Mamie Offield: "Duck Hawk and His Wife" (1957)
Primary participants: Mamie Offield (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-27
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), p. 223, Text
27
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
[1] |
á'iknêechhan muhrôoha pirishkâarim. |
Duck Hawk's wife was Grizzly Bear. |
[2] |
xás mutípa síit. |
And his brother was Mouse. |
[3] |
kári xás uum vúra hárivaheesh, á'iknêechhan hôoyva tuvâaram,
sinmôovishar. |
So it would be sometimes, Duck Hawk went off somewhere, he was gone a long
time. |
[4] |
púyava xás kúkuum tu'ípak. |
Then he would come back again. |
[5] |
kári xás itháan uvâaram kúkuum. |
So once he went away again. |
[6] |
kári xás siit upakurîihvutih. |
Then Mouse was singing. |
[7] |
kári xás upíip " aaníhich uum chími u'ípakeesh. |
And he said, "Big brother is going to come back. |
[8] |
yakún sôomvaan chími u'ípasukeesh." |
He's going to bring home a new wife." |
|
(Bright: "Literally, 'he will bring a marriage-applicant,' i.e., a woman who comes to a man's house to offer herself in marriage; see Harrington, 1932a, pp.4-5.") |
[9] |
kári xás upíip pirishkâarim, " hûut tée piip." |
And Grizzly Bear said, "How did you say?" |
[10] |
xás upíip siit " púra fâat." |
And Mouse said, "Nothing." |
[11] |
"vúra kúnish hûut tée piip." |
"You sort of said something." |
[12] |
"pûu, púra fâat vúra neepítihara." |
"No, I didn't say anything." |
[13] |
xás upíip pirishkâarim, " á' nutákarariheesh, súrukam aah nikyâavish papupasupíichvahaak." |
Then Grizzly Bear said, "I'll hang you up, I'll make a fire under you if you
don't tell." |
[14] |
ta'ítam siit á' utákarariheen. |
So she hung Mouse up. |
[15] |
kári xás siit upiip, " aaníhich chími u'ípakeesh, sôomvaan u'ípasukeesh." |
Then Mouse said, "Big brother is going to come back, he's going to bring home a
new wife." |
[16] |
kári xás pirishkâarim, pa'îin ta'ítam u'akxáraprupaheen. |
Then Grizzly Bear scratched the falls (away) downriverward. |
[17] |
yukún yíiv á' utásunihtihanik pa'íin. |
You see, the falls were (like) a barrier (reaching) a long ways up. |
[18] |
púyava póopvaavruk á'iknêechhan tishravará'iivreen uxus, " hûut áta u'íinati panani'íin. |
So when Duck Hawk looked down over Etna Mountain, he thought, "I wonder what's
wrong with my falls? |
[19] |
ôok íp nithítiimtihat póoxaaktih. |
Formerly I heard them sounding from here. |
[20] |
vúra punathítiimtihara." |
I can't hear them." |
[21] |
púyava poo'ípak yánava " panani'îin tóo pvuunup." |
So when he got back, he saw it, "My falls have flowed downriver." |
[22] |
kári xás upiip, " akâay tutáayvaar panani'íin." |
And he said, "Who spoiled my falls?" |
[23] |
kári xás siit upiip, " naa íp nipasúpiichvat pasôomvaan ti'ípasuk. |
Then Mouse said, "I revealed that you were bringing home a new wife. |
[24] |
víri tá mihrôoha pirishkâarim tutáayvaar pami'íin." |
Your wife, Grizzly Bear, spoiled your falls." |
[25] |
ta'ítam upiykáraheen pamuhrôoha. |
So (Duck Hawk) killed his wife. |
[26] |
kári xás upiip, " akâay kích vúra ipshansîipreevishan pamu'ípih." |
And he said, "Who is going to carry away her bones?" |
[27] |
kári xás upiip kachakâach " naa ník nipshansîipreevish." |
Then Blue Jay said, "I'll carry them away." |
[28] |
púya upatishîip. |
So she loaded up a burden-basket. |
[29] |
xás viitkírak kúuk upatímoo. |
And she carried them to the Bald Hills. |
[30] |
kári xás vaa káan xás itháhaas úkyav. |
And she scattered them there |
[31] |
víriva kumá'ii vaa káan kích kun'áraarahitihanik pirishkâarim. |
For that reason grizzly bears lived only there. |
[32] |
ôok uum púfaat-hanik papirishkâarim. |
There were no grizzly bears here. |