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

Nettie Ruben: "The Story of Skunk" (1957)

Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-46
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 246-247, Text 46
Additional contributor: Nico Baier (annotator)


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


[1] víri vaa káan uum vúra kun'ûupvunaati tayiith.
(Ground squirrels) were digging brodiaea roots there.

[2] máruk tá kunítraatih.
They looked uphill.

[3] axmáy ík máruk ára u'íhuniheesh.
Suddenly a person was about to dance down.

[4] chátik vúra tá ûumukich.
Finally he was close by.

[5] púyava kunímuustih.
So they looked at him.

[6] tá kuntápkuup pakunímuustih, u'íihtih.
They liked him as they watched him, he was dancing.

[7] púyava kun'áraarahitih, kunímuusti axchaytunvêechas, mukúnuuthkam tupíhivriin.
So they sat, the little ground squirrels watched him, he danced back and forth in front of them

[8] púyava kári xás tóo pif.
And then he broke wind.

[9] kári xás tá kuniktírish pa'axchaytunvêechas.
And the little ground squirrels fainted.

[10] kári xás tóo psáansip patayíith tishnamkanvínusunach.
Then (the type of skunk called) tishnamkanvínusunach carried off the brodiaeas

[11] ii! tá kunpifúksiip.
Oh, then they got up again.

[12] kári xás tá púfaat pamukuntáyiith.
And they had no brodiaeas.


[13] púyava kúkuum vúra imáan " chími nu'ûupvanvi kúkuum."
So again the next day (they said), "Let's go dig roots again!"

[14] púyava táay tá kun'ûupva patayíith.
So they dug a lot of brodiaeas.

[15] xás kúkuum kunítraatih, kúkuum tu'íhithun.
And again they looked uphill, he was dancing down again.

[16] kári xás upiip, " púya, payêem ík vôohara mûuk ivúreesh, papay'ôok tu'íhithunahaak nunúthvaaykam."
And (one) said, "Say, this time we must jab him with a digging stick when he dances around here in front of us."

[17] xás púyava vúra tu'íhuni tá ûumukich.
And so he danced down close.

[18] púyava vúra tá kunkáriha pakunkupavúraheesh.
And they were ready to jab him.


[19] kári xás víri vaa tupuxíchkaanva poo'íihtih, kûufan 'an 'an 'an."
And there he was exerting himself as he danced, (singing) "kûufan 'an 'an 'an."
(Bright: "These words evidently contain kuuf, the name of a species of skunk. It is not clear whether kuuf and tishnamkanvínusunach are two names for the same species.")

[20] kúuk tukúchnaaxma, upífeesh.
He turned his buttocks toward them, he was about to break wind.

[21] kári xás chikus! tuvur.
And wham! They jabbed him.

[22] kári xás ukyívish, áfup patá kunvúr vôohara mûuk.
Then he fell down, when they jabbed him in the buttocks with a digging stick.

[23] kári xás pamukuntáyiith kunipsháansiip, kunpíhmar.
Then they carried off their brodiaeas, they ran home.

[24] kunpírurav.
They fled.

[25] púyava vúra koomahich.
So that's all.