ipisun

Wauja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /i.piˈsũ/

Noun

ipisun (plural ipisunaun)

1. lover, paramour (referring to a man)

   Hai, ju! Aya awauta apisun wiu. Ume eu. Aya awauta apisun wiu, ju. Hoona! Iseju, wi.

   "Well, dear! Let's find ourselves a lover," she said. "Let's look for a lover for ourselves, my dear." "Agreed!" [said] her younger sister.

   Iya onupakona, epetepe papisuntumpa. Wekepe kata akain jouno.

   [They] went to have a look, to visit [the ashes of] their deceased lover. [In that place] was [a] gigantic pequi [tree].

   Awapotene yiu, aunukawi, umakonapai ipitsi. Awapoteneu. Hoona! Piya patoka topoho. Natu napotebeni! ipiSUN wi.

   "Well, let's bury her, let's kill her," they all said about her. "We'll bury her. Yes, we will!" "[You, there,] go dig her grave," [one of them said]. "I will bury her!" [answered one man]. [But this man was, in fact, secretly] her lover. [He was just pretending to go along with the others.]

   ...iye kalanaku itseebuta papisun otunumaliu, iyawiu ... iyene ipawiu. Itsityene yiu, auhawi. Auwi, iyawi pemejepei yiu.

   She went into that house to untie her lover's hammock, and she got rid of the other one [the hammock belonging to her late husband]. She tied up her lover's hammock [above her own, announcing their marriage]. Now it was done: she had taken him as her husband.

Inflection

    Possession of ipisun

	singular	plural
first person	nipisun	apisun
second person	pipisun	yipisun
third person	ipisun	ipisun

Derived terms

• ipisuaantsa (“ear-piercing mate”)

Related terms

• ipisulu (“female lover”)

References

• "Hai, ju!" (transcript, p. 9), and "Iya onupakona" (p. 69) uttered by Aruta, storyteller and elder, as he recounted the traditional tale, "The Caiman Spirit" (Yakaojokuma). Recorded in Piyulaga village in the presence of assembled elders and others, November 1989. In this story, a chief, who already has two wives, takes two additional ones, causing the first two wives to feel neglected, and to decide to take a lover.
• "Awapotene yiu" (transcript p. 6) and "...iye kalanaku" (p. 33) uttered by Itsautaku, storyteller and elder, recounting the traditional Wauja tale of the "Man Who Drowned in Honey," (Paistyawalu) in the presence of his adolescent son Mayuri, adult daughter Mukura, and others. Recorded in Piyulaga village by E. Ireland, December 1989. In this story, a bold young woman commits a grave sacrilege by playing the sacred flutes, which are forbidden to women; she is nearly killed, but is rescued by her lover, whom she marries.