Ano . . .
The Game of the Fenua
Ano is Nanumea’s preeminent ball game. Although ano is also played on other Tuvalu islands, Nanumeans say their version and their enthusiasm for the game is unique in Tuvalu.
Nanumeans play ano on festive occasions on the malae field next to the āhiga meeting hall. Most of the community’s younger adults participate, resplendent in festive dress. Each team wears the designated color of clothing chosen for that day’s play, and players are also usually adorned with head wreaths (fau) and dancing skirts (titi). Two elders seated at the center doorway to the āhiga oversee the games and keep score, while the rest of the community gathers in the āhiga and near the playing field to watch and call comments. Teams usually represent the two village sides (feitu), the groupings whose competition has structured most village activities for over a century. Thus, the energy on display in an ano game has a history, with this day’s play an exuberant part of the structural opposition that defines community life.
Nanumean song celebrating the skill in ano ball game of Lulu ("Tolusi"), who lived about from 1872 to 1942:
"When Tolusi stands to hurl the ano ball
Or when he lunges in the second row
Then the guns boom out from windward,
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The song above is known as mako fakatagitagi, which commemorate remarkable individuals. According to Kalipa, who sang it at a wedding in 1973 when we recorded it, Tolusi’s song was composed around 1910, and not later than 1917. Kalipa (born in 1896) heard it when she was about 16 years old (about 1912), but did not recall the name of its composer. The reference to “guns booming” is in praise of Tolusi’s strength, and may be an oblique reference to the First World War, or perhaps to the bombardment of Nanumea in 1872 by British naval captain Moresby.
We will put the ‘gana faka taatou lyrics here when we find them. If you know them, please write to us!
Christmas, 1973. Fetai alovaka, Henga fakatuu
Haumaefa players rolling up titi after Ano - January 1974
Feeding Ano players at noon - 20 January 1984
1984