Ko e Fono’
Kupu Maclntre, Lesieli
Notes
Cultural featuresThe cultural features in this story include:
the protocols followed at fono (see below), with most people sharing seating space on large, rectangular mats (people who arrive late or have difficulty sitting low down will sit on chairs at the back of the room) and wearing formal dress (‘Oku ou tui fakavave hoku vala lelei', helu hoku ‘ulu', pea u ‘alu ki he loki ‘o Nena'. ‘Oku tui ‘e Nena hono kofu faka‘ofo‘ofa/I quickly put on my good clothes, comb my hair, and go to Nena’s room. Nena is wearing her best dress). Some people wear tupenu (lavalava, wraparound skirts) and ta‘ovala (fine mat wrapped around the waist), and Nena is wearing a kiekie (an ornamental string-skirt girdle attached to a waistband) over her best dress
the reciting of a lotu and then Lotu ‘a e ‘Eiki'/the Lord’s Prayer at the start of the fono, indicating the importance of Christianity in the Tongan culture
the importance of showing faka‘apa‘apa/respect and ‘ofa/love, which are core values in Tongan culture, for example, the narrator goes with Nena to the fono even though he would have preferred to do other things; when he is at the fono, he shows respect by making room for others on his mat; the people who join them on the mat show respect by asking permission to share their mat; and the people showed respect for their religion when they start the fono with the prayers
the importance of fevahevahe‘aki/sharing and fetokoni‘aki/helping one another with the sharing of the resources such as the mat space and the fruit (fruit is commonly shared at such events as a sign of thanks)
the importance of talangofua/obedience, as shown by the narrator doing what Nena directs him to do.
Fono
Fono are the central political structure of a village, district, island, or community and the means by which notices are given, issues are discussed, and decisions are made. Usually, leaders and orators (speech makers) are present at all fono.
Additional Notes
Text featuresLanguage features
The language features of this story include:
use of lea fakamatāpule (polite level of language) and lea tavale (everyday language), for example, lea fakamatāpule when the leader says: Mālō ho‘omou lelei ki he pongipongi' ni / good morning, everyone; and the older man says: Fakamālō atu he vahevahe mai ho fala/thanks for sharing your mat; and then lea tavale when the narrator tells the story from his point of view: Pea u ‘alu ki he loki ‘o Nena' / I go to Nena’s room
use of prepositions of direction, for example, ki he fono /to the fono'; ki he ‘aisi' / into the fridge; ki he holo ‘o e ‘apiako'/to the school hall
descriptors placed after the word being described, for example, ‘ū ongoongo fakamāhina/news monthly (monthly news); fo‘i ‘apele kulokula fuolahi/apple red big (big red apple); he konga ‘e fā / pieces four (four pieces)
use of formulaic expressions, for example, kātaki/sorry; vave!/quick!; tūlou / excuse me; mani/phew; tama ni!/yum!; me‘a ifo mo‘oni! / delicious!
use of possessive phrases to indicate ownership, for example, ‘o e ‘apiako' / of the school; e taki ‘o e fono' / the fono leader
use of the definitive accent to indicate specificity – a particular item rather than the generic, for example, Ko e Fono' / the Fono (a specific fono rather than any fono); Fakamālō atu he vahevahe mai ho fala / thanks for sharing your mat (this particular mat)
use of pea to indicate the next action to take place, for example, Pea foki ‘a Nena ki hono loki'. Pea u ‘alu ki he loki ‘o Nena' / Nena returns to her room. I go to Nena’s room
use of a range of adjectives, for example, hela‘ia/tired; lelei/good; faka‘ofo‘ofa/attractive; kulokula/red
use of fo‘i as the generic term for fruit, followed by the word that defines it as a particular type of fruit, for example, fo‘i siaine / banana; fo‘i ‘apele kulokula fuolahi / a big red apple; fo‘i mango / mango (The English names “kiwifruit” and “passionfruit” follow a similar form.)
use of words transliterated from English, for example, holo/hall; ‘aisi/ice, fridge; ‘apele/apple
similarity of the words fanongonongo/notices and ongoongo/news and the associated word fanongo/hear, with the Māori word whakarongo/listen.
my notes
Cultural featuresThe cultural features in this story include:
the protocols followed at fono (see below), with most people sharing seating space on large, rectangular mats (people who arrive late or have difficulty sitting low down will sit on chairs at the back of the room) and wearing formal dress (‘Oku ou tui fakavave hoku vala lelei', helu hoku ‘ulu', pea u ‘alu ki he loki ‘o Nena'. ‘Oku tui ‘e Nena hono kofu faka‘ofo‘ofa/I quickly put on my good clothes, comb my hair, and go to Nena’s room. Nena is wearing her best dress). Some people wear tupenu (lavalava, wraparound skirts) and ta‘ovala (fine mat wrapped around the waist), and Nena is wearing a kiekie (an ornamental string-skirt girdle attached to a waistband) over her best dress
the reciting of a lotu and then Lotu ‘a e ‘Eiki'/the Lord’s Prayer at the start of the fono, indicating the importance of Christianity in the Tongan culture
the importance of showing faka‘apa‘apa/respect and ‘ofa/love, which are core values in Tongan culture, for example, the narrator goes with Nena to the fono even though he would have preferred to do other things; when he is at the fono, he shows respect by making room for others on his mat; the people who join them on the mat show respect by asking permission to share their mat; and the people showed respect for their religion when they start the fono with the prayers
the importance of fevahevahe‘aki/sharing and fetokoni‘aki/helping one another with the sharing of the resources such as the mat space and the fruit (fruit is commonly shared at such events as a sign of thanks)
the importance of talangofua/obedience, as shown by the narrator doing what Nena directs him to do.
Fono
Fono are the central political structure of a village, district, island, or community and the means by which notices are given, issues are discussed, and decisions are made. Usually, leaders and orators (speech makers) are present at all fono.
| Location | edition | Bar Code | due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Library Tongan ESOL Bin | 71339 |
| call #: | KUP |
| ISBN: | 0790340399 9780790340395 |
| pub: | 2012 |