Transaction

Transaction in Kuanua. 

Ismael K. Isikel, Edited 18/10/2017

Transaction means: 1) an instance of buying and selling;  and 2) a published report of proceedings at the meeting of a learned society. The discussion in this post is concerned with the first definition. The other definition is included to justify the fact that, indeed, there are other meanings of transaction. In particular, this post treats the Kuanua vocabulary on transaction. Some examples of usage  are also provided for each term. The examples  are intended for those with little or no prior knowledge of Kuanua. Bear in mind Kuanua has more than one dialect and that means not all terms or variations in spelling appear here.

Transaction vocabulary in Kuanua presented here are Warkukul, Kul, Pa, Tokom, Dinau, Palatip, Tip, Tabu, Porong, Kala, and Avia. Some forms of each of these terms and related words are also included.

Warkukul
It is the name for bride price payment as well as the activities performed during the settlement of bride price between the families and relatives of the  bride and groom. It is  a reciprocal social activity that includes settlement in traditional currency which is tabu.

Example Usage

A warkukul ningene. The bride price ceremony will be tomorrow.

A- The;  warkukul -  bride price ceremony;  ningene - (will be) tomorrow.

Dia wana tara warkukul. They went to the bride price ceremony.

Dia - They; wana - went; warkukul - bride price ceremony

Kul
Kul is translated to English as buy, pay, or purchase. The noun form of kul is Kunukul or in English, payment. Kunukul is also used to mean 'for sale'. A related word to  Kunukul is  warkul. Apart from it being used interchangeably with Kunukul,  it is also used specifically to mean penalty fine. Kulkul is used as present continuous tense and apart from that, it is also used to describe the buyer of something. For example, Kulkul kiau. Egg buyer.

Example Usage

Iau kul ra makura pa. I bought a bundle of taro.

Iau - I; kul - buy; ra- of; makura - bundle of; pa - taro.

Toia i kul ra nian? Who bought the food?

Toia - Who; i kul ra nian - bought the food.

Toia na kul ra nian?  Who will buy the food?

Toia - Who; na - will; kul - buy; nian- food.

Pa
Pa very rarely is used outside of the traditional transaction even if it is a perfect synonym for kul. Kul is used widely in both traditional and modern settings and transactions. The usage of pa is mostly confined to traditional transaction or the village.  The noun form of pa is pinapa. Papa is the act of carrying out a purchase. Pa is used both for permanent transaction and hire purchase as well as penalty fine, especially compensation.

Example Usage

Una pa To Ruga tago u vulia. You will compensate Mr Ruga because you swore at him.

Una - You will; pa - compensate; To Ruga - Mr Ruga; tago - because; u - you; vulia - swore at him.

To Wilimon ipapa na lama tai To Walogo.  Mr Wilimon bought coconuts from Mr Walogo.

To Wilimon - Mr Wilimon; ipapa na - bought; lama - coconuts; tai - from; To Walogo - Mr Walogo.

Tokom 
Hire purchase and fare are known respectively as tokom and totokom.  Tokom is the verb and totokom is the adverb.  In Kuanua totokom is the noun form of tokom.

Example Usage

Una tokom tatikana oaga. You will hire one canoe.

Una - You will; tokom - hire; tatikana - one; oaga - canoe.

Ina totokom boko. I have yet to pay.

Ina - I have; totokom - pay; boko - yet

Dinau
Dinau is the act of obtaining goods and services on credit in good faith with the understanding that payment will be settled later or at an agreed time. Dinau is one of some Kuanua words now commonly used in Pidgin.

Example Usage

Nukpa kaum dinau. Remember your credit.

Nukpa- Remember; kaum - your; dinau - credit.

Palatip 
Palatip means cheap; only a few shells. Not much. In transaction it means to purchase an item cheaply. In some cases palatip is used to describe an unfair transaction where the seller receives less for the value of an item or items.

Example Usage

Ia Tarue ipalatip pa ra pa tai To Gabriel. (She did not pay the required amount.)

Ia Tarue -Ms Tarue; ipaltip ra pa - cheaply bought taro; tai - from; To Gabriel - Mr Gabriel.

Tip
Tip is the small unit of the traditional currency. It is also commonly used to refer to a small purchase  using  a smaller amount of tabu. Tiptip is used as the name of the activity using smaller amount of tabu. Tinitip is the noun form while tititip is the present continuous tense.  Tiptip is the activity  known in everyday language as fund raising activity.

