Kukata (to cut/to reduce) for loss and misappropriation of meaning

 

Kata - 1 cut, hew; mince, cut into pieces. 2 amputate, dissociate (from), chop, lop, mutilate, cut off. 3 deduct, reduce.

Verb

-kata (infinitive kukata)

1. to cut (to break or sever, including in a metaphorical sense)

2. to bring to an end

Noun

kata (plural kata)

(Kenya) An administrative region in Kenya, below counties and subcounties, and further divided into sublocations.

Derived terms

kata ndogo (“sublocation”)

Reduction means the act of reducing, or state of being reduced; conversion to a given state or condition; diminution; conquest; as, the reduction of a body to powder; the reduction of things to order; the reduction of the expenses of government; the reduction of a rebellious province. For the purpose of propaganda/taqiyya in conquest, an aggressive nation first reduces their description of the targeted nation as a “province”, and consequently from the inherent contradictions, the targeted nation is labelled a “rebellious province” as justification for “intervention” to “restore order”. This is the importance of narrative. In a normal sense, both are nations and both should exist in their own separate right.

In chemistry, the terms oxidation and reduction can be defined in terms of the adding or removing oxygen to a compound. Oxidation is the gain of oxygen. Reduction is the loss of oxygen.

For example, in the extraction of iron from its ore:

Because both reduction and oxidation are occurring simultaneously, this is known as a redox reaction.

An oxidizing agent is substance which oxidizes something else. In the above example, the iron (III) oxide is the oxidizing agent. A reducing agent reduces something else. In the equation, the carbon monoxide is the reducing agent.

Oxidizing agents give oxygen to another substance.

Reducing agents remove oxygen from another substance.

In “organic chemistry”, the same definition is used for the transfer of hydrogen.

Linguistically, we shall look at how the word Rũga was borrowed and reduced from its original deeply detailed etymology in ancient Thagicũ language to the mere objectification “male calf” and other derivatives in the linguistically unrelated Afar language.

Afar Language

Ruga

rúga m (plural rugaagí f)

1. male calf

Derived terms

(diminutive) rugáytu

Pronunciation 2

Noun

rugá f (plural rugaagí f)

1. female calf

Segeju Language

The first Diwan(Arab tax collector) in Vumba Kuu was Seyyid Abubakar bin sheikh bin Abubakari el-masela-ba-Alani, otherwise known as “Diwan Ruga”. Ruga was a word borrowed from the indigenous Segeju language by colonial Arabs in east Africa. It means “strength of a bull” in Segeju langauage. It can be compared to Rũga in Gĩkũyũ language which identifies a special string(sinews) made from the tendons of a bull’s shoulders. Both Gĩkũyũ and Segeju are descended from the ancient Thagicũ. As are numerous other related dispersed peoples in East Africa. In Kiswahili, sinews are called Kano.

Gikuyu Language

In Gĩkũyũ language, the most detailed description of the term is found. This expatiates the Segeju translation of “strength of a bull”, and what has been further reduced in Afar language as merely “male calf”. Rũga in Gĩkũyũ language means the tendons and meat of the ‘longissimus dorsi’ muscle. The longissimus dorsi muscle (LG) is the largest muscle of the back and is part of the active epaxial musculoskeletal system, providing stability of the spine. The sinews processed from the tendons to produce threads to put together clothing as well as components for composite bows were also called Rũga.  As names given to people, the dimunitive form is Karũga, the normative, Mũrũga, and the augmentative form, Kĩrũga.

Sinews/ Tendons were used for making cords, thread, composite bows, bowstrings, wrapping arrows.

A composite bow is a traditional bow made from horn, wood, and sinew laminated together, a form of laminated bow. The horn is on the belly, facing the archer, and sinew on the outer side of a wooden core. When the bow is drawn, the sinew (stretched on the outside) and horn (compressed on the inside) store more energy than wood for the same length of bow. The sinew, soaked in animal glue, is laid in layers on the back of the bow; the strands of sinew are oriented along the length of the bow. The sinew is normally obtained from the lower legs and back of wild deer or domestic livestock. Traditionally, cow tendons are considered inferior to wild-game sinews since they have a higher fat content, leading to spoilage. For the horn in the opposite side of the bow, goat and sheep horn were commonly used. Most forms of cow horn are not suitable, as they soon delaminate with use. However, the composite bow is more sensitive to moisture than an all-wood bow.

The main advantage of composite bows over all-wood bows is their combination of smaller size with high power. They are therefore more convenient than all-wood bows when the archer is mobile, as from horseback, or from a chariot. Almost all composite bows are also recurve bows as the shape curves away from the archer; this design gives higher draw-weight in the early stages of the archer's draw, storing somewhat more total energy for a given final draw-weight. It would be possible to make a wooden bow that has the same shape, length, and draw-weight as a traditional composite bow, but it could not store the energy, and would break before full draw.

The main disadvantage of composite bows is complexity and sensitivity to moisture. Constructing composite bows requires much more time and a greater variety of materials than all-wood bows, and the animal glue used can lose strength in humid conditions; the 6th-century Byzantine military manual, the Strategikon, advised the cavalry of the Byzantine army, many of whom were armed with composite bows, to keep their bows in leather cases to keep them dry. Karpowicz suggests that crafting a composite bow may take a week's work, excluding drying time (months) and gathering materials, while an all-wood bow can be made in a day and dried in a week. Peoples living in humid or rainy regions historically have preferred all-wood bows, while those living in temperate, dry, or arid regions have preferred composite bows.

Like other bows, they lost importance with the introduction and increasing accuracy of guns. In some areas, composite bows were still used and were further developed for leisure purposes.

References

E. M. Parker; R. J. Hayward (1985) An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN, page 183

https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Analytical_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Analytical_Chemistry)/Electrochemistry/Redox_Chemistry/Definitions_of_Oxidation_and_Reduction

Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎, Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Karpowicz., Adam (2008). Ottoman Turkish bows, manufacture & design.

TUKI (2001), Kamusi Ya Kiswahili-Kiingereza; Swahili-English Dictionary. Published by Taasisi ya Uchunguzi wa Kiswahili (TUKI), Chuo Kikuu cha Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.