I mis-spoke earlier in my blog.
The proper word for "white person" is "quiploo" not "quigloo" or
whatever I said before.
Quiploo means "white"...It's used to denote white things - like
chickens, goats, or even lighter-skinned africans. Mostly, however,
it's used whenever they see us coming.
It's a manu word, and it is pronounced "queep-loo" (rhymes with
jeep-glue...which I just made up but works pretty well).
The plural form is "quiploos"...and that just sounds funny when you
hear a dozen 4 years olds saying it to try to get our attention...
"quiploos! quiploos! take my picture! quiploos!"
Of course, if you take their picture, you have to take LOTS of them,
and eventually you just have to give up and tell them no more. Their
love of having their picture taken is remarkable.
Quiploo! Quiploo! Take my picture!
2 comments:
Sorry, forced to comment again...
I don't know all the possible variations, but in Bassa there is no "l". I spent years being "qwipoo-ma" in Buchanan. My dad, who was fluent in Bassa at the time, told me that the word "qwi" either is or has become a synonym for "civilized," so the US, for example, is Qwi-blee in Bassa (blee being a town).
Thanks for the comment, amazed. Indeed, I understand from my staff here that Manu has an "l", which is something absent from both the Bassa and Gio dialects (in the region? for this word). So from time to time here in Nimba you'll hear just "quipoo" - and you'll know it's not a manu person you're speaking with.
Also, it's true what you say of "qui" - it means 'civilized', and the "ploo" portion means white - or so I'm told. I've learned that a white car is "carploo", and a white t-shirt is...'booploo'? (I think?). "tee" is the similar word for black...qwitee, cartee, etc.
Of course, it seems every time I ask someone else I get a different explanation, and at least three of my staff speak four different dialects - and I think sometimes they get confused!
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