ʻAlisi ʻi he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofoʹ
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland in Tongan

By Lewis Carroll, translated into Tongan by Siutāula Cocker and Telesia Kalavite

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“ʻI he feituʻu ko ee,” ko e lea ia ʻa e Pusiʹ, mo ne ueʻi holo hono vaʻe mataʻuʹ, “ʻoku nofo ai hā Tufunga Tatā: pea ʻi he feituʻu ko eeʹ,” mo ne ueʻi hono vaʻe ʻe tahaʹ, “ʻoku nofo ai ha Hea Maʻasi. ʻAʻahi ki ha taha pē ʻoku ke fie ʻaʻahi ki ai! ʻOkuʹ na fakatou vale lōua.”		“In that direction,” the Cat said, waving its right paw around, “lives a Hatter: and in that direction,” waving the other paw, “lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they’re both mad.”
“Ka ʻoku ʻikai foki te u fie feohi mo ha kakai ʻoku vale,” ko e tali ia ʻa ʻAlisiʹ.		“But I don’t want to go among mad people,” Alice remarked.
“ʻOi, ka he ʻikai foki te ke lava ʻo taʻofi,” ko e lea ia ʻa e Pusiʹ: “ko kitautolu kotoa ʻi heni ʻoku tau vale. ʻOku ou vale au. ʻOkuʹ ke vale koe”.		“Oh, you ca’n’t help that,” said the Cat: “we’re all mad here. I’m mad. You’re mad.”
“ʻOkuʹ ke ʻilo fēfē ʻoku ou vale?” ko e lea ia ʻa ʻAlisiʹ.		“How do you know I’m mad?” said Alice.
“ʻOku pau pē ia,” ko e lea ia ʻa e Pusiʹ, “koeʻuhiʹ, ka naʻe ʻikai ke ke vale, heʻikai te ke haʻu ki heni.”		“You must be,” said the Cat, “or you wouldn't have come here.”
Ko Luisi Keloloʹ ko e hingoa fakangāue ia ʻo Sālesi Lutiuiki Totisoni (1832-1898), ko e tangata faʻu tohi talanoa fakaoli mo ha mataotao fika ʻi he Siasi ʻo Kalaisi ʻi he ʻUnivesiti ʻo ʻOkisifootiʹ, ʻi ʻIngilani. Ko e kaungāmeʻa ofi foki eni ʻo e fāmili Liteliʹ, ʻa ia ko Henelī Liteli ko e pule lahi ia ʻo e ʻunivesitiʹ. Naʻe tokolahi ʻa e fānau ʻa Henelī pea naʻe faʻa tala foki ʻe Kelolo ʻa e ngaahi talanoa ki he fānau fefine ʻe toko tolu ʻa Henelī ʻa ia ko ʻAlisi (fāʻeleʻi he 1852) pea mo hono ongo taʻokete ko Lolina mo ʻEtifi. ʻI he ʻaho ʻe taha—4 Siulai 1882—naʻe fononga atu ai a Kelolo pea mo hono kaumeʻa ko Faifekau Lopinisoni Takiuate pea mo e kiʻi fānau fefine ko eniʹ ʻo fai ʻenau ʻeveʻeva, kaimeʻakai mo ʻaloʻalo vaka ʻi ha vaitafe. Naʻe fakahoko heni ʻe Kelolo ʻa ʻene talanoa ki he kiʻi taʻahine ko ʻAlisi mo e ngaahi meʻa fakaofoʹ ʻi heʻene fononga atu ha luoki lāpisi ki he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofoʹ. Naʻe kole ʻe ʻAlisi Liteli ki a Salesi Totisoni ke ne lekooti muʻa ʻa e talanoa ni maʻana pea naʻe lava hono faʻu ʻo e tohi ni ʻo pulusi ʻi he 1865. Naʻe talu mei ai ʻa e mafola ʻa e talanoa ni ʻi hono ngaahi tala kehekehe ʻi he ngaahi lea kehekehe pea ko hono liliu Faka-Tongaʹ eni.		Lewis Carroll is the pen-name of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832–1898), a writer of nonsense literature and a mathematician in Christ Church at the University of Oxford in England. He was a close friend of the Liddell family: Henry Liddell had many children and he was the Dean of the College. Carroll used to tell stories to the young Alice (born in 1852) and her two elder sisters, Lorina and Edith. One day—on 4 July 1882—Carroll went with his friend, the Reverend Robinson Duckworth, and the three girls on a boat paddling trip for an afternoon picnic on the banks of a river. On this trip on the river, Carroll told a story about a girl named Alice and her amazing adventures down a rabbit hole. Alice asked him to write the story for her, and in time, the draft manuscript was completed. After rewriting the story, the book was published in 1865, and since that time, various versions of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland were released in many various languages. And now, here is a version in Tongan as well.
