Ararahih'urípih

Nettie Ruben: "The Pikiawish at Katimin" (1957)

Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-83
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 294-297, Text 83
Additional contributor: Shane Bilowitz (annotator)

Note: Bright: "The informant had served as ifuthkam'ahóovaan or junior priestess, and dictated this text from the memory of her experience."

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

[1] tá níkrav.

I pounded acorns.

[2] púyava patá ni'iik, xás tá ni'asímchak.

When I struck, I closed my eyes.

[3] ôok tu'árihraa peekxariya'áraar.

The priest came up there.

[4] xás kuyrákyaan tu'iik.

And he struck three times.

(Bright: "kuyrákyaan may in this case mean not 'three times' but 'the third time'; this would be in accord with the priestess's experience recounted in Kroeber and Gifford, p. 27.")

[5] xás îikam tuvôonupuk.

Then he went outside.

[6] yûum tu'árihrup.

He went a little ways downriver.

[7] yúruk tóo trûuputih, peeshkêesh tóo muustih.

He looked downriver, he looked at the river.

[8] úuth tóo tkáratih, peeshkêesh tóo muustih.

He looked out across the water, he looked at the river.

[9] peeshkêesh tóo muustih, uvêenatih.

He looked at the river, he prayed.

[10] kári iinâak nu'iin.

And we two (priestesses) stayed inside.

[11] nu'asímchaaktih.

We kept our eyes closed.

[12] xás tá ivshá'kukamich tutaxáraaproov.

Then he strode upriverward, just downhill from the house.

[13] kasóohraam tuvâaram.

He went to kasóohraam.

[14] káan aah tóo kyáar.

He went to make a fire there.

[15] pakúmateech nutákireesh.

We were going to leach (acorn meal) soon.

[16] púyava káan sáruk tu'aramsîip.

Then he came from downhill there.

[17] máruk ahíram tuvâaram.

He went uphill to the fireplaces.

[18] púyava yáas níkraamtih paxúrish.

Then I pounded the acorn meats.

[19] tá nipíkyaar koovúra.

I finished everything.

[20] xás númpaan sáruk tá nuyâaram kasóohraam.

Then we two ourselves went downhill to kasóohraam.

[21] asipárax nu'átivuti káru múruk káru tásvaan káru tarípaan, káru ikrívkir nu'êethtih.

In burden baskets we carried cooking baskets and tray baskets and soup stirrers and dippers, and we carried a stool.

[22] kúmateech poo'ípakahaak peekxariya'áraar, vaa ukrivkíreesh.

Later on, when the priest came back, he was going to sit on that.

[23] víriva patóo thárish peekrívkir sákriiv ukyâati peethívthaaneen.

When he put the stool down on the ground, he was making the world firm.

[24] axaksúpaa asuuxáras nu'íin káru ithéekxaram.

We two stayed fasting for two days and a night.

[25] káru pu'íshaha kín'iishtihara.

And we didn't drink water.

[26] xás máh'iit chí nupiyâarameesh, xás táhpuus nupáthraamutih.

Then in the morning we were going to leave, and we wore our hair bound with fir boughs.

[27] yáan vúra usúpaahitih.

It was just becoming day.

[28] xás tá nupiyxôorar patakiríram.

And we covered our leaching-hole.

[29] xás pananupáthraam patáhpuus tá nuvêehkurih.

And we stuck in the fir boughs from our hair-binding.

[30] yáas tá nupáatiship, tá kóo máruk tá nupiyâaram.

Then we took up our burden baskets, we went back uphill with everything.

[31] ikmahachram'íshiip kúuk tá nu'íipma.

We went back to the sacred sweathouse.

[32] kári koovúra tá nupávyiihraa peekxariya'áraar káru imúsaan.

We all came back up, (including) the priest and the assistant priest.

[33] koovúra'îin kinímuustih.

Everyone looked at us.

[34] káan tá kunivyíhrishrih.

They gathered there.

[35] koovúra tá kun'ikákpiithva.

Everyone jumped around.

[36] yâamach tá kunipmahóonkoon.

They felt good.

[37] itroopasúpaa iinâak nu'áraarahiti ikmaháchraam.

We all lived in the sweathouse for five days.

[38] ikxúrar nupâatvuti ukrámkaam.

In the evening we bathed in (the pond called) ukrámkaam.

[39] xás panunu'ífunih vúra xávish mûuk nupákootih, kíri vâaramas u'if, panunu'ífunih.

And we whipped our hair with syringa, (thinking), "Let our hair grow long!"

[40] tá nukíshap paxávish, máruk ahváraak tá nupíshunva.

