Ararahih'urípih
A Dictionary and Text Corpus of the Karuk Language

Nettie Ruben: "Why Lightning Strikes Trees" (1957)

Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-44
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 244-245, Text 44
Additional contributors: Nico Baier (annotator), Erik Maier (annotator)


Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components


[1] chími kunímthaatvunaavish.
They were going to play shinny.

[2] xás kunipéer, " púya íf yâamach peepâanvutih.
And they said to (Horsefly), "My, your face is painted pretty!

[3] fâat kôok peepâanvuti iim."
What did you paint it with?"


[4] kári xás tóo piip, " mán vúra naa vaa kári xás tá nixus, ' chími kan'ápivan panipâanveesh.'
And he said, "Why, I thought I would go look for something to paint my face with.

[5] púyava ípaha tá nishxáxaar.
So I ripped open a tree.

[6] víri vaa káan tá nimáh panipâanvutih."
There I found what I am painting it with."


[7] kári xás ífuth pakunpímthaatvunaa.
And afterward they played shinny again.

[8] kári xás kúkuum vúra vaa chí kunímthaatvunaavish.
Again they were going to play shinny.

[9] púyava kunípeentih, " hôoy iim imáahtih peepâanvutih."
So they said to him, "How do you find what you paint your face with?"

[10] xás kunxús " nuu káru vaa tîi núkuuphi."
And they thought, "Let us do that too!"

[11] pa'ípaha kuníkfuukiraa.
They grabbed the trees.

[12] púfaat vúra pá'aax.
There was no blood (in them).


[13] káruma uum pa'áraar tóo par, xás pamú'aax tóo pûuxsur.
The fact was, (Horsefly) had bit human beings, and taken out a mouthful of their blood.

[14] víri vaa poopâanvuti pa'arará'aax.
Human blood is what he painted his face with.

[15] xás araramvanyupsítanach uxus, " xáyfaat vaa nipiip, " tóo piip, " ípahak kích panimáahti pá'aax."
and Horsefly thought, "Let me not say it"; he said, "I find the blood only in trees."

[16] púyava payêem patóo snur, pa'ípaha tóo kfuukiraa, tóo sxáxaar.
So now when it thunders, (Lightning) grabs the trees, he rips them open.