Malungo, praise names and places: how dead can a language really be?

According to the First Peoples' Cultural Council and The Institute for Language Information
and Technology at Eastern Michigan University over !" percent of the #orld$s
appro%imate &'""" languages are at ris( of disappearing)*Endangered Languages Pro+ect')
n,d,-, In their vie# language disappearance #ould .e .ad for several reasons' including the
loss of crucial (no#ledges relating to history' art' philosophy/ ethno0ecological (no#ledge'
and (no#ledge relating to the capacities of language itself, All this' ho#ever' is of a very
different order from the final reason they present1 the fact that language loss most of the
time occurs in a conte%t of human rights violations1 language loss is often not voluntary/ it
fre2uently involves violations of human rights' #ith oppression or repression of spea(ers of
minority languages, It is a matter of in+ustice #hen people are forced to give up their
languages .y repressive regimes or pre+udiced dominant societies,)*Endangered languages'
3hy so important') n,d,-,
3hile I recogni4e some validity in each of the stated reasons for language preservation' I
also am painfully a#are that this rescue perspective is a vie# of language that is limited to
only a fe# pragmatic issues, The idea that documenting' preserving and teaching) these
endangered languages is sufficient .egs the 2uestion of the human rights aspect, If language
loss is usually due to human rights violations' should #e not .e also loo(ing at issues of
identity other than language' such as territory' access rights' social +ustice' education *not
+ust language education)-' and the economic' spiritual' cultural and political legacies that
are .eing provided or denied future generations through current social actions5 And #hat
does it mean for a language to die5 6oes this happen #hen the last fluent spea(er is una.le
to spea( to an audience of less fluent spea(ers5 Is it #hen no one spea(s it as a primary
language5 7o# does this happen in multilingual settings5 Is Latin a dead language even
though it is studied and used .y more people than some living languages5 3hy are #e so
#orried a.out losing languages #hen their primary spea(ers are gone5 I #ant to e%plore
these 2uestions through loo(ing at a supposedly distinctly dead language1 8uene,
The presence of 8uene *+ust li(e other languages called 9dead9- challenges the metaphors of
life and death that #e use for descri.ing languages, Language .eing such an intimate aspect
of our selves and such a une%trica.le part of the construction of reality it is understandi.le
that its self0referentiality may sometimes .e e%hilarating' as it gives us chances to shift
realities' senses and a#arenesses, At other times this self0referentiality might .e hermetic to
most people/ it could defy .oundaries of accepted possi.ilities or even .e e%perienced as
destructive #hen it stretches our liminalities in #ays #e are not yet #illing or a.le to
marshall resources understand, :ne of the challenges of dead languages is that they (eep on
e%isting in our consciousness as o.+ects' .ut also as relationships' as memories' sensi.ilities'
possi.ilities' scripts and te%ts' as a#arenesses' te%ture and feeling, Although I #ill not .e
e%ploring all of these in this article I hope to at least present the metaphor of death, In
presenting the metaphor I am not as interested in its criti2ue *although I also engage in that-'
.ut more in using it as a door through #hich I cele.rate the possi.ilities of dreaming dreams
of .eauty, ;y this I mean that metaphors may play into our collective neuroses that (eep us
traveling inside nightmares of limitation' negation' overvaluation and so many other things
#e do to run a#ay from the po#er and .eauty of .eing ourselves' for ourselves and for each
other in compassionate and #itnessing #ays, 8uene ma(es me dream again,
Fran( Martinus is the pioneer researcher of 8uene, After decades of research and
provocative #ritings on the su.+ect *Martinus' <=>!' <==?.- his dissertation laid out an
e%tensive philological .asis for understanding 8uene *Martinus' <==?a- as a creole
language, More recently ;art @aco.s *A""=- has made some valua.le contri.utions to the
