A POETIC LANGUAGE.
ilalagasßea of Africa Have an Espres- j sive and Appropriate Name v> tan Everything?. The most poetical of savage languages is .that of the Madagasses, or Malagasses, of Africa. They call ev- ! erythihg by a name that expresses its appearance or its meaning perfectly. Thus a hiit' is a "mountain child" in the mouths of these people. Rivers are "water mothers." A much-used path the Malagasse calls a "ripe path." ; The brain is the "head's innermost" ; and the pupil of the eye is the "eye king." The grinding teeth are the "teeth princesses/' and the fingers are called "hand branches." If a man lives carelessly the Malagasses say . that he "is eating his soul." "A jungle of boys" is the way the youngsters are described when they gather in numbers, and a very short space of time is denoted by the expression,"while one could roast a grasshopper." ■ A selfish. man is said to be "embracr ing the crocodile," and a miser is said to be r a "lover, of the scorpion." If a person is vain the Malagasses say that he is "grass that is trying to grow bi?ger than a banana." The saucer is the "wife of the cup."
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Bibliographic details
Bruce Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 46, 14 June 1903, Page 7
Word Count
203A POETIC LANGUAGE. Bruce Herald, Volume XXXX, Issue 46, 14 June 1903, Page 7
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