Chester Pepper: "Coyote's Gambling Song" (1957)

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Note: Bright: "The content of this story suggests that it is actually a medicine formula, to be recited by gamblers for good luck. It lacks, however, a closing remark to the effect that 'Mankind will do likewise,' which is a usual part of such formulas."

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

[1]	vaa	kunkúphaanik	ithâan
	so	they.did	once

They did this way once.

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[2]	peekxaréeyav	yíchakanach	koovúra	kunpamfipishniháyaacha
	the.god	all.in.one.place	all	they.come.together

The gods all gathered together.

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[3]	kunpavyíhishrihanik
	they.gathered.again

They had assembled.

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[4]	kári	xás	kunxútih	chími	núthtiitvunaa
	then	then	they.think	soon	we.gamble

And they thought, "Let's gamble."

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[5]	ta'ítam	kuníthtiitvunaa
	so	they.gamble

So they gambled.

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[6]	pâanpay	vaa	tá	kunkúupha
	after.while	so	PERF	they.do

Finally they did this way.

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[7]	ápapkam	tá	kinchífich
	one.side	PERF	they.beat.them

One side beat them (on the other side).

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[8]	vúra	koovúra	tá	kunpaxeepáyaachha	pamukún'uup
	Intensive	all	PERF	they.win.from	their.possession

They won all their property from them.

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[9]	vúra	tá	kinchífich
	Intensive	PERF	they.beat.them

They beat them.

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[10]	xánahichvari	axmáy	u'áhoo	pihnêefich
	in.a.little.while	suddenly	he.arrives	coyote

In a little while, suddenly Coyote came.

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[11]	ta'ítam	kuntáriheen
	so	they.dealt

So they dealt him the "cards".

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[12]	xás	upiip	naa	vúra	ninipákuri	nipakúriihveesh	pani'éethkaanvahaak
	then	he.says	1sg.	Intensive	my.song	I.will.sing	when.I.shuffle

And he said, "I'm going to sing my song as I shuffle the 'cards'."

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[13]	ta'ítam	u'éethkaanvaheen
	so	he.shuffled

So he shuffled the "cards".

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[14]	ta'ítam	upakurîihvaheen
	so	he.sang

And he sang.

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[15]	ayiyihanijanee	hanijaaneeya

"ayiyihanijanee hanijaaneeya."

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(Bright: "Coyote's song consists of these meaningless syllables, repeated over and over. No significant pitch or stress can be determined for this sequence; the word-division which is written indicates the phrasing of the melody, rather than a juncture phoneme. The phone 'j,' which has not been found in any other Karok material, is like that in English 'judge.'")

[16]	chavúra	koovúra	ixráam	upikyafipáyaachha	pa'ípa	kóo	kinpáxeepat
	finally	all	bet	he.wins.back	recently	as.much.as	they.won.from.them

Finally he won back all the stakes, as much as they had won away.

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[17]	peekxaréeyav	vúra	ixráam	upikyafipáyaachha
	the.god	Intensive	bet	he.wins.back

He won back the stakes from the gods.

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[18]	kári	xás	upvôonsip
	then	then	he.gets.up

Then he got up.

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[19]	xás	ta'ítam	u'ípahooheen
	then	so	he.went.back

And he went on again.

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[20]	púya	vaa	vúra	kich
	and.so	that	Intensive	only

So that's all.

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