In a sci-fi movie from 1957, an astronaut says he's "going to palaver" with the cave-dwelling natives. I'd never heard the word before, but my husband—a history buff—knew it by its original meaning: a conference between a 'civilized' person (or persons) and folks from a more primitive culture. Supposedly, it has disintegrated colloquially to mean something like "meaningless blather" (probably because of the way it sounds) but when I checked that Ngram thingy, it looked as though its main use in writing is in its original sense—ironically, or not.
Is "palaver" still in use? (If so, in what part of the world is it used?) In what sense is it used?