understanding of the origins of 8uene through his research of the African roots of
Papiamentu, BenC Bosalia's documentation *e,g, Bosalia' <=>= and other oral history- and
@uliana0;renne(er materials *;renne(er' <=&> and the DE(in4a collection of oral history' and
other oral history- remain the primary sources on 8uene, Papiamentu e%ists since the <&""'s
on CuraFao' Aru.a and ;onaire and also in e%patriate communities in the region and
else#here, 8uene has .een more difficult to trac( do#n partly .ecause no fluent spea(ers
e%isted .y the time of the first focused intents at documentation in the mid0t#entieth
century, Part of the difficulty has also .een that fe# researchers have dedicated serious time
to its documentation, Those #ho did' include Paul ;renne(er' Elis @uliana' Bene Bosalia'
Eric LaCroes and of course most profoundly' Fran( Martinus,
8uene #as descri.ed .y at least one author as a language comprised of four regional
dialects spo(en on four different plantations' all located on the 3estern part of CuraFao1
Gnip' Havonet' Lagun and Portomari *7artog' <=?<' p, !II-, The first three are #ithing five
(ilometers of each other in a straight ro#' #hereas Portomari is at least A" (ilometers from
Lagun' its closest neigh.or of the three, Martinus seems to corro.orate this #hen going
through the mostly oral historical corpus of 8uene and old Papiamentu, 7e identified four
source language0clusters for the 8uene corpus1
<, Papiamentu and Cape Jerdean dialects
A, A 8uinC0;issau dialect
I, An A Mina dialect *including A Mina' the Grioro Ma(ui.a and ;ra4ilian influenced
dialects-
!, An AngolanKCongolese dialect' including Ma(am.a Gu.erde and 8ulf Creole
dialects
*Martinus' <==?' p, <=!-
Martinus has descri.ed aspects of 8uene grammar he deduced from comparative analyses
#ith African creoles and transformational rules he derived from his (no#ledge of
Portuguese' from transformations evident in the African creoles and recurrent forms in
8uene, Pro.a.ly his only informant #ho #ould have mentioned (no#ing a 8uene spea(er
#ould have .een songmaster Martili Pieters, :ne of Pieters' song teachers apparently #ould
only spea( 8uene to his mother' #ho either could not or refused to spea( Papiamentu
*Pieters' personal communication-, There really #as not an identifia.le community of
8uene spea(ers around the mid0t#entieth century or pro.a.ly even early t#entieth
century,Today's 8uene legacy consists of the oral historical corpus of mostly songs and lone
e%pressions .esides the little linguistic #or( on the language, This might 2ualify it as a dead
language1 no one spea(s it as a primary language, Lo one spea(s it' period, The only sense
of a possi.le grammar comes from Martinus, Most informants do not (no# the meanings of
the #ords they reproduce even though they might (no# the general import of a song or
saying, All of this not#ithstanding I .elieve that #e #ould .e surprised to see ho# 8uene
lives on in our community' once #e start paying attention, This is not argument for not
safeguarding languages that seem to .e on the .rin( of not having use as a language of daily
living, The contrary is actually true1 it is a call for even deeper commitments to language/ to
the lives that they are,
I #ill e%plore the presence of 8uene today through toponyms' male peer praise names and
other titles, :ne of the main #ays in #hich 8uene has survived is in place names, There are
several of these that have African0related content' #hich I attri.ute to 8uene, This in itself
calls into 2uestion #hat 8uene #as, Are African content #ords only 8uene' or can #e tal(
of regional variants of Papiamentu5 Is anything African0related also 8uene0related5 7o# do
#e move from tal(ing a.out generic African to multiple African creole language
contri.utions' non0creole languages) *#hatever that may mean-' ritual language5 7o# do
#e distinguish different social registers' diachronic layers' domains of referentiality in a
.arely studied corpus that has not even .een 2uite modeled into a language' e%cept in very
rudimentary forms5 To #hat e%tent is 8uene also non0African5 Amerindian *Ca2uetio from
the original inha.itants' Taino due to forced migrations' 3ayMu through trade and travel-'
