Friends, relatives, one and all. And to those who love Tototo.
A thousand thousand songs have been sung in Tototo, the same number of drums beaten, conch shells blown... and a thousand thousand stories have been told and heard... in so many languages... Anuki, Doga, Are, Dima, Gapapaiwa, Dawakerekere, Wedau, Pova, Ubir, Maisin, Korafe, Ia Gumine, Kuman, Wagifa, Ewage, Naguen Boiken, Orokaiva, Suau, Tawala, Misima, Boyowa (Kilivila), Roro, Meke'o, Koita, Rigo, Motu, Italian, French, even Welsh and Tok Pisin and English, to name but a few... here, in this village... as ancient and insignificant as it remains today...
And like all the places on our planet Tototo too has had its share of land ownership problems... The giant mango tree that remained its symbol of unity and existence has been chopped down, burnt to ashes... you can just see traces of it here... along with the coconut trees... Yet ironically, the land owner claimants doing such a damage were never around to explain their deeds when I went there for Christmas and New Year. At our community meetings held at brunch after service at the St Peter-in-Chains, it was discovered that these "land owners" fled, some pleading exile in neighboring villages or simply went on brief case trips to Alotau, Lae and Port Moresby...
But here, at this spot, where the ashes are, is where we will start building the Community Hall, where we will start rebuilding Tototo... We believe that as good songs go, and as good tales often have it, more will join us...
P.S. Those wishing to participate - for we are in dire need of building material, homestead tools and equipment including household accessories and the lot - may commence familiarizations with the following links:
http://theanukicountrypress.blogspot.com
http://soabasstoryboard.blogspot.com
You may also email us: ribuadakaipune@gmail.com
Or send your donations to: The Anuki Country Press, Bank of South Pacific account # 1001092614 at the Waigani Branch, Port Moresby.
A thought in passsing, a song heard and the sentiments recalled... all that is poetry.
And in that vein may we recount these lovely thoughts, musings to be precise, by Mlee Tee Kendi:
Oh What a thing of beauty,
To win and to prize more highly than fame or wealth -
A thing called Freedom.
Oh what a thing of beauty,
The forces of destiny in all generosity look upon you -
A thing called favor.
Oh what a thing of beauty,
To take up my pen in calm and confidence and to slay my fears with just a single stroke -
A thing called euphoria .
Yes what a thing of beauty,
The freedom of mind and of heart.
And the freedom to follow your dreams is indeed beauty.
To wade within the loneliness of my soul and find hope
To tread upon the fallow soils of my being and find fullness
To hide inside the chambers of a heart possessed by anguish and undefinable sadness and yet find solace
To cower before my own tempestuous rage and still find courage and mounted passion
For this is who I am,
And the woman that I am
And upon this I stand firm,
I would rather cry alone.
