Oroha Language and Culture

Formal Greetings

Two common formal greetings are:

'Ato i hei? Where to now?
Oko raa i hei? Where are you going to?

Both of these greetings can be replied to with phrases such as:

Note that ta'au "up" here means "east", that is, towards the top of the village, where the chief's house sits.

Informal Greetings

The informal greeting is just yell at your friend, Hei! -- Hello, or Aaaakuu! -- my what!! or oh my!! The usual response to Aaaakuu! is Hoe! or Sei!

The best of friends would normally swear at each other. The more foul-sounding the better!!

Formal Leavetakings

The person(s) departing will say:

Note: raaraa is the reduplicated form of raa "go". ro'u means "again; now".

The person(s) remaining behind will say:

Note: these are command forms.

Informal Leavetakings

If one says Hoia!, the appropriate response is also Hoia!.

If one says Seeni! or Seeni ro'u!, the appropriate response is Seeni!.