| Description |
Recitation of a system of counting used by spirits and discussion in Tok Pisin and Makada
Michael John starts by counting from ‘one’ to ‘ten’ in the way used by our ancestors to communicate with the spirits. The Makada forms are as follows:
take (‘one’)
urade (‘two’)
tamapu (‘three’)
kaiti (‘four’)
kaita (‘five’)
libur (‘six’)
matam (‘seven’)
tumam (‘eight’)
tararek (‘nine’)
mude (‘ten’)
In the past, our ancestors communicated with the spirits by using the spirits’ numerals as a counting system, as there was no other common language of communication, such as Tok Pisin, that could be used. Therefore, the common language between the natural and the spiritual worlds relied on a special counting system, as evident in these spoken numerals.
It is very important to know the numerals that are used in the language of the spirits. This is no trivial matter. These numerals were very meaningful to our ancestors, as they used them to communicate with the spirits.
This story of the spirit numerals must be told and passed on from fathers to sons and grandsons, continuing into future generations.
Cf. Barlow (2024:16–17)
Barlow, Russell. 2024. The Makada dialect of Kuanua. Te Reo 67(1): 1–71.
(Steven Gagau, May 2024)
(revised, Russell Barlow, May 2024) |
