Julia Starritt: "Coyote Goes to the Sky" (1957)

Primary participants: Julia Starritt (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-08
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 190-193, Text 8
Additional contributor: Matthew Faytak (annotator)

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

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[1]	káan	avansáxiich	áxak	kun'íinanik
	there	boy	two	they.once.lived

Two boys once lived there.

[2]	xás	páy nanu'ávahkam	kúuk	kinpôonva
	then	sky	to.there	they.took.them.back

And they were taken to the sky.

[3]	xás	tá	kunxús	kíri	kun'ípak
	then	PERF	they.thought	I.wish	they.come.back

Then (people) thought, "Let them come back!"

[4]	xás	vúra	hûut	chí	pakúuk	kunkupá'uumaheesh
	then	Intensive	how	soon	to.there	they.will.arrive.somehow

And how were they to get there?

[5]	xás	pihnêefich	upíip	chími	aan	nuparíshriihvunaa
	then	coyote	he.said	soon	string	let's.twine.them

Then Coyote said, "Let's twine string!"

[6]	xás	koovúra	paparishríhvaansa	upíip	ôok	kiivyíhuki
	then	all	weavers	he.said	here	you.all.come.here

And he said, "All twiners, come here!"

[7]	xás	pihnêefich	vúra	uum	sípnukaam	tóo	thárish	pakáan	umáhyaaneesh
	then	coyote	Intensive	3.SG	big.storage.basket	it.is	put.down	there	they.will.put.it.in

And Coyote put a big storage basket down where they were to put it in.

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[8]	xás	káan	avansatínihich	ukûuruthunatih
	then	there	flat.man	he.was.sliding.around

And a flat man was sliding around there.

[9]	xás	pa'aantunvêech	kun'ivitshurooti	víri	vaa	u'ífiktih
	then	the.little.strings	they.picked.them.off	so	so	he.was.picking.up

And when they picked off the little strings, he was picking them up.

[10]	xás	vaa	uparishríihvutih
	then	that	he.was.twining.it

And he was twining that.

[11]	xás	pamusípnuuk	uum	ipshûunkinich	kúna	vúra	tinihyâach	káan	u'uuchnímach
	then	his.storage.basket	3.SG	low	in.addition	Intensive	quite.wide	there	it.was.squatting

And his storage basket was short, but it was sort of wide, it was squatting there.

[12]	xás	pihnêefich	tóo	piip	yée naa	yiivárih
	then	coyote	he	say	well	rather.far

And Coyote said, "Hey, go away!

[13]	iim	vúra	pufaat-hára
	2sg.	Intensive	nothing

You're just nothing!"

(Bright: "The 'flat man' was xah "spider.")

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[14]	xás	vaa	vúra	koovúra	kunikyávunaatih
	then	so	Intensive	all	they.were.twining

And they were all twining.

[15]	xás	chavúra	kunpíkyaar
	then	finally	they.finished

And finally they finished.

[16]	xás	ta'ítam	kunkunihúraanaheen	pá'aan
	then	so	they.shot.it.up	the.string

And so they shot the string up.

[17]	pihnêefich	upíip	naa	píshiip	paniní'aan	á'	kiikuníhuraa
	coyote	he.said	1sg.	first	my.string	above	shoot.it.up

Coyote said, "Shoot my string up first!"

[18]	xás	upikyívunih
	then	it.fell.back.down

But it fell back down.

[19]	xás	chavúra	koovúra	kunkuníhuraa
	then	finally	all	they.shot.them.up

And finally they shot them all up.

[20]	xás	chavúra	puyíthaxay	sakriivhára
	then	finally	not.a.single.one	didn't.stick

And finally not one (stuck) fast.

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[21]	xás	pa'avansatinihyâach	upíip	chími	naa	paniní'aan	kiikuníhuraa
	then	the.little.flat.man	he.said	soon	1sg.	my.string	shoot.it.up

Then the little flat man said, "Shoot my string up!"

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[22]	xás	pihnêefich	upíip	oo	vúra	iim	pufaat-hára
	then	coyote	he.said	oh!	Intensive	2sg.	nothing

And Coyote said, "Aw, you're just nothing!

[23]	xáyfaat	kukuníhuraa
	don't!	shoot.it.up

Don't shoot it up!"

---

[24]	xás	ta'ítam	kunkuníhuraaheen
	then	so	they.shot.it.up

But then they shot it up.

[25]	xás	xánahich	xás	axmáy	útraax
	then	after.while	then	suddenly	it.struck

And in a little while, suddenly it struck.

[26]	xás	pá'aan	ukéen
	then	the.string	it.quivered

And the string quivered.

[27]	xás	kunishripíhpih
	then	they.pulled.on.it

And they pulled on it.

[28]	xás	vúra	sákriiv
	then	Intensive	hard

And it was fast.

[29]

xás

pihnêefich

u'aachíchha

xás

upíip

kúnish

íp

nípaat

pamú'aan

uum

káan

úkyiimeesh

then

coyote

he.was.happy

then

he.said

sort.of

PAST

I.said

his.string

3.SG

there

it.will.go.through.the.air

And Coyote was glad, and he said, "I sort of said his string would reach there!"

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[30]	xás	ta'ítam	kun'iruvoorúraanaheen
	then	so	they.crawled.up

And so they crawled up.

[31]	xás	pa'á'	kunívyiihma	xás	kunpíip	kun'íhukarahitih
	then	up	they.arrived	then	they.said	they.are.having.a.flower.dance

And when they got up, then they said, "They're having a flower-dance."

