[Mihalic] New terms from Harvesting Development

Ngawae Mitio nmitio at lcs.unitech.ac.pg
Thu Nov 10 18:23:02 EST 2005


Re: [Mihalic] New terms from Harvesting DevelopmentI have heard all other terms, but definitely not 
  a..     nuspes: "customary payment by husband's kin to wife's kin" and 
  b..     beksaitbun: "customary payment by husband's kin to wife's kin" 
This is my first time to hear these terms. I think their usage are specific to those locations and more as metaphorical so care should be taken in using them as if they were common terms understood by a majority of TP speaking people. It maybe that those people in Goroka have equivalent terms in their vernacular.  If I had heard or seem them in written form, I would not have had a clue. In fact, I might had that they should be used since these terms already have their own meanings. 

Ngawae Mitio
University of Technology
Lae
PNG

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Lise Dobrin 
  To: Mihalic 
  Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2005 8:11 AM
  Subject: Re: [Mihalic] New terms from Harvesting Development


  For what it's worth, I am familiar with most of these from the Sepik coast: boskru with that meaning (generously extended to anyone sitting up front), kaibar with that meaning, and bata or batafrut, "butterfruit", with that meaning. I know my Orokaiva speaking (American) husband also had batafrut in Oro Province where he worked.


  The only uses of nuspes I heard were much more general, referring to the physical features or appearance of people and especially game: "nose-face". One can hypothesize a metaphorical shift from that to a customary payment recognizing the contribution of something, like blood, from the mother's lain. But I guess we'd have to speak to the ethnographer to know more.


  Lise


    Here are some new terms from a book passing through my hands: "Harvesting Development: The Construction of Fresh Food Markets in Papua New Guinea" by Karl Benediktsson (University of Michigan Press, 2002).  Phrases taken from glossary on pp. 277-280

    beksaitbun: "customary payment by husband's kin to wife's kin" (Is this specific to Eastern Highlands Province, where Benediktsson did his research? What is the significance of this word?)

    boskru: meaning broadened from standard to include truck or PMV driver's assistant

    kaibar: "food bar"

    kopimasin: coffee pulping machine

    maket raun: "mobile market"

    nuspes: "customary payment by husband's kin to wife's kin" (Is this specific to EHP?  What is the etymology?)

    bata: avocado

    wel karuka: Pandanus brosimos




  --
  Dr. Lise M. Dobrin
  University of Virginia
  Department of Anthropology
  Brooks Hall-PO Box 400120
  Charlottesville, VA 22904-4120
  434-924-3536
  dobrin at virginia.edu


------------------------------------------------------------------------------


  _______________________________________________
  Mihalic mailing list
  Mihalic at anu.edu.au
  http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/mihalic

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/mihalic/attachments/20051110/b0ff04b6/attachment.html


More information about the Mihalic mailing list