P. Fīnau, and the former president of the
Free Wesleyan Church The Free Wesleyan Church of Tonga (FWCT; Tongan language, Tongan: ''Siasi Uēsiliana Tau‘atāina ‘o Tonga'') is a List of Methodist denominations, Methodist denomination in Tonga. It is the largest Christian denomination in the nation and is ...
, Dr. Sione Amanaki Havea, in sponsoring a conference advocating Tonga's transition from a feudal to parliamentary monarchy. Not only did the Government resist this call but it punished Atenisi for its advocacy by thenceforth refusing to employ its university graduates, a severe penalty in the developing world. The boycott was lifted after the accession of a commoner prime minister in 2006 and the Government's concession to democratic principle. Until her death in April 2008, Dr. Helu was married to Kaloni Schaaf; the union produced six children and numerous grandchildren. Two daughters have distinguished themselves in the performing arts – Sisiuno Helu, founder of Atenisi's performing arts troupe and orchestra, has staged Tongan faiva and spirited excerpts from Italian opera on tours of the Pacific, Europe, and the US; Atolomake Helu has sung mezzo-soprano in noted international venues, such as Sydney and Auckland Town Halls. A son, Niulala Helu, is a former lecturer in Tongan culture at the
University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...
. Dr. Helu was the author of several books, most importantly two books on Tongan culture, a monograph on Herakleitos, and a collection of essays regarding South Pacific culture. In 1999 the
University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
awarded him an
honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...
in literature. The scholar retired as institute director and dean of its university in 2007, replaced in the former post by his daughter Sisiuno (in 2008 and from 2010 to 2019) and son Niulala (in 2009) ... and in the latter (from 2008 to 2010 and from 2015) by Dr. Michael Horowitz, a US sociologist who served as associate dean in the late '90s. Dr. Opeti Taliai – a Tongan anthropologist who holds a PhD from Massey University as well as an Atenisi undergraduate degree – was university dean from 2013 through 2014. In retirement, Helu remained an authority on Tongan history, tradition, and education, and although not a politician himself, remained an influential voice in Tongan politics due to the vindication of his advocacy of democracy. At Atenisi, he retained the title of professor emeritus of Philosophy and Tongan Culture. The last years of his life were marred by declining physical and mental health, the latter due to Alzheimer's disease.


Documentary film

In August 2012, a documentary on Futa Helu's life and the history of Atenisi was screened at the New Zealand International Film Festival, garnering favourable reviews in the
New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand ...
and Overland magazine. The film, ''Tongan Ark'', was written, filmed and directed by Paul Janman, an NZ anthropologist and former Atenisi instructor, who went on to teach screen production at the Auckland University of Technology UT


References


Bibliography

*I.F. Helu; Thinking in Tongan society; 1982 *I.F. Helu; Fakahola talanoa: Ko e ngaahi lea ohi; 1985 *I.F. Helu; Herakleitos of Ephesos; 1995 *I.F. Helu; Critical essays: Cultural perspectives from the Southseas; 1999 *I. Campbell & E. Coxon (eds); Polynesian paradox: Essays to honour his 70th birthday; 2005


External links

*http://atenisi.edu.to/ Official website of Atenisi institute *https://web.archive.org/web/20111130043957/http://www.matangitonga.to/article/tonganews/personalities/20090203_tonga_futa-helu_atenisi.shtml obituary
'Tongan Ark' - documentary film from 2012 on 'Atenisi and Futa Helu's philosophy.
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120330202637/http://histfam.familysearch.org/oralhistories/media/054FutaHeluTonganVersion.pdf biographic interview {{DEFAULTSORT:Helu, Futa 1934 births 2010 deaths People educated at Newington College Tongan historians Tongan philosophers 20th-century Tongan people Tongan schoolteachers People from Haʻapai University of Sydney alumni Academic staff of ʻAtenisi Institute