Roviana love poem
Tiroa na
Sa kine hamu pa tiroana
Hie sa qua meru meru leleana.
Ba tuturei Sina lkote muri muri nana.
Hie sa qua tataru atu koa goi.
→ French poem ←
Roviana on New Georgia
Here you can find my love poem translated into Rovina (Robiana, Ruviana, Rubiana, Zinama), an Oceanic, Northwest Solomonic language.
Roviana is the language of 25,000 people living mainly around the Roviana and Vonavona lagoons in the New Georgia Islands (about ten thousand) which are part of the Solomon Islands, in . The others, use it as a lingua franca in the archipelago.
As with many other indigenous languages, English, which is often used as a medium for teaching, and Pidgin, whose diffusion is only expanding, are gradually taking its place as the lingua franca.
In response to this trend, community efforts are made to preserve and promote the language, particularly through social media.
Between the late 19th and early 20th centuries, traders, then missionaries settled in the region. They described the Roviana society, its ancestor worship, and its organization controlled by chiefs, descended from lineage, who practiced headhunting to establish their power. At the same time, wars and imported diseases largely depopulated this community.
As in many other parts of the Pacific, the region's economy was based on a barter system based on the exchange of shellfish.
Fishing, some farming, and logging, respectful of the many sanctuaries, remain daily activities today.