Talk:Laufakana'a

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My comments, copied from User:Tauʻolunga's talk page

Contents

[edit] Laufakanaa

Regarding the article Laufakanaa - which you say might be nonsense. How about adding a comment as to why you think so on the talk page. We had major problems with other Māori and Polynesian articles started by TUF-KAT in 2002, which were copied out of the Encyclopedia Mythica. When we could trace a valid source, often there was only a shred of truth to the articles. For an example see Auraka which, if you look at the earliest versions, is said to be ""the Polynesian god of death" but which turned out to be the name of a burial cave on Mangaia in the Cook Islands. Maybe Laufakanaa should be nominated for deletion if you think there is just cause? Kahuroa 10:10, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Zora's comments, copied from Kahuroa's talk page:

[edit] Laufakanaa

The Tongan god of the underworld (Pulotu) is Hikule'o. Change the article name? Laufakanaa is doesn't make sense as a Tongan word, at least to my mediocre Tongan and my Tongan dictionary. Zora 10:22, 17 August 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Sources - such as they are

I used Google and Google Book search and got some hits: Kahuroa 19:37, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

Encyclopedia Mythica (always unreliable) [1] Laufakanaa by Micha F. Lindemans In Tongan myth, the ruler of the winds. He was sent down to earth by his father Tamapo.

Encyclopedia Mythica (always unreliable) for Tamapo [2] Tamapo by Micha F. Lindemans The Tongan god of the heavens. His son is Laufakanaa, whom he sent down to earth to rule the winds.

Google Book Search - one hit: (The spelling Atat shows this may be unreliable) "The Tongans worshipped a wind god as well. His name was Laufakanaa. According to Tongan myth, the sky god sent the wind god to the Tongan island of Atat; Laufakanaa brought with him the first banana and edible roots, and he also invented the fishing net." from page 73 of Wind Toys That Spin, Sing, Twirl & Whirl by Cindy Burda, Sterling Publishing Company, Inc, New York, 2000.

These two seem to agree with each other:

Google web search - www.mysticgames.com The wind god of Ata, a low Tongan island. According to their legends, the sky god Tamapoulialamafoa sent Laufakanaa down to Earth as the ruler of Ata, and the controller of the winds, charging him to send fair winds to vessels in trouble. The god brought down from Heaven andplanted on Ata the banana and several edible roots;he also invented the fishing net.

Laufakanaa from www.janeresture.com In the mythology of Ata, one of the Tongan islands, Laufakanaa is the God of inds. The heavenly god Tamapo sent Laufakanaa down to earth to rule the winds. He landed on Ata and became its ruler. The skipper of all Tongan vessels would pray to Laufakanaa for favourable winds and would even visit Ata with offerings of bread and coconut oil to appease the god's stormy temper. Laufakanaa brought the banana tree from heaven and taught the Tongans the art of fishing with a net and of making the nets. His name means 'Speaking' (lau) and 'Peace', just as the wind in the Pacific is quiet one moment and roaring the next.

See also www.godchecker.com; www.bookwormsearch.com.

None of these sources looks authorative to me, some even dubious. I an always very reluctant to trust any information that is only found on the internet. Kolulu is the god of winds. Yet, I guess we should give them the advantage of doubt until better is found. --Tauʻolunga 23:01, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
I am not saying they are reliable - far from it, I agree they do look dubious - I just thought they may give someone with local knowledge like yourself clues to finding out what the real story is. Kahuroa 00:24, 18 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] This one seems more reliable

There is mention of Ata and of "Tangaloa Tamapo'uli'Alamafoa" as a son of Tangaloa on this page:

  • The Creation Myth It even has a reference: Rutherford, Noel. Friendly Islands: a History of Tonga. Anyone got that book? Kahuroa 05:30, 18 August 2006 (UTC)
Except for the now extremily rare 'Ko e makasini a koliji (Tubou)' and other loose papers from the 19th century, there is only one original work: Gifford. I finally got a copy. Hm... there is a whole page devoted to this god in it!! --Tauʻolunga 06:46, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Great work

Excellent work Tauʻolunga. Wonderful to see another Polynesian legend traced to a verifiable source and made into a proper article. Great research. I just edited a bit for word flow, hope you don't mind. Kahuroa 10:07, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Greater now by you; maybe I should make a home page for myself and declare Babel:en-2, so you know. Anyway, many more from Gifford's book to follow --Tauʻolunga 10:27, 30 August 2006 (UTC)

Great that you are going to do more from Gifford. There are just a couple of things I'd like to be a bit clearer:

  • The translation of the name - it reads a bit awkwardly in English. Could it mean something like 'to command silence?' or might it be better not to give a translation at all since the word might be archaic and the meaning understood in modern Tongan might not be the original meaning? Kahuroa 18:48, 30 August 2006 (UTC)
  • The words: 'as Kohai, Koau, mo Momo' - could you clarify what these are?

.Kahuroa 17:52, 30 August 2006 (UTC)