[32]	víri	pa'avansáxiich	uum	áachip	pakun'íihtih
	so	the.boys	3.SG	middle	dancing

There were the boys dancing in the middle.

[33]	xás	tá	kunímuusti	pa'iihvúnaa
	then	PERF	they.watched	the.dance

And they watched the dance.

---

[34]	xás	pihnêefich	upíip	chími	naa	kan'íhi
	then	coyote	he.said	soon	1sg.	dance

And Coyote said, "Let me dance!"

---

[35]	xás	kunipêer	hôoy if	íkfuuyshureesh
	then	they.told.him	no.way	you'll.get.tired

And they told him, "No, you'll get tired.

[36]	yakún	uumkun	yúruk	ithivthaneen'ípan	kun'íhmootih	káru	káruk	ithivthaneen'ípan	kun'íhmootih
	you.see	they	downriver	end.of.the.world	they.dance.to	also	upriver	end.of.the.world	they.dance.to

They dance to the downriver end of the world, and they dance to the upriver end of the world."

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[37]	xás	pihnêefich	upíip	naa	vúra	vaa	nikupheesh
	then	coyote	he.said	1sg.	Intensive	that	I.will.do

And Coyote said, "I can do that!

[38]	yâamahukach	nik
	easy	a.little

It's easy!"

---

[39]	xás	káakum	vaa	káan	kun'iruvêehriv	poosúruruprinahitihirak
	then	some	so	there	they.were.standing	where.the.hole.was.through

And some of them were standing where the hole was (through which they had entered the sky).

[40]	xás	kunpíip	pa'avansáxiich	káan	tá	kun'íihmahaak	ík	kári	kupêethkeevish
	then	they.said	the.boys	there	PERF	when.they.dance.to	must	then	you.will.pull.them.out

And they said, "When the boys dance to there, you people must pull them out."

---

[41]	xás	kári	kun'íihvunaa
	then	then	they.danced

Then they danced.

[42]	xás	pihnêefich	axmáy	hôoyva	ukpêehva	shúuuuuhuuuuu
	then	coyote	suddenly	somewhere	he.shouted	coyote.howl

And suddenly Coyote hollered somewhere, "Shuuuuuhuuuuu."

[43]	xás	yánava	vúra	tá	kunithyúrutih
	then	visible	Intensive	PERF	they.were.dragging.him

And they saw they were just dragging him.

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[44]	xás	káan	pa'avansáxiich	tá	kun'íihma	poosúruruprinahitihirak
	then	there	the.boys	PERF	they.danced.to	where.the.hole.was.through

And the boys danced there to where the hole was.

[45]	ta'ítam	kunpithyúruripaheen
	so	they.pulled.them.out

So they pulled them out.

[46]	xás	ta'ítam	kunpihmáruniheen
	then	so	they.ran.down

And so they ran back down (to earth).

[47]	púra fátaak	pihnêefich
	nowhere	coyote

Coyote was nowhere (to be seen).

[48]	xás	ta'ítam	kunpithyúruniheen
	then	so	they.pulled.it.back.down

And so they hauled (the string) back down.

---

[49]	xás	pihnêefich	u'íipma	poosúruruprinahitihirak
	then	coyote	he.got.back	where.the.hole.was.through

Then Coyote got back to where the hole was.

[50]	ník	utúraayva
	a.little	he.was.looking.for.it

He was looking for it.

[51]	yánava	vúra	pukára	káanhára
	visible	Intensive	nobody	there

He saw there was nobody there.

[52]	xás	upíip	oo	tá	kanéepshaamkir
	then	he.said	oh!	PERF	they.have.left.me

And he said, "Oh, they've left me!

[53]	víri	hûut	vúra	panikupeepvûunihaheesh
	so	how	Intensive	I.will.go.back.down.somehow

How am I going to get back down?"

[54]	xás	utnûuprih
	then	he.looked.through

And he looked through.

[55]	xás	upíip	yee	vúra	ník	kúnish	ûumukich
	then	he.said	well	Intensive	a.little	sort.of	near

And he said, "Say, it's kind of close!

[56]	yukún	peethívthaaneen	vúra	thúkinkunish	xás	kúnish	ûumukich
	you.see	the.earth	Intensive	blue-green	then	sort.of	near

The earth is so green and kind of close.

[57]	naa	nixúti	vúra	nishkákuniheesh
	1sg.	I.think	Intensive	I.will.jump.down

I think I'll jump down."

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[58]	xás	ta'ítam	úskaaksur
	then	so	he.jumped.off

And so he jumped off.

[59]	xás	póokyiimti	tukuchnáxavrin	xás	tóo	krírihivrin	xás	vúra	xára	ukyiivúur
	then	when.he.fell	he.fell.head.over.heels	then	he	roll.over.and.over	then	Intensive	long.time	he.fell.for.a.long.time

And when he fell, he turned head over heels, and he rolled over sideways, and he was falling for a long time.

[60]	itaharahárinay	ukyiivúur
	ten.years	he.fell.for.a.long.time

He fell for ten years.

[61]	xás	pookyívish	vúra	ípi	kích	káru	pamúmaan
	then	when.he.landed	Intensive	bone	only	also	his.skin

And when he landed, he was just bones and his skin.

[62]	xás	vaa	páy	uum	pihnêefich	ukúphaanik
	then	so	this	3.SG	coyote	he.did.it

And Coyote did that.