Written piece
Na I Vosavosa VakaViti/Fijian Idioms
Susana Tinaicere
Fiji
About this piece
Original
This poem is my way of preserving vosavosa vakaviti—Fijian idioms that are slowly fading from everyday use. Many young iTaukei no longer fully understand their meanings. By rewriting and weaving them into poetry, I aim to give these expressions life again, so they are not only re
English translation
My submission is a Fijian poem that explores vosavosa vakaviti (traditional Fijian idioms) and their meanings. Many of these idiomatic expressions are no longer widely understood by younger iTaukei generations today. Through this work, I aim to revive and reinterpret these cultural sayings by presenting them in a poetic form that brings their meaning, emotion, and cultural depth back to life.
The poem follows a journey of cultural reflection, using language as a vessel to preserve identity and heritage. It is both a creative and cultural effort to ensure that these valuable expressions of Fijian wisdom are not lost, but instead understood, appreciated, and carried forward into the future.
NA I VOSAVOSA VAKA VITI
VAKARAU ME SOKO NA NOQU WAQA NA ADI LOMAIVITI
E NA WASAWASA NA KORO SEA NA UA ME RAU VELIDILIDI
ME CEURAKA E SO NA NODA VOSAVOSA VAKAVITI
ME VUETI TALE MADA NI DAU KEDA I DIVI
NA I MATAI NI VOSA MEU VUETA CAKE MAI
O IKO LEI TAVALE O ‘KANA VAKAIWAI’
OQORI NA KAKANA DINA O KANIA VAKALAILAI
NA KENA I COI O KANIA VAKASIVIA VUNI NOMU VAKATOKAI
NA I CAVUTI NI VOSA MATUA QO NA ‘BUKA DOLOU’
MEU VOSOTI KE SEGA NA MAWENA VEI KEMUDOU
NI TOTOLO LI NA KENA BUCINI SE TEKI VOU
E ‘KATAKATA VAKUROKAVA’ AU VAKATILOU
TUKUNI MO LAKI KEREKERE KI NA DUA NA VANUA
NOMU I GU TAUCOKO KO QAI VAKUSAKUSA
KUVUSA YAWA NA KEMU I BOI NIKO RUI TALEI DUADUA
DAU CAVUTI KINA NI VAKA NA ‘CAVU DALO MATUA’
VAKAVU DODOMO KO ADI NA MALUMU NI TOLONA
MUSUDONU VINAKA E SA VESUKA NOMU MONA
NA MALUMU NI MATANA VUNI NOMU DOMODOMONA
E KAINAKI NI ‘VAKA NA I VANA NI ROGO VOKA’
MALIWA LALA KI WASALIWA SE KI DELA NI CO
SE KO VAKASAQAQARA VOLI E DELA NI VURAVURA QO
KO SEGA TALE NI QAI KUNEA NI VAKA E SA DRO
DAU CAVUTI KINA NI SA ‘SEGA NI KUNE RAWA NA KENA O’
KE KO VELAVELA BEKA KO MAVOA SE MADUA
NOMU I VUKIVUKI SA TOBO TU MO KILA
NOMU TAGA SA SINAI VUTUCOQA WALEGA
DAU KILAI NI ‘SA VAKA TUBU NONA TOA’ SA RUI SAKASAKA
TOVOLEA ME KAKUA NI CAVUTI VEI IKO NA ‘KUVU NONA DRAVU’
KAKUA SO NI DOKADOKA NA GUSUMU MO GALU
DE KO NA MAI SORO E MATADRA NA WEKAQU
NOMU KAUKAUWA SA OTI KUA NI TEQA NA TABAMU
KE SA MA NI TAU VEI IKO NA ‘CACA VAKABOKOLA DROKA’ MO KILA
O IKO SA OKATI TU MO TAMATA VUCESA
NI LEVU GA NA KA O KANIA NI SE QAI BUTA GA
TOVOLEA MO VAKASAQAQARA MO OCA TALEGA
SOBO NA I LOKU NI DARO O ‘VUSI SA SURUTA’
DAU MAUMAU KINA NA NANAMAKI NI YAVUSA
NI SIVIA WALEGA A KENA I ROGOROGO SE KA RA TUKUNA
KAYA KINA NA NODA QASE NI ‘LOALOA SEGA NA KENA UCA’
NI DUA NA KA E VAKAMAWE TU KA DAU I DIVI
RA CAVUTA NA MATUA NI TOTOLO KA TUDEI NA KENA LAKI TINI
SEMATI ME ‘VAKATURUWELI’ BEKA AU LAKO AU LILI
VUETI KINA NA VOSA NI ‘VAKA LA E KATA NA TIRI’
VEI KEMUNI RAGONE NANUMA NA VONO NI TATAU
MAI VEI RAU NA QASE MO NI DAU ROGOCI RAU
DE NA QAI KAILAVAKI VEI IKO NA ‘DRAVA I WAU’
NI KO VAKATUBURARAWA TU GA NOMU VUKI VEISAU
ISA NA TURAGA SAU NA NONA LEWA AU ROKOVA
E NA VEIDELANIYAVU ME ROGO KINA NONA VOSA
NANUMI KINA OQO NI ‘SA DUI CAGI GA NI TOBA’
NI KILAI GA MAI NONA VANUA ISA AU LOLOMA
I TATAU MO NI NANUMA NA TAMATA YADUDUA
