Taumako love poem

My little love poem is translated here into Vaeakau-Taumako (Tatu Leo, Te Leo a Tatou, Pileni, Duff, Pilheni, Nukapu, Matema, Nupani, Aua), a Polynesian language (possibly Futunic), originating in Tuvalu and spoken by fewer than 2,000 people.

There are three main dialectal variants, which are mutually intelligible: Vaeakau, Taumako, and Nupani.

Despite a small number of speakers, Vaeakau-Taumako is not considered endangered and remains the mother tongue of children and the language of everyday life on the islands where it is spoken.

However, it does face a threat: climate change and rising sea levels, which will inevitably force the inhabitants of these islands into exile.

It is spoken in the Duff Islands (Taumako) and in some Reef Islands (Nifiloli, Pileni, Nukapu, Nupani, Materna, Tinakula, Makalumu), in the province of Temotu, in the eastern Solomon Islands.

These islands, especially the Reef Islands, are small and have few resources (fishing (shark, sea slugs) and small-scale agriculture with Coconut and banana trees, and limited water resources, drove some to Guadalcanal and Santa Cruz.

Oral tradition clearly speaks of these food shortages, even famine.

While traditions tend to be lost, taboos associated with myths persist (food and the relationship between a man and his mother-in-law are imbued with these), and the Holau (men's house) can still be found within villages, which are comprised of houses made of sago palm wood.

For marriages, the dowry goes to the bride's family.