Ko ʻAlisi ʻi he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofoʹ ko ha talanoa ia maʻae fānau iiki ʻi he senituli hongofulu-ma-hivaʹ. Ko e kuonga eni ʻo e hake mai ʻa e kau ngāue fakamisinale ki Tongaʹ, ʻi he taʻu 1822 nai. Naʻe akoʻi ʻe he kau misinaleʹ ʻa e kāinga Tongaʹ kenau lava ʻo laukonga mo tohi koeʻuhiʹ kenau lava ʻo lau ke mahino ʻa e Tohi Tapuʹ. Ko e fakaofo ʻa e malava ke laukonga mo tohi e kāinga Tongaʹ naʻe fakautuutu ai ʻa e fiemaʻu ke ngāueʻaki e ngaahi tohiʹ pea naʻe pau ai ke fokotuʻu ʻa e ʻuluaki misini paaki tohi ʻi Tongaʹ ʻe Viliami Uuni ʻi he ʻaho 4 ʻo ʻEpeleli 1831. Naʻa nau faʻufaʻu ʻa e ngaahi motuʻa lea ʻo ngāueʻaki ʻa e Lea Faka-Latina pea naʻa nau liliu ai e Tohi Tapu ki he Lea Faka-Tonga. Naʻe feʻunga mo e taʻu e 24 (1829-1853) ʻa e ngāue ki hono liliu e Tohi Tapu ʻe he kau memipa kehekehe ʻo e kau ngāue faka­misinaleʹ. Naʻe toki hokohoko atu ki mui ai ʻa hono liliu ʻo e ngaahi tohi kehekehe pē ki he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ.		Alice in Wonderland is a nineteenth-century children’s fiction. In Tonga this was the Missionary Era, beginning around 1822, where the Tongan people were taught to read and write both in Tongan and English. The early missionaries established the first school on the 18 March 1828 chiefly to teach the local to read and understand the Bible. The novelty of being able to read and write drew many Tongans to schools so the demands for books emphasized the need for a printing press. On 4 April 1831 the first press was established in Tonga by William Woon. They developed the Tongan alphabet using Latin letters and the Bible was the first foreign literature to be translated into the Tongan language. It took the missionaries 24 years (1829-1853) to complete the translation of the Bible into Tongan, where different parts of the Bible were translated by different members of the missions. Other books were translated into the Tongan language in later years.
Ko hono liliu ko eni ʻo ʻAlisi ki he Lea Faka-Tonga naʻe fononga ia ʻi he taʻu ʻe 24 ʻo kamata mei hono ʻuluaki liliu ʻe Siutāla Cocker in 1990, pea u toki fakaʻosi ʻi he 2014. Naʻe ngāue ʻa Siutāula Cocker pea mo e poloseki ʻa ha kulupu mei ʻAositelelia ʻo fakataumuʻa ki hono katoangaʻi ʻo e taʻu 125 ʻo hono pulusi ʻo e talanoa ʻo ʻAlisi mo e Ngaahi Meʻa Fakaofo ʻi he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofoʹ. Naʻe fakaloloma foki ʻa e ʻikai ke lava hono pulusi ʻa e liliu ko eni naʻe fakahoko ʻe Siutāula Cocker tupu mei ha ngaahi fehalaaki fekauʻaki pea mo hono fakahoko ʻo e poloseki ʻAositeleliaʹ. Ko ia ai naʻe feʻunga pea mo e taʻu e 22 ʻa e nofo ʻa e liliu ko eni pea toki kole mai ke u fakahoko ha ngāue ki ai naʻa lava hano pulusi ki hono kātoangaʻi ʻo e taʻu 150 ʻa hono pulusi ʻo ʻAlisi ʻi he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofo, ʻe fakahoko ia ʻi he 2015.		This translation of Alice by Lewis Carroll journeyed 24 years from 1990 when Siutāula Cocker first prepared it, to 2014, when I took it up and revised the text. Siutāula’s translation of Alice was done for an Australian group project to celebrate the 125th Anniversary of the publication Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Unfortunately, due to unforseen circumstances having to do with the demise of that project, Siutāula’s Tongan Alice was not published by the Australian team. It took 22 years before I was given the the privilege to edit and revise Siutāula’s text in advance of the 150th Anniversary Celebrations to take place in 2015.
