| NEW
BOOK Songs & Poems of Queen Salote
In
Tongan and English
Translated
by Melenaite Taumoefolau,
Edited by Elizabeth Wood-Ellem,
With Essays by HRH Princess Nanasipau‘u Tuku‘aho,
Adrienne L. Kaeppler, Elizabeth Wood-Ellem,
and Melenaite Taumoefolau.
Vava‘u
Press, Tonga, 2004
ISBN 982-213-008-2
448
pages hardback
Click
to order
The
Songs & Poems of Queen Salote brings
together in one volume the known artistic work of
Queen Salote, Tonga’s poet on the throne (1918-1965).
For the first time the work of Polynesia’s great
composer becomes accessible to an English speaking
audience, who have never before known Queen Salote
as a poet. Line for line translation of 114 compositions,
includes songs, lullabies, recitals, laments, drama,
and Tonga’s great dances the Lakalaka and Ma‘ulu‘ulu,
with over 170 illustrations.
Tonga’s
rich heritage captured in sung poetry and dance, is
a touchstone for all Tongans who feel that their history
and culture should be perpetuated. Through her poetry
Queen Salote structured a cultural identity for Tonga,
and masterfully combined her political acumen into
pleasurable works of art.
HRH
Princess Nanasipau‘u Tuku‘aho
HM King Taufa‘ahau Tupou IV has, through the
Tonga Traditions Committee, gifted the artistic work
of his mother, the late Queen Salote Tupou III, for
translation and publication, so that a wider audience
might appreciate it. Princess Nanasipau‘u has
provided an invaluable link with the Palace, and its
archives, while her knowledge of Tongan traditions
and rituals, heliaki and genealogies, was of great
assistance in the creation of this book.
Dr
Elizabeth Wood-Ellem
Queen Salote’s biographer, the historian Elizabeth
Wood-Ellem, co-ordinated this extraordinary collection,
and says that Queen Salote’s songs and poems
are like puzzles that have to be unravelled by the
reader or listener, relating as they do to the values
and knowledge that the Queen believed underpinned
Tongan society. Dr Wood-Ellem is an honorary senior
fellow at the University of Melbourne.
Dr
Melenaite Taumoefolau
Tongan linguist and senior lecturer at the University
of Auckland, Melenaite translated Queen Salote’s
songs and poems from Tongan into English. Maintaining
the aesthetic quality of the original was the greatest
challenge, because many of the poems present culture-specific
metaphors that translate with difficulty. Her translations
are the result of many years of work.
Dr
Adrienne L. Kaeppler
As a young Pacific scholar Adrienne studied Tongan
dance,music and poetry at the invitation of Queen
Salote, who sent her to knowledgeable Tongans for
help. For this book, Adrienne has contributed her
research notes from the past 40 years and verified
that the songs and poems were composed by the Queen.
She also researched the photographic contributions.
Adrienne is Curator of Oceanic Ethnology, National
Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution,
Wash. D.C.
Enquiries
contact:
Mary Fonua, Vava'u Press Ltd.
<mfonua@matangitonga.to>
Fax: (676) 24749 |
