Page 191 - THE MELANESIA DIASPORA FILE CETAK ISI 10022017

The following examples come from a collection of 30 dolabololo and 93 pantun (Imelda,
2013: 61).
Example of dolabololo

Hau foma tai pasi
Moro-moro fomaku ise
Om doro fomamote
Foma sonyinga foma dodara

Kalau kita memang dalam satu rombongan
Berarti kita bisa baku lihat, baku dengar
Tetapi kalau kita memang berbeda tempat
Kita tidak pernah baku dengar suara

If we are truly in one group
It means that we could see each other, hear each other
But if we are in different places
We (would) never hear each other’s voice

That Dolabololo was translated from Ternate into a Malay-Ternate dialect of
Indonesian by a native Gamkonora speaker. The word ‘rombongan’ is the translation of
‘kelompok’ (group), ‘baku lihat’ in Indonesian is ‘saling lihat’ (to see each other), ‘baku
dengar’ means ‘saling dengar’ (to listen to each other). The message is about unity.
There are dolabololo dealing with religious values, the value of getting a livelihood and
other philosophizing on life.

Here is an example of dolabololo related to livelihood (Kleden-Probonegoro, 2013a: 79):

Hoko toma ngolo, tika nya’o (‘ikan’)
Isa toma haka oto, golaha huda (‘sagu’)
Si golaha ngom ma ahu hutu modiri

Translation in Indonesian:
Kita mencari ikan di laut
Ke darat mencari sagu
Untuk makan bersama sampai nanti

We look for fish in the sea
To the land looking for sago
To eat together until later

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