I AM SO FASCINATED WITH THIS PAPER, WRITTEN BY E.B. SHUMWAY FROM MORMON CHURCH (BYU UNIVERSITY, HAWAII) FAKAMOLEMOLE PE OKU FUU LOLOA KA OKU OU ILO E MAHUINHGA KIHA TAHA OKU FAU PEPA O KAU KI TONGA KO E FAKALANGIANLNGI: The Eulogistic Function of the Tongan Poet by Eric B. Shumway (Nausaimone is a farmer-poet living in the village of Ha’alalo on Tongatapu. This is the first appearance of his poem in print, by his permission. My translation is by design more literal than poetic). Research by the author (E.B. Shumway) was conducted during four different excursions to Tonga, beginning in 1974. The major informants who have contributed to the contents of this paper are Semisi ‘Iongi, Nausaimone, Peni Tutu’ila Malupo, Malukava, and the Honorable Ve’ehala. These are five of the most renowned contemporary poets in Tonga today. The primary responsibility of the poet is to aggrandize and glorify the Tu’i Kanokupolu, the Royal Family, and the hou’eiki (nobility) of the kingdom. This responsibility has not been arbitrarily imposed by the aristocracy, but rather has grown naturally out of centuries of the people’s veneration for the ancient royal houses of Tonga. Perhaps the best known modern poem among Tongans, which epitomizes the Tongan regard for royalty, is Nausaimone’s Ko ‘Ene ’Afio mo e Kaha’u ’o Tonga (Her Majesty and the Future of Tonga):5 1 Pupunga lose teunga e tafengavai ’o taimi, Cluster of roses decorating the stream of time, 2 Tauhia he ta’au ’o e ’ofa fakapalovitenisi. Nurtured in the wake of providential love. 3 Polepole ai pe motu ’oku lau ’e he himi, On this proud land, praised by the hymn, 4 Kei toka e monu ki he palataisi ’o e Pasifiki. Sweet fortune still rests--the paradise of the Pacific. 5 Tu’unga’anga ia ’ete humataviki, This is the substance of my worshipful praise, 6 He ko e laukau’anga ’o Ha’a Tongafisi. The source of all beauty for the Ha’a Tongafisi. 7 Malimali loto ai pe fine ’o e Halapaini, The woman of Halapaini continually smiles in her heart, 8 Tafe sino’ivai e kalonikali e ’otu feleniti. In her flows deep the history and culture of the Friendly Islands. 9 Kuo fihi e kakala he tofi’a siueli, Fragrant abundance, enshrining this jeweled estate, 10 Taufa ’ene ngangatu fakamo’oni’i ’o e palomesi. Is wafted abroad, an emblem of the covenant. 11 ’Oku fotu ’o hange ko e takanga (sola sisitemi), It now appears as a mighty solar system, 12 Pe ngaahi huelo e maama lahi e ’univeesi; Or the rays of the universe’s largest light. 13 ’Oku ’ikai malava hano fakatataua No apt comparison can capture 14 ’A e koloa fungani ’a Tonga ma’a e kaha’u na. The crowning treasure of Tonga’s future. 15 Pea mo’oni e lau ’a e ’ipiseli ’a Paula: How true Paul’s words in his epistle: 16 He ’ikai fakamavae ’a e ’ofa pea mo ki taua. We will never be separated from God’s love. Refrain: 17 Tué tué tué tué ki he la’a tupu’a, Hail, hail, hail, hail to the eternal sun, (i.e. the Queen) 18 Tué tué tué tué ki he huelo koula. Hail, hail, hail, hail to the golden beam. (i.e. the Royal Family) 19 Kai ’utungaki ai pe me’avale e fonua, For even the lowliest people of the land eat freely 20 Hakailangitau ’o ’ikai tukua. They dance in an ecstasy which ceases never, The most visible poetic quality of Nausaimone’s poem is its hyperbole, which strikes the Western mind in much the same way a Tongan feast does, sumptuous yet overwrought. To the Tongan mind, the excess of emotion is not only excusable but desirable, because the poem is meant to be rapturous flight, not a reasoned statement. The poet does not mind that his rose cluster in line 1 suddenly becomes a constellation of stars or the solar system in line 11. He finally decides Tonga’s future glory is too great for comparison. The profusion of Tonganized English words throughout the poem (at least twelve) is partially explained by this tone of lavish praise. Tongan poets usually disdain the use of English words in their compositions, except those that have long been assimilated into their language, such as taimi (time), and palataisi (paradise). But Nausaimone has pulled out all stops. He hopes that foreign words such as providential (2), chronicle (8), jewel (9), and promise (10) will evoke a freshness and power for his already gilded altar of praise. Composed and put to music for Queen Salote (r. 1918-1965) in 1964, Nausaimone’s poem includes all the basic social doctrines which for Tongans will insure stability and peace for their country. Line 1 gives the poem a cosmic setting and a serious tone. Since direct address of royalty is forbidden in Tongan poetry, the poet addresses a cluster of roses which alludes to the Royal Family. This symbolistic technique is known as heliaki, hiding one’s specific meaning in references to natural objects and places. Nausaimone, who for some takes too many liberties with poetic convention, actually violates this principle in the title. Many poets would have entitled the poem, “Pupunga Lose” (Cluster of Roses). In line 2 the poet establishes the divine sanction for the rule of Royal Family. Lines 3 and 4 remind us that Tonga is a choice land above all other lands of the Pacific. Lines 5 and 6 state precisely the fundamental impetus for Tongan creative arts, namely, gratitude for the Royalty. The Ha’a Tongafisi, or the tribe of Tongafisi, alludes to the poets and orators of the kingdom. Presiding over the cluster of roses, the paradise of the Pacific, and the Ha’a Tongafisi is the “woman of Halapaini” (woman of the road of Pines) 6 or Queen Salote herself. Stanza two of Nausaimone’s eulogy repeats the tone of the first, addressing the glories of Tonga’s past and future. The covenant mentioned in line 10 is King George Tupou I’s promise to free all Tongans from the bondage of the chiefs, which came to pass in 1862. The allusion also embraces the famous scene in Tongan history where, in an assembly of chiefs and cabinet members, King Tupou raised toward heaven a Bible and a handful of soil and “gave” his kingdom to the guidance and protection of God. From this event comes the national slogan, “God and Tonga are my heritage.” Finally, in the refrain Nausaimone attempts to capture the unrestrained mafana or warmth that informs the highest artistic moment in Tongan faiva, when all elements of a performance come together into a gestalt of feeling known as “kuo tau e langi” (the singing has hit the mark).
Posted on: Sat, 05 Apr 2014 05:05:42 +0000
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