Japanese

Romanization

waku

1. rōmaji reading of わく

Wauja

Noun

waku

1. bath (bathing place, river port or stream where people go to bathe)

   Aya waku nitsenu.

   Let's go [to the] bathing [place] together. (lit., Let's go [to the] bathing [place] with me.)

   Piye waku! Enupai kamo. Tsokojo pitsu!

   Go bathe! The sun is high in the sky. You're [like] an agouti!

   (Agoutis are tropical American rodents about the size of a rabbit. The Wauja say they avoid water.)

   Kanaipai ninyeulu, tsala? Aitsa painyakupai. Iya waku papa itsenu.

   Q: Where's my sister-in-law, dear boy? [addressing a nephew regarding his mom's whereabouts]. A: She's not home. She went to bathe with dad.

   Anatapai umejo. Aitsa iyapai waku itsenu. Aitsa aintyapai umapiya, paponaku pata aintyapai. Anatatai.

   [She] rejects her husband. [She] doesn't go to bathe with [him]. [She] doesn't eat his catch [the food he provides]; [she] eats only in her [parents'] house. [She] simply rejects [him].

Derived terms

• owakun (his/her/its years)

References

• E. Ireland field notes. Need to be checked by native speaker.