Nettie Ruben: "Coyote as Doctor" (1957)

Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-11
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp.196-198
Additional contributor: Kouros Falati (annotator)

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

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[1]	pihnêefich	káan	u'árihroovutih
	coyote	there	he.is.going.upriver

Coyote was going upriver there.

[2]	uxús	tîi	kankanmahvanáyviichvan
	he.thinks	let...	let.me.look.around.for.fun

He thought, "Let me go look around, just for fun."

[3]	kári	xás	káan	yánava	ára	kun'áraarahitih
	then	then	there	visible	person	they.are.living

And there he saw people were living.

[4]	yánava	yítha	âapun	utháaniv	ukuhítih
	visible	one	on.the.ground	she.lies.down	she.is.sick

He saw one (girl) lying down, she was sick.

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[5]	xás	kunipêer	atafâat	íim	araraxus'úmaan
	then	they.say	maybe	2sg.	doctor

And they said to him, "Maybe you're a doctor."

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[6]	kári	xás	upiip	hãã	naa	araraxus'úmaan
	then	then	he.says	yes	1sg.	doctor

And he said, "Yes, I'm a doctor."

[7]	xás	kári	upíti	xk!	úkxiikvutih
	then	then	he.is.saying	noise	he.is.making.hawking.noises

And he kept saying, "xk," he was making a hawking noise.

(Bright: "Doctors make this kind of noise when preparing to regurgitate a 'pain' or disease object.")

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[8]	kári	xás	kunipêer	chími	patúmkoo
	then	then	they.say	soon	suck.disease

And they said to him, "Suck (the disease out of) her!"

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[9]	xás	upiip	chémi
	then	he.says	all.right

And he said, "All right."

[10]	kári	xás	upiip	chími	îim	kíivyiihrupuki
	then	then	he.says	soon	outdoors	go.outdoors

And he said, "You go outside!"

[11]	vaa	xás	nipatumkôovish
	that	then	I'll.suck.her

Then I'll suck her that way!"

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[12]	chémi
	all.right

"All right."

[13]	ta'ítam	îim	tá	kuniyviihrupuk
	so	outdoors	PERF	they.go.outdoors

So they went outdoors.

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[14]	xás	upiip	puxích	ík	vúra	kupakúriihveesh
	then	he.says	very.much	must	Intensive	you.will.sing.loudly

And he said, "You must sing loudly."

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[15]	xás	chémi
	then	all.right

And (they said) "All right."

[16]	ta'ítam	súva	tupakúriihva
	so	listen!	they.sang

So he heard them singing.

[17]	xakáaniich	iinâak	páxuus	u'uumútih
	just.the.pair	indoors	when.the.mind	he.went.to.it

Just the two of them were indoors when he doctored.

[18]	kári	xás	kunpakúriihvunaa	puxích	vúra
	then	then	they.sing	very.much	Intensive

And they sang loudly (outside).

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[19]	kári	xás	upiip	yítha	hûut	upítih	payeeripáxvuh	iinâak	ukpêehvutih
	then	then	he.says	one	how	she.is.saying	the.adolescent.girl	indoors	she.is.shouting

Then one said, "What is the girl saying? She's shouting inside."

[20]	kári	xás	kunpihmárafuruk	iinâak
	then	then	they.run.back.indoors	indoors

Then they ran back indoors.

[21]	yánava	papihnêefich	ávahkam	tóo	thxuuptakiish
	visible	Coyote	over	he.was	lie.down.on.top.of

They saw Coyote was lying on top (of the girl).

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[22]	kári	xás	pa'áhup	áak	u'êethripaa
	then	then	the.stick	in.the.fire	he.took.it.out

Then (one of them) took a stick out of the fire.

[23]	kári	xás	u'áak	pihnêefich	u'áak	áfup
	then	then	he.hits	coyote	he.hits	buttocks

And he hit him, he hit Coyote on the buttocks.

[24]	kári	xás	pihnêefich	upiip	chánhaayfur
	then	then	coyote	he.says	INTERJ

And Coyote said, "chánhaayfur!"

(Bright: "chánhaayfur is said to refer to sexual intercourse; its form-class and composition are unknown.")

[25]	xás	upárihrupuk
	then	he.jumps.outside.again

And he jumped outside again.

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[26]	tóo	hmaachichva	payeeripáxvuh
	he.was	bother	the.adolescent.girl

He was fooling around with the girl.

[27]	hínu páy	uum	upíkshaayvutih	putáktahara	pu'araraxus'úmaanhara
	surprise	3.SG	he.is.lying	he.is.not.a.doctor	he.is.not.a.shaman

There he was lying, he wasn't a doctor, he wasn't a shaman.

