Phoebe Maddux: "Coyote Starts for Klamath Lakes, East Roasted Grasshoppers, Floats Down River and Marries Two Girls" (1930)

Primary participants: Phoebe Maddux (speaker), John P. Harrington (researcher)
Date: 1930
Project identifier: JPH_KT-05
PDF of published text: http://linguistics.berkeley.edu/~karuk/text-pdfs/JPH_KT-05.pdf
Additional contributors: Line Mikkelsen (editor), Zeynep Özselçuk (annotator), Michelle Park (annotator), Sayre Sherrill (annotator)

Note: This text has been retranscribed in current spelling and some translations have been changed to better reflect Karuk sentence structure and the meaning of certain Karuk kinship terms.

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[1]	uknîi
	once.upon.a.time

Uknîi.

[2]	ataháriva	kun'áraarahitihanik
	always	they.were.living

They were living (there).

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[3]	xás	úum	vúra	hitíhaan	poopítih	"kahyúras	nivâarameesh	íshpuk	nipachnútareesh
	then	3.SG	Intensive	always	he.said	Klamath.Lakes	I.will.go	dentalium.shells	I.will.go.to.suck

Then he (Coyote) said all the time: "I am going to go to the Klamath Lakes to suck out dentalia."

[4]	xás	uvâaram	pihnêefich	kahyúras	uvâaram
	then	he.went	coyote	Klamath.Lakes	he.went

Then Coyote went. Coyote went to Klamath Lakes.

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[5]	xás	vúra	voo'áhootih
	then	Intensive	thus.he.was.walking

He was walking along.

[6]	chavúra	vaa	káan	u'úum	paxathímtup	kunikyâatihirak	pakunikyâatihirak	paxathímtup
	finally	that	there	he.arrived	the.cooked.grasshoppers	where.they.fix.	where.they.fix.	the.cooked.grasshoppers

Then he reached the place where they fix cooked grasshoppers, where they fix roasted grasshoppers.

(According to Harrington, the last word in this sentence can also be said without pa- as xathímtup.)

[7]	xás	uxus	"vúra	puna'áveeshara	xáy	áas	néexrah
	then	he.thought	Intensive	I.will.not.eat.it	let.not	water	I.thirst.for

Then he thought: "I am not going to eat it, I shouldn't get thirsty for water."

(Harrington's translation is "Then he thought: "I am not going to eat it. I might want to drink water."" It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.)

[8]	kári	xás	uxus	"tîi	yítha	kán'ám	paxathímtup
	then	then	he.thought	let...	one	let.me.eat	the.cooked.grasshoppers

Then he thought: "Let me eat one of the roasted grasshoppers."

[9]	xás	kúnish	vúra	tóo	xus	"vúra	ni'aveesh	kóova	tuvíshtar	póomuustih
	then	sort.of	Intensive	he	think	Intensive	I.will.eat.it	so	he.wants.it	as.he.looked.at.it

He was thinking as it were: "I'll have to eat it," he got such an appetite for it as he looked at it.

[10]	chavúra	tá	xánahishich	tíik	mûuk	vúra	tumutváraatih
	finally	PERF	little.while	hand	with.(by.means.of)	Intensive	he.was.putting.it.into.his.mouth.by.handfuls

Then a little while after he was just feeding it into his mouth by the handful.

[11]	vúra	tuvíshtar
	Intensive	he.liked.it

He liked it.

[12]	a'	veehyarihara	vúra	poo'áamtih
	above	he.was.standing	Intensive	when.he.was.eating.it

He was even standing up when he was eating it.

[13]	káruma	íp	íshpuk	upachnútantihat
	in.fact	PAST	dentalium.shells	he.went.to.suck.

He was going to suck dentalia, he was on the way.

[14]	káruma	vookúpiti	poo'áhootih
	in.fact	he.was.doing.it.that.way	he.was.walking

He was walking, that was what he was doing.

[15]	xás	kúkuum	tá	kunipêer	"hôoy	tivâaram	pihnêefich
	then	again	PERF	they.asked.him	where	you.are.going	coyote

Then they asked him again: "Where are you going, Coyote?"

(Harrington's note: "They had been asking him this all along the road, and he had always answered: "I am going up to Klamath Lakes," adding "to suck dentalia."')

[16]	naa	íshpuk	tá	nipachnutar
	1sg.	dentalium.shells	PERF	I.am.going.to.suck

"I am going to suck dentalia."

[17]	xás	uxúsanik	"if	táay	tá	ni'av	paxathímtup
	then	he.thought	truly	much	PERF	I.have.eaten	the.cooked.grasshoppers

Then he thought: "What a lot of roasted grasshoppers I have eaten."