@e#ish *from Cape Jerde' ;ra4il' CuraFao and maritime trade lin(s-' 6utch *through 8hana'
Central Africa' maritime commerce' island language interactions-5 Is it even necessary to
as( these 2uestions5 7o# is 8uene or its social memory used today for identity formation5
Toponyms are one place #e find African references that could .e construed as a 8uene
influence on the island1
Toponym (Possible) Etymology
Afri(a Africa
Angola Ethnic group of royal congolese families in <&
th

and <>
th
centuries, Also1 toponyms for different
places in the Gongo Gingdom' including a har.or'
river' hill' etc,
;angalN
*;renne(er' <=&I' p, <!O=-
;angala is a ;antu language spo(en in parts of
Bepu.lic of the Congo' Hudan' and Uganda,
;atumNKPlaya di ;atumN
P;atumN ;eachQ
In Gi(ongo batumba means initiation) *3ing'
<=A"- or d#arf)9 *;attell R Bavenstein' <="<' p,
*;renne(er' <=&<' p, &OA- A"A-, 6#arf is one of the manifestations of Gongo
#ater spirits called (ianda *see *Hlenes' A""<' p,
<="-, The ;atumN .each in CuraFao #as one of the
sites on the routes of the <&=O uprising,
;ula.anda A congolese rite .y slaves for changing un#anted
masters or for non0enslaved to change from an
un#anted chief *Mac8affey' A"">' pp, OOS&?/ note on
pp ?=S&"-,
;ura(u di Mandinga
PMandinga 7oleQ
The Mandinka are a 3est African people, Hierra
Leone a people called the Mandingo
;urundanga This #ord is very #idespread in Afrodescendant
communities in 7ispanic areas, Fernando :rti4
derives it from Hpanish baranda T a nga ending
*Helva' <=!=' p, <I-
Chango An :risha *deity- in 3est African religions'
especially in Uoru.a religion,
Cicilia Luangu Loango' a Gongo ethnic group .ecame Luangu in
CuraFao,
8and+iu Gi(ongo for pain' anger,
6ingu Madingu) means silence) #hile n'dingu0a0nsi
means A! hours)' .oth in Gi(ongo,
Ganga *Ham.um.u I1&I&- Ganga is an ethnic group and region in Hierra
Leone' .esides also a dress in the African 8reat
La(es region, Mostly used .y #omen and
occasionally also .y men,
Gongo *Ham.um.u I1&!"- A Gingdom in Central 3est Africa/ a region in this
area,
Gue.a di Lan4i PLam4i's
CaveQ *;renne(er' <=&<' p,
&<A-
Lan4i is the local name for Ansanse' the 8hanaian
Hpider0Tric(ster08od,
Langalanga Lungalunga means to ta(e good care of) in
Gi(ongo,
Maro(o
*;renne(er' <=&I' p, <!?&-
Morocco,
Ma(aya
*;renne(er' <=&A' p, <<>"-
Leaves) in Gi(ongo,
Mandinga
*;renne(er' <=&<' p, &!!/
<=&A' p, <<><-
Hee Mandinga, a.ove,
Heru Ma(am.a PMa(am.a
7illQ
Makamba is a Gi(ongo ethnic nomenclature,
Porta di 3aM P3au's 8ateQ
*Ham.um.u O1<<=<-
3au is a city in north#estern Houth Hudan.
Pos di 3aM P3au's 3ellQ
*Ham.um.u O1<<=O-
Hee Wau' a.ove,
Her(N di Luango PLuango
EnclosureQ
*;renne(er' <=&<' p, &?O-
Hee Luango a.ove,
Heru di Le(esE PLe(esE 7illQ
*;renne(er' <=&<' p, &&"-
Le(esE #as the name of an African #ho escaped for
slavery and hid in a cave in the 3estern part of the
island,
Heru di 8omasE P8omasE 7illQ
*;renne(er' <=&I' p, <!&A-
8omasi is a #omen's dress in Uganda, Also a
family name in 8hana,
Heru di Mandinga PMandinga
7illQ *Ham.um.u I1&&<-
Hee Mandinga a.ove,
Heru Ma(am.a PMa(am.a
7illQ
*;renne(er' <=&<' p, &&<-
Hee Makamba a.ove,
Heru MalC' a 7ill in 3estpunt Mal means Muslim in several African languages,
Tran(C Mandinga' a stone
#all separating 7ato and Han
Pedro *;renne(er' <=&I' pp,
<!O>' <!&!-
Hee Mandinga, a.ove,
Tera di UV.V *;renne(er'
<=&<' p, &"<-
Uo.o is a Ligerian people *of I.o origin-
3aM
*;renne(er' <=&A' p,
<AAO'<AA?-
Hee Wau' a.ove
7o#ever e%citing it might .e that these toponyms e%ist it is important' ho#ever' to reali4e
that these are e%perience0far realities for most CuraFaoans, The concepts of e%perience0near
and e%perience distant #ere invented .y 7ein4 Gohut to descri.e processes of empathy and
effective action in therapeutic situations, Anthropologist Clifford 8eert4 used it to
characteri4e insider0outsider perspectives in anthropology, 7e states that
an e%perience0near concept is' roughly' one that someone 0a patient' a su.+ect'
in our case an informant0 might himself naturally and effortlessly use to define
#hat he or his fello#s see' feel' thin(' imagine' and so on' and #hich he
#ould readily understand #hen similarly applied .y others, An e%perience0
