はなだぎ

Yonaguni

Alternative spelling
花酒

Etymology

Compound of はな (hana) +‎ さぎ (sagi, “rice wine, sake”). According to the Dunanmunui Jiten, はな (hana) does not mean "flower" but "first", reminiscent of Proto-Ryukyuan *pana (“beginning, start”); if this is correct, than the use of 花 "flower" to spell hana would be ateji (当て字).

Other sources also record a reading hanadaki and hanazaki.

Pronunciation

(Sonai) IPA^(key): [hànàdàɡì] (tone class B)

Noun

はなだぎ (hanadagi)

花酒: a first type of strong sake served after distilling awamori, 60% being alcohol
てぃんだばなに　はなだぎ　ぬみ　あんびぶたる　’とぅか゚　ぶでぃきーだたなはん　ばんだしや　うってぃひたんでぃど
tindabanani hanadagi numi anbibutaru ’tu'nga budikīdatanahan bandashiya uttihitandido
They said people who drank hanadagi at Tinbana and danced, tripped and fell on their feet!

はなだぎや　みっくきどぅ　ぬむどー
hanadagiya mikkukidu numudō
Hanadagi is to be drank carefully.

Descendants

→ Japanese: 花酒 (hanasake, hanazake)

Trivia

In cultural folk tradition, the last step during the chosen third year ceremony of a deceased person, is to purify the body using hanadagi and put the body into an urn.

References

Hōsei Daigaku Okinawa Bunka Kenkyūjo (法政大学沖縄文化研究所) (1987) “琉球の方言１１巻：八重山・与那国島 [Ryukyuan Dialects 11: Yonaguni-jima, Yaeyama]”, in Ryūkyū no Hōgen (琉球の方言), volume 11, →DOI, pages 01-359
Yonaguni Hōgen Jiten Henshū I'inkai (与那国方言辞典編集委員会) (2021) どぅなんむぬい辞典 [Dunanmunui Dictionary], Yonaguni (与那国町): Yonaguni-chō Kyōiku I'inkai (与那国町教育委員会), page 258