A taʻovala is a Tongan dress, a mat wrapped around the waist, worn by men and women, at all formal occasions, much like the tie for men in the European and North American culture. The ta'ovala is also commonly seen among the Fijian Lau islands, a region once heavily influenced by Tongan hegemony and cultural diffusion.

According to a Tongan story, a group of Tongans once arrived by boat at the Tuʻi Tonga, but they had had a rough ride and their clothing, if any remained, was not respectable. They cut the sail of their boat (Polynesian sails are also mats) in pieces and wrapped them around. The king was so pleased by the sacrifice they had made to him of their expensive sail, that he ordered this dress to be court dress from then on. The Tongan waist-mat probably shares a common origin or inspiration as the Samoan "valatau" or "vala" waistband often donned by orators and chiefly sons ("manaia") and daughters ("taupou") on festive occasions and rituals.

Queen Salote Tupou III ordered the taʻovala to be part of the civil servants' uniform. The use of the taʻovala for men is therefore extremely common in Tonga. For women it is somewhat less common, as they prefer a kiekie to wear.

Ovala is a village and the least populous municipality in the Astara Rayon of Azerbaijan. It has a population of 258.

Recep İvedik is a 2008 Turkish comedy film, directed by Togan Gökbakar, which stars Şahan Gökbakar as an oafish character who takes up residence in an expensive Antalya hotel to win back his childhood love. The film, which went on nationwide general release across Turkey on February 22, 2008 (2008-02-22), was the highest grossing Turkish film of 2008. The film's titular comic character was created by Şahan Gökbakar for his Turkish comedy television show Dikkat Şahan Çıkabilir, which ran from 2005 to 2006, and has subsequently gone on to feature in a series of sequel films.

The film was shot on location in Istanbul and Antalya, Turkey.

İvedik is a fearsome-looking uncultivated driver with a lot of aggression but a spark of goodness in him. Involved by accident in a street fight, he rescues the wallet of the owner of an Antalya luxury hotel and hitchhikes his way south to restore it to the rightful owner. Along the way he is made the object of an unlikely attempted seduction by a homosexual truck-driver, reacting with shock and innocence.