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Koloa fungani.
Koloa fungani is similar to the word mata’ikoloa. Fungani is a noun meaning
something is better than all the others, that is, the best of all. It is equivalent to the top
row of flowers on an ornamental girdle as in the Kakala (K. H. Thaman, 1988). Fungani
also refers to especially tasty dessert eaten last to finely finish a meal. When fungani
follows koloa, it is an adjective. Again fungani is the mata of koloa for it is the pinnacle
of all that is being discussed or considered.
Tauhi koloa.
Tauhi koloa means to tend, look after, take care of, to keep or adhere, to preserve, to
keep inviolate, and to maintain. Combining tauhi and koloa, as tauhi koloa refers to a
person that is the tender, keeper, carer, adherer and preserver of koloa. Tauhi koloa
confirms the responsibility upon an individual. The parents are the tauhi koloa (keepers
of children). They have the responsibility to tauhi mata’ikoloa (look after children) at
home at all times until the child is fully grown.
Fakakoloa.
Prefixes, suffixes, adjectives and adverbs vary the meaning of koloa when they are
added. The main source of translation used here is by C. Maxwell Churchward (1959)
author of the Tongan Dictionary. The causative prefix ‘faka-’ means causing something
to happen. Fakakoloa is a verb meaning to enrich. From a Tongan cultural view point,
fakakoloa shows that people are enriched from presentation of a koloa. For instance, the
messages given by the speakers stimulate and convince the minds and hearts of the
listeners by connecting ideas from the message with daily experiences. The audience are
fakakoloa when they make connections with and learn from the message. The people
who are present in the presentation feel and count the message delivered as their own
fakakoloa, because they have made the connection between the message delivered and
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