Lottie Beck: "The Story of Madrone" (1957)

Primary participants: Lottie Beck (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-35
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 236-237, Text 35
Additional contributor: Nina Gliozzo (annotator)

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

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[1]	kusrípan	uum	itháan	avansahanik
	madrone.tree	3.SG	once	was.a.man

Madrone was once a man.

[2]	ararayaas'ára	mu'afishríhan
	rich.man	his.son

He was a rich man's son.

[3]	xás	mukunyûuchkamach	úkrii
	then	downriver.across-stream.from.them	he.lived

And a man lived downriver across-stream from them.

[4]	vúra	yâamach	mu'ifápiit
	Intensive	pretty	his.daughter

His daughter was pretty.

[5]	xás	kâanimich	kunkupa'áraarahitih
	then	poor	they.were.living.in.that.way

But they lived poorly.

[6]	víri	ûum	tá	kuníshyaavha
	so	barely	PERF	they.lived.through.winter

They barely lived through the winter.

[7]	káan	ník	pa'ávansa	u'ákunvuti	káru	u'ahavishkâavutih
	there	a.little	the.man	he.hunts	also	he.fishes

The man would hunt and fish there.

[8]	vúrava	kooyâach	tu'íipma
	just	with.nothing	he.came.back

He would come back with just as much (as he started out with, i.e. nothing).

[9]	imáankam	kúkuum	tuvâaram
	next.day	again	he.left

The next day he would go again.

[10]	vúra	kunpíychaaktih
	Intensive	they.(the.spirits).inflicted.bad.luck.on.him

He had bad luck.

[11]	vúra	uum	puharíxay	yav	kupa'áraarahitihap
	Intensive	3.SG	never	good	they.were.not.living.in.that.way

They never lived well.

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[12]	kusrípan	uum	vúra	itíhaan	uvunayvîichvutih
	madrone.tree	3.SG	Intensive	always	he.was.wandering.idly

Madrone was always wandering around idly.

[13]	káruk	u'árihroonatih
	upriver	he.was.going.upriver

He kept going upriver.

(Bright: "This seems to indicate that the girl lives upstream, in contradiction to the statement of sentence 3. Succeeding sentences are consistent with sentence 13, rather than sentence 3.")

[14]	xás	pa'ifápiit	kôothkam	utkáratih
	then	the.young.woman	there.across-river.and.upriver	he.was.looking.across-river

And he saw the girl upriver across-stream.

[15]	umahunâanatih
	she.was.seeing.him.coming

She saw him coming.

[16]	xás	ukfuyvûunish
	then	she.whistled.at.him

And she whistled at him.

[17]	xás	uhyárihish
	then	he.stood.still

And he stopped.

[18]	imáankam	kúkuum	vúra	u'árihraa
	next.day	again	Intensive	he.went.there.from.downhill

The next day he went up again.

[19]	xás	poomáhavrik	úkpuuhrin
	then	when.she.saw.him.coming	she.swam.across

And when she saw him coming, she swam across.

[20]	hínu páy	chí	kunchúphiichveesh
	surprise	soon	they.will.chat

There they were going to chat.

[21]	xás	xárahirurav	usínmoo	kusrípan
	then	for.too.long	he.was.absent	madrone.tree

But Madrone stayed away too long.

[22]	pamu'akah'îin	kunpápivar
	his.father	he.went.to.search.for.him

His father went to look for him.

[23]	xás	umá	káan	ishkéeshtiim	kun'iin
	then	he.saw	there	on.the.edge.of.the.river	they.were.there

And he saw that they were there on the edge of the river.

[24]	upípasrup	pamu'aramah
	he.took.him.home.downriverward	his.child

He took his child back home.

[25]	xás	upêer	xáyfaat	ík	vúra	haríxay	kâam	kúuk	i'íipma
	then	he.said	don't!	must	Intensive	sometimes	little.upriver	to.there	you.go.back

And he told him, "You mustn't ever go back upriver there.

