388 THE POLYNESIAN WANDERINGS. 



the mosquito had not penetrated. Then how shall the student of the Viti 

 account for the possession there of karavau as a name for cattle in a land 

 which knew no horned beasts until the missionaries came ? It seems to be 

 the carabao of the Philippines. Or how account for ngeli, the Viti name 

 for monkey, when the nearest quadrumane is no nearer than Indonesia? 



329- 



nate, nase, ate, atse, the banana, the plantain (plant and fruit). 



Samoa, Futuna, Niue: futi, the banana. Tonga: fuji, the generic 

 term for all bananas. Fotuna: vuji, the banana. Moiki, 

 Nuguria, Nukuoro : huti, id. Maori: cf. hutiwai, a plant name 

 (Acoena sanguisorba) . Aniwa: hutshi, the banana. Fila: 

 butsh . 

 Viti: vundi, banana, plantain. 



The following words all signify banana : 



Fagani : fuki. Vaturanga, Nggela, Bugotu : vundi. Saa, Bululaha, 

 Ulawa: huti. Wango: hugi. Maewo: undi. Sesake: 



audi. Baravon: vundu. Duke of York: wundu. Kalil: 

 'huddu. Pala, Namatanai: hudu. Lambell: 'hun. Laur: 

 hun. King : wun. Lamassa : wun. New Ireland (Carteret 

 Harbor) : un. Epi, Bierian : vihi. Paama : ahisi. Malekula : 

 na-vis. Malekula Uripiv: na-vits. Malekula Pangkumu: 

 ne-vij. Arag: ihi. Malekula: abus. Eromanga: no-bos. 

 Moanus: mbur. Ambrym, Aneityum: nohos. Dobu: udi. 

 Kiriwina: usi. Sariba: udu. 



Ceram, Ahtiago: phitim. Matabello: phiidi. Ceram: judi. Gah: 

 fudia. Tobo: fud. Massaratty: fiiati. Mayapo: fuat. 

 Malagasy: hutsi, untsi. Timor: hudi. Caimarian: u'ki. 

 Batak: unchi. Macassar: unti. Sambawa: punti. Panga- 

 sinan: ponti. Sanguir: busa. Malay: pisang. 



Arabic: muz', banana. Amharic: muz, id. 



In Polynesia there are many names for banana and plantain and futi is 

 the least usual; but its existence is well established, and Tonga fuji marks 

 it as ancient, for generic terms are imperfectly developed in the intellectual 

 plane of our islanders. Incidentally to the mention of Tonga fuji I must 

 note that Codrington (Melanesian Languages, 55) has cited it incorrectly as 

 fugi and treats the g as a k derivative ; thereby he has unfortunately gone 

 astray in so much of his discussion as is based thereon, for t-j is the common 

 Tongan mutation before e and i (17 Journal of the Polynesian Society, 212). 



Before taking up the Melanesian forms I cite, on the authority of Mr. 

 Christian, these Micronesian affinities : Ponape 'ut; Kusaie, Mortlocks, 'tis; 

 Uluthi, ut; Palawat, Uleai, Lamotrek, Satawal, uis. 



Nowhere in Melanesia do we find exactly the primal form futi. The 

 nearest approximation is huti of Saa, Bululaha, and Ulawa. The mutation 

 t-g is found only in this one instance in Wango, but t-k is not only well 

 represented in our Melanesian material but is a presently active principle 

 in Hawaii and Samoa ; therefore we may associate huti, hugi, and huki as 



