Paici love poem

Kanak Paicî love poem (Paaci, Pati, Cî, Ponerihouen), translated by Astrid, in a language that is a part of the Oceanic subgroup of the Austronesian language family. Paicî is a language that has been well studied, of which we have been able to collect and preserve the oral tradition.

This language is spoken by around 7,000 Canaques, mainly on Grande Terre which is the main island of New Caledonia; it is also, on Grande Terre, the most widely spoken Kanak language.

The term Kanak (Canaque = Man), which comes from Hawaiian, was introduced very early by Europeans accompanied by Melanesians. After having experienced this word as contemptuous, the Caledonians took it up for themselves, as a symbol, most often, by rejecting the C of the French spelling, for a more Melanesian K.

Connect Monéo, Amoa, Koné and Pouembout by lines, add an area around Poya, as well add the south of Ponérihouen, and you will have roughly the linguistic area where paicî is spoken.

Like other Kanak languages, since May 5, 1998, Paicî has been recognized as a language of instruction, and now, it is taught from kindergarten to university. The Kanak Language Academy takes charge of its promotion, and competes to set the rules for its use. Four Kanak languages, including Paici, have the status of regional languages.

Paicî literature is first and foremost a very rich oral literature, with many myths, legends, stories and tales (Téin kanake), and of course poetry (Tenons). The tenô, is an octosyllable poem, which often tells historical facts.

Proverb in Paicî : 'Jè côôinâ i puu upwârâ géé goro paâ pwêê-ê'. = We recognize a tree by its fruits. (Anna Gonari, ALK 2013).

Ancient history tells us that the first Austronesians arrived from Southeast Asia to settle in Oceania around the year zero, + or -1000 years. Kanak society began to take shape around the year 1000.

All over the island of Grande Terre there are Petroglyphs (Drawings or symbols engraved on stone), about which we currently do not know much. What is their origin, their meaning? ... undoubtedly, they tell legends, ancient myths, the history of the clans.

My poem is a dream in paici, for a woman, living on the beaches of the northern province of New Caledonia. She is a keen reader, books are her life, she has reread the Grand Meaulnes 10 times.