I absolutely love this! I have noticed a huge surge in people talking about language from many fascinating perspectives in the past 10 days... I don't know much about astrology but I know that Pluto entering Aquarius is set to transform concepts of personal power and technology. It seems that we are all looking inwards at the intentionality and power of one of our first evolutionary technologies, speech! From prayers to spells to incantations.. even the act of handing down SENTENCES of life and death! It feels like we're remembering why it is that we speak. Thank you for teaching me about noa-names. I'm curious about the etymology of the noa bit now ❓ ❤️
Thank you so much and yes, I love when these little synchronicities appear in collective consciousness!
Weirdly, the author of the book I discovered the concept of noa-names in doesn't go much into the etymology, and I didn't find a whole lot online, but apparently (and when I say apparently I mean according to Wikipedia) it has its roots in Polynesian culture - the English word 'taboo' has its origin in 'tapu', a prohibition/rule enforced by spiritual/holy beliefs, and a 'noa' is a blessing that can lift the 'tapu' from a person or object.
Now that I'm looking into this more I'm realising I came across it years ago in New Zealand (or Aotearoa I should say, especially in the context of this conversation!) without realising it - I was at pōwhiri which is a ceremony where Māori people welcome outsiders to their community meeting grounds, determining their reasons for coming and the connections between them. I have just read that this process is also intended to lift any potential 'tapu' from the visitors, making us 'noa' or ordinary!
So, thank you for sending me further down on the dive with your question 🐍
I absolutely love this! I have noticed a huge surge in people talking about language from many fascinating perspectives in the past 10 days... I don't know much about astrology but I know that Pluto entering Aquarius is set to transform concepts of personal power and technology. It seems that we are all looking inwards at the intentionality and power of one of our first evolutionary technologies, speech! From prayers to spells to incantations.. even the act of handing down SENTENCES of life and death! It feels like we're remembering why it is that we speak. Thank you for teaching me about noa-names. I'm curious about the etymology of the noa bit now ❓ ❤️
Thank you so much and yes, I love when these little synchronicities appear in collective consciousness!
Weirdly, the author of the book I discovered the concept of noa-names in doesn't go much into the etymology, and I didn't find a whole lot online, but apparently (and when I say apparently I mean according to Wikipedia) it has its roots in Polynesian culture - the English word 'taboo' has its origin in 'tapu', a prohibition/rule enforced by spiritual/holy beliefs, and a 'noa' is a blessing that can lift the 'tapu' from a person or object.
Now that I'm looking into this more I'm realising I came across it years ago in New Zealand (or Aotearoa I should say, especially in the context of this conversation!) without realising it - I was at pōwhiri which is a ceremony where Māori people welcome outsiders to their community meeting grounds, determining their reasons for coming and the connections between them. I have just read that this process is also intended to lift any potential 'tapu' from the visitors, making us 'noa' or ordinary!
So, thank you for sending me further down on the dive with your question 🐍