The Fijians: A Study of the Decay of Custom
The Epic of Dengei
page 138
The Epic of Dengei
Ko Dengei sa tangi langalanga, | Thus did Dengei weep tears of annoyance, | ||
"Bongi ndua, bongi rua ka'u yandra | "One night, two nights have I lain awake, | ||
Bongi tolu, bongi va ka'u yandra, | Three nights, four nights have I lain awake, | ||
Sa tambu ndungu ndina ko Turu-kawa, | Not once has Turukawa cooed, | ||
Isa! nonku toa, na toa turanga, | Alas! my fowl, my noble fowl! | ||
Isa! nonku toa, na toa tamata, | Alas! my fowl, my man-like fowl, | ||
Tiko e ulunda na ka rarawa, | Sorrow has taken possession of my brain, | ||
Au lolova kina, au tambu kana, | I am sick with it; I cannot eat, | ||
Matanivanua, mai thithi manda, | Come, herald, run, | ||
Mai thithi sara ki Narauyamba, | Run straight to Narauyamba, | ||
Mo tarongi rau na ndauvavana, | Question the archers, and say, | ||
'Kemundrua, ru vanai Turukawa?' | 'You, did you shoot Turukawa? | ||
Sa tambu ndungu ni vakamataka, | Not once did he coo at daybreak, | ||
Ma lolo koto Kotoinankara, | The 'Cave-dweller'1 is still fasting, | ||
Ma mbunotha no a wai ni matana, | The tears are welling from his eyes; | Vakasunkame ramothemai wanka." | The men are off to sleep on board.' |
1 Dengei was supposed to inhabit a cavern in Nakauvandra.