Nukumanu love poem

Love poem translated into Nukumanu (Tasman), in the Amotu Atoll (Motu, Lotto) variant.

Nukumanu is a Polynesian, Ellicean language of the autonomous region of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, spoken throughout the Atolls that make up the Nukumanu Islands (Tasman).

All of these islands, about thirty, are inhabited by only 700 people. Their population is not really increasing, which shows that this language is threatened.

Nukumanu is a language close to Takuu (Taku, Mortlock, Tau, Tauu), Ontong Java and Nukuria (Nuguria).

In general, Samoan is understood by the inhabitants of these islands, and in their language we also find words whose origin comes from even further north.

Moreover, through the stories and myths recounted, it is believed that the population of all of these islands came from a mixture of various Polynesian groups, coming from Samoa and other islands, such as the Carolines, not to mention the arrival of Micronesians.

We find, among the inhabitants, the characteristic mark of the Samoans (the ila), which clearly proves this migration.

During contacts with Europeans, the diseases they brought (flu) decimated the population of certain islands.

Before becoming part of Papua New Guinea, Nukumanu first became a German colony (late 19th century), then became Australian in 1920.

The inhabitants live from fishing (fish, shellfish, sea cucumbers), hunting and small-scale agriculture. Coconuts, bananas, yams, taro and turmeric are among the resources of these islands.

The chiefs (men), and their families, whose ancestors are part of the legends, formed the highest class. A particularity should be noted: those of this class (men and women) had to marry someone from the lower class

It's also near Nukumanu that Amelia Earhart disappeared in 1937, in her attempt to circumnavigate the world by following the equator.