Laceyiam: Difference between revisions

Through reconstructed vocabulary we can also hypothesize which kind of society the Proto-Cis-Tahianshima people had. They were primitive but due to their insular location were skilled navigators; their atolline and insular habitat is confirmed by the huge number of words relating to it, like ''*tuŋa₁'' (atoll), ''*ħō₁nə'' (lagoon), ''*ta₂fā'' (islet), three terms distinguishing different depths of lagoon water (''*dotepō₁kə, *ve₁mpeg, *ną₂gnos''); they also had the word ''*ja₁ŋwī'' for large boats (probably used for travelling through different islands) and ''*na₂sət'' for smaller ones; ''*ŋotirō₁'' is a wave (and possibly also “solar ray”), ''*kurū₂m'' (guano), and no word at all for “mountain” or “hill”. They had rudimentary weapons like the ''*gʷūm₂poxim'' (harpoon) and the ''*kōɣəndsą₁(s)'' (knife). They lived in villages called ''*ɟō₂n-bʱeg'' with leaders called ''*ɟun-bʱi-spā₁r''. Military leaders were called ''*šimvā₂tə'' (reconstructible from Mid-Oceanic languages and Laceyiam) or ''*spār-dū₂s'' (from the other branches), and also extremely important were ''*šjā₂mejə'', guardians of boats - this latter root even became the verb “to save” in Pakpatic and Taruebic languages and the standard honorific ''yāmei'' in Laceyiam. The primitiveness of their society is stressed by the fact that they didn’t wear any clothes - there is no reconstructible word for any type of clothes, and also some oceanic islanders didn’t use clothes by the time - 200 years ago - they first had contact with Western civilizations. Still there are three reconstructible body ornament words (none of these survived into Laceyiam, though): ''*dū₁stes'' (necklace — only in Mid- and Upper Oceanic), ''*pōnā₁bə'' (branch or stick inserted into an ear), and ''*fode₁g'' (penis sheath). This latter object probably was a status symbol, as Pakpatic and Taruebic languages reflect it as “family leader”.