(Then) we tied up the syringa, we hid it in a hollow tree uphill.

[41] sáruk uum kun'íintih, tá írahiv.

Downhill they were celebrating the world renewal, it was world-renewal time by then.

[42] upeechkanvichvárahitih.

There was gambling.

[43] tá kunvuhvúha.

They did the deerskin dance.

[44] káru káh'ir tuvárak.

And they did the war dance.

[45] xás yáas tá kuntharámpuk.

And they cooked acorn soup.

[46] víri áama tá kunikúykirihva.

They barbecued salmon.

[47] tá kunkíxa patúuyship.

(Previously) they burned brush on the mountain (i.e., Mount Offield).

[48] xás sáruk tá kunpavyíhunih.

Then they came back downhill.

[49] áraar patúuyship.

The mountain is a person.

[50] ikxaréeyav.

It's an ikxaréeyav (a divine person, a god).

[2]	púyava patá ni'iik, xás tá ni'asímchak.
	When I struck, I closed my eyes.

[3]	ôok tu'árihraa peekxariya'áraar.
	The priest came up there.

[7]	yúruk tóo trûuputih, peeshkêesh tóo muustih.
	He looked downriver, he looked at the river.

[8]	úuth tóo tkáratih, peeshkêesh tóo muustih.
	He looked out across the water, he looked at the river.

[9]	peeshkêesh tóo muustih, uvêenatih.
	He looked at the river, he prayed.

[10]	kári iinâak nu'iin.
	And we two (priestesses) stayed inside.

[12]	xás tá ivshá'kukamich tutaxáraaproov.
	Then he strode upriverward, just downhill from the house.

[15]	pakúmateech nutákireesh.
	We were going to leach (acorn meal) soon.

[16]	púyava káan sáruk tu'aramsîip.
	Then he came from downhill there.

[17]	máruk ahíram tuvâaram.
	He went uphill to the fireplaces.

[18]	púyava yáas níkraamtih paxúrish.
	Then I pounded the acorn meats.

[20]	xás númpaan sáruk tá nuyâaram kasóohraam.
	Then we two ourselves went downhill to kasóohraam.

[21]	asipárax nu'átivuti káru múruk káru tásvaan káru tarípaan, káru ikrívkir nu'êethtih.
	In burden baskets we carried cooking baskets and tray baskets and soup stirrers and dippers, and we carried a stool.

[22]	kúmateech poo'ípakahaak peekxariya'áraar, vaa ukrivkíreesh.
	Later on, when the priest came back, he was going to sit on that.

[23]	víriva patóo thárish peekrívkir sákriiv ukyâati peethívthaaneen.
	When he put the stool down on the ground, he was making the world firm.

[24]	axaksúpaa asuuxáras nu'íin káru ithéekxaram.
	We two stayed fasting for two days and a night.

[25]	káru pu'íshaha kín'iishtihara.
	And we didn't drink water.

[26]	xás máh'iit chí nupiyâarameesh, xás táhpuus nupáthraamutih.
	Then in the morning we were going to leave, and we wore our hair bound with fir boughs.

[28]	xás tá nupiyxôorar patakiríram.
	And we covered our leaching-hole.

[29]	xás pananupáthraam patáhpuus tá nuvêehkurih.
	And we stuck in the fir boughs from our hair-binding.

[30]	yáas tá nupáatiship, tá kóo máruk tá nupiyâaram.
	Then we took up our burden baskets, we went back uphill with everything.

[31]	ikmahachram'íshiip kúuk tá nu'íipma.
	We went back to the sacred sweathouse.

[32]	kári koovúra tá nupávyiihraa peekxariya'áraar káru imúsaan.
	We all came back up, (including) the priest and the assistant priest.

[35]	koovúra tá kun'ikákpiithva.
	Everyone jumped around.

[37]	itroopasúpaa iinâak nu'áraarahiti ikmaháchraam.
	We all lived in the sweathouse for five days.

[38]	ikxúrar nupâatvuti ukrámkaam.
	In the evening we bathed in (the pond called) ukrámkaam.

[39]	xás panunu'ífunih vúra xávish mûuk nupákootih, kíri vâaramas u'if, panunu'ífunih.
	And we whipped our hair with syringa, (thinking), "Let our hair grow long!"

[40]	tá nukíshap paxávish, máruk ahváraak tá nupíshunva.
	(Then) we tied up the syringa, we hid it in a hollow tree uphill.

[41]	sáruk uum kun'íintih, tá írahiv.
	Downhill they were celebrating the world renewal, it was world-renewal time by then.

[45]	xás yáas tá kuntharámpuk.
	And they cooked acorn soup.