6silawo
Around the village
The last chapter of Part I leaves the house. Two relation words carry it: lue, from, and wei, to or for. Like mua, each precedes the place or person it points to. With them come the verbs of going and coming, and two verbs this language cares about deeply: giving and receiving.
SceneI
lopia lue womu wepu.lohau wepu.misheko mua womu nai.misheko nulae.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| lue | lu · e | from |
| wepu | we · pu | go |
The child sets out from home; the dog goes too. The cat has reviewed the plan and declined.
SceneII
melu mua phitura nai.melu shua.melukia lopia. kia lohau.lopiakia melu.lopia lue phitura phialu kolua.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| phitura | phi · tu · ra | well |
| shua | shu · a | come |
| kolua | ko · lu · a | carry |
A friend at the village well (where friends are usually found), and the child carries water from it. Read that last sentence once with its relations in view: who, from where, what, and only then the doing. By now your ear waits for the verb without being told to.
SceneIII
melu wei lopia peloru loa.lopia peloru howela.lopiamea melu.melupao lopia.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| wei | we · i | to, for |
| loa | lo · a | give |
| howela | ho · we · la | receive |
| mea | me · a | thanks |
The friend gives the child a flower: wei lopia, to the child, announced before the flower ever changes hands. The child receives it; thanks are said; the friend takes their leave. Small ceremony, complete grammar.
SceneIV
lopia shua.lopia mua womu nai.lopia wei phao peloru loa.phao peloru howela.sileta keru loa.
| new word | say it | it means |
|---|---|---|
| keru | ke · ru | bright |
| horae | ho · ra · e | radiant |
Home again, and the flower is given onward: received at the well, delivered to the parent, worth more at each handing. The last line chooses a characteristic Phi image: sileta keru loa, the sun gives brightness. The plain sileta horae nai calls the sun radiant; this sentence reuses the giving verb that moved the flower.
lopia nulae. lohau nulae. phao nulae. wheo nulae.misheko rihe.
Everyone sleeps. And the cat: the cat's day is just beginning.