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

iki pic

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

Cooking

Types of Traditional Cooking

A bona wudu aira nigir. 

Ismael K. Isikel Edited 2/10/2017

Some traditional types of cooking practiced by the Tolai are described in this post. These are tunutun, kukulubai, nigir, pinapara, and pipitai. It is more on the vocabulary and not the recipe.

1. Tunutun
A simple type of cooking is roasting or grilling food such as taro, banana, and kaukau on an open fire (iap). The food item  (magit na nian) is placed on the fire and from time to time it is turned and brushed or scratched with a sharp implement until it is cooked and ready to be eaten.

Depending on the situation, tunutun is used as adjective as well as a noun. Tunutun comes from the word tun that means grill or roast food, especially tubers, banana, or meat. Tututun  is the present continuous tense of tun.

Stone

Ismael K.Isikel EDited 3/10/2017

Wat or watu is the word for stone in Kuanua. You find in almost every yard a ground oven (ubu) with stones. This is used for cooking and the two most common types of cooking using heated stones are pinapara and nigir.  Apart from pinapara and nigir, it was used as a tool and weapon in the past. Well, that was the past but if one observe riots today, stones are used as weapon in some riots. Pinapara or mumu in pidgin  is cooking food in a ground oven. Nigir is cooking using hot stones in a container such as a large saucepan which is a modern option to banana leaves. Banana leaves are also used as container for nigir. The banana leaves are prepared and arranged into a container. Kadui is the name of the container.

Dry (Mage)

Kuanua vocabulary related to the term Dry (Mage)

Ismael K. Isikel, Edited 20/9/2017

iki

Global warming  evokes a word and related terms in Kuanua. The word is mage and means dry. Ge is also used as a short form of mage. Magamage is the present continuous form of mage. The opposite of mage is bilim (wet). A related opposite word is pupuk. A Kuanua translation of global warming is A Gunagunan i malamalapang.

Maranga is a related term that means dry however, it is used pertinently in relation to describing dry leaves or dead trees. Maranga na dawai. A dead tree. Makuk is another related word that means dry but specifically describes the state of something, for example, a leaf, that is dry as a result of exposure to heat from the sun or fire.

The environment or something in a state of being hot is described as malamalapang. It is commonly shortened as malapang. When an object or something is hot, the heat may cause harm to an unprotected part of the body. Lapap is a related term to malapang but specifically used to describe red hot stones in a ground oven fire. Lapap is used to describe something very hot. For example, I lapap ra keake. The sun is very hot. Lapalap is the present continuous form of lapap.  A related term is wartun that is used to mean burn, scorch, or sear. The verb form of wartun is tun.

Example Usage

Itar lapap ra ubu. The ground oven is already red hot.

Mama means devoid of water and is used to describe a container or water well that is without water, empty. It is also used to describe low tide at sea. The lowest of sea tides where seaweed and reef corals are exposed is described as takere.  Collecting shells, seaweed, and catching fish trapped in small pools of water is called mur mama.  The opposite of mama is lubu.

Example Usage

I mama ra mata na tawa. I mama ra kivu. The water well is empty.

Oao is the state of experiencing heat on the body and causes sweating and of course thirst. The word for thirst in Kuanua is mar and the adjective of the noun mar is minar (thirsty). Mangon is the word for sweat that describes the wet body condition. Mangmangon is the noun form of mangon. Depending on the situation, mangmangon is also used as adjective.

Example Usage

Iau oao.                             I am hot.
I oao ra pakagu.               My body is hot.
Iau mangmangon.            I am sweating.
Iau mar.                             I am thirsty.
Iau tar mar.                      I am already thirsty.
A minar i warmonong.    Thirst is in effect.

The Coconut

Ismael K. Isikel 7/9/2017

The tree of life (dawai na nilaun) in New Britain and the Pacific is the coconut (lama). Lama is the Kuanua word for the coconut tree as well as the dry nut. Cocos nucifera  is the scientific name for coconut tree. It is a species of palm. Although the fruit is commonly called nut, botanically it is a drupe. It is not a nut.

The coconut provides material for food, water, oil, building material,and household items such as broom, basket, mat , and handheld fan. Most parts of the coconut palm are used. Prior to the mining boom copra and cocoa were the mainstay of economic activity in Rabaul. That is why it is a dawai na nilaun.

Names and uses of parts of the coconut tree 

Kuanua names of parts of the coconut and some of their uses are described here. Some related terms and meanings are also provided.

Lama 

Lama is the general name of the tree as well as the dry nut. Inalama specifically means coconut tree. The kernel  of the dry nut is used for food. It is freshly eaten by many. The kernel is simply cut out and eaten or finely grated and eaten. Coconut eaten with banana (wudu), taro (pa), sweet potato (kaukau), yam (mamia ba up) or other food items is called wiara. Wiare ra lama ma wudu. A popular delicacy made from coconut milk is called ku. The process of making ku is described as pipitai na ku. Punupur or mumu in Tok Pisin is another form of food preparation that requires the use of milk from grated coconut. Even many everyday cooking involves the use of coconut milk extracted from grated kernel. Inainalama or lamalama is the plural form of coconut trees. Makura lama is the word for coconut grove or plantation.

Piogo   The early stage of formation of the nut just after flowering (titi).