distant concept is one that specialists of one sort or another0an analyst' an
e%perimenter' an ethnographer' even a priest or an ideologist0employ to
for#ard their scientific' philosophical or practical aims *8eert4' <=>I' p, O&-,
Hu.+ects .eing #hat they are' ho#ever' are much richer than that, They themselves also
have e%perience0near and e%perience0distant a#arenesses' senses and understandings and all
of these in defferent degrees of nearness or farness, This is especially clear from #hat I call
a radically present perspective, Badical presence is #hen su.+ectivity is defined .ased on
the e%perience and agency of the individual or group' #hile ta(ing into account all the
conte%ts and realities' including the e%istence and #or(ings of e%traneous po#ers)
*Bichenel Ansano' A""?' p, ?-, From this perspective it .ecomes important to (no# that
these toponyms may .e variously (no#n today .y some elders' some #ho reside near the
specific location a toponym refers to' others #ho have special relations to the place or to
people related to the place' a fe# researchers and nature #al( enthusiasts' .ut that other#ise
they are not part of most local people's e%perience, This helps to refine the notion of the
living e%periences of language .ecause' these toponyms might .e o.scure entities to many'
#hile at the same time they still are in circulation at a certain level in certain net#or(s of
people, Hpecific toponyms or their etymological referents might e%pand in their influence,
Mandingo' e,g, is used in some other conte%ts such as a neigh.orhood store called 3hite
Mandingo, Congo is re0deployed on graffiti referring to CuraFao as the Congo of the
Cari..ean)' etc, As such certain le%emes have ac2uired ne# layers of meaning and conte%ts
of use and thus ac2uired a different life,
There are more e%perience0near domains in #hich African linguistic influenceK8uene lives
on, :ne of these is the names of items #e ingest and ma(e part of ourselves regularly' such
as yam.oKguiam.o *o(ra/ from Gi(ongo kimbombo or Gim.undu kingombo-' (ala *from
Uoru.a kar-' tutu *cornmeal mush/ possi.lyUoru.a-' (alalM *#idespread in Africa'
possi.ly from 7ausa' Ganuri' Malin(e' Mandingo' Uoru.a or one of various 8ulf of 8uinea
languages/ possi.le convergence #ith Amerindian 8uaranE and Cari. languages-, 7ere use
is more regular' e%perience0near and part of normal)' domestic and pu.lic registers, Again'
#e do have the 2uestion of #here African0related language materials can .e conflated #ith
8uene' .ut I #ill ta(e the until no# unarticulated vie#point of the fe# scholars #ho touch
upon 8uene that most African0content linguistic material in CuraFao is called 8uene unless
specifically used to descri.e Papiamentu features' assuming it is a heritage from .efore the
a.olition of slavery,
This material interrogates the sym.ology of dead languages in interesting #ays1 #hat does it
mean that a language is dead if several #ords in a specific domain have survived)5 To .e
sure these a +ust a fe# #ords' .ut they are laden #ith deep cultural meaning, There have
.een long discussions on the merits of yambo as cultural mar(er' e,g, Tutu has .een used to
descri.e several culturally meaninful issues' including creoleness' .eing mentally mi%ed0up'
.eing in trou.le' .eing unsolva.le' etc, 3hat does it mean that a language is dead' .ut that
some #ords survive and either ac2uire or retain the status of po#erful #ords5
A more comple% form of survival is sho#n in male peer naming practices, This is a rich
field that remains to .e studied, Laming practices have .een approached from the
perspective of nic(names *#ith names listed in Ayu.i' forthcoming-' master0given names of
the enslaved' the novelty or outlandishness of late t#entieth century names, :ne area that
has not received attention is the peer to peer informal titles shared among men, 3hile these
titles may .e categori4ed in various #ays *e,g, fictive (in' as in ruman-si.ling, tio-uncle,
primu-cousin/ same0level' as in ruman, primu' ermano-.rother/ regionalist1 llave, parna,
mati, compai- I have a special interest in dyadic praise names1 African0related hierarchical
titles in #hich the spea(er seems to .e conferring a title of honor to a someone present,
