Mamie Offield: "Coyote Trades Songs and Goes to the Sky" (1957)

Primary participants: Mamie Offield (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-09
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 192-195, Text 9
Additional contributor: Erik Maier (annotator)

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

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[1]	kári	xás	pihnêefich	u'áhootih	upakurîihvutih
	then	then	coyote	he.was.traveling	he.was.singing

So Coyote was traveling, he was singing.

[2]	kári	xás	úkmar	áxak	ifápiitshas
	then	then	he.met.them	two	girls

And he met two young women.

[3]	hínupa	ípat
	surprise	doe

They were does.

[4]	uumkun	káru	kunpakúriihva
	they	also	they.were.singing

They were singing too.

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[5]	kári	xás	upíip	íf	yâamach	mikunpákurih
	then	then	he.said	truly	pretty	your.song

And he said, "Your song is really pretty!"

[6]	kári	xás	upíip	chími	nupíraanvi
	then	then	he.said	soon	let.us.trade!

And he said, "Let's trade!

[7]	xâatik	nupíraanva
	it's.better	we.trade

Let's trade."

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[8]	kári	xás	kunpíip	pûu
	then	then	they.said	no

And they said, "No."

[9]	kári	xás	kunpíip	chími	man
	then	then	they.said	soon	why...

But then they said, "All right."

[10]	kári	xás	kunipíraanva
	then	then	they.traded

So they traded.

[11]	kári	xás	papihnêefich	u'ípahoo	upakurîihvuti	pamukunpákurih
	then	then	Coyote	he.went.on	he.was.singing	their.song

And Coyote went on, he was singing their song.

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[12]	kári	xás	pa'ípat	kunpíip	pipshinvárihvi
	then	then	the.does	they.said	forget.it!

Then the does said, "May you forget it!"

[13]	kári	xás	yíiv	tu'ípahoo	papihnêefich
	then	then	far	he.went.on	Coyote

And Coyote went on a long ways.

[14]	kári	xás	upipshinvárihva
	then	then	he.forgot.it

And then he forgot it.

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[15]	kári	xás	u'áharamunaa	ífuthkam	kúuk	ukpêehva
	then	then	he.chased.them	behind	to	he.shouted

So he chased them, he shouted after them.

[16]	kári	xás	upíip	púya	kanapikshúpihi	pamikunpákurih
	then	then	he.said	and.so	you.guys.teach.it.to.me.again!	your.song

And he said, "Hey, teach me your song again!"

[17]	tá	napipshinvárihva
	PERF	I.forgot.it

I've forgotten it."

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[18]	kári	xás	kuníthvip
	then	then	they.ran

And they ran.

[19]	páy nanu'ávahkam	kúuk	kunithvíripma
	sky	to	they.ran.to.there

They ran to the sky.

[20]	vúra	vaa	u'áharamunaatih
	Intensive	so	he.was.following.them

He was following them like that.

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[21]	kári	xás	vaa	káan	umah	ataynamtunvêechas
	then	then	so	there	he.saw.them	Pleiades

Then he saw the Pleiades there.

[22]	kári	xás	upíip	fâat	iimkun	kukyâatih
	then	then	he.said	what	2pl.	you.guys.are.doing.it

And he said, "What do you do?"

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[23]	kári	xás	kunpíip	nuu	páy	peethívthaaneen	itaharâan	nupíhiroopithvutih
	then	then	they.said	we	this	the.earth	ten.times	we.dance.around

And they said, "We dance around this earth ten times."

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[24]	kári	xás	upíip	chími	kanthívkee
	then	then	he.said	soon	let.me.go.along!

And he said, "Let me go along!"

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[25]	kári	xás	kunpíip	pûuhara	hôoy	íf	vaa	ikupheesh	itaharâan	ipíhiroopithveesh
	then	then	they.said	no	where	truly	so	you.will.do.it	ten.times	you.will.dance.around

And they said, "No, you can't do that, you will (have to) dance around ten times!"

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[26]	kári	xás	upíip	miník	vúra	vaa	nikupheesh
	then	then	he.said	of.course	Intensive	so	I.will.do.it

And he said, "Sure, I can do that!"

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[27]	kári	xás	upíip	chími	man	kúna	vúra	xáyfaat	ík	i'ûurih
	then	then	she.said	soon	why...	in.addition	Intensive	don't!	must	you.get.tired

And they said, "All right, but you mustn't get tired."