[26]	imtarásuun	pa'ifápiit
	bastard	the.young.woman

The girl is a bastard.

[27]	púra fâat	ifkírahitihara
	nothing	they.did.not.pay.to.legitimize.her

Nothing was paid to legitimize her."

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[28]	imáan	upíkpuuhkar	pa'ifápiit
	tomorrow	she.swam.across-river.again	the.young.woman

The next day the girl swam across again.

[29]	hôoy	kích	kusrípan
	where	only	madrone.tree

Where was Madrone?

[30]	xanahíchyav	vúra	tóo	kríi
	for.a.good.while	Intensive	she.had	live

She stayed quite a long time.

[31]	yúruk	utrûuputih
	downriver	she.was.looking.downriver

She looked downriver.

[32]	yánava	tóo	kvíripraa
	visible	he.did	run.up.from.downhill

She saw him run upriverward.

[33]	xás	upíip	chéemyaach	nupíkpuuhkari
	then	he.said	quickly	let's.swim.back.across

And he said, "Let's swim across from them quickly!

[34]	íp	kanéepeerat	xáyfaat	ôok	inaa
	PAST	they.told.me	don't!	here	you.go.upriver

They told me, 'Don't go up there.'"

[35]	xás	kuníthpuuhrin
	then	they.swam.across

So they swam across.

[36]	xás	máruk	kunithvíripuraa
	then	uphill	they.ran.uphill

And they ran uphill.

[37]	pa'ifápiit	mukrívraam	kúuk	u'uum
	the.young.woman	her.house	to.there	he.arrived

They got to the girl's house.

[38]	yáan	vúra	úkxurarahitih
	recently	Intensive	it.was.becoming.evening

It was just evening.

[39]	ithyáruk	u'uhyanárahitih
	across	there.was.talking

There was talking across-stream.

[40]	upíip	naa	nixútih	tá	kanapápivaruk
	he.said	1sg.	I.think	PERF	they.are.coming.here.to.search.for.me

He said, "I think they're coming to look for me."

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[41]	xás	kuníthvip
	then	they.ran

Then they ran.

[42]	ithéekxaram	vúra	hôoyva	kunikvéesh
	all.night	Intensive	somewhere	they.spent.the.night

They spent the whole night somewhere.

[43]	imáankam	kunpirúviishrih
	next.day	they.came.back.down

The next day they came back down.

[44]	vúrava	ithyáruk	u'uhyanárahitih
	just	across	there.was.talking

There was talking across-stream.

[45]	xás	kusrípan	upíip	chími	kanipvâarami
	then	madrone.tree	he.said	soon	let.me.go.back.home

And Madrone said, "Let me go back home!

[46]	miník	ni'ípakeesh
	of.course	I.will.return

I'll return, all right."

[47]	upíkpuuhkin
	he.swam.back

He swam back across.

[48]	xás	úmuusti	pamu'iish
	then	he.was.looking.at.it	his.body

Then he looked at his body.

[49]	tóo	mxaxasúroo	tu'ur
	it.did	scale.off	it.peeled

It was scaling off, it was peeling.

[50]	kusrípan	upkêevish
	madrone.tree	he.turned.into.it

He turned into a madrone tree.

[51]	vaa	vúra	payêem	kumáheesh	u'úuntih
	so	Intensive	now	you.will.see.it	it.is.peeling

You will see it that way now, it is peeling.

[52]	ayu'âach	pa'ifápiit	tée	p	xákaan	kunikvéeshrihat
	it.was.because	the.young.woman	PERF	PAST	both	they.spent.the.night

It is because he spent the night with the girl.

[53]	víri	vaa	vúra	kumakári	kumáheesh	kusrípan	itíhaan	kumahárinay	tu'ur
	so	so	Intensive	still	you.will.see.him	madrone.tree	always	its.year	he.peels

You will see him that way still, every year he peels.