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HAOAG NE 'ATMOT TA ROTUMA
The Making of the Island of Rotuma

 

Hạila'oag ma mäel tarau rua se hanhapat 'e rer ne 'ạtmot
About two hundred miles to the north of the islands mou ne Fiti,

ma mäel ma'oi pau se soloag as ne Sa'moa, tä fū
belonging to Fiji, and many miles west of Samoa, there is

sin 'ạtmot ạf mea'mea' het ne he' Rotuma.
a small island chain called Rotuma.

'Atmot he his 'i kat no' ra 'e te' ne av 'i.
This island had not always been there.

'E 'on tauas pau, gat se kikia li' lealea tafat 'esea, leu roaf ma
Long ago, there was only wide empty sea, coming in and

se laloga ka kat 'es a'ofiag het ra.
going out without end.

'E av heta'ag ta fā gagajat 'e Sa'moa 'on asa Raho,
At that time a chief lived in Samoa, whose name was Raho

ka ia ma 'on ma'piag he rua; ma'piag fā heta 'on asa Lama,
and he had two grandchildren; the grandson was named Lama,

ka ma'piag hȧn heta Maiva.
and the granddaughter was Maiva.

Ma tē aire le' he rua ma'piag fā 'eseat ma, ka iria ma 'oria
Although the two children had the same grandfather, they had

ma'piag hȧn tūtū rua, 'e reko Raho 'inos ma hȧn rua.
two grandmothers, because Raho had married two wives.

ma'piag he rua hạipeluag hạisokoag.
And the two grandchildren fought continually.

Lama tiaptiap'ȧk se Maiva ma 'ea'ea, “'äna 'ou ma'piag
Lama taunted Maiva, saying, “Your grandmother

hȧn ta, hȧn a'pufạ'ạkit.
was the inferior wife.”

Ma 'äe 'igke le' a'pumua'ȧk het, 'äe le' forau het.”
And you are not a superior child, you are a foreigner.”

Maiva noh kokon'ȧk av ne Lama la he' as se lelei tape' 'i
Maiva was sad when Lama would call such unkind names

se iag.
to her.

Lama rē tape', ma rē tape', ma hele' la Maiva la fek.
Lama kept on, and kept on, until Maiva became furious.

Ma tä ia leuag se 'on ma'piag fā ta ma 'eag,
She went to her grandfather and said,

“Figalelei ko Ma'piag fā, ma hoa'kia gou se ta 'ạtmot tū hoi'ạkit
“Please Grandfather, take me away to another island

la 'itarua 'esea la noh,
so we can live together,

la po la Lama la tā'ea 'e rē tape'it se goua.”
and so Lama will stop doing those things to me.”

Ma tä Raho, 'e 'on huag hanisi 'eag,
Then Raho, full of love, said

“Gou 'inea ne 'äe kat 'oaf'oaf ra ko Maiav.
“I know that you are not happy, Maiva.

Ka gou fas'ȧk vȧh se Lama la tā 'ea 'e rē a'sanenet se 'äea.
And I have ordered Lama to stop mocking you.

Ka nono ka ia kal toak ra 'inea ne gou la tapen'ȧk.
But if he will not stop, then what can I do.

'äe 'inea 'on ma'piag hȧn ta ta 'oto hȧn mumue ta, ka 'igke 'on
You know his grandmother was my first wife, but this doesn’t

fūag heta, gou tokatoua 'e la hanis a'ti' se 'äeag.
mean I stop loving you very much.

'äe la nono ma se 'oto ma'piag a'pumua'ȧk heta.”
You will always be my favorite grandchild.”

Ka Maiva has'ȧk ma kikia ma 'eag,
But Maiva insisted and said,

“Figalelei, figalelei ko Ma'piag fā.
“Please, please, Grandfather.

'Äe pa kat 'es ra la gou la nohnoh kokonoatou, ne?
You don’t want me to live unhappily, do you?

'äna tā kal 'oaf ra se ta le' hȧn fekfek het.
No one will like a girl who’s always angry.

Ma gou la sok se' la hȧn haharạgit, ka tā pa kal
I will be an unmarried woman, because no one will want to

'inos ra ma gou, kepoi ka gou la taptape' ma.”
marry me, if I would stay like this.”

Kotä Raho 'eag, “Tape' ma lelei, gou la väe ta lelea' garue
Then Raho said, “Okay, I will assign some servants

la matạ' se 'äe, ma ta fā hälet la sua'ạkia 'äe se
to look after you, and a group of men to paddle you to

ta 'ạtmot hoi'ạkit, la fürmaria se 'äe, ma 'ou kaumane'aga.”
another island, to make you comfortable with your friends.”

