Page:An account of the natives of the Tonga Islands.djvu/222

156 the people, who clapped their hands, whilst the matabooles exclaimed malie ! malie! (well done! well done!). The young chiefs and their com- panions from Hamoa, sung the following song, beating time with their hands: it is in the lan- guage of the Navigator's islands, and Mr. Ma- riner does not understand the meaning of it; he was so much in the habit of hearing the Tonga people sing in that language, which they affect to admire, though very few understand what they sing, that he neglected to enquire the meaning of this song ; but the words, or ra- ther the syllables, (for it is hard to say whether they are divided quite right), he remembers perfectly well, as many of the people went about all the following night singing it, accords ing to the custom at Hamoa: the song is as follows : Lafe lafe e, lafe lafe e, Lafe lafe 6 chinilau } Chi a my ta to. 6a lao fia tala ou. Moegnagnongo e, Moegnagnongo e ; TcK^bo mo Lak^pa e, Toobo mo Lakepa 6. Toobo Mo Lakepa was the name of one of the brides, who was a personage of greater rank than the other. While this singing and these acclamations were going forward, the prince led his brides