UNA IMAGEN EN LA NOCHE

The third subcategory of partitive classi­ fiers consists of those which specify actual partition of items into pieces or fragments.78 These classifiers do not have any metaphorical extension to the specifi­ cation of the parts of non-material wholes. The

sixteen classifiers consist of two which specify the mode of division, five which specify the size or

proportions of the divided piece, three which refer to the butchering of a carcase, and six specifying serves of food.

Those classifiers which specify the mode of division are similar to the activity speci­

fiers. These are:

Cl 73 bubo- "anything cut across using knife, axe, saw, etc" (cf -bobu "cut

(using axe, etc)");

Cl 74 vili- "a piece obtained by being broken off with twisting motion; untwisted"

(cf -vili "unravel").

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Examples of these two classifiers are best dis­ played in the context of a full sentence. First, Cl 7 3 bubo- 1

67. Mimilisi ma-BUBO-si-na bogwa ikau Some that-cut-pl already he-take

"He has already taken some of those cut-off pieces."

The context of this sentence was the cutting of a large diameter log with a chain saw, which had been done by a trader wanting a large piece of wood for an engine base. Thus they are pieces cut trans­ versely using an instrument for the cutting. Con­ versation over this same incident also provided other examples which I have used above./9 Secondly, an example for Cl 74 vili-, which is a phrase plus a sentence:

68. ma - VILI - s i - n a yuwoyoula ... that-twisted-pl rope

"those pieces of unravelled rope ... kusakaigu VILI - tala wala

you-give-me twisted-one only Give me one strand only"

Here a rope is unravelled to provide cords for some lashings. This classifier is frequently applied to a stick of tobacco in two different ways; it may be

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untwisted as a rope, into two separate strands, or the whole stick may be broken apart by a twisting motion when gripped between the fingertips.

It would be a natural association to

see a connection between specification of an activity and verblike functions. This has already been noted with respect to the "activity specifiers".80 The verbal forms related to the classifiers Cl 73 and Cl 74 above, specifying mode of division, support

this association.

The use of classifiers to specify the activity of division in a certain way, by cutting transversely using an instrument, or by unravelling or twisting off, is a specification consistent with the role of activity specifiers like ponina-.81

These partitive classifiers, eg Cl 73 bubo-, have the multiple specification of "a divided item, plus mode of division". Thus there is a component of

instrumentality introduced by means of these classifiers.

It is relevant to digress briefly here with some comment on instrumental reference. Instru­ mental noun phrases are extremely rare in Kiriwinan;

in examining one group of some 1,600 phrases I found only two having specific instrumental reference such as "with a hammer", and these two may have occurred only as a concession to modern contact between

Kiriwinan and English. For the Kiriwinan, instrumen­ tality is generally indicated by a class of twenty

80

81

See p 136 above.

verb-root prefixes, which indicate the means by which the action of the verb is carried out. Thus

they may be seen as instrumental or agentive

indicators, or an indicator of the manner in which the action is performed, or the degree of causation the actor is seen to have in effecting the action of the verb.

Thus yo- "do violently", va- "do gently", ki- "do with hands" and katu- "do indirectly, (ie with an instrument)" may be attached to other morphemes to

form verbs with causative indicators built into the verb action, as:

-yogagi -vamom -katumati -kimati

"harm someone" (yo- "do violently", and gaga "bad");

"give a drink to" {va- "do gently", and -mom "to drink");

"kill (with instrument)" {katu- "do indirectly", and -mata "die");

"kill (using hands)" {ki- "do with hands, vigorously", and mata- "die"). The main burden of instrumental reference in the language is borne within the verb phrase.

Here however, in some of the activity specification, we see that part of the role of instrumental reference is borne by the verb-like specifiers of activities.

Thus through these activity classifiers we have the intrusion of a verb-like function into the noun phrase; and as the activity classifiers have verbal antecedents, this gives a consistent pattern to Kiriwinan instrumental reference.

Six classifiers in this subcategory have quantitative force, and some hierarchical arrangement may be discerned between them. Two of the three

multiple reference classifiers from the fourth subgroup may be included in this hierarchical arrangement of

size specification: kabulo- C1 75 lapou- katupo- C1 76 gum- C1 77 gibu- C1 78 kuwo- C1 79 utu-

"half of anything" (see below, Cl 89);

"a piece smaller than kabulo-,

either a third or a quarter of the whole piece";

"half of k a b u l o(see below, Cl 90); "a smaller piece, frequently half of lapou-";

"a small piece, as gum-, but with the additional component of 'enough'; eg a serve of food (which is enough for a meal, or piece of tobacco enough for a smoke, etc)";

"crumbs, fragments smaller than

any above, but worth keeping (either food or tobacco)";

"scraps or crumbs to be discarded". Three classifiers specify cuts of meat from a dismembered carcase; there is some size specifi­ cation :

Cl 80 kabila- "large portion of carcase"; Cl 81 kipu- "piece

kabila-

of carcase, about half of •, a mouthful of flesh"; Cl 82 sisi li- "small

may be

portion of carcase; this same size as Cl 81 kipu- specification, or smaller; usually cooked" (cf -sail "to divide or dismember").

It should be noted here that Cl 81 kipu- is not as frequently used as Cl 82 sisiii-, and because of the possible homonymy between them the latter seems to be replacing the former. An example given here

illustrates this, also justifying the multiple speci­ fication of Cl 82 sisiii-'.

69. Kabila-tala avaka bi-ta-sali sisiii-tala cut - one what will-we-divide small-cut-one sisiii-tala. Sisiii-tala kala bobu

small-cut-one. Small-cut-one its division tuvaila sisiii-tala sisiii-tala.

too small-cut-one small-cut-one.

"If we cut a large joint of meat in half, we call each piece "s i s i i i Then if we cut again the smaller piece we still call each of these smaller cuts "sisiii-".

We have a number of classifiers to do with the division of food and drink. Six may be listed, together with one other (Cl 81 kipu-) which has as its primary specification a cut of raw meat, with the

secondary specification of a portion of cooked flesh served for eating. In this section, size specification does not predominate, except that there is a cultural concept involved in most of them as to the acceptable size of a serve or helping of food.

"one piece of mature food cut into halves"; Cl 91 pila- may be used in the same way to specify this division into two equal parts; Cl 83 kaya-

Cl 84 givi- Cl 85 kununu- Cl 86 yivi- Cl 87 gini- Cl 88 kapu- kipu-

"a serve of cooked fish - as much as may be politely taken between thumb and two fingers”;

"a serve of cooked greens”;

"a serve of fragments of vegetable food, a handful of small pieces” ; "a bite, mouthful of food"; (cf

-gani "bite");

"a mouthful of drink; a sip (often to be tasted then spat out)";

"a mouthful of cooked flesh" (already listed as Cl 81 above). In addition to these, Cl 76 gum- "small piece",

Cl 77 gibu- "enough (vegetable, fish etc)" and Cl 78

kuwo- "crumb, mouthful" may also be used in reference

to food served for eating. The classifiers in this section may have a suggestion of quantitative specifi­ cation; but they have in addition a subjective or

culture-specific connotation; in serving food the host may speak deprecatingly of a large helping served to a guest as KUWO-tala-wala "morsel-one only"; while a guest may politely refer to a small serve as GIBU-veka

"serve-large". Likewise a discontented recipient of a share of tobacco may downgrade GIBU-tala tobaki

"adequate-piece-one tobacco", "enough tobacco for a smoke" to the insulting level of:

70. Ka3 ma-KUWO-si-na!

See, that-crumb-pl.-

"Just look at those crumbs!"