🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
さばに【鱶船・鱶舟】 : sabani | define meaning
sabani
Pronunciation: [sabani]
Definition
Noun
- Fishing boat; row boat; sail boat
- Traditional Okinawan Sabani boat
Etymology
From さば saba "shark" and a reduced form of ふに【船・舟】 funi "boat". The name likely stems from either the fact that these boats were originally used to catch sharks or the fact that their hulls were coated with shark liver oil and other fish oil to prevent the wooden planks from deteriorating.
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Boat. Tímma, or Sabánne".
Notes
Traditionally, the Sabani was a small, elongated wooden boat with or without a sail used in Okinawa for fishing in shallow waters. It was originally made from pine wood, but was later replaced with cedar. Modernization of the boat has displaced the nail-less wooden hull with a deeper metal one, and the paddles and sail, with a motor.
Example of a Sabani boat race with sails in Zamami, Okinawa:
Example of a modern Sabani boat used in Yaeyama:
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 鱶船 鱶舟 |
| Kana | さばに |
| Romanization | sabani |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [sabani] |
意味：サバニ、ぎょせん【漁船】、わせん【和船】