There are non0African e2uivalents of these in #ords li(e meester, gobernad, maestro, hee,
mi kapitan, general .ut the African0related ones provide an insight into some of the
dynamics of African diasporic men's relations, The interesting situation #ith this specific
form of naming practice is that its content is also e%perience0far for most CuraFaoans .ut its
style *conferring an honorific status to another male present- has survived in the
aforementioned use of non0African hierarchical titles' especially maestro, meester, and hee,
3hat #ould prompt this (ind of survival) 0 if this is #hat it actually is5 Especially in a
community #here one can still hear e%pression such as1 !o sa ku ken bo ta papia" 6o you
(no# #ho you are tal(ing to5) Mi no ta bo pareu. I am not your e2ual,) #os no ta otro su
pareu. 3e are not each other's e2ual,) Home people still feel li(e respect entails
maintaining certain sense of hierarchy .ased on (no#ledge of the social standing and
historical .ac(ground of someone, Lot only that1 in conversation they then feel 2uite
comforta.le calling attention to this, Although this is not a #idespread practice it is enough
of a cultural form to ma(e me as( #hy then a male in this community #ould confer a title of
higher hierarchical value on someone else other than strategic use of su.version of this
social code, I found a clue to a possi.le ans#er in past peer titles, These included1 alim$
*#ith variants alima%a, lima%a, limani, aleman, aliman-, nabiu, karabela, tapa&elo, habokin,
;esides these specific title0nomenclatures it #ill .e interesting to also loo( at the #ords for
9slave9 and 9master9 respectively1 katibu and shon,
:f all these ha.o(in might .e the most straightfor#ard' pro.a.ly derived from 7ausa aboki'
meaning friend' companion' client *A#de' <==?-, It is only heard in seu songs and is not
defined .y informants, I derived its etymology through phonetic resem.lance, :f the other
#ords I #ill' for no#' ta(e the accepted description of (ara.ela as 9friend9 and as having .een
derived from having .eing together in the same slave ship' in this case supposedly a caravel,
#abiu' tapa&elo and alim$ #ith its variants' offer interesting insights into 8uene .esides the
a.ove mentioned 7ausa connection, ;oth nabiu and alim$ seem li(e possi.le 7ausa or
Ara.ic connections, #abi, nabii means prophet in Ara.ic
<
#hile alim$ is possi.ly derived
1
Hee e,g,1 9na.i9' prophet/ one #ho received a direct revelation from Allah1
http1KK###,muslim,orgKallegsKproph0def,htm
from al-imam' 9leader9, 'lmami' 9leader of the faithful9 *a contraction of Amir al0
Mu'minin
A
* WXYZ [X\Y]^_` in Ara.ic- is another candidate, 3hile al-imam may have .een the
original form of alim$, aliman and aleman,the le%eme almami might have produced limani
and alimani
(
. Liman #as and is still used in 7ausa and Ganuri as a title for muslim clerics
*6un.ar' <=&&' p, <&O-, 'lmami' as a title for certain leaders could have easily .een
assimilated in the male peer naming culture in CuraFao, It has spread in the diaspora for a
long time, A famous almami #as Mu.a(ar' leader of the muslim community in ;ahia'
;ra4il' (no#n for his leadership of the <>IO ;ahia muslim re.ellion,
!
These Ara.ic derivations are also relevant for understanding nabiu, Traditionally it #as
assumed that it #as derived from navio' 9 ship9, This relates .ac( to the Central African
concept of malungo #hich is a .antu concept, According to @erome ;ranche this concept is
especially present in Gim.undu' Um.undu and Gi(ongo spea(ing communities and
com.ines three ideas1 (inship or .rotherhood' large canoe and misfortune *;ranche' A""='
p, A=-, The various re0appropriations of this concept in the diaspora has .een documented
.y several scholars and for various places' for shipmate dyads from the Middle Passage
#here the .ond #ould .e e%pressed in titles that referred to .eing together on the same ship,
Patterson mentions sipi' derived from either ship or shipmate *Patterson' <=?= P<=?&Q' p,
<O"-' analogous to m$ti in Hurinamese Hranan language *;ranche' A""=' p, !<-
O
' 7aitian
batiment' @amaican shipmate and the more o.vious malungo in ;ra4il *Hlenes' <==O- and
malongue in Trinidad *see ;ranche' A""= for all these references-,
?
