Sledding down the Polynesian mountain slopes

[new_etymology]

During the Ice Age there were periods when almost all the planet Earth was covered with ice,, except some places at Equator. Some geographic names might recall that period, e.g. SULAWESI sea (Fin.. Est. SULA VESI - 'melted water') between the Philippines and Indonesia.

One should not be surprised, as the basic lexicon of Finnic languages contains ennumerous cognates to the languages of Maori in New Zealand, Tagalog language in Philippines etc, not to mention cognates in Japanese and Sanskrit, etc).

Of notice is the tradition to use the wooden sledges, about one meter long, with which the Polynesian and Maori children enjoyed to slide down grassy hill slopes opportunely watered[1] (long before the Europeans came to colonize the islands). This is perhaps the last memory of the snowy slopes which the locals have once seen in Polynesia.



[1] Elisabetta Gnecchi Ruscone, Oceania, ed. Mondadori Electa, Milano 2010.

Comments

[new_etymology]

RA - Egyptian God of the Sun;
RA (Sumerian) - shining, lustrous, bright;
[RA] (Maori, New Zealand), [RA] (Mangarev, Polynesia), [RA] (Taiti), [RA] (Rarotongan, Cook islands), [RA] (Futuna island), [RA, REA] (Aniwa, Vanuatu islands), [RA] (Kapingamarangi, Micronesia), [RA] (Rapanui, Easter island), [LA] (Samoa), [RA] (Gamei, Giri, Qaqet, Angaua languages of Papua New Guinea), [RA, RATO] (Anuta, Solomon islands), [RO] (Komodo, Indonesia), ARAW, ORAW (Philippines) - the sun;
[RA] (Kayngang, one of the Native American languages of Brazil), grahaolai (Abipon, Native American language in the North of Argentina and the South of Paraguay) - the sun;
[RA'SA] (Chibcha Native American languages of Central America), [RA'SA] (Pawnee Native American language in the USA), raynari (Tarahumara Native American language in Central America) - the sun;
SRA, SRII, SREE (Athabascan languages of Alaska and Canada) - the sun;
श्री, śrī [SRI] (Sanscrit) - luck, prosperity;
RAJ, SUE-RAJ (Urdu, Pakistan), रवि [RAVI] (Hindi), [RAVI, SURJA] (Sanskrit), Nibha-RA (Newari, Nepal) - the sun;
RAY (Eng.), RAGGIO (Ital.) - ray, sunray;
RÄIKEÄ (Fin.) - glaring, bright, shining; loud;
REIN (Ger.), REN (Sw.) - clean, clear; GHRIAN (Irish, Gaelic Scottish) - the sun; HRINGR (ancient Icelandic, acnient Scandinavian), HRING (Old Eng., Old Ger.), КРУГ [KRUG] (Rus.), КРѪГЪ [KRONG] (Church Slavic), KRĄG, gen. KRĘGU [KRANG, KRENGU] (Pol.), RING (Eng., Sw., Ger.), RING, RINGI, RÕNGAS, gen. RÕNGA (Est., Votic), RENGAS (Fin., Izhorian, Karelian, Chudian), RENKHEINE (Vepssian) - the ring; AURINKO (Fin.) - the sun (the 'glorious' ring, see au, ave); ROUND (Eng.), RUNT (Sw.), RUND (Ger.) - round;
[REI, RA] (Coptic language in Northern Africa), RIUA, RIOA (Gikuiu, Western Africa), OORUN (Yoruba, Nigeria), RANA (Hausawa, Western Africa), rikumbi (Kimbundu, Angola), eryba (Bantu, Uganda) - the sun;
արեւը [AREVY] (Armenian) - sun; օր [OR] (Armenian) - day, daytime;
[rōkás, rōcís̨] (Sanscrit), [rаōčаh] (Avestian) - light, glazing; rōcás (Sanscrit) - shining; [rocate] (Sanscrit) - it shines;
[RAGH, RAQINI] (Lezghian, Agulian, Gequn, Qushan - languages in Caucasus), [RIG] (Tabasaran, Dagestan) - the sun.

N.B. The purest RA in the meaning of 'sun' is in the languages of Oceania, with which the list starts. A remnant tracing back to the lost civilization of the sunken continent MU ?

[new_etymology]

SULAWESI SEA, the 'melted water'?

Alternatively, the name Sulawesi possibly comes from the Indonesian words sula ("island") and besi ("iron") and may refer to the historical export of iron from the rich Lake Matano iron deposits.

Could very well be, since SulaWesi is also the name of a large island to the South of Sulawesi sea.
By the may,
- SULA as 'an island' would correspond to the Lappish suolu, Finnish, Karelian salo meaning “large forested island; dense forest”.
- BESI as 'iron' would correspond to the Lappish veaiki, veeshkk, Est. vask, vase, Fin. vaski meaning "copper"; Hanty wŏχ, Nganasan basa, Enets ƅ́aśi, Kamas. båzå, Mator besā, Hung. vas - "iron".