Bislama Bekegen! Ni-Van Phrases and Stories…

So, for the first month or two, I would always hear “fuck” when the locals would talk in local language. I would hear it quite often too. It sounded like a transitional word in the language, like Long or Blong in Bislama, meaning to, at, on, belonging, etc. So, for the longest tome I just assumed it was part of language and eventually I might derive the purpose of it. After a while though I became suspicious and decided to ask. At the nakamal one night I heard “fuck” (or in Bislama “fak”) and turned to one of my brothers (from my extended family), Dennis, and asked: What does “fak” mean? Dennis turned to me and said: Fak? It’s a swear. Oh! Well that makes sense. Good to know the Ni-Van culture has picked up swear words, even in the most remote parts of the country. I’m sure I will find some more language gems, but for now I can tell you some of my favorite Bislama phrases I have learned.

 

Folem rod ia i go

When you walk around in Vanuatu, or Maewo, a lot of times you don’t where you’re going. One time I was walking back from the garden with my two brothers (Siro and Pato) where we had grabbed a stump of kava and bamboo for my house and I reached a crossroads. Since I was leading, I had to decide on which way to go and since I didn’t know I turned to my brothers and Pato told me: folem rod ia i go. Well that’s great. Translated, folem rod ia i go means: follow that road—that’s about as specific as Bislama gets. So, now I’m stuck at a crossroads and I’ve got two choices and my brother tells me, without any hand gestures indicating which way, to follow that road. Lucky for me I guessed the right road, but this phrase pops up quite often when you need directions.

Antap and Daon

You probably already guessed what these words mean, but I will clarify anyways: On top and down. Simple enough, right? Well, these two are also important in telling directions. While I spent a few days “antap” in Ngota, the middle bush village, completing the survey, I got used to the function of these two words in Bislama. Ngota is basically laid out in a straight line, coming away from Naviso, with bunches of house on the left and right as you make your way through. Now, depending on where you are in the village people might tell you to go “daon” or “antap”. This means that sometimes I might be closer to Naviso and they would tell me I have to go “daon” (closer to central Ngota) or they might tell me to go “antap” in the same context. The more frustrating part about this is most of the time “antap” to me means going to middle bush and “daon” means leaving middle bush, but they get much more complicated. On West Maewo, if you’re in the North and are going South, you’re going “daon”, if you’re in the South and you’re going North, you’re going “antap”, but if you’re in Central Maewo and you’re going South, you are going “antap” and the same goes for heading “North”. Let’s not make life too complicated now.

Lo wei

This one is a real gem for directions. When you want to know the location of a person, place, or thing, many times the response is “lo wei”. This means, basically, over there. Well that doesn’t help much, but sometimes this is accompanied with a hand gesture giving a general direction. That helps a great deal, because without that you have to guess what general direction was indicated. I can’t really complain though, because I use “lo wei” quite frequently.

Saed i go / Saed i kam

These two mean: This direction and that direction, respectively. They are generally more specific than the other aforementioned phrases, but they are also completely dependent on context. This means you must always take into account where you are and hope that when they say “saed i go” (this direction) you understand the context and pick the right direction (unless of course hand gestures are used, then you’re usually in the clear).

Well that finishes up some of my favorite Ni-Van and Bislama phrases. Now I can share with you a story I was told at the nakamal, late one night, after many shells…   

Arthur @ Bon Marche

Arthur is apparently a bald white man that came to Vanuatu and became a male prostitute (or might have been before—they didn’t clarify) and charges according to time and movement (Ni-Van for sexual position). Additionally, everyone knows about him and is well aware of his true profession, but, apparently, he works at Au Bon Marche during the day and I can see him there. When I asked what Bon Marche (Central, Downtown, Nambatu) I was simply told: “Bon Marche”, with a nod of the head confirmation. Bon Marche. PERIOD.