The Mafulu: Mountain People of British New Guinea

Conjunctions.

I. Copulative.

-u(ne), and, with; naga kitoval’ u kene’ ema, I killed a black and white parrot.

Une is generally only used to connect two nouns, and is placed between the two. But sometimes it comes after the second, especially when meaning “with,” and the first noun is then followed by the personal pronoun. There are a few doubtful examples of une joining two phrases: ake tale mu, Augustin’ un’ ando, many men are with Augustin.

II. Adversative.

-ta, yet, but: nuni safa’ ta nani kakava, you are weak but I am strong.

Ta, meaning “but,” precedes the phrase which it governs: nuni natsi, ta nani fema, you will eat, but I do not.

III. Sequence.

-ta, when (when a fact is accomplished, or will certainly happen), lest: aked’ indiota, dinoi gatsi, when the men arrive, we will go together.

Ta in this sense follows the verb, which is in the past if the action depends on the person who speaks or is spoken to, in other cases in the subjunctive: kuku neta, etsi gatsi, when I (or you) have eaten, I will (or you will) go to the village; mulamula angetota, gadiu, lest the medicine fall, tie it up.

-tamai, when (uncertain event): oki finolitamai, na natatsi, when the fire blazes, warn me.

Tamai always requires the subjunctive.

-mai, if: Augusto bubulimai, dimuku e gaditsi. If Augusto delays, we ourselves will build the house.

-umba, so, like: an’ umba ne i, give me (one) like that.

Interjections.

mamu(la)! admiration.
ile! sadness.
fanimo(le), commiseration.
fanikoe! commiseration.
-e (suffix), commiseration.
segoa! joy at another’s misfortune.
biu! contempt.
alaila! a command for silence.
faiamela! expresses the recognition of an error.

Notes on Dependent Clauses.

1. A final proposition with the future is expressed in four ways.

a. By the infinitive preceding the verb which it governs: na nul’ em’ arim’ an gatsi, I will go to see thy village, lit, I thy village to-see will-go.

b. By the simple future preceded by the verb: na songe, Tsekari aritsi, I go, I shall see Tseka.

c. By the future preceding the verb: ake Mambutsi itatsi m’ ando, the men remain to sleep at Mambo.

d. By the suffix -du(le]: Pe’ Egidi yol’ itadul andemai, puatsitatsi, If Père Egidi stays to sleep up there, he will fire a gun; ake Baidane (gatsi) ame boladu, the men will go to Baidane to leave the girl; muto yetadu, Labao gatsi; I will go to Yule Is to take the sheep, (muto, Fr. mouton). The use of the verb “to go” is not certain.

2. A dependent sentence with the past is expressed in two ways.

a. By the simple past: na so, fang’ an, I went to see the trap.

b. By the suffix -ua, with the omission of the verb: Tsekan’ alilua, I went to see Tseka, which might also be translated: na sova, Tsekan’ ari.

3. Causative sentences appear to be governed by the same rules as the preceding.

Ex. ame nu arim’ undede, the girl is afraid to see you; andal’ un’ arim’ ete, what has he seen to talk about.

4. Conditional sentences precede the principal and have their verb in the subjunctive with the conjunction -mai or -tamai. (See p. 330, III.).

5. A dependent sentence expressing time also precedes the principal sentence. It has its verb in the subjunctive or indicative, followed by the conjunction -ta or sometimes -tamai. (See p. 330, III.).

Note on the Afoa Language

By Dr. W. M. Strong

The vocabulary recorded below was obtained from a Fuyuge native who spoke the Afoa language. He had travelled with me to the Afoa-speaking villages on Mount Pitsoko and I could assure myself that he spoke the language fluently. In spite of the vocabulary having been obtained through a Fuyuge native there is very little similarity between this and the Fuyuge vocabulary. It should be noted that the words for “I” and for “thou” are substantially the same in the two languages.

I also obtained a short vocabulary from a native who came down the coast to me, and found that this was substantially the same as the Pitsoko vocabulary. The native had come from a village which appeared to be situated on the slopes of Mount Davidson and on the inland side of it. According to native accounts the Afoa language is spoken in numerous villages which stretch from Mount Davidson to the head of the St. Joseph River in the Mafulu district. All the Afoa villages are situated north of the St. Joseph and its main branches.

[Dr. Strong gives only the pronoun: nui, thou; and the numerals: koane, one; atolowai, two; atolowai-itima, three; atolowai-atolowai, four; atolowai-atolowai-itima, five.

The Pronouns given by Father Egidi for Tauata (“Anthropos,” II. 1907, pp. 1009–1015) are:—

The Possessives are:—

The Interrogatives are: te? who? te? teile? what thing? te? tue? which?

The Numerals, according to Father Egidi, are, kone, one; atolo(ai), two; atoloai-laina, three; talele, memene, many; konekone, few.

S. H. R.]

Note on the Kovio Language.

By Dr. W. M. Strong.

Substantially the same language is spoken in the whole of the neighbourhood of Mount Yule. I have travelled all around this mountain and the same interpreter was able to make himself understood everywhere. The vocabulary recorded below was collected by means of the Motuan from a native of Lopiko in the Inava valley. I have also collected short vocabularies from the village of Inavarene in the same valley, and from the Kwoifa district of the upper part of the Lakekamu river. These vocabularies show close similarities with that of Lopiko. The natives around the Pic Eleia also speak much the same language.

The vocabulary of the language bears no resemblance to any other language I am acquainted with. It is peculiar in that a word often ends in a consonant preceded by a short vowel. There is also an unusual consonant sound in the language. This sound seems to vary between a “ch” and a “tch” sound.

The pronouns are as follows;—

These were obtained without much difficulty as well as the corresponding possessives nemai, nimai, and pimai; but plurals could not be obtained. Possibly the above are both singular and plural. The possessive precedes the noun, e.g., nemai tupumagi, my house.1 A binary system of counting is shown in the following numerals:—

Seven, eight, and nine were also translated by saying naralavievi for each two, and napuevi for one over. The numeral follows the noun, e.g., inai karaala, two spears.2

A Comparative Vocabulary of the Fuyuge, Afoa, and Kovio Languages

Prepared by Sidney H. Ray, M.A.

[From the MSS. of Rev. Father Egedi, Rev. P.J. Money, and Dr. W.M. Strong. Words in square brackets from “Antropos,” II., pp. 1016–1021. Cf. Appendix V.]