The catechist officiates his first mass, a funeral of a neighbours daughter - Photo: Fr Patrick Colgan
In the catechists words:
Jope 1:21 “ Au a sucu luvaiwale mai na kete ni tinaqu, kau na lesu luvaiwale tale niu mate. E solia o Jiova ka sa kauta tani o koya. Me vakarokorokotaki ga na yacana”
Ena parisi na Karisito na Tui Na Veivanua, e dua nai wasewase e tiko e Namau, vakatokoyacataki vei Sto. Keperiele. Keimami tiko veimaliwai kei ira na vakabauta Hindi kei Musalmani. E dau gauna Vinaka ni neimami veimaliwai, veikilai, veitalanoataki ni neimami dui vakabauta e a tekivu mai koronivuli (Namau Public School), veidovu (musu dovu vata), kei na neimami dau surety me keimamai dau laki tiko ena nodra lotulotu, soqo ni vakamau, Diwali, se lotu ni somate. Qo na vanua e mai bucini ka tarai cake kina na veiwekani ni dui matatamata, duidui vakabauta me sa tekivutaki e dua na matavuvale vou.
O Ivona Mausa e a papitaisotaki ena vakabauta vaKatolika sa vaka”io”, ka sa solia na nona dina vua na cauravou lotu Muslim o Zahil Khan me watina.
E rau a laki tiko ga ena vale nei tamai cauravou sega ni dede na tiko e rau sa mai cemuri, e baleta ga na duidui vakabauta kei na kawatamata sai keda. Ni tiko na dina kei na veikilai titobu vei rau na gone, e sega ni mai tawasei rua na nodrau sa vakatikitikitaki main a loma ni vuvale. E robota na lomai Namau nai talanoa nisa cemuri mai nona loma ni vale o Zahil kei Ivona. A rogoca e dua na turaga Hindu, ka sa lomana me sa kauti rau ki na nona vale ni ratou veitikivi ga.
E totoka na nodratou bula vata, cakacaka ena veisiga. E rau dau sikovi mai vei rau nai tubutubu nei Ivona, ka vaka me sa qai vakadeitaki o Zahil na loloma dina vakatama vakatina e vaKatolia ka rau dau gole talega mai ena vale dina nei Ivona.
Yaco na gauna ne sa kunekunetaki na nodrau ulumatua, na nodrau isema bula. Ia, e ka ni rarawa vei rau ni mai kacivi tale ena aua vata ga oya, ni oti ga nona tau I vuravura. “Isa na luvei keirau yalewa matavinaka, sa sega ni keirau roqota, vaqitora se vakavulica. E solia o Jiova, ka sa kauta tani o koya”.
Au kidacalataka ni sa mai vakasavui na itukutuku ni leqa, kei na cakacaka taucoko ni veibulu me keimami sa qarava, ni sega ni ciqoma na tamai Zahil.
Au a veitalanoa kei na noqu bete ni parisi o Fr Pat Colgan, ka kurubuitaka sara vakalevu, ni kila Vinaka nodrai vakarau ni veibulu. Dua na vosa na cavuta vei au, “Mo lomana na gone”. A solia vei au e dua nai tuvatuva lekaleka matau ni kena vakayacori na lotu ni veibulu.
E ono na vuvale Hindu ka ratou tiko ena siga ni veibulu, dina ni drake ca tu na vanua. Vei au qo, na imatau ni lotu ni veibulu me’u qarava, ni oti e vitu na yabaki ni noqu veiqaravi vakaiVakavuvuli.
E a vakayacori taucoko na veiqaravi vakavanua, dua na kena bulumakau, dua na me, me baleti ira na wekada Hindu. Ni keimami porosesio ina ibulubulu a mai sega na uca. Ni caka tiko na veibulu keimami a Rosario kei na lagati ni sere vei Maria.
Keimami a mai wasea vata e dua na tanoa yaqona, kei na ivakasigalevu totoka me vakadeitaki keimami, ni keimami sa tautauvata e mata ni Kalou.
A vola o iVakavuvuli Petero Rokomatu, Koro o Namau, ena Parisi Karisto na Tui, Ba.
Everyone gathers at the burial site - Photo: Fr Patrick Colgan
English Translation:
Job 1:21, “I was born naked in the womb of my mother, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, the Lord has taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord”
In the parish of Christ the King, Ba, there is a village called Namau, which is under the patronage of St Gabriel. I am the catechist there. We live very closely with those of the Hindu and Muslim faith. We get to know each other at a very early age, in primary school (Namau Public), then we harvest sugar cane together, and we accept invitations to their prayer meetings, weddings, funerals and religious festivals such as Diwali. That is how we have become so close, and in that atmosphere, a feeling of love sprung in the heart of one of our Catholic girls, Ivona Mausa to a Muslim boy called Zahil Khan. She decided to go and live with him and be his wife, though they did not formally marry.
For some time, they lived in the house of the parents of Zahil, but then the family rejected them, because of the difference of faith and ethnicities. The whole of Namau was shaken by this news, and a Hindu man, feeling sorry for them, brought them home to live with them. Their life was happy again, and the parents of Ivona used to visit. Zahil came to know of the love of the Catholic Church for him and his wife.
The time came when Ivona fell pregnant, but this joy was crushed with the premature passing of the baby. Ivona lamented: “Oh my beautiful baby girl, we will never hug you, play with you and teach you. God gave you, and God has taken you back. Blessed be his name!”
I was so surprised when upon hearing of the death of the little girl, there also came a request from Zahil that the Catholic community bury his daughter, because his father refused to do so. I sought advice from our priest, Fr Pat Colgan, because I know he is familiar both with Hindi language, and the Indian rituals surrounding death. I was hoping he would come. Unfortunately that day, the weather was very bad, and a number of bridges were flooded, so Fr Pat encouraged him to do it myself, and give me a short program of prayers to follow. Even though their marriage was not blessed in the Church, Fr Pat said we must ‘love the child’ and therefore for me to proceed.
There was 6 Hindu families present at the burial, along with the Catholic community of Namau, even though the weather was so bad. This was the first time in my 7 years of catechist service to conduct a funeral.
Full Fijian rituals accompanied the burial. A cow was killed for us Fijians to eat, and a goat for our Hindu brothers. As we walked to the grave saying the rosary, and singing hymns to Mary, the rain suddenly stopped.
We all sat down for a shared bowl of yaqona afterwards and our big lunch. Though we are different religions and races, we are truly all children of the one God.
Comments (0)