Julia Starritt: "Swearing" (1957)
Primary participants: Julia Starritt (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-0
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 142-149, Text With
Analysis
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
[1] |
pa'áraar uum pupítihara pamú'arama múthvuy patu'ívahaak.
|
The Indian did not say his child's name when it died. |
[2] |
káru vúra koovúra pamu'áraaras tá kun'ívahaak pupítihara mukun'íthvuy.
|
And when any of his relatives died, he did not say their names. |
[3] |
"
vaa uum"
kunipíti "
pitaxyárih."
|
That, they said, was "swearing." |
[4] |
xás hâari tá kunipíthvuuymath míta pakêemish múthvuy.
|
Sometimes they name someone again with the name of the deceased. |
[5] |
víriva kári uum tá kunipíti peethvuy,
vúra puhúunhara.
|
Then they could still say the name, and no harm was done. |
[6] |
xás hâari vúra ára puxútihara,
víri vúra tóo piip peethvuy.
|
Sometimes a person just wasn't thinking, so he said the name. |
[7] |
púyava tá kunixvíphuunish,
xás tá kunváasanha.
|
Then they got angry at him and became his enemies. |
[8] |
púyava uum fâat tu'ûukar.
|
Then he paid something. |
[9] |
xás tá kunipchúphuunish.
|
Then they spoke to him again. |
[10] |
hâari itrôop tu'ûukar káru hâari vúra itráhyar.
|
Sometimes he paid five dollars and sometimes ten. |
[11] |
xás hâari vúra uum pa'áraar pahúuntahaak ára vúra tupitaxyárih.
|
Sometimes when a person was peculiar, he "swore" (on purpose). |
[12] |
xás patá kunípeerahaak "
fâat iyúrish"
xás patu'ûurihaak púyava uum hâari ára vaa kúth tóo tháaniv.
|
When they told him to pay something and he refused, then sometimes a person was
killed because of it. |
[13] |
íkiich káru vúra mutípa káru muxúkam káru vúra akâay vúra pamu'áraar.
|
Maybe too it would be his brother or his uncle or any relative of his. |
[14] |
vaa uum ararákuupha.
|
That was Indian law. |