Merv at 01:10, 29 August 2022

2022-08-29T01:10:57Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 13:10, 29 August 2022
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	=== Notes ===		=== Notes ===
	<references/>		<references/>


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			\|align=center \|[[Girard0152\|'''Previous Letter''']]\|\| align=center \| [[Contents#1842\|'''List of 1842 Letters''']] \|\| align=center \| [[Girard0154\|'''Next letter''']]
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Merv at 02:19, 27 November 2015

2015-11-27T02:19:33Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 14:19, 27 November 2015
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	;[12]: (16 June) Now, already, we are a long way from Wallis. I am writing to you now from the anchorage at Oneata, a little island a few leagues east of Lakeba, in the eastern part of the Fiji archipelago, where I wandered about so long on my voyage from the Bay of Islands to Wallis. On 23rd May the King of Uvea was baptised with a good number of chiefs who had waited for him to receive baptism with him. It was decided, after this baptismal ceremony, that Father Viard would stay in Uvea with Father Bataillon and that I would go to Futuna to work in the field that good Father Chanel had watered with his blood.		;[12]: (16 June) Now, already, we are a long way from Wallis. I am writing to you now from the anchorage at Oneata, a little island a few leagues east of Lakeba, in the eastern part of the Fiji archipelago, where I wandered about so long on my voyage from the Bay of Islands to Wallis. On 23rd May the King of Uvea was baptised with a good number of chiefs who had waited for him to receive baptism with him. It was decided, after this baptismal ceremony, that Father Viard would stay in Uvea with Father Bataillon and that I would go to Futuna to work in the field that good Father Chanel had watered with his blood.
	;[13]: The 27th. We embarked, the Bishop, Father Servant, Father Roulleaux (newly arrived from New Zealand) and I. The Bishop had promised the King to take him to Fiji and Tonga in a search for his brother who had gone on board a canoe with some natives from Uvea and Tonga in December 1840. He wanted to have himself accompanied by about thirty natives, we also took some catechists. The moment of embarkation was a very sad moment. There were only truly heartbreaking tears and cries. I stayed alone on land with Father Viard. I witnessed the sadness with which the Bishop and the King were leaving. At the moment the King was leaving his house, one of his female relatives fell in a faint; we were quickly called, I ran there but she had no further movement nor life. She was a strong and energetic woman. My good parishioners from St Peter’s had come to pay me their last visit, they had brought me for the journey, some pieces of locally made cloth, some baskets of yams and about four gourds full of perfumed oil. They were waiting for the moment of my departure. The difficulty that I had in separating myself from these dear children made me afraid of not being able to stop myself from having some moments of too great emotion. I left secretly while they were waiting for me in front of the church to say their goodbyes to me.		;[13]: The 27th. We embarked, the Bishop, Father Servant, Father Roulleaux (newly arrived from New Zealand) and I. The Bishop had promised the King to take him to Fiji and Tonga in a search for his brother who had gone on board a canoe with some natives from Uvea and Tonga in December 1840. He wanted to have himself accompanied by about thirty natives, we also took some catechists. The moment of embarkation was a very sad moment. There were only truly heartbreaking tears and cries. I stayed alone on land with Father Viard. I witnessed the sadness with which the Bishop and the King were leaving. At the moment the King was leaving his house, one of his female relatives fell in a faint; we were quickly called, I ran there but she had no further movement nor life. She was a strong and energetic woman. My good parishioners from St Peter’s had come to pay me their last visit, they had brought me for the journey, some pieces of locally made cloth, some baskets of yams and about four gourds full of perfumed oil. They were waiting for the moment of my departure. The difficulty that I had in separating myself from these dear children made me afraid of not being able to stop myself from having some moments of too great emotion. I left secretly while they were waiting for me in front of the church to say their goodbyes to me.
	;[14]: The next morning (Saturday)<ref> The day after May 27 (Cf [13] ie May 28, fell on a Saturday in 1842. </ref> the anchor was raised. I could not tell you the suffering I experienced on leaving this beloved island of Uvea. Before we left the anchorage Father Bataillon, who was still on board, came and said goodbye to me. I was broken-hearted, vainly I tried to tell him: goodbye; my tears flowed but my mouth remained silent. More used to making sacrifices than I, this beloved confrère pointed to heaven, saying “another sacrifice”. I turned away, for fear of seeing his skiff distancing itself, my heart was too choked. I remember Our Lord’s words: He who give up for me, in this world, his father, his mother, his brothers, will gain a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the next.		;[14]: The next morning (Saturday)<ref> The day after May 27 (Cf [13] ie May 28, fell on a Saturday in 1842. </ref> the anchor was raised. I could not tell you the suffering I experienced on leaving this beloved island of Uvea. Before we left the anchorage Father Bataillon, who was still on board, came and said goodbye to me. I was broken-hearted, vainly I tried to tell him: goodbye; my tears flowed but my mouth remained silent. More used to making sacrifices than I, this beloved confrère pointed to heaven, saying “another sacrifice”. I turned away, for fear of seeing his skiff distancing itself, my heart was too choked. I remember Our Lord’s words: He who give up for me, in this world, his father, his mother, his brothers, will gain a hundredfold in this life and eternal life in the next.
