Yaas: "How Fish were Transformed" (1930)

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 words .

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[1]	kunípaanik	koovúra	yúruk	ithyáruk	kunipkêevishrihanik
	long.ago.they.said	all	downriver	across	long.ago.they.were.transformed

People used to say that they [the Salmon] were all transformed in the land across the sea.

[2]	koovúra	váa	kári	kuníkshuuphanik	kumákuusrah	pakári	kun'ípaktiheesh	kumákuusrah
	all	so	then	long.ago.they.decided	that.month	that.time	they.would.come.back	that.month

And all [the Salmon] fixed the month, the month they will come back.

[3]	kúna	úum	pahôotah	yâak	nu'ípakahaak	hínupa	tapu'ára	íinara
	in.addition	3.SG	if.late	good.place	we.come.back	surprise	has.not.people	not.exist

If we came back late to the good place, humankind would not exist.

(Harrington's translation is "If they would come back at the wrong time, the world would come to an end." It has been changed here to better reflect the Karuk sentence structure.)

[4]

ishyâat

úpaanik

yaas'ára

vúra

u'aapúnmutiheesh

yakun

pa'îin

yíth

ukupeexákahitiheesh

patá

nipikrêehaak

nani'îin

king.salmon

long.ago.he.said

rich.person

Intensive

he.will.know

you.see

the.falls

other

it.will.make.noise.that.way

that.has

when.I.reside.again

my.falls

Salmon said: “Human will know the water will sound different in the falls when I am in there, in my falls.

[5]	náa	ni'ípaktiheesh	xátikrupma	úthvuuyti	itrôopahaan	pakúusrah
	1sg.	I.will.come.back	springtime	it.is.called	fifth.month	the.month

I will always come back in the spring, the month is called the fifth month (March).

(Harrington's translation is "I will always come back in the spring, the month is called March." It has been changed here to better reflect the meaning of the Karuk.)

[6]	ikrívkihaan	xásik	arara	îin	ná'aamtiheesh
	sixth.month	then.(future)	human	TOPIC	he.will.eat.me

In the sixth month (April), Human will eat me.

(Harrington's translation is "In April Human will eat me." It has been changed here to better reflect the meaning of the Karuk.)

[7]	kári	xas	sápxiit	úpaanik	"payáv	îin	ná'aamtiheesh
	then	then	steelhead	long.ago.he.said	that.a.good.person	TOPIC	he.will.eat.me

Then Steelhead said: “A good person will eat me.”

[8]	xás	pimaníh'aama	úpaanik	"naa	vúra	pishîich	yaas'ára	îin	ná'aamtiheesh
	then	summer.salmon	long.ago.he.said	1sg.	Intensive	first	rich.person	TOPIC	he.will.eat.me

Then Summer Salmon said: “Human will eat me the first thing (when I get there).”

[9]	káru	uum	achvúun	úpaanik	"naa	vúra	pishîich	yaas'ára	îin	ná'aamtiheesh	pani'îipmahaak
	also	3.SG	hookbill.salmon	long.ago.he.said	1sg.	Intensive	first	rich.person	TOPIC	he.will.eat.me	when.I.return

And Hookbill said: “Human will eat me the first thing, when I get there.”

[10]	káru	akraah	uum	úpaanik	"naa	káru	pishîich	ni'ípaktiheesh	xátikrupma
	also	eel	3.SG	long.ago.he.said	1sg.	also	first	I.will.return	springtime

And the Eel said: “I will also get there first in the spring.”