Guria

Pirpir Ure Ra Guria (Guria Story)

Ismael K. Isikel

After the destruction and loss caused by a guria and tsunami we realize or remember the funny things of the event  and in spite of our losses we laugh (nongon) about them. Da nongone. We laugh over it/them.

The word GURIA is known and used widely in Papua New Guinea and understood by some people abroad, especially those working in seismology. It means earthquake or tremor. In many parts of the world where it occurs it is terrifying, depending on the magnitude, and destructive.  In maritime areas a guria is sometimes followed by tsunami forcing people to escape to higher ground. Tsunami is Japanese for tidal wave.

Last week, Saturday 17th December 2016,  there was a major guria centered somewhere in the area of  New Ireland Province, That is only a speedboat ride away from East New Britain Province to the closest point at Namatanai. After feeling relieved that most things were alright, I remembered  some funny stories relating to guria occurrences and share two of them here.

The first one was of an old man, his puppy, and his grandson. They were in a hut sharing the same coconut mat on the ground floor. Grandpa was sitting up while his two companions were fast asleep. When the guria suddenly struck, grandpa  quickly picked up the puppy and ran out. Someone noticed he was cradling something and asked, what are you holding? He quickly glanced at what he was cradling and responded, "aisiah ra papu ta" (Oh, the puppy). Instantly he dropped the puppy and ran back into the hut to fetch his grandson.

The second one is about an old folk at Rakotop village. This old fella was notorious for holding onto something steady when a guria struck. He would grab something that was steady, including tree trunks and house post, One time a guria struck and the nearest steady object was a cocoa tree. He dashed for it, grabbed hold of a branch, and hung on it for dear llife. Iga taba tara ingara kakao.

Counting: Cardinal and Ordinal Numbers

Niluluk
Ismael K.Isikel 13/12/2016

In response to queries on Counting i now post on cardinal and ordinal numbers bearing in mind that  there are no written records of counting in higher numbers especially by the thousands and up when counting in general. This excludes counting shell money (tip ma tabu) which is the Tolai traditional currency, and still in use today, Tabu once it is in a loop is called a tutana regardless of the number of fathoms, but the individual owners knows how many fathoms of tabu is in the loop. Bear in mind also our old folks had different counting types for certain items such as taro, coconuts, and fish. A bundle of four or six taro (pa) is called a kura pa. Let me not digress further and get back to cardinal and ordinal numbers. Below is a table showing the numbers.

CARDINAL	ORDINAL
1. Tikai	1st Lua, Luaina, Tamaluina
2. Urua	2nd Waurua, Wauruana
3. Utul	3rd Wautul, Wautuluna
4. Iwat	4th Waiwat, Waiwatina
5. Ilima	5th Wailima, Wailimana
6.Laptikai	6th Walaptikai, Walaptikaina
7. Lavurua	7th Walawurua, Walawuruana
8. Lavutul	8th Walawutul, Walawutuluna
9.Lavuvat	9th Walawuwat, Walawuwatina
10.Winun	10th Wawinun, Wawinununa
11. Winun ma tikai	11th Wawinun ma tikai
12. Winun ma urua	12th Wawinun ma urua
......	......
20. Urawinun	20th Wawaurawinun
30. Utulawinun	30th Wawautulawinun,
40. Iwat nawinun	40th Wawaiwat na winun
50. Ilima na winun	50th Wawailima na winun

Sample usage of ordinal numbers

ToWaira a wawaurua na bul kai IaWalaun. ToWaira is IaWalaun's second child.

Ia ra wawauruana. He is the second.

Nam awawautuluna. That is the third.

Nam ia ra wawaiwat na koai utar ienia. That is the fourth mango you have eaten.

A tamaluaina wunuai kai nam ra wudu. That is the first time for that banana to bear fruit.