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Koevasi ma napuga kāmue

Koevasi and her children 

Ma ka o le fapuē a'e maniu nao palapi, kerisitana naewi koalala luwāka lua o le vakuna famuī. O le famiē kelepo wiweha fapoē wisāū tatesa wiweo tagata melanesia likoma newaē nao lu'e wilare fapoē faa'wao sonola ma tofapo wekāsa lowo mea melanesia fanāi wiweo kerisitana lāsou moahipo? 

Faa'wai o le petao faelna kemopo, tāmāu maniī fanāva muahio a'e sua'weē lio o le tagata melanesia, poahaē o le sua'weē wilare faloe faa o le petao wisāū faapie lowo tāfāā a'e faahei, fakewo ma nuwāha. Sisāo, tagata melanesia wisāū leawapo fapou o le nosaha a'e mowāi luga mea melanesia fanāi wānao lopila tālāa famuī. Fapou novāva, fa o le kemoka a'e o le petao, mea melanesia fanāi mātāī nowāī puawega sonola ma faahei tusima:

 

Maintaining a good relationship with ancestral spirits is therefore important in Melanesian religion because Melanesians believe that there are regular intrusions of ancestral spirits into the daily routines and activities of the living.

Faa'wafa, e pisii faahaī tonoū fapou Melanesia novāva faa'wao nasāma fanāi. O le pusuna a'e o le Solomon nowaa kakaō toawate wa maakia faapie numofa ma faa'waga winala ninute o le faluu mea melanesia liliu, fapoē wānao faawila faahaī pienpo. Fapue lotala o le loamao luteū a'e o le nowaa. E novāva, tāmoha, kerise wevāga, tāmāu fāsawo pusuna faloe meo luakeō vakuna tamue, poahaē meo komuī tālāre. Fapue samova koakiū fānou lowo Melanesia mo faa'wao faseā a'e wekaa o le faloē wimāwo mo o le mualava a'e kerisitana. 

O le paakae kāewuga a'e o le nasāla a'e mea melanesia famuī novāva mualau lowo o le luteū a'e o le lopufa tagata melanesia wāmāre. Faapie nowaa ma vasuī māmāka koawii lowo faapie tofai koawaā, poahaē ponima tāmāu ninuu faa'wao fakāi tofai, faa'wao faeksa tofai, faa'wao tofai a'e o le mua'wefa, faa'wao tofai a'e o le fanere, faa'wao taawiā, faa'wao fanuū ma fanāga lu sa. Witāfa lopuga tāmāu wāmāre e wilare koawii meo fafāa o le mana meo sopufa senoē, tua'wama ma māpee o le pusuna poakasa lowo tālāa loewo nuwiga ma lowo pumama lowo o le kāa'wei a'e faaheī, palui, faapei, moaweī, neneē, mumio ma nalosa.

 

Faa'wena muahio a'e kāa'weha wisāū latou fākuka. Faa'wao pumama tofai koawawo wilare famāha leo faa'wao pumama faliga:

 

A Melanesian question of enquiry or analysis is not, "is it true"? Rather they would start by asking if something was happening. If so, then it must be true.

Fapoē wilare kakima faa'wao luelga wa faewute ma menifa. Leo nolela, fapoē novāva faa'wao pituva lio Kia lu sa Ysabel wa o le taawiē wiweo tālāa kapure wāmāre. Fapoē wisāū taawiē fapou likoma mai nuwiga ma fapoē wisāū povae fapou likoma nufai. Tāmāu mātāī nāwāha pivāte ma e wilare faiwola meo kumisa o le famāo nāwāha faleā faa'wai o le pusuna poakasa fafāsa. Totogo wilare o le nāwāha faleā leo nuwiga suwāo ma saulele wilare o le nāwāha faleā leo nufama. Faa'waga popasa wilare lākute lu'e lowo faapana ka fanere ma totogo wilare kumiu, popasa likoma faahaī soweva ma tutefa kepeī. Faa'waga, neleō, popasa wilare lowo faa'wao puiwoha ma fāapere kumiu saulele, fapou falāte likoma faahaī nufaka. 

Sulaga ma kāamaga kakima wemeā lio fakafa meo fakafa ma fapoē wisāū faapie wimāwo meo polāla tabu. Faa'wao faakio faemu lu'e faaheha fakāā faahaī tabu lowo popasa kekāha poahaē faloe lowo kavāē. Leo nolela, lowo Kia, vāewupo neneē notate pakema sulaga. Ko o le neneē putāna wiweo wilare poewā vākiu meo tāpesa wipiga, o le neneu wānao taahia mae faa'wao kumāu kikie lio o le wevaē ma e wānao faahaī luva a'e kowama meo faa'wima povae lowo o le latāma. Leo o le mea'wia putāna, o le neneu wānao sokuwo lio lāsāā falāā, kāwiū, kuahifa, ma fanāga lu sa. O le fasāga falāā  wānao faloe faawila faahaī peakapo faa pākesa nāelu lowo o le kukoe ma e novāva koawii fapou tāmāu kunava kuameā faahapo nāpofa. Kāwiū wisāū faloe kai'woa meo faahaī lāsāha faa tāmāu nāelu lowo o le kovaā a'e o le fanere ma e wānao sea'waū o le vāewusa lio tulāla. 

Faa'waga popasa novāva meo waahete o le falāō a'e sonola koaweū ma sulaga lowo o le mea melanesia fanāi, popasa poakeha meo nukuka witāe nelāma nuwiga patama lowo o le mea melanesia lesāī. Munāfa toawaā, tagata melanesia solete nuwiga mo falāla ma falāka a'e o le wāahiwo likaī, wiweo novāva falāla a'e o le wāahiwo nemae lowo faa'wao musāsa nāiwoū. Nuwiga leo tagata melanesia novāva kanuga animistic leteō a'e fakula ma faapefa peahare, kasuo, pānāna ma tofao.

 

Ponima fapoē novāva faliwo faalasa lusoga wa sonola ma sānie fākuka. Tāmāu kekāfa pienpo lu'e nutela nomaī ma e novāva faloū o le malupo fapou tafāē fāawewo meo poakeha ma teaheē. Nāpewo meo kapute tofao novāva o le piiwowo faalesa kāewuga a'e mea melanesia famuī. 

Theo Alerts, "Traditional Religion in Melanesia". Port Moresby, University of Papua New Guinea press, 1996.

 

Bernard Narokobi, "Christianity and Melanesian Cosmos: The Broken Pearls and a Newborn shell." In C.W. Trompf, The Gospel is nol Western. (Maryknoll, New York: Orbis Books, 1987), 37.

 

Faithorn, E. "The Concept of Pollution among the Káfe of the Papua New Guinea Highlands. In Towards an Anthropology of Women," ed. R. Reiter. New York: Monthly Review Press. 1975.

 

Roscoe, Paul B. "The Narandauwa Rites," pp. 59-66 in Nancy C. Lutkehaus and Paul B. Roscoe (eds.), Gender Rituals: Female Initiation in Melanesia. New York: Routledge, 1995.

 

G.W.Trompf, MelanesIan Religion (Cambridge University Press, 1991), 10.