NI KA BIBI NA VEIVOSA KO NA DAU CAVUTA
NI DAU TUKUNI IRA NA NODA I TUBUTUBU E TAUTUBA
SOBO ‘NI LUTU GA NA NIU ENA LUTU GA KI VUNA’
SA VAKA E TINI BOTOILEVU TU NA KENA MAI VUETI NODA VOSA
SA TOQAI VAKAIVOLA MO NI QAI ROGOCA
LOMA NI SEREMU MAROROYA SARA KA KATONA
NI SA SUKA LESU NA ADI LOMAI SE ‘SA NADAKU O ROKOLA’
NI TEI MOCE MADA MEU SA NA SUKA
MO NI KARONA SARA KA VUETA NA VEIVOSA MATUA
OQO NA KA SA MAI YALI TU NIKUA
SE BACI LOLOMA TALE TU YANI O S.T. DAKUNA
English translation
FIJIAN IDIOMS
My canoe, Adi Lomaiviti, is ready to sail
Across the vast ocean where waves collide and speak
To uncover and awaken our Fijian idioms once more
So they may be revived among us, the descendants
The first expression I bring forth
Is for you, cousin, known as “kana vakaiwai”
This is true sustenance meant to be taken in small measure
For excess reveals the burden behind one’s name and identity
The ancient expression “buka dolou” is spoken here
Forgive me if no space is made among you
For whether it ignites or is stirred too quickly
It burns fiercely like embers I bow before
It is said, go and seek help from another place
In your full eagerness, you rush ahead
Your presence drifts far, for you are deeply valued
Like the uprooted stem of a mature taro
Beloved Adi, tender is the softness within
Gently carved, it has captured your thoughts
The softness of your gaze hides deep longing
Like the bow of a resonant traditional instrument
In empty spaces on sea paths or grassy lands
You wander across this world in search
Yet what has fled can no longer be found
As it is said, “its origin can no longer be traced”
If you are ashamed, wounded, or hesitant
Your turning away reveals what you carry
Your burden is heavy and overflowing
Like a rooster that has grown fierce and restless
Try not to be spoken of as “kuvu nona dravu”
Do not let pride speak louder than silence
For you may one day surrender before your kin
When your strength has faded and your arms grow weak
If you are struck by what is called “caca vakabokola droka,” know this
You are seen as one still learning and inexperienced
For much is consumed while still unripe
Yet you must still seek and endure exhaustion
Behold the silence of delay “the crouching cat”
Hope is often lost within the clan’s expectations
For rumours grow louder than truth itself
As our elders say, “darkness comes without rain”
When something is distant yet often spoken of
The elders speak of it swiftly and firmly
It is connected like a woven rope I move and float
Lifted by words like a sharpened echo of warning
Young ones, remember the path of responsibility
Listen to the wisdom of your elders
Lest you be called “drava i wau” the broken paddle
As you resist change and guidance
O noble chief, I honour your authority
May your words be heard across gatherings
It is remembered that “each hill has its own wind”
For every land holds its own truth, which I love
Remember each and every person
For words spoken carry great weight
Even our ancestors are spoken of beyond
As it is said, “when the coconut falls, it falls to its root”
Thus ends the journey of reviving our words
Recorded so that you may hear them
Held carefully within memory and writing
As Adi Lomaiviti returns home, or “Rokola fades into silence”
Now I take my leave
May you guard and carry these sacred words
These are the things nearly lost today
Still carried forward with love -S.T. Dakuna