Ka Maiva ou'ȧk tape' se kikia, “'Igkȧ', gou kat 'oaf ra se.
But Maiva just cried again, “No, I don’t like that.

Gou pa 'es kikia la 'itarua 'esea ko Ma'piag fā.
I want to have just us two alone, Grandfather.

Gou kal 'oaf'oaf ra kepoi ka 'äe kal puapua ra ma gou.”
I would not be happy if you were not with me.”

Gagaj mafue te'is a'titoaf se 'on ma'piag heta ka 'on
The old chief stared at his grandchild with

a'häe okok.
a bewildered mind

Ia 'eag, “Ka gou la a'sok tapen ko Maiav?
He said, “How can I do that, Maiva?

'Oto hȧn mumue ta kal röt'ȧk paua ra gou, ka tape'ma se 'oto
My main wife would not allow me to, nor my

le' fā ta.
son.

Ma Lama tape'ma kal 'oaf ra sin.
And Lama also would not like it.

'äna ia tape'ma 'oto ma'piag het fak ma se 'äe.”
You know, he’s also my grandchild, just like you.”

Ka ne Maiva far'ȧk hoi'ȧk ma 'eag,
But Maiva begged again, saying,

“Ko Ma'piag fā, 'äna 'itarua la 'oaf'oaf pau 'itar 'esea.
Grandfather, you and I would be very happy together.

'Ou kaunohoag rua gat ke av hạipeluag, ma gou hanis 'e 'äea
Your two families just fight each other, but I love you

ka 'äe hanis tape'ma 'e goua.”
and you also love me.”

'On ma'piag ta kar tū se' kikia ka kat tō ra.
Her grandfather turned away and didn’t say a thing.

'E pög 'atakoa ta'ag ia kat mös pau ra.
The whole night he didn’t sleep at all.

Ia a'a'häe'ạkia kikia tēet ne 'on ma'piag hȧn a'pumua'ȧk te'is
He was just thinking of what his favorite granddaughter

far'ạki.
had requested.

Nono ma hanua mijarȧn se' ka ia a'fūmou'ȧk vȧh 'on a'häe ta.
When morning came he confirmed his decision.

Ia foar se 'on fā häl majau ta la siag'ạkia ta 'ại hūut ma 'oloa ta
He told his craftsmen to fell a tree and build a

vakat. 'Oloag ne vak ta rēag tạkiroroa.
canoe. Building the canoe lasted a long time.

Ma Raho rēag kokon 'e reko Maiva tuk ma kikia 'on javjava, ka
And Raho was worried because Maiva was getting thin, and

Lama popō ma ke tē avat se mua 'on rē raksa' se iag.
Lama was increasing his bad treatment of her.

Ka ne Raho ma Maiva kat foar pau ra se ta le'et 'oria 'amnȧk ta.
Neither Raho nor Maiva had told anyone of their intention.

Nono ma vak ta la titiu'ạkia ma tä famör 'atakoa ne kor ta
When the canoe was ready to launch, everyone in the village

pūum la kelearis ma 'ioa ne hạiasoag tapenet iris po la rē.
went down to watch and assist however they could.

Iris tukuof vak ta ma tokoaf se sȧs ta
They lowered the canoe and pushed it to the sea

ka te' oioiavei 'i 'e reko 'on jeamjeam lelei ma laglaga,
and were exclaiming because of its lightness and buoyancy,

ka mạn lelei fak ma se ta mạnmạn ferfer het 'e rer ne tạn ta,
and it floated like a bird on top of the water,

ka taumua ne vak ta tat lelei se' ma se rere.
and the prow of the canoe raised up high.

'E pög ta'ag Raho höt'ȧk näe'ȧk se' se vak ta ta osot
That night Raho secretly put in the canoe some provisions

tela'ā ma tạn, ma 'af jarav pear rua 'e pear ne 'on
of food and water, and two coconut leaf baskets of soil from

'ạtmot ta Savai'i.
his island of Savai’i.

Nono ma hanua pög hoi'ȧk se' ma, ma tä Raho ma hisit 'e
When night came again, Raho and a few of

'on famör ne ia tua'nȧk pau sin, ka tape'ma se 'on ma'piag
his people that he trusted and also his grandchild

heta Maiva hotiof iris se vak ta.
Maiva boarded the canoe.

