The word for "placenta" in the Tongan culture and the word for "land" is one word; it means the same. It's "fonua". So "placenta" in the Tongan language means "fonua" and "land" means "fonua". In my upbringing, the most sacred kinds of rituals conducted by Tongans are through birth and death. We give the language that we use in these incidences the same status that we use for royalty. In my limited knowledge in Te Reo, "whenua" is also the same meaning for "placenta" and the same meaning for "land".