marks a construct as being a reference/allusion - explicit marker of divorce/isolation of a construct from any external allusions that may come to mind
The subject of the allusion may be general cultural knowledge or to another utterance, especially in the same work/text/speech. There is an intent by the utterer to bring to mind somewhat external pieces of knowledge that are somewhat similar or relate to the marked construct in some (unspecified) manner. The audience is expected to understand but need not actually be able to do so. The subject of the allusion can be included via, for example, a to-toi construct. The allusion can be an exact or nearly-exact quotation or can be more loose/vague; the intensity of the marker will give some indication to this. The negation of this word marks a construct as standing on its own, independent and isolated/divorced from any potential allusions that may inadvertently arise. This is a rhetorical device. See also: sitna, simsa, pau'ai.