	;[15]: The next morning we got to Futuna. In the first canoe that came on board was one of Father Chanel’s murderers. In the second, which only came later, was the man who had given the last blow to the Father, the too notorious Musumusu. He was king of part of the island; he came to make an invitation to come to his house where all the neophytes from Uvea were gathered to spend Sunday together. He gave this invitation only to the King of Wallis; he was too ashamed, he told me later, to extend it to the relations of him whom he had the calamity of assassinating, however, he came with confidence, convinced that the hand of the priest would only be able to bestow its blessings and his lips, words of peace. Bad weather forced us to go and quickly drop anchor in the little bay situated in the part of the island opposite to that in which Father Chanel lived. What change did we find in the island?		;[15]: The next morning we got to Futuna. In the first canoe that came on board was one of Father Chanel’s murderers. In the second, which only came later, was the man who had given the last blow to the Father, the too notorious Musumusu. He was king of part of the island; he came to make an invitation to come to his house where all the neophytes from Uvea were gathered to spend Sunday together. He gave this invitation only to the King of Wallis; he was too ashamed, he told me later, to extend it to the relations of him whom he had the calamity of assassinating, however, he came with confidence, convinced that the hand of the priest would only be able to bestow its blessings and his lips, words of peace. Bad weather forced us to go and quickly drop anchor in the little bay situated in the part of the island opposite to that in which Father Chanel lived. What change did we find in the island?
	;[16]: (1st July, in the anchorage at Tonga, in the Friendly Islands group) When I wrote to you at Oneata, I was forced to interrupt my letter to busy myself with training a catechist for a great and beautiful mission. My dear Moisé!<ref> Moïse Matanavai (Cf. below [20]) </ref> But let us not anticipate things, let’s come back to where we were; the Bishop is ashore, I have spent the whole day with the natives or writing; it is 10 o’clock, but I hope to keep myself awake for some moments more; then I don’t know whether I would still have a moment to write to you. We were at Futuna. It seems that the death of Father Chanel had seriously distressed most of the natives in Futuna; people complained, very quietly however, because of fear. The death of the King and of one of the main driving forces of the murder, visibly bearing the appearance of divine vengeance, really struck these people. The French corvette, which appeared a week after the death of the king and deposed young Keletaona whom I have told you of, ended the matter. That fine catechist could instruct without fear. The party of the vanquished had always looked to him as their principal support even when they were pagans. One of the main villages of the victors converted and even reunited with the vanquished. The rest of the victors, undeceived of their superstitions, had themselves been instructed by the few catechists that Father Chanel had; they were still very ignorant, but with the help of grace, they succeeded in teaching them the oneness of God, knowledge of heaven and hell, then some prayers like the ''pater'', the ''ave'', the ''credo'' etc. They ate their ''tapus'' (things forbidden by their former religion) and burnt what they called their gods. “Oh,” said a woman whom I saw in our former village, “no one has failed to eat their tapu, not even this little child,” she said, while showing me a little girl 4 or 5 months old. “But what was her tapu?” I asked her. “The fele”, she told me (a sort of sea reptile almost as hard as a bull’s pizzle). “I chewed it myself and made her swallow it,” she added, “to show that really we no longer believe in all those lies.” The vanquished people, the village of the victors which had reunited with them, and some of the main old men of the rest of the victors chose the catechist Keletaona as King. This young chief has an excellent character, more than usual courage, and experience which he has gained in travelling on board several ships; quite certainly he is, in all these island groups, one of the men most able to make a people happy. Some young people among the victors chose as their candidate for king the notorious Musumusu , the murderer of Father Chanel, but all were living in peace while waiting, they said, for the arrival of the great missionary, who would decide, they added, who would be the one to become King. The Bishop pointed out to them that the island was rather small to have two Kings, that it would be a cause for war, that they would do well to come together to choose a King all together. The votes were all in favour of Keletaona. <ref> It was at this time (May 1842) that Bishop Pompallier baptised him and installed him as the only King of Futuna. (He called him Petelo:Cf Doc [[Girard0193\|193]] [5], [[Girard0207\|207]] [2-3]. In 1843 the independence of the two districts of the island was re-established and the reign of Keletaona was limited to the district of Sigave until 1851 when he had to step down there as well (Cf [[Girard0342\|Doc 342]] [3] f/n 4; Frimigacci p 152-54). Chanel spoke about him in his mission diary (''journal de mission'') 23 Jan 1838 (Rozier, ''Écrits Chanel'' p323):… “Sami, son of the legitimate King of the whole island. This young man wants to revive the rights which his father had neglected. While still a child, he performed prodigies of bravery in the wars that took place in the island.” Rozier (''Écrits Chanel'' p 205 f/n 4) quotes the observation made later by Brother Marie-Nizier Delorme: “For a very long time we have believed that really Keletaona had rights to the kingship; that derived especially from the fact that white men living on the island made this assertion as certain, getting it no doubt from Keletaona himself.” (See as well: Doc [[Girard0133\|133]] [5] f/n 3; [[Girard0162\|162]] [3] and below [19]) </ref>		;[16]: (1st July, in the anchorage at Tonga, in the Friendly Islands group) When I wrote to you at Oneata, I was forced to interrupt my letter to busy myself with training a catechist for a great and beautiful mission. My dear Moisé!<ref> Moïse Matanavai (Cf. below [20]) </ref> But let us not anticipate things, let’s come back to where we were; the Bishop is ashore, I have spent the whole day with the natives or writing; it is 10 o’clock, but I hope to keep myself awake for some moments more; then I don’t know whether I would still have a moment to write to you. We were at Futuna. It seems that the death of Father Chanel had seriously distressed most of the natives in Futuna; people complained, very quietly however, because of fear. The death of the King and of one of the main driving forces of the murder, visibly bearing the appearance of divine vengeance, really struck these people. The French corvette, which appeared a week after the death of the king and deposed young Keletaona whom I have told you of, ended the matter. That fine catechist could instruct without fear. The party of the vanquished had always looked to him as their principal support even when they were pagans. One of the main villages of the victors converted and even reunited with the vanquished. The rest of the victors, undeceived of their superstitions, had themselves been instructed by the few catechists that Father Chanel had; they were still very ignorant, but with the help of grace, they succeeded in teaching them the oneness of God, knowledge of heaven and hell, then some prayers like the ''pater'', the ''ave'', the ''credo'' etc. They ate their ''tapus'' (things forbidden by their former religion) and burnt what they called their gods. “Oh,” said a woman whom I saw in our former village, “no one has failed to eat their tapu, not even this little child,” she said, while showing me a little girl 4 or 5 months old. “But what was her tapu?” I asked her. “The fele”, she told me (a sort of sea reptile almost as hard as a bull’s pizzle). “I chewed it myself and made her swallow it,” she added, “to show that really we no longer believe in all those lies.” The vanquished people, the village of the victors which had reunited with them, and some of the main old men of the rest of the victors chose the catechist Keletaona as King. This young chief has an excellent character, more than usual courage, and experience which he has gained in travelling on board several ships; quite certainly he is, in all these island groups, one of the men most able to make a people happy. Some young people among the victors chose as their candidate for king the notorious Musumusu , the murderer of Father Chanel, but all were living in peace while waiting, they said, for the arrival of the great missionary, who would decide, they added, who would be the one to become King. The Bishop pointed out to them that the island was rather small to have two Kings, that it would be a cause for war, that they would do well to come together to choose a King all together. The votes were all in favour of Keletaona. <ref> It was at this time (May 1842) that Bishop Pompallier baptised him and installed him as the only King of Futuna. (He called him Petelo:Cf Doc [[Girard0193\|193]] [5], [[Girard0207\|207]] [2-3]. In 1843 the independence of the two districts of the island was re-established and the reign of Keletaona was limited to the district of Sigave until 1851 when he had to step down there as well (Cf [[Girard0342\|Doc 342]] [3] f/n 4; Frimigacci p 152-54). Chanel spoke about him in his mission diary (''journal de mission'') 23 Jan 1838 (Rozier, ''Écrits Chanel'' p323):… “Sami, son of the legitimate King of the whole island. This young man wants to revive the rights which his father had neglected. While still a child, he performed prodigies of bravery in the wars that took place in the island.” Rozier (''Écrits Chanel'' p 205 f/n 4) quotes the observation made later by Brother Marie-Nizier Delorme: “For a very long time we have believed that really Keletaona had rights to the kingship; that derived especially from the fact that white men living on the island made this assertion as certain, getting it no doubt from Keletaona himself.” (See as well: Doc [[Girard0133\|133]] [5] f/n 3; [[Girard0162\|162]] [3] and below [19]) </ref>

Merv: Created page with "== 9 May - 11 July 1842. — Father Joseph Chevron to his family, Wallis== ''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, December 2014'' : Madame veuvre Chevron, Nantua (the widow Chevron)..."

2015-11-27T02:18:36Z

Created page with "== 9 May - 11 July 1842. — Father Joseph Chevron to his family, Wallis== ''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, December 2014'' : Madame veuvre Chevron, Nantua (the widow Chevron)..."

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Merv at 01:10, 29 August 2022

Merv at 02:19, 27 November 2015

Merv: Created page with "== 9 May - 11 July 1842. — Father Joseph Chevron to his family, Wallis== ''Translated by Fr Brian Quin SM, December 2014'' : Madame veuvre Chevron, Nantua (the widow Chevron)..."