Mamie Offield: "Blue Jay As Doctor" (1957)
Primary participants: Mamie Offield (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-28
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 222-225, Text
28
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
[1] |
kachakâach u'eemhîichva. |
Blue Jay pretended to be a 'doctor.' |
[2] |
tu'ápur paachvivtunvêechas. |
She bewitched the little birds. |
[3] |
xás tupatúmkoo. |
Then she sucked them (as treatment for their illnesses). |
[4] |
tumásnaahva. |
She did a doctor's dance. |
[5] |
vúra kumakâarim payíkihar. |
The sick person just got worse. |
[6] |
kúkuum tá kunpíshavsip xúrish, athithxuntápan, úus, koovúra kuma'ávaha. |
They would pay her fee repeatedly with shelled acorns, hazel nuts, pine nuts,
all kinds of food. |
[7] |
hínupa vúra uum u'apunkôonaatih, kachakâach uum u'apunkôonaatih. |
There she was bewitching them, Blue Jay herself was bewitching them. |
[8] |
púyava patóo xus, " miník kóo ník patá kana'íshavsip," púyava kári xás tu'aráriihkanha. |
Then when she thought they had paid her enough in fees, then (the patient)
would get well. |
[9] |
koovúra tá kunmásmaahvunaa paachvivtunvêechas. |
All the little birds were doing doctor's dances. |
[10] |
pakunxútih " kíri nu'áapunma ' hûut kumá’ii pakunyíkihiti' " púyava kári xás kunpíkav xánkiit. |
When they thought, "Let's find out why they are sick," then they summoned
Bullhead. |
[11] |
xás upiip, " áchpuus kanapíshavsiiprini." |
And she said, "Pay my fee with 'áchpuus." |
|
(áchpuus is translated by Harrington, 1932b, pp.29-31, as 'gut strings.' My informants, however, identify it as 'white stuff under the throat of a salmon.'") |
[12] |
xás vúra pu'aapúnmara xánkiit. |
But Bullhead didn't find out. |
[13] |
kári xás mahnûuvanach kúna kunpíkav. |
Then in turn they summoned Chipmunk. |
[14] |
kári xás umásmaahva mahnûuvanach. |
And Chipmunk did a doctor's dance. |
[15] |
kári xás kachakâach káan ukrîish. |
And Blue Jay sat down there. |
[16] |
paráamvar u'êethtih. |
She was holding a maul (for driving wedges). |
[17] |
chími úkxaavkuriheesh. |
She was going to smash (Chipmunk) with it. |
[18] |
xás mahnûuvanach upiip, " akáray yakún muvéeniichva. |
Then Chipmunk said, "You see, it's someone's mischief. |
[19] |
mán kachakâach muvéeniichva. |
Why, it's Blue Jay's mischief." |
[20] |
hínupa uum kachakáach u'apunkôonaatih. |
There Blue Jay herself was bewitching them. |
[21] |
mahnûuvanach xás uum u'aapúnma. |
Chipmunk found it out. |
[22] |
kachakâach mu'ápuroon kumáheesh hôoyva, ípahak utákararihva, sú' vákay úkrii. |
You can see Blue Jay's 'devil machine' somewhere, it is hanging on a tree,
there's a worm inside. |
|
(Bright: "An ápuroon or 'devil machine' is the object used by a sorcerer ('Indian devil') to impose his spells. The kachakach'ápuroon 'bluejay's devil machine' is a type of cocoon.) |