Need help from my Sicilian speaking friends

[gemellua]

When the children in our family were under five, I remember my parents and grandparents squeezing their cheeks and stating the following -

Vasu (Kiss) Goo-Nar-du (?) - then giving the child a kiss.

I do not know the proper spelling of the word/words after kiss, so I spelled them phonetically.

Can anyone enlighten me?

[darkerhorse]

Vasu can mean the verb in the first person singular (I kiss) or the noun (a kiss).

Squeezing children's cheeks is common. Often they say "bedda" or "beddu", meaning cutie, handsome, beautiful, etc. In italian, it's bella and bello.

"Goonardu" is puzzling. Could it refer to proper names? For example, Naldu or Naddu is a nickname for Arnaldo and Rinaldo.

Is goonardu broken English for goodnight?

I'm only half-Sicilian, so you need a thoroughbred to reply.

[darkerhorse]

In Sicilian, cheek is "masciedda" but in Italian it's "guancia" so maybe there's a connection there. Words vary among regional dialects within Sicily.

[darkerhorse]

Did you ever figure it out?