[Mihalic] Disputed! Wahgi Besta

[TIDA Syuntaroo]

Dia masta Jon na olgeta,

Long Simbu igat wanpela kain kaukau ol kolim "Waki Besta".  Mi askim
ol long kolim ol kain kain nem bilong kaukau na ol sampela man na meri
i kolim dispela nem "Waki Besta".  Pes taim mi harim dispela nem long
2001.  Mi harim dispela nem planti taim na ating mi kaikai tu, tasol
nau mi no klia tumas long swit bilong em.

"Waki" em ol tok long "Wahgi".  Mi save stap wantaim ol lain Dom long
Saut Simbu na toktok bilong ol save go olsem "Waki".  Em nem bilong
wara.

Ol planti kaukau igat tokples nem.  Ol i no putim Tok Pisin nem tumas.
Wan wan kaukau olsem "Barsu Maune Kepa" (Kaukau Ples Balus), "Saina
Apal" (Meri Saina) igat Tok Pisin nem, tasol ol dispela i no Tok Pisin
olgeta.  Ol putim tokples wantaim.  Nem bilong kaukau mas olsem
"... Kepa" (Kaukau ...), "... Apal" (Meri ...) "... Gi" (Yangpela Meri
...).  

Ol narapela tokples Simbu tu igat wankain pasin long putim nem.  Ol
kolim "meri" na "yangpela meri" nau ol save olsem dispela em nem
bilong kaukau.

"Waki Besta" tasol em narapela kain liklik.  Ol i no putim "meri" o
"yangpela meri" o dispela kain tok.  Ol i no kolim olsem "Waki Besta
apal".  I gat wanem kain as? mi no klia.  Ating em mas nupela kaukau
bilong ol na ol putim pani nem o?

Mi bungim ol nem bilong sampela kumu tu, tasol mi no save i gat
wanpela kain kumu ol kolim "Waki Besta" o nogat.

Na tu mi no klia, ol Dom o Simbu tingting long olgeta kain kumu na
kaukau na ol putim dispela nem "Waki Besta"?  O ol mas tingting long
dispela bikhet pis?  Em kwesten mak.  Ol kolim dispela nem na ol
toktok long wanpela kain kaukau na mi harim.

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There is a kind of sweet potato called "Waki Besta" in Simbu.  I was
eliciting sweet potato names from some informants when I first heard
the name "Waki Besta" in 2001.  The name became familiar to me now and
I guess I tasted it as well, though I don't remember well how sweet it
is.

"Wahgi" is "Waki" for the Dom people, with whom I am working.  They
live in South Simbu and "Waki" is their pronunciation (phoneme string,
strictly speaking) for the name of the Wahgi river.

Sweet potatoes usually do not have Tok Pisin names, but people use
indiginous names.  A few sweet potato names as "Barsu Maune Kepa"
(Airport Sweet Potato) and "Saina Apal" (Chinese Lady) include a Tok
Pisin word, but the names do not completely consist of Tok Pisin
words.  A vernacular word should be added as the head of the word as:
"... Kepa" (... Sweet Potato), "... Apal" (... Lady) "... Gi"
(... Girl).

Other dialects/languages in Simbu on par with Dom use similar
compounds as the naming convention for sweet potatoes.  "Lady" or
"girl" suggest that the word is sweet potato name.

"Waki Besta" is aberrant, without "lady" or "girl" to make something
like "Waki Besta Apal".  I don't know why.  Perhaps, they put as a
name a word that is going around for the sweet potato just introduced.

I collected some vegetable names as well, but I do not know of one
called "Waki Besta".

Also, I am not sure if the Dom or Simbu people use the name "Waki
Besta" for sweet potato and greens or the fish.  I only heard this
word used for a kind of sweet potato.

TIDA, Syuntaroo

>>>>> Long Thu, 10 Mar 2005 16:06:17 +1100
>>>>> john.burton at anu.edu.au("John Burton") i tok:

john.burton> Today's Post-Courier carries the article below, but I dispute! In the intro
john.burton> blurb I wrote in 2000 (front page at
john.burton> <http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/PNG/MIHALIC/Index.htm>
john.burton> http://coombs.anu.edu.au/SpecialProj/PNG/MIHALIC/Index.htm), I said Wahgi
john.burton> Besta referred to 'introduced carp infesting the Wahgi River'. This young
john.burton> lady says it means sweet potato and greens. Oloman!
john.burton>  
john.burton> Any ideas?
john.burton> John Burton