;oth nabiu and
karabela, then #ould .e possi.le shipmate dyad naming from respectively navio *ship- and
karabela *caravel-, Gara.ela is also found in Cu.a e%pressing the malungo notion,
CuraFao's maritime history' especially the fact that enslaved Africans #ere mariners on
several ships also gives credence to the fact that either nabiu and karabela are retentions
from crossing the Atlantic that might have survived in the ne# maritime conte%t or else the
naming might have originated in the ne# maritime culture,
6espite all this the Ara.ic glosses *sometimes through 7ausa' Uoru.a or Ganuri- for alim$
and habokin *as #ell as the pro.a.ly 7ausa0derived non0peer title' labariano for the African
)eli*griot type tamb drum singer in CuraFao- ma(e e%ploring Ara.ic titling relevant, As
such' a peer title of 9prophet9 ma(es sense for nabiu, ;oth alim$ and nabiu #ould have then
originated as peer titles referring to positions of great honor1 9Leader of the faithfull9 and
9Prophet9, In terms of e%perience0nearness most of these #ords #ould only .e (no#n .y
some elders and researchers and the net#or(s these people are part of' to the e%tent the
2
http1KKen,#i(ipedia,orgK#i(iKAmiraal0Mu'minin
3
Compare also the Uoru.a #ords lemomi'PUoru.a dict,Q and lem+mo P Beis' glosario' p, ?"? Q that
mean the same as imam,
4
*Beis' <==I-
5
Mati' .eing .ased on 6utch maat)e for friend), ho#ever has a #hole range of other meanings' including
se%ual partner' help mate and others, *Hee Tinsley' A"<"-
6
Maureen 3arner0Le#is also sho#s ho# several titles have survived in Trinidad in their original Congolese
forms, 3hile most are not maritime or related to ships these also are part of this larger set, Hhe indicates that this
retention is common in Afro0Cari..ean communities *3arner0Le#is' aba1 II0!"-,
#ords are circulated, 'lim$ is a little more #ell0(no#n among culturists due to its sporadic
use .y fol(loric groups, Labariano is much more #ell0(no#n although it is not really used
very much no#adays to refer to tamb singers, 3ith all of these titles #e also need to thin(
of possi.le convergences .et#een languages' concepts and use, There is no reason e,g, for
an e%clusivist derivation of na.iu' either from I.erian navio for asserting a malungo
relationship or from Ara.ic nabi*nabii used as a praise name, If #e truly accept creoli4ation
as a process #e need to allo# for it to occur in #ays unimagined or une%plored .efore,
:ne #ord from a pair titles used very regularly as part of current language' and thus very
near in local e%perience' might sho# another face of this (ind of convergence, ,atibu and
shon are the standard references for 9slave9 and 9slave master9, :ther titles seem to have
e%isted in the past' such as 9(anundC9
&
for slave master *Pieters' pers, comm,- and 9.a#an9
for slave
>
' .ut shon and katibu have .ecome the standard, These are not used as peer naming
titles .ut they spea( to the e%istence of decidedly e%perience0near retentions from 8uene,
-hon seems to come from Hu.saharan Muslim influences, An ancient mention of a similar
#ord is found in I.n ;attuta's travels, In his stay #ith the Massufa people at the I#alatan or
3alata :asis in #hat is currently Mauretania he is in contact #ith an overseer of the place'
#hose name is transliterated as 9Mansha @u9' #hich the editor mentions #as pro.a.ly
9mansa dyon9 #hich means servant *dyon- of the (ing *mansa- *I.n ;atuta' <==!' n, A=-,
6yon meant servant' slave' captive in northern Africa' among the Ara.s and ;er.ers,
=
:ther
similar #ords include Ful.e dyon *captive' serf' slave- *:got' <===' p, IIO-' Mande ).n
*slave' indentured servant-, Although Mansha @u #as an overseer he #as a servant *possi.ly
a slave5- of the Ging, In similar fashion Africans in CuraFao could have seen the slave
o#ner as a servant of the Ging they (ne# e%isted in the Letherlands, 8uene songmaster
Martili Pieters al#ays insisted that the slave o#ners themselves #ere slaves, 7e said that
this is #hat the elders #ould say, This mi%ing' su.verting or re0inscri.ing of hierachical
po#er relationships is indicative of another aspect of titles from the slavery era, The shon-
katibu dyad also points to another Hemitic or more specifically Ara.ic influence, The
apparent mi%up comes from through addad' #ording that simultaneously contains t#o'
ostensi.ly oppsosite meanings' such as in this case of slave an slave o#ner *;arr' <=>&' pp,
<&IS<&&-, This is evident in yet another 8uene #ord that ends up .eing a title1 moula, Its
Ara.ic e2uivalent may mean protector' enslaved person' a mentee' slave o#ner' someone in
a position of authority' friend' companion,
<"
In Muslim Hpain it #as used *as maula- to
7
Possi.ly a convergence of Mandingo kanuntee friend) and ;ra4ilian ,anind' a people from the CearN
region occupied .y the 6utch until they #ere e%pulsed .y the Portuguese in <?O!, The connection #ith the ;ra4ilian
