Octopus wrote:"Maeva" sounds nice! Armen ian equivalent is - "Bari galust!"
Actually, before the arrival of White men in Polynesia, Maeva was a "royal" form of welcome. You would say "Maeva" to a king or to a god. Actually, there is a religious anthem called "Maeva Ta'aroa", Ta'aroa being the name of God in this language. You can hear it by clicking
here. It is played here with a mix of traditionnal and modern instruments but, beleive it or not, the rythm is unchanged! (Actually, "disco" music which was so popular in the '60s and '70s was due to tourists coming back to Europe after visiting Polynesia thanks to the new airplanes that could travel the distance.) Danse is also a form of prayer in Polynesia, which explains the "lively" rythm of religious anthems. The "usual" form to welcome someone was "Manava". However, today both forms are used and an expression we hear daily now is "Maeva e manava".
And, do you know where "Bari galust" comes from?
About "welcome", there is another expression which is typical of the exceptionnal Polynesian hospitality : 'io 'oe [eeo owey]
![Image](http://img10.hostingpics.net/pics/286406io_oe.gif)
Litterally translated, it means "Your home". Implying : "You are here at home". Is it possible to welcome someone better than that???
The same expression is used almost throughout Oceania, although its spelling changes from place to place...
So... Yokwe o te Lokanova, Octopus
Octopus wrote:the more we learn, the less we know, you see................
I beg to disagree... If that was true, universities would produce ignorants and alcohol would produce Nobel prices. My belief is that the more we learn, the more we REALISE how little we know. What ignorants ignore the most is how much they ignore. A trout in a pond may beleive that, when it knows the pond well, it will understand the Universe.
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P.S. Why did you choose "Octopus" as your username?