Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

mak

, n., [From German]

fifty cents.
mak a tedobech er a chimo el kluk $1.00; mak a okeim el sengs.

me a

, conj.

and.

ma

cont.

me a

mak

cont.

me ak

maki

cont.

me aki

me

conj.

and.
me a omech a tekoi; kau me ngak me ngii, Calista me tir a mong.

meng

cont.

me ng

Examples:

Ngak me a Helen a kausechelei.

> Helen and I are friends.

A Mary a oubail a skato me a chelechedal a bail.

> Mary is wearing a skirt and a blouse.

Ak milengang aike el tuu me se el ringngo.

> I was eating those bananas and that apple.

Ak omdasu el kmo a Droteo a me er a party.

> I think Droteo's coming to the party.

A cherengel a sils el me mong e ng cherengel a klungiolel a rengul a Fern.

> As the days went by, Fern became a happier and happier.

Proverbs:

Ng diak kobetik rengii recheroid e me douchi er a rebai.

> Without looking afield, it was cut down behind the house.

From the folk tale concerning Mesubed Dingal, the inventor of the Palauan kite (see also No. 73). After his wife had been kidnapped, he constructed a kite using feathers from all the birds of Palau and he needed also wood from an Edebsungel tree to fashion the body of the bird-kite. After looking all over Palau and being on the point of giving up, he found the tree he needed behind his own house. The saying may be applied to anyone who does things the hard way, or who goes far afield to find something which is close at hand.

Ng ko er a ibuchel er a Ngemai el di kiei me a dekedekel.

> He's like the sea urchins between Ngiwal and Melekeok, on the ocean floor with its cover.

The sea urchin can be seen lying quietly on the lagoon floor, occasionally with a leaf like a hat covering its head. Applied to a man who acquires a wife or great wealth without working for it.

Ng kora bechars er a Ngerdobotar, el di kiei me ng chelengang

> Like the cockroach of Ngerdobotar, staying on till it became white.

Presumably if a cockroach remains in the darkness for a long time, as one at Ngerdobotar (in Aimeliik) apparently did, it will turn white. Application pertains to a visitor who stays on and on, especially one who is not helpful in the household. Such behavior is not properly human; the person is somehow different, like a white cockroach.

Ng ko er a Beriber me a Chemaredong.

> It's like the case of Beriber and Chemaredong (who for a long time lived in adjacent caves unaware of each other's existence but who finally discovered each other and began to share their surpluces).

People wasting things and not sharing or cooperating as they should. Cooperative reciprocity among equals should be patterned on that exemplified by these two men. Beriber, who harvested coconut syrup, and Chemaredong, who was an expert fish trapper, lived in two small caves near the village of Oikuul in Airai (central Palau). These caves are side by side, separated by a natural wall about one foot thick. However, for a long time the neighbors did not know that the other existed. Finally, they discovered one another, and from that time on they engaged in mutually profiitable exchange of their surpluses in fish and syrup. An elder source said that this is more than a proverb (blukul a tekoi) and referred to it as ollach idnger, the "law of neighborliness."

Mengar me a mecherocher.

> Bitter and salty.

The strategy of "doing things the hard way." When alternatives are available, the appropriate choice is the more difficult one. In voice, expression, and action there is a positive accent on personal ability.

More Examples:

John, ke kuk meral di uleiitel a imelek el oisur me ng dikea lesebechek el ngilmii.

> John, you've poured my drink so full that I will not be able to drink it all.

Me a odekial aika el rokui el udoud el mlechudel e ng mlo sebechek el mecherar a blik.

> The sum of all the money that was collected, I was able to buy my house.

A sau a klaibedechakl er a delongelel a sechal me a redil el olechotel a beltkil a rengrir.

> Consensual intercourse between a man and a woman to proclaim their affection for each other.

Aki millengmes er a resensei me a merredel er a skuul.

> We respected the teachers and the school principal.

Aika el medam e Ngerkumer ngerang meng di ombesisebusech?

> Why are Ngerkumer's eyes blinking so much?

omak

, v.t.

anchor, tie up; make (relationship between people) closer, (plant) send out (roots) into soil.
omak a loia okul; orebetii a ouak, mekur a bilis; omak a ert.

Palauan Language Online: Palauan-English Dictionary

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