VIT1AN GRAMMAR. 387 



Ra vuli vufu, ra tamu rawataka, 

 Ndromu ndole siga ki Mafiia'a. 



Which may be rendered, 



In the town of Rewa blows strongly the south wind, 



It blows steadily from the point of Rewa ; 



The sinu-flowers will be shaken down and scattered, 



So that the women may string garlands ; 



String the sinu, and add to it the lemba, ^ 



When they are finished, I will put it on. 



The queen begs for it, and I untie it ; 



Queen, you take away this our garland, 



I throw it aside on the little couch. 



Let us take the garlands that I have been making, 



That the ladies may make a great stir in coming : 



Let us go to the Thungiawa. 



The mother of Thangi-lamba is vexed ; 



" Wherefore has our song been given away ? 



The basket of fees is empty ; 



This world is a wretched place. 



They are learning the dance ; they will not succeed ; 



The sun sets too early in Mathuata." 



The first verse describes the preparation for a dance, by making garlands, and the 

 idea with which it commences is certainly a poetical one. The south wind, blowing 

 from the point or cape at the mouth of the river of Rewa, shakes down the flowers, so 

 that the women can make garlands. The latter part of the verse, concerning the 

 " queen" and the " little couch," is probably introduced to fill out the stanza with the 

 necessary rhymes. In the next verse, the " ladies" go to the house or mbtire called 

 Thungiawa, to practise their dance. They find their instructress, the composer of the 

 song, annoyed at the small amount of compensation which she has received ; after 

 expressing her displeasure, she declares that they will not succeed in learning the dance, 

 for when the women of Mathuata attempt it, the night arrives too soon for them. Some 

 of the words require more particular annotations. 



Avu or yavu, a place where houses stand, a town ; this name is given to the platforms 

 of stone on which the houses are erected. 



Thla-ndrondro, applied to wind, signifies to blow briskly ; lala-ndrondro na ayi, a 

 fine breeze is -blowing. 



Seva, the south wind ; fevafeva was the word given, but as eva is found in the voca- 

 bulary, and is required in scanning, we have adopted it instead of the reduplicate form. 



Ttika, to lie, to be placed, used here as an auxiliary, like tiko and koto. 



Uu, properly a nose, but used for a point or headland ; the river of Rewa, which is 

 the largest in Viti, falls into the sea a few miles below the town, and has a tongue of 

 land projecting on the south side of the mouth, forming its harbor. 