Example Usage

Da ta titip na galip tai ToMikel. We will buy peanuts from Mr Mikel.

Da ta - We will; titip - buy; na galip - peanuts; tai - from; To Mikel - Mr Mikel.

Tabu 
Tabu is the traditional currency that was used in the past and still in use today. Tabu is made from cowrie shell collected from the sea, dried, and  processed. Processing involves making holes in the shells and strung on thin fashioned cane ropes measured in fathoms. Pokono is the word for a fathom of shell money. Half a fathom is papar or bongabongo and a quarter is turkao. The smaller amount between a turkao and tip is a pakaruat. Twelve (12) shells make up one tip.  The small unit of tabu is tip.  Making holes in the shells is known as bunubur. This is formed from the word bur meaning to bore an eye hole on a shell. The strung shells are grouped into five or ten fathoms per bundle for storage and transaction purposes. Tabu intended for long term storage and usage is fashioned into a cane loop.

Example Usage

A tabu di mamar me tara balaguan kai To Belut. The shell money used  for display during the feast belongs to Mr Belut.

A - The; tabu - shell money; marmar me - used for display; tara - during the; balaguan- feast; kai - belongs to; To Belut - Mr Belut.

Porong
Porong is far more closer in meaning to warkul than kunukul.  Porong is the act of carrying out a fine for an offence against a person.; to compensate.  Compensation then is warporong.

Example Usage

Ia Urade iga warporong mara ilima na winun na tabu. Ms Urade paid compensation with fifty fathoms of shell money.

Ia Urade - Ms Urade; iga warporong - paid compensation; mara - with; ilima na winun - fifty; - pokono - fathoms; na tabu - of shell money.

Kala   
Compensation payment for bodily injury is known as warkala, The verb form of warkala is kala.
Depending on the time, action or situation kala may be changed to the form kalakala, changing the form to present continuous or noun.

Example Usage

Una kala ra limai nauvam u mutia nabung. You will compensate your cousin's hand you cut yesterday.

Una - You will; ra limai - hand of; nauvam - your cousin; u - you; mutia - cut it; nabung - yesterday.

Aivia
How much is it? What is the cost/price? Questions like these appear frequently in transaction deals.To ask How much?, it is stated, Aivia?  The word mataina means the cost of it. Using aivia and mataina in a question, it is stated, Aivia ra mataina?  What is the cost of it?

Tagete is used along with tabu in some traditional transactions, especially during certain ceremonies.

Source:  This post is written from oral source, except for the definition of transaction and word forms taken from Google. Ismael K. Isikel 18/10/2017

Deception in Kuanua

Wagu

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Ismael K. Isikel Edited 5/10/2017

The act of causing another person to accept as true or valid something that is false or invalid is known in Kuanua as wawagu. The verb form is wagu or deceive in English.  It is closely related to the term cheat. A deliberate false statement or deceptive action in Kuanua is known as waongo. That is the same with any inadvertent statement that is later found not to be true.  It is stated in Kuanua as Wowongo na tinata. Wowongo is a variant of wawaongo. Wonga means to lie to; lie to another person. I wongeau. He/she lied to me. I wongo diat. He/she lied to them. A liar is a Tena waongo. If the speaker is speaking about himself or herself, wongeau is used as shown earlier in the example.

Warngu is another closely related term that is formed from the word ngu that is used to mean trick. Warngu is trickery.

The act of mixing up something or objects in order to cheat another person is known as wawaragu. Sometimes wawaragu is used as a synonym for the word steal or long in Kuanua. (the letter o in long is along vowel) Long is the verb and nilong may be used as a noun as well as other forms depending on the situation. A thief in Kuanua is called A long or A tena nilong. The present continuous tense is lolong or loalong.

Poto and wawaragu sometimes are used interchangeably however, they  are remotely related especially where the intent of an act is really negative or anti-social. Poto specifically means mix; adding two or more items together to form a mixture. Popoto is the act or process of blending. The present continuous tense is potopoto. For example, Tevita i potopoto ra dital tava. Tevita is mixing their drinks.  Potapoto is mixture. Pota means to mix or mix it. Pota is used when issuing an instruction to carry out the action of mixing. 


Source:  This post is based on oral source. Ismael K. Isikel 5/10/2017