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[28]	kári	xás	upíip	papihnêefich	pishíip	ni'árihishrih
	then	then	he.said	Coyote	first	I.sing

And Coyote said, "I sing first."

[29]	ta'ítam	u'árihishriheen
	so	he.sang

So he sang.

[30]	kári	xás	vúra	púva	yiiv	uum
	then	then	Intensive	not.yet	far	arrive

They hadn't yet gone very far.

[31]	kári	xás	yíth	upárihish
	then	then	other	he.sang.again

Then he sang a different one.

[32]	kári	xás	upíip	matêe	kuvaan	kanpihéen
	then	then	he.said	later	kuvaan	let.me.smoke!

He said, "matêe kuvaan, let me have a smoke!"

(Bright: "matêe means 'wait a moment!' The meaning of kuvaan was not known to the informant.")

[33]	vúra	vaa	kun'íhmaathtih
	Intensive	so	they.were.making.him.dance

They just kept making him dance.

[34]	kári	xás	upíip	matêe	kuvaan	tá	nathurirúvuukva
	then	then	he.said	later	kuvaan	PERF	I.urinate.all.over.myself

And he said, "matêe kuvaan, I'm urinating all over myself!"

[35]	xás	vúra	vaa	kun'íhmaathtih
	then	Intensive	so	they.were.making.him.dance

They just kept making him dance.

[36]	xás	upíip	matêe	kuvaan	tá	neechnahirúvuukva
	then	he.said	later	kuvaan	PERF	I.defecate.all.over.myself

And he said, "matêe kuvaan, I'm defecating all over myself!"

[37]	xás	vúra	vaa	kun'íhmaathtih
	then	Intensive	so	they.were.making.him.dance

They just kept making him dance.

[38]	ápap	pamútraax	tá	kuníshpaatsur
	one.side	his.arm	PERF	they.broke.it.off

They pulled off his arm on one side.

[39]	vúra	vaa	kun'íhmaathtih
	Intensive	so	they.were.making.him.dance

They just kept making him dance.

[40]	ápap	kúna	pamútraax	kuníshpaatsur
	one.side	in.addition	his.arm	they.broke.it.off

They pulled off his arm on the other side.

[41]	kári	xás	kunpipáchish
	then	then	they.threw.him.down

Then they threw him down.

[42]	kári	xás	káan	pootháaniv
	then	then	there	that.he.lay

And there he lay.

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[43]	kári	xás	uxús	hûut	áta	nikupeepvûunihaheesh
	then	then	he.thought	how	maybe	I.will.get.back.down.in.that.way

Then he thought, "How ever am I to get back down (to earth)?"

[44]	kári	xás	utvûunih
	then	then	he.looked.down

And he looked down.

[45]	kári	xás	uyúhunih
	then	then	he.spat.down

And he spat down.

[46]	miník	kúnish	puyívuhara
	of.course	sort.of	not.far

"It's not so far!

[47]	chími	kanfithíhuunihi
	soon	let.me.go.down.feet.first!

Let me go down feet first!

[48]	pûuhara	xáy	ápsii	néeshpat
	no	let.not	leg	I.become.broken

No, I might get a leg broken.

[49]	tîi	kanvasíhuunihi
	let...	let.me.go.back.first!

Let me go down back first!

[50]	pûu	xáy	vási	néeshpat
	no	let.not	back	I.become.broken

No, I might get my back broken.

[51]	tîi	kanixvâahuunihi
	let...	let.me.go.down.head.first!

Let me go down head first!

[52]	pûu	xáy	axvâa	néeshxax
	no	let.not	head	I.get.smashed

No, I might get my head smashed."

[53]	kári	xás	uxús	chími	vúra	kan'asimchâaki
	then	then	he.thought	soon	Intensive	let.me.close.my.eyes!

Then he thought, "Let me just close my eyes!"

[54]	kári	xás	úkyiimshur
	then	then	he.fell.off

So he fell off.

[55]	kári	xás	úkyiv	xás	vúra	xára	póokyiv
	then	then	he.fell	then	Intensive	long.time	that.he.fell

And he fell, and it was a long time that he fell.

[56]	púyava	káan	ukyívish	iknûumin
	you.see	there	he.fell.down	Burrill.Peak

He fell to earth there at Burrill Peak.

[57]	víri	vaa	vúra	káan	utháaniv	payéem
	so	so	Intensive	there	he.lies	now

So he's lying there now.

[58]	pihnêefich	vaa	káan	poopikyívishrihanik
	coyote	so	there	where.he.fell.back.down

That's where Coyote landed.