Ternate - Smithsonian Institution Libraries

183
TERNATE THE TERNATESE LANGUAGE
dehe, cape, always placed behind the name and connected by ma, e.g. Bululu ma-dehe, Cape
Bululu; Baru ma-dehe, Cape Baru.
deho: nyau deho, the fish which is called tongkol on Java, and which can always be found
where the cakalang is.
dek, deck of a ship, also written sometimes.
dera: dodera, to sit, rest, e.g. of birds on branches.
dero, to find, experience, or to obtain, acquire, get; madero, during, at the time of; tatapi dero
ana riuwah, but one did not find them.
dia, land, opposite of sea; the same as isa.
diahi, see also tiahi.
dibah, to think about something, deliberate, e.g. simarah ngoni ngadibah dokasaha, what do
you people think about it?
dihutu, owner; falah ma-dihutu, the owner of the house; also genuine, pure, real, e.g. ngofa
Mekah ma-dihutu, a true-born Arab; walanda ma-dihutu, Dutch by birth; mihodo ma-dihutu,
her own father-in-law.
Jou ma-dihutu, the Supreme Being, usually used as an exclamation and in this case meaning,
“God is my witness that I speak the truth” or “May I drop dead if it is not true!”
dingo, to send, forward; sidingo, dispatch.
dino, loom; see also tino.
disawu, the big land-crab, Birgus latro, which is fed on santan kalapa, especially by the
Chinese, and which becomes a very tasty food for Europeans.
diti, lizard; diti cako, gecko.
diti-diti, goods or bundles, which can be carried under the arm.
doda, to press, come down of a heavy object.
dodai, box, similar to the Malay tempat; moku ma-dodai, pinang-box.
dodemo, copulation, sleeping with; sidodemo, to order, instruct; sudo sidodemo toma sagala
manusia, to give orders everywhere.
dodengo, a fight between men armed with rattan, gabah, or pieces of bamboo; it is performed
on festive occasions, and is the most popular form of entertainment of the people.
Dodingah, name of a district on the west coast of North Halmahera, with a small kampong
where this peninsula connects with Central Halmahera and from where traders usually cross to
the east coast. Campen writes this place-name incorrectly as Dodingga, and this spelling is
copied by de Hollander in his 4th edition of Guide for Geography and Ethnography.
dodoku, bridge, abutment of a bridge.
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION LIBRARIES DIGITAL EDITION