Iris füt a'riri' se' läe 'eap ta, ma 'e avat ne lȧg ta
They quietly hoisted the plaited sail, and as soon as the wind

tau e se läe ma vak ta ne ifoaf ma se soloag as ta
struck the sail, the canoe leaned westward

ma tä' ma rēaf ma se laloga.
and was soon far out to sea.

Ma pög ma rȧn vak ta tautaumua ma se mia' a'helav
By day and by night the canoe headed toward the beautiful red

ne soloag as ta.
of the sunset.

Iris sousou pau se li' lealea ta ma tä Raho a'häe'ȧk ne
They were very far out to sea when Raho decided that

hạitauag lelei'ia ma roa ne 'oris la' ta.
the length of their journey was good enough.

'e av 'atakoat ne vak ta la'la' ag'ȧk sio iris
The entire time that the canoe had been sailing ahead, they

kat räe hanua a'esea ra, ka kat räe ra tape'ma se ta aoag fȧv ne
had not seen any land, nor had they seen any huge clouds that

kop ma la juj'ȧk sin ta 'ạtmot pu'atāat 'e lā ne lȧg ta.
might point out an isolated island on the horizon.

Kotä Raho 'ea tape' se 'on fā häl garue hisi,
Then Raho said to his few servants,

“Tuk 'af pear rua se li' ta.”
“Throw two baskets of soil into the sea.”

Ma iris ferehit, ka ne iris rē la fak ma sin, ma iris jio'ȧk sio
They were surprised, but they did it, and they tossed out

'af rua 'e far ne vak ta.
two baskets over the edge of the canoe.

Ma perat ne häem 'e Sa'moa kat sol ra,
And the soil that had been taken from Samoa did not sink,

ka kamat la fup, ma hele' la fup ta 'ạtmot ti'ut
but began to grow, until it became a large island

hạila'oag ma mäel siav 'on roa, ka ma sol ma lul,
ma approximately nine miles long, with hills and valleys,

and hune'el a'helav, ma niu 'oris raneniu uet a'riri' 'e
beautiful beaches, and coconut palms swaying slowly in

muer ne lȧg ta, ka vao mori mamoas perper lelei.
the breeze, and groves of perfectly ripe oranges.

Iris füt vak ta se hune'el fanfan ta.
They landed the canoe on the sandy beach.

Avat ne iris 'utuof se uaf'ȧk, ma tä iris räe tape'ma se 'üh ra
Just as they went ashore, they noticed yams

titi' fak ma se 'on ti' ne ta famorit 'e pear 'e'es ta.
as large as the size of a person in the rich soil.

Nōnō ma iris vakạiof se sạsi ka iris räeaf ne ta pear ut het
When they looked across the sea they saw that a bit of soil

vil rēag sousouof ma fup tape'ma ta 'ạtmotut
had fallen in the distance and an island was growing

mäel his 'on sousou het 'e irisag.
a few miles distant from them.

Raho he' as ne 'ạtmot ta'ag Rotuma, ma as te'is kamata
Raho named the island Rotuma, and this name began

ma 'e av ta' ka hele'um se 'on 'i'i.
at that time and continues to today.

Rotuma 'ạtmot a'helav paut.
Rotuma is a very lovely island.

Niu fup a'fuamamau ka mori hue 'e laloag
Coconut palms grow abundantly and oranges are available

ne fau 'atakoa ta, ka pear ta 'e'es lelei se vek 'uhi.
the entire year, and the soil is fertile for yam gardens.

Kakại ne Rotuma ȧr ti' se' se lelea' Sa'moa, 'e iris
The inhabitants of Rotuma resemble Samoans more than

lelea' Fiti, ka ne 'oris fäeag ta ma 'oris maka 'el'ȧk se' se
Fijians, but their language and their dances are closer to

fäeag ma mak 'on lelea' Toga.
the language and dance of the Tongans.

Ka ne ag fak hanua ma'oi rēag 'el se' se ag 'on famör ne
But many of their customs are close to those of the people who

noh rēag sousou'ạkiof se hanhapat 'e rere 'eleaf se 'ekueita.
live rather far away to the north near the equator.

Tör 'es 'on Raho ma 'on ma'piag heta Maiva famör noh
The descendants of Raho and his grandchild Maiva live

'oaf'oaf, ka kat mao'ạkia ra ne 'oris 'ạtmot a'helav te'is iris
kappily, and have not forgotten that this beautiful island they

pō ma hün se huag toa' 'on Raho fā gagaj ne Savai'i, ma 'on
obtained through the courage of Raho, chief of Savai’I, and his

ma'piag hanis te'is Maiva.
beloved grandchild Maiva.