Farewell to travellers

Ag Forau: Farewell to Travellers

Ag forau refers to the entertaining of travellers (forau) before they leave on a voyage. Today as in the past, leaving one's community to travel abroad is both exciting and heart-breaking, because destinations are uncertain and one cannot predict one's future. A vast ocean separates Rotuma from other islands and continents; the forau might go and never return. So a few days before the trip neighbours and friends came to help prepare things for the forau to take with them, for example, packing taro or yams in boxes or baskets, fermenting coconuts (tähroro) and putting them in carton boxes or baskets, making brooms. The neighbours and friends enjoyed evening meals together at the forau's home.

At night they played cards and sang and danced until midnight; on the last night together with the forau, they could dance and play cards the whole night. The elders cooked while the young ones entertained the forau until the forau left by boat or aeroplane. A forau needed a big truck to take the ag forau party to the jetty or airport. The purpose of this custom was to show how the people loved and cared for each other.

An example of a song composed for a forau is the song I dedicated to Timoci Tauduadua, my foster grandson, when he left for further education in Fiji:

Hanis'ia 'e 'äe ko lantei Timi	Alas, my dearest, my dear grandson Timmy
Put ma fupfup 'e Savlei	Grew up in Savlei
Fup 'ümtit ka kelea 'e hanis	Growing up in need yet living content
Kat 'es o'it ra la mua'aki	Father gone west and no one to lead
Gat ke rak'ak te 'on ma'piag hani	Only the teaching of grandmother
Ro'ait se 'Aitu te' ne terani	We say our daily prayer to God
Hanis ma na se Timi huag 'atmoi	Lord, bless and give Timmy wisdom
'Inea, poto, la vilim 'e lagi	Knowledge and honesty from above
Noa'ia Gagaj ma sok 'amnaki	Lord we thank thee for all your mercies
Head boy, mua 'e Form 6, ta siav sivag ma hif	Head boy, came first in form 6 in 1997

Hanis'ia 'e 'äe ko lantei Timi	Alas my dearest, my dear grandson Timmy
'Aitu la manoa' 'äe 'e rani	May God be with you wherever you go
Teranit 'äe la hš'hoi'akim	Should you come back to our home one day
Se 'otar ri moit 'e mafahi	Our dear home standing by the shore
Se mao'akia fäeag 'on ma'piag hani	Do remember the teachings of your grandmother
Te'is 'ou hanuet ne 'äe fup sini	This is the place where you spent your childhood
Hanua ne vasu 'on Nana Lili	This is the place of Mum Lily
Hanua pumua 'on ma'piag hani	A place so precious to Bubu ma
Noh 'e Verata ka ia ro'ai'aki	From Verata Bu prays for you
Timoci, 'Aitu la alalum'aki	May God bless Timoci

To Mamasa: Welcoming Ceremonies

Kato'aga: Rotuman Ceremonies

by Elizabeth K. Inia