An tumåtånges i patgon
nå'e na'-ña entot tupu.
Yanggen sige ha' de tumånges,
håtsa hulo' ya un na' susu.
(When the child is crying
give him a piece of sugar cane to eat.
If he keeps on crying,
lift him up and breast feed him.)
Now, I could be wrong but I don't think this verse is to be taken literally.
I'm not sure it's good to give an infant a piece of fibrous sugar cane that s/he can choke on! Even with mommy watching, I think it would be a challenge to get a baby to just suck the juice and not swallow the fiber. And chew with what teeth? No; I think the verse is meant solely for entertainment value.
Entot means a cut-off piece, a fragment. It comes from the word utot, which means to cut off.
Tupu (or tupo) is sugar cane. It is not to be confused with tupu' (tupo'), which has a glota at the end, which means a water well.
Hafa adai Pale'. I do recall that sugar cane was a remedy used for infants who were teething. They couldn't bite off the fibrous bits without teeth, but the sugar cane would help sooth the irritation from their teething, and the sweetness of the juice would satisfy them too. Si Yu'os Ma'ase'.
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