Koe Laulau 'o Tungī Mailefihi ^Featured

I
Tua'ofa i he Uafu-ko-Vuna
Kuo puli siono fŌtunga
Pāte'i 'o e Hala Tukutonga
Taukei 'o e Hala Vaea
Si'i tu'u 'ai tu'unga fuka
Kapa 'ae Lupe he funga tauā
O fehui pe ko e fē 'ae lala Heilala
Kuo puli ihe ha'aha'a 'o e taufa
He kakapu na'e tŌ i Tonga?
II
'E Tupou ke fakamolemole
'Oua na'a ai ha me'a 'e tamele
I si'i tukufolau 'a e Lose
Ka neonga 'a e me'a ko fefe
Oku ai hotau pule.
III
'E Tungī Tu'i Ha'ateiho ē
Si'i fakahifo tama a Mele
Si'i mokopuna 'o Toluafe
Na'a ke fotu tu'utu'utai pē
O ke no'o ka vikiviki pē
O ke fahu ki he pao i kiē.
IV
Kuo malolo a Tonga n i o tatali
Kia Tupouto'a ke ne me'a mai
'Ofa he folau tāunoā
Puke hono mo'u tafu'uā
Pea ne ikai ke fa'a leā
He 'ene ilo koe me'a mamafā
Ka ke me'a pē he nusipepa.
Kuo hope 'eiki oe Fā
Kuo lata ihe Loto'ā
Tupu'i Nuku'alofa he mo'unga 'o e Hau.
V
Mate 'ofa ihe Afa oe Fā
He Kaloni 'Ofa 'o e Pule'anga
Pe ko hai te he fa'a fakamatala
Ae mahu'inga 'o ho 'uhinga?
Mokupuna oe ngahi Ha'a
Ha'a Tu'i Tonga, Ha'a Tamaha
Te 'ofa he toi 'eiki 'o Tonga
Laulotuha 'o e fonua
Te 'ofa he kakapu 'ene tŌ
Na'e to tonu he vaha'akolo
TŌ he Sia ko Veiongo
Puli si'i Tavake Toto
Ne nga'a 'o Ha'amoheofo.
VI
Kuo siu he vaha mama'o
Ko e toki me'a ne faka'ofa
A si'i folau mai 'a e Kovana
He 'ene ilo hono mahu'inga
Pea tali ene hake ki'uta (mo'unga)
Pea ikai he lava kuo puli he lo'i fofonga.
VII Tau
'Ofa he kakala koe Faka'otusia
Moe Faka'ofilani na'e 'eve'eva
He Hala Tukungalahi tŌ 'a e Taufa
Pea puli ai 'oku ilo 'ehe toutai
Si'i faka'osi 'ene 'eve'eva I Mu'a na.
'E Mailefihi pei me'a ā
Pea ngata ai he kuo toe pē ki he vaivai
Moe mātu'a tula mo mahamahaki
Kuo kakai 'aki 'ae fonua ni.

The Eulogy for Tungī Mailefihi (Translated by Adrienne L. Kaeppler)

I
Pity to Vuna wharf
Missing his familiar appearance.
He knew Tukutonga Road well,
Was familiar with Vaea Road.
The poor flagpole
Where fluners the dove on the tower19
Asking, where is the Heilala garland
That was destroyed by the storm,
The fog that fell in Tonga?
II
Oh Tupou, please
Don't let anything hurt you
In the going away of the Rose
But still
We have our Lord.
III
Descendant of the Tu'i Ha'ateiho
Dear elevated son of Mele [Siu'ilikutapul
Dear grandchild of Toluafe
Who always appeared beautiful.
You will wear praise only
The fahu to the points of the kiē.
IV
Tonga is resting and waiting
For Tupouto'a [Tungī's son, the present king] to come
Sorry for the trip that was in vain
Sick with shock at the bad news
And didn't want to speak
When he found the serious news
Was in the newspaper.
The rising chief of the Fā [the fruit of a pandanus; it refers to a specific chiefly line]
Was at ease in the palace
Born in Nuku'alofa of the reigning monarch.
V
Sympathy for the image of the Fā
The beloved cologne of the government.
Who can explain it,
The reason for your greatness?
Descendant of the ranking lineages
Descendant of the Tu'i Tonga and the Tamaha
Sorry for the last chief of Tonga
No equal in the land
Sorry for the fog that fell
Right between the villages
Fell on Sia koveiongo [a hill next to the palace]
Poor lost Tavake Toto [a red-tailed tropic bird]
The fish of Ha'amoheofo.
VI
Crossing the far distant sea
There was nothing more pitiful
Than when the governor arrived
He realized how important he was
Waiting for him to come up to the grave
And he didn't come, for he was crying.
VII Chorus
Sympathy to Faka'otusia [a named flower necklace]
And the Faka'ofilani [a named flower necklace] who went strolling,
On Tukungalahi Road the storm fell
His loss was known to the mariners
The sad last walk in Mu'a.
Goodbye, Mailefihi
This is the end; only the old people are left
The bald-headed people and the sick ones
Are the only ones left in the land.