Sele'eosh

The term “sele’eosh” is used by Wymgani to refer to non-Indigenous Ariddians, of whatever ethnic or cultural background. Thus, roughly 70% of Ariddians are Sele’eosh.

The term was used virtually from the moment of first contact, in the late seventeenth century, and is thought to derive from a Wymgani phrase meaning “brought (or borne) by the wind”. For a while, it was only one amongst various terms used by Wymgani to refer to foreign settlers, but it underwent a revival in the late eighteenth century, and became used by non-Indigenous Ariddians themselves. It was a means for the latter to describe themselves as possessing an identity distinct both from Wymgani and from the overseas societies their settler ancestors had originated from. Interestingly, both British and French Ariddians used the term, as did the small number of Ariddians of other backgrounds at the time, coinciding with the emergence of a self-conscious, multi-ethnic non-Indigenous Ariddian identity.

Later, mainly as from the second third of the twentieth century, when immigrants began to flow in in substantial numbers from around the world, the term “sele’eosh” fell into relative disuse once more. Ariddians felt little need for a specific term which would include all Ariddians save for Wymgani. It was felt Ariddian identity was shared by all Ariddians and, perhaps more importantly, there was no real sense of multi-cultural Ariddian identity which Wymgani themselves could not identify with.

Today, the word is used occasionally when it is necessary to distinguish between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Ariddians, but it is more of a “default” term than one possessing actual content and meaning.