I Never Knew There Was a Word for It - Adam Jacot De Boinod [42]
Stages of the Hawaiian moon
The Hawaiians in earlier times named each of the thirty nights of a lunar month. The first night was called hilo, to twist, because the moon was like a twisted thread. The second was hoaka, a crescent. The third was ku-kahi, the day of a very low tide. The subsequent days described rough seas, light after moonset or days suitable for fishing with a torch. On the eleventh night, huna, the sharp points of the crescent were lost. On the twelfth, mohalu, the moon began to round. This was a favoured night for planting flowers; it was believed they would be round too. The thirteenth night was hua, the egg; the fourteenth, akua, the night of the perfectly rounded moon. On the sixteenth night, mahea-lani, the moon began to wane. More named days of rough seas followed until the twenty-ninth night, mauli, meaning that the last of the moon was visible. Muku, the thirtieth night, literally meant ‘cut off’as the moon had disappeared.
A time for celebration
njepi (Balinese, Indonesia) a national holiday during which everyone is silent
On reflection
Process of elimination
Not just words, but languages themselves change endlessly, some to the point where they go out of use altogether (on average one language a fortnight). Out of the (roughly speaking) 6,800 languages that comprise the global range, some recent victims have included Catawba (Massachusetts), Eyak (Alaska) and Livonian (Latvia). Many are from the jungles of Papua New Guinea, which still has more languages than any other country.
Others that run an imminent risk of extinction are: Abkhaz (Turkey/Georgia); Aleut (Alaska); Archi (Daghestan); British Romany; Apurina/Monde/Purubora/Mekens/ Ayuru/Xipaya (Brazil); Brapu (Papua New Guinea); Southern Chaco/Chorote/Nivacle/Kadiweu (South America); Diyari (South Australia); Eastern Penan (Sarawak and Brunei); Gamilaraay (New South Wales); Goemai (Nigeria); Guruntum (Nigeria); Iquito (Peru); Jawoyn (Southern Arnhem Land); Jiwarli/Thalanji (Western Australia); Khumi Chin (Western Myanmar); Sandaun (Papua New Guinea); Sasak (Eastern Indonesia); Lakota (The Plains, America); Maku (East Timor); Ngamini (South Australia); Rongga (Flores, Indonesia); Uspanteko and Sakapulteko (Guatamala); Takana and Reyesano (Bolivia); Tofa (Siberia); Tundra Nenets (Arctic Russia and Northwestern Siberia); Uranina (Peru); Vedda (Sri Lanka); Vures (Vanuatu).
What’s in a Name?
ming bu zheng; yan bu shun (Chinese)
if the name is not right, the words cannot be appropriate
Angry bumblebees
Most first names, if not derived from myth, place, flower or surnames, have a specific meaning. Patrick, for example, means noble, from the Latin patricius. Naomi means ‘pleasant’ in Hebrew, while the Irish Gaelic Kevin literally means ‘comely birth’. More unusual meanings of names from around the world include the following (m stands for a male name; f for female):
Astell (m) sacred cauldron of the gods (Manx)
Delisha (f) happy and makes others happy (Arabic)
Ebru (f) eyebrow (Turkish)
Farooq (m) he who distinguishes truth from falsehood (Arabic)
Fenella (f) fair shoulder (Manx)
Lama (f) with dark lips (Arabic)
Matilda (f) strength in battle (German)
Xicohtencatl (m) angry bumblebee (Nahuatl, Mexico)
Xiao-Xiao (f) morning sorrow (Chinese)
Eyes like hard porridge
A number of particularly evocative names are to be found in different parts of Africa. Sometimes they refer to pregnancy or birth:
U-Zenzo (m) things happened in the womb (Ndebele, Southern Africa)
Anindo (m) mother slept a lot during pregnancy (Luo, Kenya)
Arogo (m) mother nagged a lot during pregnancy (Luo, Kenya)
Ige (f) born feet first (Yoruba, Nigeria)
Amadi (m) seemed destined to die at birth (Yoruba, Nigeria)
Haoniyao (m) born at the time of a quarrel (Swahili)
… to prophecy or destiny:
Amachi (f) who knows what God has brought us through this child (Ibo, Nigeria)
U-Linda (f) mind the village