[28]	vúra	tutápkuup	payeeripáxvuh
	Intensive	he.liked	the.adolescent.girl

He just liked the girl.

[29]	kíri	níhmaachichva
	I.wish	I.fool.around.with.her

He thought, "Let me fool around with her!"

[30]	xás	pakéevniikich	upiip	oo!	puyávhara	papihnêefich	táay	ukupavêenahiti	papihnêefich
	then	the.old.woman	she.says	oh!	he.is.no.good	Coyote	much	he.does.mischief	Coyote

And the old woman said, "Oh, Coyote's no good, he does lots of mischief!"

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[31]	kári	xás	u'árihrupuk
	then	then	he.jumps.outside

So he jumped outdoors.

[32]	xás	kun'áharam
	then	they.follow.him

And they followed him.

[33]	kári	xás	sáruk	úuth	úskaakar
	then	then	downhill	out.to.water	he.jumps.into.water

And he jumped into the river downhill.

[34]	xás	u'iipkúrih
	then	he.dives

He dived in.

[35]	kári	xás	kunpiip	tá	húukava
	then	then	they.say	PERF	to.somewhere

And they said, "Where has (he gone) to?"

[36]	tá	kuniyvúunsip
	PERF	they.start.to.chase.him

They had started to chase him.

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[37]	xás	kári	ifápiitsha	kun'iin
	then	then	young.unmarried.women	they.live

And two young women lived there.

[38]	xás	sáruk	kuntúraayvutih	púra fátaak
	then	downhill	they.look.for.him	nowhere

And they looked for him downhill, (but) he was nowhere (to be seen).

[39]	kári	xás	kári	tá	kóo	tá	kuniyvúunsip
	then	then	then	PERF	all	PERF	they.start.to.chase.him

So they quit starting to chase him.

[40]	káruma	uum	yúruk	tóo	kpúhish
	in.fact	3.SG	downriver	he.has	swim.ashore

The fact was, he had swum ashore downriver.

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[41]	kári	xás	pa'ifápiitsha	kunpiip	chôora	êev	íshaha	nuktávan
	then	then	the.young.unmarried.women	they.say	let's.go	greeting.to.women	water	let.us.carry

And the young women said (to each other), "Let's go, dear, let's go get water."

[42]	kári	xás	upiip	yítha	pa'ifápiit	ii!	íf	êev	sishanayâamach	tóo	síinvar
	then	then	she.says	one	the.young.unmarried.woman	oh!	truly	greeting.to.women	pretty.one.having.a.penis	he.has	drown

And one young woman said, "Alas, dear, sishanayâamach has really drowned!

(Bright: "sishanayâamach is literally 'pretty one with a penis,' from síshara 'having a penis' (sísh "penis," -ara "characterized by") and yâamach "pretty.")

[43]	íim	êev	hûum	kích	ixútih
	2sg.	greeting.to.women	is.that.so?	only	you.are.thinking

What do you think, dear?

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[44]	xás	upiip	ii!	naa	êev	káru	vúra	vaa	nixútih
	then	she.says	oh!	1sg.	greeting.to.women	also	Intensive	that	I.am.thinking

And she said, "Alas, dear, I think so too."

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[45]	kári	xás	pa'íshaha	kuníktav
	then	then	the.water	they.carry

So they got the water.

[46]	xás	kunpínaa	vaa	kích	vúra	pakunipítih	sishanayâamach	tóo	síinvar
	then	they.come	that	only	Intensive	what.they.are.saying	pretty.one.having.a.penis	he.has	drown

And they came back uphill; that was all they were saying, "sishanayâamach has drowned."

[47]	kári	xás	axmáy	vúra	pa'asiktávaan	upiip	yáxa	ee!	yáxa	ithyáruk
	then	then	suddenly	Intensive	the.woman	she.says	look!	oh!	look!	across

Then suddenly one woman said, "Look, oh look across-river!"

[48]	axmáy	ithyáruk	úskaakroov	upihnêefhitih
	suddenly	across	he.jumps.away.upriver	he.howls.like.a.coyote

Suddenly he jumped upriverward across-river, he gave a coyote-howl.

[49]	hínu páy	uum	ithyáruk	tóo	kvíriproov	káruma	uum	kunxútih	tóo	síinvar
	surprise	3.SG	across	he.has	run.upriver.from.here	in.fact	3.SG	they.are.thinking	he.has	drown

There he ran upriverward across-river; the fact was, they thought he had drowned.

[50]	púyava	pihnêefich	ukúphaanik	kupánakanakana
	you.see	coyote	he.did.it	the.end

Coyote did it. kupánakanakana.

[51]	payeeripáxvuh	úhmaachichva
	the.adolescent.girl	he.fools.around.with.her

He fooled around with the girl.