Fritz Hansen: "Coyote Falls through the Living-House Roof Hole" (1930)
Primary participant: Fritz Hansen (speaker)
Date: 1930
Project identifier: JPH_KT-12
Publication details: J. P. Harrington, International Journal of American Linguistics 6
(1930), p. 159, Text 12
Published text scan: http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~karuk/text-pdfs/JPH_KT-12.pdf
Note: This text retains Harrington's spelling in some cases. For example, writing double consonants, writing a small y and w for consonants that have these sounds following them, and writing some small words together as one word. Long vowels, ', ch, th, sh, and accent (where possible) are written using the current spelling system.
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
[2] |
pihnêeffich vookúphaan'nik ôok ithivthanéen'aachip.
|
Coyote did this, here at the world center. |
[3] |
uum vúra vookupitti',
patóo kxáramha kári tóo pchanchákkar,
káru patusúpaaha kári kyúkkuum tu'êetchúrar,
patusúpaaha',
tuchánchaaksurar patusúpaaha'.
|
He [Coyote] was doing that way, was closing evenings the living-house roof hole and mornings opened it up, when morning came, opened it when morning came. |
[4] |
uum vúra vaa hitíhaan ukupítti'.
|
That was his job. |
[5] |
chavúra pâanpay ithâan poosúpaaha,
xás uchánchaaksurar.
|
Then after a while one morning, then he opened it. |
[6] |
xás uxus:
" ti kanítnuupnihi'."
|
He thought: "I am going to look in!" |
|
(Harrington: "It was always a man's duty to remove and replace the board that covers the roofhole of the living-house. A man came from the sweathouse early to do this. He never looked in since the women folks slept without their skirts on; If a man looked in he would soon die: Puxxár imyáahtihara, pootnuupníhtihaak chanchaaksúrak, he would not live long if he peeked through the living-house roofhole. But Coyote again cuts custom.") |
[7] |
yánava îinâak ifápiit úyruuvriv.
|
Behold inside he saw a maiden lying. |
[8] |
xás úxrar pihnêeffich.
|
Then Coyote cried. |
[10] |
tanapíkriivrav.
|
I got hurt. |
[12] |
kiri a' u'íthimship.
|
Would that she would lie stomach up. |
[13] |
chimi kyanpakúriihvi'.
|
Let me sing. |
[14] |
kíri a' u'íthimship."
|
Would that she lie stomach up." |
|
(Harrington: "Coyote keeps switching his penis with a little stick, to keep it erect when about to perform such a deed. Tupimthayu, he switches it thus.") |
Coyote's Song as He Descended
[15] |
"káp káp,
sishíxrup,
|
"Káp káp, sishíxrup, |
|
(Harrington: "Cp. káp said repeatedly to a baby to stop it crying, as one approaches his hand little by little to the baby's belly, closing the fingers graspingly at each repetition of káp."; [sishíxrup:] "A word of Coyote's language, reminding one of siish, penis, and tanéexrup, erectionem teneo.") |
[16] |
"káp káp,
sishíxrup."
|
Káp káp, sishíxrup." |
[17] |
ta'íttam a' u'íththimshipreeheen.
|
Then she turned stomach up. |
[20] |
ta'íttam pihnêeffich úkyiimnupriheen chanchaaksúrak.
|
Then Coyote fell through the living-house roof hole. |
[24] |
ôok ichvánnihich."
|
Get closer to me," [Coyote said]. |
[26] |
vura tukoohímmach'va.
|
She felt sorry for him. |
[27] |
vaa vúra káan kunpiftákkantun'va.
|
The two got stuck together there. |
[28] |
púya uum vookuphaanik pihnêeffich.
|
Coyote did this. |
[29] |
kupánnakanakana.
|
Kupannakanakana. |
[30] |
chéemyaach ík vúr ishyâat imshîinnaavish.
|
Shine early, Spring Salmon, hither up river. |