A few more plant words with salt

[Thomas H. Slone]

Examples below are again from Wantok Newspaper's Stori Tumbuna.

A few more plant definitions:

kaukau: sweet potato (Ipomoea batata).  Sweet potato is an important 
staple food crop in the Highlands, often grown in raised mounds to 
encourage water drainage. The sweet potato is able to grow at higher 
elevations than other New Guinea root crops, up to 2800 meters (May, 
1984: 46). It is a relatively recent introduction (400-1600 A. D. 
[Olivier, 1989: 98]), hence it is responsible for population 
expansion into previously unpopulated or sparsely populated areas of 
the Highlands. Sweet potatoes are grown primarily in the Highlands 
and also in the mountainous areas of New Ireland and Bougainville 
islands (Vasey, 1985: 50-51). Young leaves are also eaten (May, 1984: 
58).

popo: 1. papaya (as per Mihalic) 2. breasts (Tok Piksa) (Mühlhäusler, 
1979: 336)

salat: 1. As per previous discussion 2. an unattractive woman (Tok 
Piksa) (Mühlhäusler, 1979: 337)

saksak:  1. sago, a palm tree (Metroxylon sagu and M. rumphii) from 
which a starchy foodstuff is made. The process for processing sago 
entails chopping down the tree, cutting off the bark, mashing the 
pith and straining the pith repeatedly in water. The resultant 
substance can be made into pudding or flour. It is low in nutrition 
but high in calories (Powell, 1976: 116-117; May, 1984: 52-55, 
182-183). It can be kept for a long time in tropical climates. Parts 
of the plant are also used for medicine, spathes, canoes and 
construction (Powell, 1976: 140, 153, 158, 163, 165, 169). Usually, 
sago processing is traditionally women's work except for felling the 
trees. Sago grows in low-lying, swampy areas. 2. a Kerema (used by 
people from Mt. Hagen). Kerema "eat sago all the time and even use 
sago leaves in making their utensils." (Strathern, 1975: 34-36) Other 
coastal areas of P.N.G. also rely heavily on sago, and may engender 
this nickname as well.

sol: salt (sodium chloride or potassium chloride). Salt was an 
important trade item. One common method of salt manufacture was to 
soak banana stems in a brine pool, followed by drying and burning. 
The salt-infused ashes would then be used as a seasoning. Sometimes 
the salt was further purified by leaching. Salt was also made from 
the ashes of various plants (Powell, 1976: 133-134; May, 1984: 102; 
Woodley, 1991: 108).

tomato: 1. tomato (Lycoperscium esculentum) 2. breasts (Tok Piksa) 
(Mühlhäusler, 1979: 336)

nil kapok: 1. kapok thorn 2. breast, nipple (Tok Piksa) Examples: "Em 
lukim nil kapok bilong meri i sanap narakain stret." "Susu bilong 
tupela i sanap stret olsem ol nil kapok."

References:

May, Ronald James (1984). Kaikai Aniani: A Guide to Bush Foods, 
Markets and Culinary Arts of Papua New Guinea. Bathurst, New South 
Wales: Robert Brown.

Mühlhäusler, Peter (1979). Growth and Structure of the Lexicon of New 
Guinea Pidgin. Series C, No. 52. Canberra: Pacific Linguistics, The 
Australian National University.

Oliver, Douglas (1989). Oceania: The Native Cultures of Australia and 
the Pacific Islands. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2 volumes.

Powell, J. M. (1976). "Ethnobotany." In: New Guinea Vegetation, K. 
Paijmans, ed., New York: Elsevier Scientific, pp. 106-183.

Strathern, Marilyn (1975). No Money on Our Skins: Hagen Migrants in 
Port Moresby. New Guinea Research Bulletin, No. 61. Canberra: New 
Guinea Research Unit, The Australian National University.

Vasey, D. (1982). "Subsistence crop systems." In: Papua New Guinea 
Atlas: A Nation in Transition, David King and Stephen Ranck, eds. 
Bathrust, Australia: Robert Brown, pp. 50-51.

Woodley, Ellen, ed. (1991). Medicinal Plants of Papua New Guinea. 
Part 1: Morobe Province. Weikersheim, Germany: Verlag Josef 
Margraf/Wau, Papua New Guinea: Wau Ecology Institute.

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