What in the heck is OINSA? OINSA is an acronym for Only IN SAmoa. I spent 10 years in the Republic of Korea (ROK) working for the United States Forces Korea (USFK) where the US-ROK relationships sometimes met some rocky roads when culture clashes blurred the vision. We called these moments “OINKs”—pointing out it was an instance of Only IN Korea, as our means of accepting how things operate in Korea.
Since recently moving back home to American Samoa, I am excited to stand up this column to celebrate the uniquely Samoan aspects of our culture with Samoan communities around the world and with our local populace as well.
There are extraordinary aspects of the Samoan culture that may draw criticism, scrutiny or even curiosity from another culture and maybe even from our own, but when OINSA discoveries are shared with Samoans across the globe a cyber connection of our culture comes to life with laughter and joy.
Future topics of this column will not only be restricted to activities occurring on island but also those unique within our own culture. My earlier articles on Slipper Jacking and “Uaahhh” drew a collective acknowledgement from Samoans living around the world confirming that these humorous events truly are Samoan. Even non-Samoans living on the island pitched in their two cents on Slipper Jacking.
The Slipper Jacking piece is probably a notorious occurrence that happens on any of our neighboring islands in the Pacific. But Slipper Jacking in Samoa takes on a whole new level of ghetto-ness which I find humorous but in a weird sense am very proud to share a Samoan’s view and utility for a pair of slippers. The footwear in some ways is symbolic of how life in Samoa is simple and carefree.
The subject for today is an interesting slang phrase commonly used by younger generations of Samoans. Although I routinely see it used in print on myspace, websites, Facebook, etc., I began hearing this phrase used a lot during cell phone conversations. In fact, there is a young lady that uses this phrase quite a bit to end her phone conversations as I’ve heard her many times say, “tinko mai.”
Obviously, reading between the lines, Sally Misilagi is basically asking the person to return her call. The“mai” is understood, but the question begs, where did the origin of the word “tinko” come from? I decided to do a little research.
The word “tink” actually means to make a sharp, shrill noise, or simply a tinkle. Using it as a verb means to make a high sound such as “tinkling bells.” Aha! Now we’re getting closer to the possible origin of the term “tinko.” The word “tinkle” used as a verb is to make short, light ringing metallic sounds such as the sound when shaking a small bell or bells. Tinkle is also a term used by some parents to potty train children, but “tinko mai” is definitely not used to imply potty training when ending a conversation. All righty then, moving on.
Tinko Mai!
When “tinkle” is used as a noun in an informal basis, guess what? It means “a telephone call.”
For example, see how tinkle is used in the following sentence, “Give me a tinkle before you leave the house.” Voila! “Tinkle mai” is basically the same as saying “tinko mai” except with a Samoan spin on it. This is certainly an OINSA discovery!
Have an idea for a future OINSA article? Then just “tinko us” at the Samoa News office or email us your suggestions to oinsa_ideas@yahoo.com
