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> Like seaweed at Kosiil, out with the tide and in with the tide. Kosiil is a location in the lagoon where the seaweed can be seen to bend in and out with the tide. The idiom is applied to a leader who is too flexible and unreliable. In the short form (Kora char ra Kosiil) it may simply mean, "I'll go along with what you decide." |
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> When the purple swamp hen appears, it brings remembrance There is a song (Oumachas) from which this saying derives: Once there was a young couple who made love in a secluded spot in the taro garden. While they were lying together a purple swamp hen darted out of the brush startling the couple. Eventually love cooled, but thereafter whenever the girl saw a purple swamp hen while she worked in the gardens, she recalled her lover. Hence any occurrence that brings back fond memories. |
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> The heart and assessment. This might better be translated, "Assessment with knowledge." The mind or head is thought to be the locus of knowledge in Palau, but such knowledge is made useful or is measured with the heart (reng). Chodab, in this context, would appear to mean "to take stock of" or "to measure." In essence, then, the phrase cautions one who seems on the point of making a rash decision to temper his thoughts with his heart. |
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> 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. |
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> Like an old woman who is cautious about coughing and breaking wind. Among elderly women, it seems, coughing sometimes produces the unwanted effect of breaking wind. The idiom may be applied to any action that might produce an undesirable side effect, such as a hasty decision at a political meeting. As a caution, it suggests the need for leaders to consider all the consequences. |
