WE ARE NOT A GENETICALLY DEFECTED PEOPLE!

SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST

There’s a saying in the circle of Geneticists “Survival of the Fittest” that most, if not all of us have heard before.  I have heard it being used repeatedly on Reality TV shows, sports, in the work place, and even here on facebook.  I‘ve noticed that almost 99.99% of the time, it is being used incorrectly.  It is often used as a declaration of dominance over another.  Normally, I hear it being used when one is flexing his/her physical, mental, and even good look muscles. 

However, such implication is a little misconstrued.  “Survival of the Fittest” refers to those that are MOST able to pass on their genetic information via offsprings.  In which case, it’s not always the most physical dominant, the best looking, or the brightest that are most able to pass on their genetic information.  Sometimes, it is the opposite, or most times it is a combination of these and little bit of luck. If you have looked at a couple and mentally wondered “Masi’I, na’e anga fefe e to ‘a e ki’I fefine he masi’I ko eni? Then you have witnessed what I am talking about.  Our Tongan ancestors understood this clearly and that’s why we have such sayings “Kapau ‘oku kovi e mata, pea ‘ai a e anga ke sia’a” or “Ai e setesi ke koula” or “Fena pe ka ko Nua”.  You guys know what I’m talking about…I won't mention names...MHK!

Most times, it is those that have experienced some sort of genetic mutations that allow them to function without hindrance under stressful conditions that are able to be the SURVIVOR OF THE FITTEST!

“API FA’A TOE TU’U AI E TEVE”

My purpose for opening with such discussion above is to dispel any misconceptions (I’m not saying that there’s any) that my last post may have suggested that we, Polynesians, are genetically DEFECTED since studies have shown that we have some sort of genetic mutation(s) that lead to high level of uric acid in our blood (pheww…such a long sentence….forgive my FOBiness).

We can suspect that such mutation(s) was beneficial and perhaps necessary to our ancestors considering their living conditions and circumstances.  It allowed our ancestors to squeeze every little ounce out of whatever meats they consumed or allowed for less secretion and higher chance of metabolizing molecules for energy.  There’s no actual scientific data to back my presumption.  However, a similar presumption has been documented for why the Native Americans tend to have high sugar level in their blood.  That led to the coining of the term “Hunter/Gatherer Genes”.

There’s a Tongan proverbs that says “Api fa’a, toe tu’u ai e Teve”.  Api means home, estate, or in this case, a farm.  Fa’a refers to being abundant...most likely with food, normally referring the place of a fruitful farmer.  Teve, was a type of food that was only eaten when there were absolutely nothing else to eat.  Perhaps it was unpleasant and hard to ‘stomach’.  (Sorry, I have never tried it, let along seen it).  So, the proverb basically means to be prepared. 

With that in mind, perhaps we can say that such mutation(s) left us with some ‘Api fa’a toe tu’u ai e Teve’ GENES.  I guess we can LITERALLY say that being prepared is IN OUR GENES!!  I believe these genetic mutations played a great role in the survival of our ancestors and our being here today.  Those without where weeded out!

ONCE OUR ALLIES, NOW OUR ENEMY?

Change is the only thing that’s constant.  Time has change and the stresses and challenges that we face today are definitely different from those that our ancestors dealt with.  This ‘Api fa’a toe tu’u ai e Teve’ gene that perhaps once protected our ancestors may have become our demise.  Its role seems to change.  Since we can’t easily re-mutate these genes back or easily weed out those with it (unless your name is Adolf Hitler), we need to do everything we can to protect ourselves from…..ourselves!  Embracing who we are as a people also means having the ‘SURVIVE and PROSPER’ mentality as our ancestors did.  
Time, nature, and our forefathers did whatever they could to pass down their genetic information and now it is our turn to follow suit!  TONGA MA'A TONGA!