Birds in East New Britain

Birds: A umana Beo

iki pic

Ismael K. Isikel Edited 08/01/2018

The general name for bird in Kuanua is beo. There are many of them in East New Britain and not all of them are listed here. More names will be added as they are identified and described. Some are just listed without any description.This is not a scientific classification of birds. It is basically the names of birds in Kuanua with some descriptions. Depending on dialect, some names may vary in spelling.  Some of these birds are migratory and pass through East New Britain in their travels. This post consists of two parts. The first is a list of terms associated with birds and the second is the list of birds.

Terms associated with birds

 Some terms associated with birds include:
 iwuna -  feather
pukai -  fly
pukapukai - flying
rakan - roost
rakarakan -  roosting place
mata - hollow.
po - nest
kiau - egg
telek- hatch
loko - male bird
nana - female bird
beo na ta - sea or shoreline bird
tolok - peck

List of birds

 

Balu - Pigeon

Bulukua - A long-tailed feathered black bird that feeds on the ground, much the same as a chicken scratching for grubs on the ground.

Buna - Fruit dove

Dima  This bird appears like a kingfisher but slightly smaller. It frequents areas where there is water such as rivers, creeks, and along the sea shores. Brown to orange chest and the rest is dirty dark blue. Very fast in flying keeping to just above ground level.

Gi or Lokokiakia - White chested and blueish all over. Some of the feathers have one side blue and the other side white which is prominently featured on the two long tail feathers. These two long tail feathers are commonly sought after for various dance decorations. It nests in termite hives found on tree trunks. It burrows the termite hive to make a nest. Normally it lays two eggs.

Giliau - A bird with black back feathers and white chest. The beak is orange as well as the legs.

Iai -  A ground black bird. It runs very fast and even outruns hunting dogs. They can be mistaken for human babies crying.

Inga - A type of parakeet that is smaller than a mumur.

Iu - Swift. Can be seen gliding for hours without perching. When not gliding it perches on dry tree branches.

Kabakabal -  Swallow. It lives and nests in caves.

Kakaruk - Chicken. 

Kakmal - Nightjar. Brownish bird that nests on the ground. It builds its nest in camouflage manner blending in with the immediate surroundings. If disturbed wherever it nests, it will relocate. 

Kalangar - Parrot.
             Kalangar mangmangilu - red color parrot
             Kalangar mapina pa - green color parrot.
Kalangar is the type of parrot found in East New Britain. It nests in hollows of tree trunks. It eats corn, banana, pawpaw and other garden foods such as peanuts. It feeds on food in unattended gardens as well as from the forest.

Kalawup or Balu kotkot - A species of pigeon that feeds on the ground. It has a crest that appears like grey mud.

Kau   A light brown middle size bird. It nests mostly on coconut palms.  Its name is given to the time of the early morning dawn as Kau or Kaukau. It marks this hour by 'crying' and of course waking people up. Another name for dawn is kawunwun.

Kawiwi - Kite. A terror to hens and chicks.One of its favourite meal is newly hatched chicks.

Kamuk -  Black and grey with white chest. The tail feathers are long and it makes a moo sound. There is one that is rarely seen that is white all over. It comes down to the ground to feed.

Kererek -  A black feathered bird with two curved tail feathers. They are usually seen in pairs.


Kik - Kingfisher. It is also called kikiu in another dialect of Kuanua spoken by Boawa and Wuatam people.

Koki or Muar - Cockatoo

Kokok - A night bird.

Kotkot  Crow or Raven, and also goes by the name Blackbird

Kuakua - There are two types of Kuakua. One is slightly bigger than the other and it is called Kuakua na pete. The smaller is called kuakua. Both are light brown with long tail feathers. It appears similar to rock pigeon.

Kuloko - Cuckoo

Kulinga - Lorriekeet

Ku'uk or Maima - A species of bird related to the Bird of Paradise. It is black with two middle long tail feathers. Similar to the owl, it is a night bird.

Kurkur - Owl. There is only one species of owl that is grey with little white spots. The tail feathers are short. It lives mostly in hollows in tree trunks. Its hooting resembles the distant lone barking of a dog.


Logalogo or Pap - A species of eagle with white chest and neck and the rest is brown. It is smaller than the minigulai.

Loko - Rooster

Malip -  Red and black in color and a favorite for aerial bird trappers of Toma. It is a common pet bird for many.  At times the phrase 'kipkip malip' is affectionately used to refer to anyone from Toma. The aerial bird trappers from Toma are the best in trapping birds such as muar, malip, and kulinga. Kipkip malip means bird bearer or carrier. From time to time men, the bird trappers, from Toma would sell birds at the market. It was an exotic site in the the old Rabaul market as the bird trappers would carry the birds around town selling them to interested buyers. The birds would be secured on a long wood or thin bamboo pole and carried on the shoulder.

Minigulai - Eagle. The bigger of the eagle species is known as minigulai.

Mumur - Parakeet.

Murup or Muruk - Cassowary

Neneoro - There are two types of neneoro. One type is highly migratory and move in flocks while the other type are usually seen in pairs and remain in one area. Neneoro could be a species of robin but this needs confirmation.

Ngiok or Ngeok - Wild fowl. Two known nesting areas in the vicinity of Simpson Harbour is Tavurvur and Tavana. A wild fowl lays its eggs by digging a hole in warm soil, lay the eggs,  and bury them to incubate and hatch. A hen lays four eggs in the same hole but in places them apart from each in different spots.

Pakupak - In Tolai folklore the Pakupak is a harbinger of death in the village. They fly around in pairs. One is black and the other is light brown to orange. Obviously one of them is a female and the other is male

Parupir - Humming bird.

Ruk - A green with orange neck ground bird. It completes its nest using the spiny roots of yams ( mamia) as a protection ring round the nest to deter other predator birds. I recently noticed that it inhabits areas close to old mamia (yam) gardens.
 
Tenge  Wren. There is one type of wren that frequent coconut palms. It is called ulmere. It is a tiny beautiful bird with a red chest hence the name ulmere. The lower body is glossy black.

Tamatamalakau It is slightly bigger than a wren and grey in color, and almost the size of a robin.

Uk - a species of fruit dove. It makes a sound that almost calling Jesus (Iesu) in Kuanua that goes something like, Uk, uk, uk, To Ietu. The name given to it comes from the sound that it makes - uk.

Ulia - Sandpiper. Ulia is a shoreline bird like the tuwik (plover).

Wuira - Starling. It is black with red eyes.  Another type is called wianao that is not as black as the red eye. The chest feathers are light.


Wuawuat - Appears similar to the Kuakua but shorter with dark brown feathers. Unlike the Kuakua, the Wuawuat feeds on the ground. There are two species of wuawuat. One is called wuawuat and it is brown and the other is called wuawuat golagolo. It also feeds on the ground.  Both appears similar to the rock pigeon.

Wurugada - A tiny dark brown bird with a beak similar to a finch and parrot. They fly around in flocks like starlings and frequent grass areas. The name wurugada is taken from a tall reed-like grass known as gada. Wuru here  means search and hence its name wurugada, literally translated to English as 'grass searcher.   Wurugada is the same as the Red-Throated-Ant-Tanager.

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

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.