Ko e ngaahi faingataʻa ʻi heʻeku ngāue ko eniʹ ko e feinga ʻi he lelei taha ke fakafehokotaki ʻa ʻeku fakaʻuhingaʹ pea mo ē ʻa Siutāula Cockerʹ ʻi he ngaahi hiki tatau kehekehe naʻe ʻomai ke u ngāue mei aiʹ. Ko ia ai naʻa ku fakahoko ʻa e liliu ki he ngaahi lea ʻe niʻihi naʻe ngāueʻaki ʻe Siutāula Cocker. Naʻa ku to e feinga foki ki hano fakahū mai mo e ngaahi fakaʻilonga lea (mālōlō) kotoa pē naʻe totonu ke ngāueʻaki ʻi he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ ka e lava ke ʻuhinga mālie ʻa e hokohoko ʻo e talanoaʹ. ʻOku ou lau ko e koloa ʻi he faingamālie ko eniʹ ke u fakamālō ai ki a Siutāula Cocker ʻi he ngāue kāfakafa naʻa ne fakahokoʹ ʻi hono ʻuluaki liliu ko eni ʻo e talanoa ki a ʻAlisi ʻi he Fonua ʻo e Fakaofo ʻi he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ. Ko ʻene ʻofa fonuaʹ ʻi heʻene ngāue ʻosikiavelenga ki hono fakalakalaka ʻo e laukongaʹ ʻi he Lea Faka-Pilitaniaʹ pea mo e Lea Faka-Tongaʹ ʻo laka hake ʻi he taʻu ʻe 40 naʻa ne faka­hoko ai ʻa e ngāue kāfakafa ko eni ʻi ha kiʻi taimi siʻi. Ko e tohi ni ʻoku ne fakahaaʻi ʻa e mateakiʻi fonua ʻa Siutāula Cocker maʻae hako tupu ʻo e fonuaʹ. ʻOku ou tui pē ʻe fiefia ʻaupito ʻa Siutāula ʻi he aʻusia ko eni ʻoku ʻi ai ʻa e liliu ʻo ʻAlisi ʻi he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ. ʻOku ou tui fakapapau ʻe fiefia ʻa e tokotaha kotoa pē, mei he iiki ki he lalahi, ʻo e Puleʻanga Tongaʹ te nau lau ʻa e tohi ni.		The greatest challenge for me was trying to get the best translation of the story by working between drafts of Siutāula’s translations. In doing this work I made some changes regarding the choice of words that she used in the original version. I also implemented a careful use of punctu­ation marks in order to ensure that the story flows and translates well into the Tongan language. It is my pleasure to honour and acknowledge Siutāula Cocker for the initial work done on the Tongan Alice. Given her love for the Tongan language, exemplified by her long service and contribution to literacy development in Tonga, this book is one element of her legacy for the future generation of the country which she served for more than 40 years. I am sure that Siutāula is happy with this final translation of Alice in the Tongan language. And I am certain that this book will be enjoyed by both young and old in the Kingdom of Tonga.
ʻOku ʻoatu ʻa e fakamālō ki a Keao NeSmith ʻi heʻene fakakau atu au ke u kaungā ngāue ʻi he poloseki ko eniʹ. Ka ko e muʻaki ʻo e fakamāloo ki a Jon A. Lindseth ʻi hono ʻomai e hiki tatau ʻo e ʻuluaki liliu naʻe fakahoko ʻe Siutāula Cocker—naʻe pehē kuo mole—ke u ngāue mei ai. ʻOku ou lāngilangiʻia ʻi heʻeku kaungā liliu ʻo e talanoa tupuʻa ko eniʹ pea mo Siutāula Cocker ko ʻeku faiako ʻi he Kolisi Faka­faiako ʻi Tonga. ʻOku fakafiefia ko hono fakatuʻuta lelei ʻo ʻAlisi ʻi he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ ʻi he taʻu ʻeni ʻe 24. ʻOku ou fakamālō atu ki a Michael Everson, ko e faipulusi ia ʻo e tohi ni ʻi he ngaahi tokoni mo e fakamāʻalaʻala kotoa pē fakateki­nikale pea mo fakalea lolotonga ʻa hono liliu ko eni ʻo ʻAlisiʹ ʻi he Lea Faka-Tongaʹ. Ko ia ai ko e ngaahi fehalaaki kotoa pē ʻi he liliu ko eni ʻoku ʻa e finemotuʻa ni ʻataʻatā pē ia.		I give my thanks to Keao NeSmith for recruiting me into the project. In particular I thank Jon A. Lindseth for providing me with a photocopy of Siutāula’s original text—which we had thought lost—and for giving me the honour to edit, revise, and co-translate with my former teacher at Tonga Teacher’s College, Siutāula Cocker, to bring the Tongan Alice to land in its final Tongan creation in 24 years. I would also like to thank the publisher, Michael Everson, for all the support and clarifications both technical and narrative, made during the preparation of this Tongan edition of Alice. Of course any errors or inaccuracies contained in the Tongan text are strictly my own.
—Telesia Kalavite		—Telesia Kalavite