Kulau dadauk    The stage between tirip and kulau.

Kulau   The stage at which the green coconut's kernel and water is right for consumption. Kulau is a common item in markets and at roadside stalls. People relish drinking the water (tawa na kulau) and eating the soft kernel. The soft kernel is also called kulau.  With the aid of an ankle loop (kinobir) a person climbs the coconut palm to get the kulau down. The green nuts are either plucked one by one and dropped or the whole bunch is simply shaken and all fall off. Some are able to climb the coconut palm without the aid of a kinobir (ankle loop). The act of climbing a coconut palm without the aid of a kinobir  is described as papaku. The verb form of papaku is paku. Any able person who for some reason cannot climb a tree or palm is called a pagu.

Katung    The transitional stage between kulau and lama where the kernel is no longer soft but crunchy. A traditional recipe using grated katung is called kamuk. The grated katung is eaten with ripe banana. The preferred types of ripe bananas for kamuk are iawa and kalapua.

Tirip    The stage at which the kernel is just forming but still too watery and the shell is still brittle and breaks easily.  The tirip is used for traditional medicine as well as food preparation.   

Titi   The coconut flower before it forms into piogo. Fruit bats love the titi for its nectar.

Warai     After some weeks the dry fallen nut starts to sprout, ready to grow. This stage is called warai. Sometimes the dry coconuts do not fall early and remain hanging until they start sprouting. A dry coconut that does not fall early and starts sprouting while still attached to the arere is called warailiu.  Warai from the top (liu) would be the suitable translation to English. The plural of warailiu is umana waraliu or warawara.

Pagal   The stem that holds the fronds of the coconut palm. Dry pagal is used for firewood. I remember it was also used as a skateboard for galgalir by children. I did use it too as a child.The activity involves collecting a suitable pagal and cut it short. This is carried up the top of a hill, placed on the ground, and the rider sits on the pagal and simply enjoy the ride (slide) down hill. At the end of each ride the children carry their pagal uphill and repeat the process downhill. Umana pagal or pagapagal is the plural of pagal.

Ul    (pronounced ool) Coconut frond. It is also commonly called mapinaul. The mapinaul has various uses. A good fire starter is the dry leaf. The green leaf is used for weaving basket (rat, robong/lovor, kakia, gep),  mat (ding/kubin, tabakau, kupa), hat (kere), and fan (teptep). It is used as well for walling. Brooms are also made from the fronds. The word for broom is tawiai or noko It is used for sweeping (niarupa).

Upa

  The soft inner part of the coconut husk is called upa. Upa na palalama is the phrasal noun. Upa is very good material for making rope for various household uses as well as fishing. Upa is good for scrubbing purposes, especially on utensils and general cleaning.

Gogor   The young coconut frond. Gogor is a favorite item for body and other ceremonial decorations as well as for making the best baskets.

Arere    Nut holder. The dry fallen arere serves as firewood. It is also used as rake.

Agoro/wo/pagoro   The pod that covers the arere with titi that eventually develop into coconuts. Agoro serves as good firewood.

Nirut   A net-like fabric forming at the base of the frond covering the upper part of the coconut palm. The 'green' nirut was used for squeezing out milk from grated coconut. Nirut was used as pupupur for punupur.

Malup  A thick greasy thin substance that forms at the top of the kernel holding the warai fruit.

Palalama

Palalama is the word for coconut husk. It is used for firewood, and serves as good mosquito coil. The Kuanua verb for removal of the husk is upal. Usually the husk is removed with the aid of a sharpened stake called bair. The bair is usually about 1 metre long.

Palakakai is the word for empty coconut shell, after the kernel has been removed . It is also called kakai. The unbroken coconut shell was used as water bottle. This is called palatawa. Coconut shells are commonly used as firewood.

Pulapula    Coconut palm log. Used for house building material including posts.

Me  Used grated coconut is called me.

Tenses in Kuanua

Tenses

 Ismael Isikel  Edited 3/10/2017

The Kuanua past tense depends on how long ago an event took place. The recent past (tar, itar) and the past past (ga, iga) are the two groups of tenses used.  For the recent past tar and itar are used. The past past in Kuanua is three days ago and beyond where ga and iga begin to be employed to describe past past events. tar , itar, ga, and iga  are not added to a word like the ed in English to change the form to past tense. Of course some English words do not require the ed to change the form to past tense. The spelling is changed, for example, eat to ate. In Kuanua they are placed before the verb as separate words as shown in the table below with English Translations.

The first two or three letters of a verb is repeated to change its form to present continuous as you see in the table of tenses.

Table: Tenses

Present Tense           Past Tense                 Present continuous             

wana   go                    Itar wana, iga wana,             wanawana, going

warwut     run            Itar warwut, Iga warwut        warwarwut, running

rabai    weed               Itar rabai, Iga rabai                rabarabai, weeding

tutun    cook               Itar tutun, Iga tutun                tututun, cooking

raut   cut                     Itar raut, Iga raut                   raraut, cutting

(cut as in cutting grass)

tata   talk                     Itar tata, Iga tata                    tatata, talking

Kaugu robong diga piria mara mapina ul.(My basket was woven from coconut frond.)

Note the word 'diga' in the caption of the of the picture.In this case it means 'it was'.