The material for the study presented here is derived from two sources: (1) grammatical and linguistic notes, sentences, and texts prepared by Bishop Patteson at the Melanesian Mission Headquarters at Kohimarama, Auckland, New Zealand, in the years 1863–4, and subsequently included by H. C. von der Gabelentz in the second part of his Melanesischen Sprachen, 1873; (2) grammatical and linguistie notes collected by myself, along with a certain number of words, in the year 1925 at Sa'a, Mala. This is the only study of the language made since 1873.