Morning sounds 4/28

The journey of a flying titi

Wind rustling the coconut palms

A single note from the kokopasi

Foreshadows a darkness soon to come. 

A stir creeps over the village

As they expect the mourning wail

Whose name will be in the message?

From near or far has it sailed?

“Ngämo män, ngämo män, ngämo män!”

Leaps from mats, houses, and stairs.

Collective cries and sighs of kandärmang.

A strain as the village prepares. 

A blast from the conch for loved ones away,

Fronds chopped for filling the hall.

New wails arrive in every language to say,

That shovels clang to turn a hole far too small.

An avalanche of coconuts for scraping,

Beating starts of the sago towers.

Hymns carry the girl through the weeping.

A final prayer as the grave fills with flowers.

Titi - ‘bat’

Kokopasi - a type of bird known to bring messages of death

Ngämo män - ‘my daughter’