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Sago is certainly used for thatching in Manus and elsewhere according to
Joc. Powell. Also Nipa (1976:160-162). Peekel lists "marita"
(Kuanua) and "marite" (Pala) as terms for <i>Pandanus
tectorius</i> (the "roof pandanus"), the common coastal
pandanus, the fruit of which is not marita. In New Ireland and Kuanua,
according to Peekel, the fruit which is like marita elsewhere has a quite
different term ("bunamia") and is <i>P. englerianus</i>. It
looks as if marita might have come from Kuanua as a cover term for
pandanus, and then taken on special meanings<br>
cheers, jk. <br>
<br>
<blockquote type=cite cite>Mihalic 1971 distinguishes 'morata'
["thatch shingles made from sago palm or nipa palm leaves"]
from 'marita' ["the reddish brown edible fruit of pandanus"]. I
think Mihalic is wrong about the sago (I don't know about nipa). Does
anybody know of sago being used for thatching? I have never been sure
about the distinction and the pronunciation difference are slight. But I
have to admit that I think Terry is right about 'morita' being the term
for the thatch. Do 'marita' and 'morita' come from the same root? Is it
just a matter of pronunciation?<br>
<br>
Dr Bryant Allen<br>
Senior Fellow<br>
Land Management Group<br>
Department of Human Geography<br>
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies<br>
The Australian National University<br>
ACT 0200 Australia<br>
<br>
ANU CRICOS Provider Number is 00120C<br>
<br>
<br>
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Mihalic@anu.edu.au <br>
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