Momo (meaning: crumb) was the 10th king in the Tui Tonga dynasty of Tonga, who lived in the 11th or 12th century CE. He was named after one of the original gods of Tonga, a trio known as Kohai, Koau, mo Momo. The Tui Tonga maritime empire began to expand during his reign.
King Momo had his court in HeketÃÂ, near the village of Niutà Âua (doubly planted coconuttrees). His people were known as the Haa-mene-uli (dirty bottoms Clan), because in order to honour him they had to keep their heads lower than his, and thus shuffled around on their bottoms instead of their feet.
One day, the king fell in love with a beautiful girl and sent his envoy, Lehaûuli, to her father, Loûau, the Tuûi-Haûamea, or Haûamea king â to request a yam for his plantation. However, Loûau understood the true meaning of the request and replied that he could not help, as one yam was not yet ready and the other had already sprouted. By this, he meant that his youngest daughter was too young, while his older daughter, Nua, had already had a child and was therefore considered old. Nua's husband was Ngongo Kilitoto, chief of the Haûangongo clan from Malapo.
The next day, Momo sent his envoy back to Loûau with the message: 'Fena kàko Nua' (it has sprouted, but it is still Nua). Loûau then went to Malapo and asked Ngongo Kilitoto to give up his wife, which he did. Nua became Momo's wife and their son, TuûitÃÂtui, became the greatest Tuûi Tonga of that period. His elder stepbrother, Fasiûapule, later became a governor.
The exact location of Haûamea is uncertain. Some claim it was in the centre of Tongatapu, near Matangiake. In this case, Loûau would have been only a minor prince. Alternatively, the name could be a variant of Haûamoa in Samoa. In this case, Loûau would have been a powerful king, and the marriage story would represent the mythical beginning of the alliance between Tonga and Samoa and the start of the empire. However, this alliance would only last one generation.