[18]	tíik	mûuk	vúra	poomutváraatih
	hand	with.(by.means.of)	Intensive	he.was.putting.it.into.his.mouth.by.handfuls

He was eating it a handful at a time.

[19]	xás	uxus	"íshaha	tá	néexra
	then	he.thought	water	PERF	I.thirst.for

Then he thought: "I am thirsty for water."

[20]	ta'ítam	upátumkuriheen	peeshkêeshak
	so	he.put.his.mouth.in.water	in.the.river

Then he was drinking with his mouth to the water in the river.

[21]	púva	uum	pakáan	upachnuteesh
	not.yet	arrive	there	he.was.going.to.suck

He did not get there yet where he was going to suck (dentalia).

[22]	hínupa	vúra	uum	vaa	tóo	pthívruhvarak
	surprise	Intensive	3.SG	so	he	floated.down.from.upriver

He floated down the river.

[23]	chavúra	tá	yiiv	tóo	pthívruhvarak
	finally	PERF	far	he	floated.down.from.upriver.

He floated a long ways down.

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[24]	xás	upíip	"ahúpyaamach	vúra	kan'árihish
	then	he.said	pretty.wood	Intensive	let.me.become

Then he said: "I will be a nice-looking piece of wood.

[25]	vaa	uum	ifápiitich	îin	natâatripaavish
	so	3.SG	young.woman	TOPIC	she.will.hook.me.out.of.the.water

Then a young girl can hook me out.

[26]	íshaha	uhi	kíri	usah'áhupha
	water	let.it.rise	I.wish	there.be.driftwood

May the river rise, so there will be lots of driftwood."

[27]	xás	áxak	ifápiitichas	sah'áhup	kunturar	astiip
	then	two	young.women	driftwood	they.went.to.gather.wood	shore

Then two girls went to the river to get driftwood."

[28]	ée	if	páy	ahupyâamachich
	oh!	truly	this	pretty.wood

"Oh, what nice wood this is!"

[29]	xás	púraan	tá	kun'êe	pa'áhup	kuníkshaahtih	"if	yâamachich	pa'áhup
	then	each.other	PERF	they.give.to	the.wood	they.were.laughing	truly	pretty.(dimin.)	the.wood

They handed the wood to each other, they were laughing: "What nice wood!"

(Harrington's translation is "They handed it to each other, they were laughing: "What nice wood!"" It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.Harrington's note: "The Coyote was making them feel good, but they did not know it.")

[30]	ishvitáva	aaxkúnish
	a.part	red

Part of it was red colored.

[31]

xás

axmáy

vúra

kúnish

ukéen

xás

yíth

upíip

atafâat

pihnêefich

ããx

atafâat

pihnêefich

then

suddenly

Intensive

sort.of

it.moved

then

other

she.said

maybe

coyote

ugh!

maybe

coyote

Then all at once it kind of moved, and one said: "Maybe it's Coyote. Oh, maybe it's Coyote."

[32]	tá	kunimshákar
	PERF	they.smelt.it

They smelled it.

[33]	imxathakêem
	bad-smelling

It stank.

[34]	xás	úuth	kunpípaathkar
	then	out.to.water	they.threw.it.back.into.the.water

Then they threw it back out into the water.

[35]	xás	puráan	kunpímuustih	pa'ifápiitichas
	then	each.other	they.looked.at.	the.young.women

Then they looked at each other, those young girls did.

[36]	xás	kuníptuunsip
	then	they.carried.wood.in.their.packbaskets

Then they packed their wood in their packbaskets.

[37]	víri	ûum	vúra	kun'íipma	pamukunikrívraam
	so	barely	Intensive	they.returned	the.their.house

They got home with difficulty.

[38]	xás	papuráan	kunpímuustih
	then	each.other	they.looked.at

They they looked at each other.

[39]	yánava	xákaan	vúra	teemúutaras
	visible	both	Intensive	they.were.pregnant

Behold they were in a family way.

[40]	hínupa	pihnêefich	áxak	vúra	axiich	tóo	kyéehinaa
	surprise	coyote	two	Intensive	child	he.had	made

The Coyote had made two babies for them.

(Harrington's translation is "The Coyote had made two babies." It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.)

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[41]	kári	xás	pihnêefich	yúras	uthívruuhramnihanik	kúkuum	yuras'ástiip	xás	uthivrúuhripaanik
	then	then	coyote	ocean	he.floated.into	again	ocean.shore	then	he.floated.toward.shore

Then Coyote floated down river again, he floated down out by the ocean.

