Maleu love poem
Natilonga
Anunim ilulu natilonga
Eko lekua nangonga popue
Munim siusiu pa isolia
Eko ikoura me na Kim iom!
→ French poem ←
Maleu language
Maleu love poem (possible other names : Maleu-Kilenge, Kilenge, Idne, Mariau, Sag Sag, Kaitarolea).
Maleu is an Austronesian ngero-vitiaz language from the far west of the province of New Britain ... Some consider it distinct from the neighboring Kilenge, for others Kilenge is a dialect of Maleu.
About 5,500 people speak Male'u in the Talasea district. This Papuan language, which is of course only oral, is related to the Lolos of Cape Gloucester. It is spoken, for example, in Gilflit, Sikal, Potpotpua, Sag Sag, Aumo and Airalgilpua villages.
Lolo and Kilenge
If the Lolos and the Kilenges speak languages close to 95%, this is due to their geographical proximity and to the numerous exchanges which unite them ... first commercial then cultural, and finally through marriages.
The Kilenges, who are in smaller numbers, are thought to originate from the Siassi Islands and live along a narrow coastal strip at the northwestern end of the island of New Britain. As for them, the Lolos are more in the bush inside the lands of this same geographical area.
Among the Lolos and the Kilenges, as in general in Melanesia, narogos are often held, collective ritual festivals, organized, to celebrate the dead, or to initiate the youngest for example.
During these festivities, the different are forgotten, we redistribute foodstuffs, and we trade. Art is an integral part of these festivals, since people sing and dance there, with very elaborate ceremonial masks, which have been made with the greatest care.