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Vanua


The word banua or vanua – meaning "land," "home," or "village" – occurs in several Austronesian languages. It derives from the Proto-Austronesian reconstructed form *banua. The word has particular significance in several countries.

In the Kapampangan language, banwa or banua means "sky" or "year".

In the Hiligaynon Visayan language, banwa means "people", "nation" or "country."

In the Tagalog/Filipino language, a similar word bansa also means "country", "nation" or "country."

In the Malay language (both Malaysian Malay and Indonesian language), benua means landmass or continent. The word for 'land" in these languages and nearby Austronesian languages are tanah or tana. For example, in Tana Toraja, Tana Tidung or Tano Niha.

In the Banjar language, banua means "village" or "homeland".

In the Buginese language, banua means "village", "country", "land" or "homeland".

In the Toraja language, banua means "home".

In all Minahasan languages, wanua means "village", "country", or "land". The word Kawanua means a fellow Minahasan people who lives outside the ancestral homeland.

In Oceanic languages of Melanesia, the root *banua has sometimes become vanua.


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