[42]	yánava	káan	áxak	avansáxiichas	kun'íipithvutih	yúras'astiip
	visible	there	two	boys	they.were.walking.around	ocean.shore

Behold two boys were walking around, by the shore.

[43]

xás

pihnêefich

upíip

tá

kunchúuphinaa

pa'avansáxiichas

kóova

tá

kunchúuphinaa

kóova

pa'avansáxiichas

xás

upíip

"hôoy

mikun'ákah

then

coyote

he.said

PERF

they.talked.

the.boys

so

PERF

they.talked.

so

the.boys

then

he.said

where

your.father

Then Coyote said, the boys talked with him, they talked to him, the boys talked with him, and he said: "Where is your father?"

[44]	támit	u'ívat
	already.in.the.past	he.died

"He died."

[45]	ishávaas	ishávaas
	child.of.deceased.sibling	child.of.deceased.sibling

"Nephew, nephew!"

[46]	ta'ítam	uyupastáranheen	"ishávaas	ishávaas
	so	he.wept	child.of.deceased.sibling	child.of.deceased.sibling

Then Coyote cried (for his brother): "Nephew, nephew!"

[47]	chavúra	pa'avansáxiitichas	tá	kuntápkuup	mukunpárahvaas
	finally	the.boys	PERF	they.liked	their.uncle.(through.one's.deceased.father)

Then the boys liked their uncle through mourning.

[48]	tá	kunmah	mukunpárahvaas
	PERF	they.saw	their.uncle.(through.one's.deceased.father)

They saw that he was their uncle through mourning.

(Harrington's translation: "—through mourning.")

[49]	xás	kunipêer	"chôora	chími	nanukríivram
	then	they.told.him	let's.go	soon	our.house

Then they told him: "Let's go to our house."

[50]	hôoy	nanikâarim	úkrii
	where	my.sister-in-law	she.live

"Where does my sister-in-law through mourning live?"

(Harrington's translation: "Where does my sister-in-law live?")

[51]	xás	uvôonfuruk
	then	he.went.inside

Then he went in.

[52]	ii	nanikâarim
	oh!	my.sister-in-law

"Oh, my sister-in-law through mourning!

(Harrington's translation: "Oh, my sister-in-law!")

[53]	ii	nanikâarim
	oh!	my.sister-in-law

Oh, my sister-in-law through mourning!"

(Harrington's translation: "Oh, my sister-in-law!")

[54]	xás	u'íhivrik	"ee
	then	she.answered	oh!

Then she answered: "Yes!"

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[55]	chavúra	káan	xára	tóo	krii
	finally	there	long.time	he	live

Then he stayed there a long time.

[56]	poo'oonváthunati	pamusavásiivsha
	he.took.(two.or.more.people).around	the.his.nephews

Coyote took his nephews through mourning around all the time.

(Harrington's translation: "Coyote took his nephews around all the time.")

[57]	chavúra	tá	pâanpay	axmáy	pihnêefich	upvôonfuruk
	finally	PERF	after.while	suddenly	coyote	he.came.back.inside

Then after a while once Coyote came back into the house.

[58]	hínupay	tóo	kfúukiraa	pakeechxâach
	surprise	he	grab	the.widow

And he caught hold of the shave-head (widow).

[59]	hínupay	kúkuum	úuth	tá	kunpáathkar	kúkuum
	surprise	again	out.to.water	PERF	they.threw.him.into.the.river	again

And then they threw the Coyote into the river again.

[60]	púya	uum	vookúphaanik	pihnêefich
	and.so	3.SG	he.did.it.that.way	coyote

That's the way Coyote did.

[61]	uum	pihnêefich	koovúra	musavásiivsha
	3.SG	coyote	all	his.nephews

Coyote was nephew through mourning to everybody.

(Harrington's translation: "Coyote was nephew to everybody.")

[62]	púya	uum	vookúphaanik	pihnêefich
	and.so	3.SG	he.did.it.that.way	coyote

Coyote did thus.

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[63]	kupanakanakana
	the.end

Kupanakanakana.

[64]	chéemyaach	ík	vúr	ishyâat	imshîinaavish
	quickly	must	Intensive	king.salmon	you.shine.this.way.upriver

Shine early, Spring Salmon, hither up river.

[65]	nanivási	vúrava	ikinayâach
	my.back	just	straight

My back is straight.

[66]	chéemyaach	ík	vúra	ataychúkinach	i'uunúpraveesh
	quickly	must	Intensive	young.brodiaea.plant	you.will.sprout.up

Grow up early, Spring Cacomite.