✕
Mid-Morning
The sun has risen,
and is coming around Taufa street1
Decorate and prepare the road
and await its coming; sound the minor chord
Calm the troubled heart
Yes, the platonic love felt in the spinal chord2
Chorus:
Wear your little fahina lei3
from the sacred, unshakeable kakala4; the color of emerald
is your sweet face in the unreachable heavens
If the kakala begins to rot
The siale tafa8 will begin to bud
The sweet odor of the kakala
Is your garland made with heilala
Perfume of my beloved one
Chorus
- 1. Taufaʻahau is a major road in Tongatapu; it follows the entire coast of the bay and ends at the capital city, Nukuʻalofa.
- 2. literally: silver thread
- 3. Refers to the style of garland into which dried slices of the red fruit of the pandanus tectorius is woven.
- 4. The word "kakala" does not refer to one particular plant, but rather refers to any number of flowers, seeds, or woods which have a pleasant smell.
- 5. The most important of all kakala. It is considered to be the national plant of Tonga due to its extremely pleasant smell and historical significance.
- 6. A common kakala that bears yellow and white flowers with five petals each.
- 7. A place in Tonga
- 8. Another common kakala that bears white flowers with four petals each.
- 9. A kind of tree (atuna racemosa) with hollow fruit that look like tiny floating lanterns
- 10. Refers to a type of body ornament worn around the waist made out of the leaves of the mapa tree, which is an uncommon kakala
Nogha✕
Translations of "Fangai Lupe"
English #1, #2
Comments
Russia is waging a disgraceful war on Ukraine. Stand With Ukraine!
About translator
Many people have misinterpreted the title of this song to mean, "Doves," or "Feeding Pigeons." However, the first word of this song is not "Fanga Lupe" nor is it "Fafangaʻi Lupe", but rather, "Fāngailupe," which is a word which refers to the morning sun as it is midway between the horizon and its highest point.
In the last line of the first verse, the word "nanivi" refers to the way in which a parent acts towards their child, and the phrase "filo siliva" literally means "silver thread," but it figuratively means "spinal cord." This is difficult to translate into English.
Throughout the song, I have translated the Tongan word "siʻoto," as "your," though it could also be translated as "one's" since the word does not specifically refer to the listener, but rather anyone in general. However, in English, "one's" is awkward, and as the unspecific "you" is used much more often, I have chosen to use that instead.
I would also note that this Tongan transliteration is filled with many errors, and the line breaks are put in incorrect places in many instances (such as lines 3 and 4 where the phrase "ʻo taliʻeva" should be removed from the beginning of line 4 and placed at the end of line 3). Where there were issues with the line breaks not going where they should, I have put a semi-colon so that my translation works line-for-line but is still intelligible.