,anind #ould .e through Matthias ;ec(' #ho fled from CearN in <?O! to .ecome CuraFao governor a year later, The
connection of CuraFaoan @e#s to the e%pulsion of the 6utch in ;ra4il is #ell (no#n, GanindC lin(s have not .een
documented yet,
8
My o#n derivation from the song line ba/an simadan #hich I interpret as running slave contra.and) from
7ausa ba/a' slave) T simoga, contra.and),
9
Hee e,g, M, I4ard I @, Gi0Der.o From the Liger to the Jolta,) in :got' ;, A, 8eneral 7istory of Africa vol, J'
p, I?A,
10
Porlopronto mi ta u4a esa(i (omo referensha' te ora mi (onsultN un te(sto di lei mVslem,
http1KKencyclopedia,+ran(,orgKM:HaLALKMULLA7aAra.icamaulaaaaterma#hic,html
specifically refer to the e%0enslaved and e%0slave o#ners *see 8on4Nle4 Palencia' <=!O' p,
<AI-, In a sense e%0enslaved and e%0slave o#ners #ere each other's maula. Ho' it #as a
relationship .et#een t#o su.+ects, Follo#ing a similar reasoning CuraFaoan e%0enslaved
and e%0slave o#ners could very possi.ly have .een each other's moula /hen this #ord
might have had enough e%perience0nearness to .e understood as such,
An added linguistic register ma(es moula even more interesting, This has to do #ith the
practice of maula or ma/la in Muslim Hpain' certainly in the <<
th
and <A
th
centuries *LCvi0
ProvenFal' <=O"' pp, A<"SA<I-, This consisted of entrusting oneself to someone in a position
of po#er for protection and assuring one's livelihood, This #as .asically a feudal
arrangement' some#hat compara.le to the sharecropping or paga tera system in CuraFao
after a.olition of slavery in the 6utch Gingdom, In Portuguese this #as called malad0,
although .oth maula and maladi had multiple connotations of e%0enslaved' enslaved'
foreigner' and convert to Islam *see For.es Africans and Laative Americans,,,, not yet in my
Dotero Li.rayr for detailed discussion- a possi.le origin for Papiamentu malat0 #hip)5
May.e the malat0 #as an instrument of po#er in the moula reltionship +ust li(e the karbachi
#hip #as an instrument of po#er in the shon-katibu relationship5 ,arbachi most pro.al.y
derives from Ara.ic kurb1) or kirbc), a horse riding #hip *3ehr' <==!-, ;ut #hat I call an
added linguistic register is the e%presssion bai na moula 9go to *the- moula9' #hich
no#adays one #ould tell someone #ho is .eing a smart alec( or pest, It's form is
reminiscent of 9bai na baka9' to .uy something together' especially a lottery tic(et, As a
sym.ol of this one #ould .rea( the shared product *e,g, a lottery tic(et-, This ta(es us to
Gi(ongo baka' to .rea(, Might bai na moula originally have meant 9to enter a relationship
of mutual .enefit9 +ust li(e bai na baka means *although in an assymetric setting-5 3as it a
#ay for a free person to +o(e a.out someone esle placing himKherself in servitude5
If shons #ere themselves servants and moula #as pro.a.ly an assymetric relationship of
mutual .enefit, 3hat a.out katibu then5 This is another 8uene #ord that is less innocent
than is normally assumed in CuraFao, It has .een derived .y some from Hpanish 9cautivo9'
meaning 9captive9, ;ra4ilian Portuguese 9cativo9 is actually much closer in meaning, It is
pronounced +ust li(e 9(ati.u9 and also means 9slave9 rather than +ust captive, It #as also
used in Hpain #ith this meaning as #e can glean from one of the so0called cdices ar$bigos'
the poem legend *translated from the Ara.ic into Aragonese Al+amEa S i,e, Aragonese
#ritten in Ara.ic script 0 in the <?
th
and <&
th
centuries- titled 2l 3econtamiento de 'lmicded
y 'lmayesa, reproduced in Haavedra' <="!/ see also Montaner Frutos' A""!, 7o#ever' if
#e again follo# the Ara.ic connection #e find that katib' katibi and katibu, mean 9scri.e9,
This #ould put this #ord in the same category as nabiu and alim$ in terms of their
derivation from important Muslim titles,
Huch a derivation #ould give a very different meaning to a song line that has .een ascri.ed
to the community of the enslaved' katibu ta gali%a' rendered as straightfor#ard Papiamentu
meaning 9the slave is li(e chic(en9 or 9slaves are li(e chic(ens9, This is a song #hose
meaning has .een given as a lament at ho# slaves #ere sold li(e chic(ens' #ith +ust as little
value' and thus not ac(no#ledging the inherent value of a human .eing, If the Ara.ic
connection holds true an older rendering could very #ell have .een katibu ta ghaliya' the
9scri.e is valua.le9,The rest of the song' ata nan ta bende nos mama' 9they are selling us'
mama9' does not ta(e a#ay the plausi.ility of this alternative reading, It is even possi.le
that the song means that the scri.e is pre0islamic Ara.ic' from chiliyya referring to the
pre0islamic Ara.ic era in the Ara.ic peninsula' considered to .e a time of ignorance,
8algaldye refers to Ara.ic as a language *Gaye' <=>A' p, i%-' #hereas galgalEya is an
