Meaning of bus kanaka | Babel Free

Definitions

An uncivilized person; a person who follows a traditional rather than a modern lifestyle.

Papua-New-Guinea

Examples

“[…] for some more sophisticated coastal people there was merely the shame at being led by a bush kanaka, […]”

“Fuyuge men recount with humor their initial encounters with life in Port Moresby during the 1950s. They speak of travelling to the coast in their bark-cloths and realising upon their arrival that they were inappropriately dressed: “We immediately felt bus kanaka [wild, uncivilized].””

“Sam’s blues and boots disappeared into his small backpack, his beret was pushed back onto the head at a very jaunty angle and the .303 was slung carelessly over the shoulder. A torn pair of shorts completed the ensemble. In the twinkling of an eye, the immaculate policeman was transformed into a ragged bush kanaka […]”

“Manam islanders knew Mambu: but they could not admit to being led or influenced by a mere bush-Kanaka.”

“Do you see development here? Are you living like white men? No! We’re still living like bus kanaka.”

CEFR level