[Mihalic] Malo

[John Lynch]

Re (1): Not listed in Crowley's Bislama dictionary 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: John Burton [mailto:john.burton at anu.edu.au] 
Sent: Friday, 25 February 2005 10:31 a.m.
To: Mihalic at anu.edu.au
Cc: apawley at coombs.anu.edu.au; Malcolm.Ross at anu.edu.au
Subject: [Mihalic] Malo

 

Browsing the Shipping Gazette, as one does, I picked up the following usage
of 'maro' which we see in Tok Pisin as 'malo' (also 'mal' which was
Mhialic's entry with the attribution 'Gaz.', and I presume 'maro' in some
places).

Four of the women came alongside, and if they were a sample, they may be
considered rather good looking, having a very fine expression, black eyes
shaded by a beautiful long dark lash, features regular, figure good, rather
inclined to be stout, they appeared naturally graceful and sage in their
manner; their dress consisted of a piece of native cloth round the waist;
the men wore the maro - the usual dress among nearly all the Polynesian
Islands, it is made of several tiers of dried grass, about eighteen inches
long, strung together, and fastened round their waist. 

T. Beckford Simpson, Nautical Surveys - Pleasant Island, Shipping Gazette
and General Sydney Trade List, Vol 1 (12) 8 June 1844, p.85 [Simpson's visit
to Nauru of 1 February 1843] 

The questions I have are: (1) is 'maro' or 'malo' also known in Pijin or
Bislama? (2) is there other evidence to attribute it to Pacific Pidgin
English as it may have been in 1843? (3) is the word so common in
Austronesian languages that the balance of probability is that it entered
Tok Pisin locally and independently?

 

John Burton

 

Dr John Burton

Research Fellow

Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies

Australian National University

ACT 0200 Australia

 

john.burton at anu.edu.au <mailto:john.burton at anu.edu.au> 

 

 

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