Ara.ic0.ased pidgin spo(en .y the GalamNfi people of Lorth Eastern Ligeria *Jersteegh'
<=>!' p, <<=- *Jersteegh' <=>!1<<=-, Ho the scri.e might have .een Ara.ic,
Finally' the #ord tapa&elo found in songs a.out Africans flying .ac( to Africa points to
Houth African' Dulu origins, In one song an African #ho remains stranded as(s1 93here are
my tapa4elo9, A plain call for the relatives #ho share an i&ithaka&elo o thaka&elo,

a praise
name related to a shared (inship, In a #ay it is interesting to find this retention .ecause
alim$, nabiu, and even katibu seem to have .een praise names themselves' although they do
not carry (inship connotations, Praise names have a long tradition in many African societies,
As such it might .e seen that the survival of these #ords in CuraFao is not a linguistic
curiosity, It indicates that a practice of sho#ering others #ith praise persisted despite the
e%istence aforementioned stances of !o sa ku ken bo ta papia" *6o you (no# #ho you are
tal(ing to5- mi no ta bo pareu *I am not your e2ual- and nos no ta otro su pareu *#e are not
each other's e2ual, I assume similar e%pression e%isted in Africa alongside the praise names'
.ut their historical use in the diasporic communities that suffered slavery gives cause to
thin( that people in situations of colonialism and enslavement have found good use for
these,
E%tinction as historiographic discourse re2uires attention in the Cari..ean, It negates the
continuing legacies of those #ho did not #rite the histories of the forts' palaces' mansions
and the .ig .attles .et#een empires and the con2uest of the 3est, It e%ists e,g, in the studies
of indigenous populations despite information to the contrary *Forte' A""O-, It also
surrounds African languages even #ith linguistic studies that point to trasformations and
retentions, :ne casualty of this discourse then .ecomes the living richness of creole culture,
The depth of current identities is not 2uite appreciated as #e tend to either foreground or
forego creoli4ation in their comprehension, 3e live languaged e%istences' multi0languaged'
at that, This re2uires us to tell stories that ma(e it possi.le for tired su.+ects to dream again
and for dreamers to (eep on creating ne# realities, ;ecause creoli4ation is simply the space
#here one can see that dreams are recogni4ed1 #here ne# things are confirmed #hen they
happen, And a discourse of e%tinction is a cruel +o(e #hen #e can cross time' space and
language registers to use an inade2uate praise name *for all #ords are inade2uate- to refer to
a ne# relationship forged under duress,
If #e consciously set our sights to it and study the e%isting .ody of oral and #ritten history I
am convinced #e #ill .e a.le to understand historical relationships that have .een elusive
or even unsuspected .ecause #e #ere too caught up in distracting discourses in the past,
Little attention has .een given to contracts of supposed protection in e%change for la.or'
forced servitude that seemed entered into .y choice' and contracts dra#n in more e2ual
terms, It #ould .e interesting to see a timeline that e%plores the relationship .et#een the
shon-katibu system ne%t to bulabanda, bai na moula, paga tera*paga ple, troka yu versus
more igualitarian systems such as kombitu, bai na baka, bon kun, hunga sam, seter, hunga
sh4r and cooperativism, It #ould also .e useful to see ho# these relate to non0contractual or
short0term contract forms of livelihood or entrepreneurship such as lora man, kue d)5p, kue
d)ap' consultancies' independent professions' and enterpreneurial o#nership, 3e tend to
assume e,g, that forms li(e eterpreneural o#nership #ere only availa.le recently to those
#ho are descendants of 8uene spea(ers' .ut this is decidely incorrect' seeing the indications
of forms of net#or(ed cooperative0enterpreneurial initiatives there #ere in the countryside
that #ere com.inations of sharecropping' shop(eeping' hunga sam and hunga sh4r #ith bai
na baka for specific investments and kombitu for communal pro+ects,
I thin( it is #orth#hile to honor the languages #e live .y, There are aspects of this that
re2uire a much more sophisticated understanding of language than the language of death
and e%tinction and its resulting rescue missions allo# for, The recording' collection and
teaching of #ords and their formal relations is only one #ay to start that .eautiful +ourney of
many paths, 3e need a different (ind of attention to the spiritual' ecological' and .ody0
centered relations that languages carry #ay past their perceived deaths,
;i.liography
Ansano' Bichenel, *A""?-, Living at the Edge of a ;ro(en 7eart, Webdossier Worlds and
,no/ledges 6ther/ise7 8uke 9niversity, :entre or ;lobal -tudies and the <umanities.'
=*A1 The Poetics of the Hacred and the Politics of Hcholarship *Hpring--, Betrieved from
http1KK###,+hfc,du(e,eduK#(oKdossiersK<,AKMu4,pdf,