fakaʻilonga ʻo e kolosí
The sign of the cross in Tongan is fakaʻilonga ʻo e kolosí.
This phrase refers to the gesture of tracing a cross on the body, which is used as a prayer or a blessing within certain Christian traditions.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase is built from fakaʻilonga (sign or mark), ʻo e (of the) and kolosí (cross).
Did you know?
- The word fakaʻilonga can also refer to a physical symptom of an illness or a distinguishing mark on a person's skin. In this context, the 'sign' of the cross is linguistically linked to the idea of a visible indicator.
- Tongan has no single word for 'cross' that predates Christianity, so the phrase fakaʻilonga ʻo e kolosí uses a term that was specifically imported to describe the faith.
- In Tongan, the glottal stop (the symbol ʻ) is a full consonant. In fakaʻilonga, omitting this sound would change the meaning of the word entirely.
Example conversation
Sione and Mele are preparing for a church service.
- SioneMele, naʻa ke fakaʻilonga ʻo e kolosí?Mele, did you make the sign of the cross?
- MeleʻIo, naʻaku fakaʻilonga ʻo e kolosí kimuʻa.Yes, I made the sign of the cross first.
- SioneTau mateu atu mo e lotu.Let's go in with the prayer.
- MeleʻIo, tau matauki atu.Yes, let's go in.
