Nettie Ruben: "The Creation of Eels" (1957)

Note: Bright: "This is the only story about Across-the-Water-Widower which I was able to record; one other Karok story about him appears in Harrington, 1032a, pp.67-72. A character with a similar name is much more prominent in the mythology of the Yurok and the Hupa; cf. Kroeber, 1925, pp.73 and 134."

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[1]	ithyarukpíhriiv	u'árihroov	uxus	tîi	káruk	kanvâarami
	Across.the.Water.Widower	he.went.upriver	he.thought	let...	upriver	let.me.go!

Across-the-Water Widower went upriver, he thought, "Let me go upriver!"

[2]	xás	kári	chavúra	yíiv	káruk	tu'árihroov
	then	then	finally	far	upriver	he.had.gone.upriver

And finally he went a long ways upriver.

[3]	xás	kuníhyiivti	hôoyva
	then	they.were.shouting	somewhere

And there was a shout somewhere.

[4]	vúra	vaa	u'áhootih
	Intensive	so	he.was.traveling

He was traveling like that.

[5]	chavúra	yíiv	kúkuma	tóo	hyiv
	finally	far	again	she.had	shout

Finally, a long ways on, there was a shout again.

[6]	xás	upítih	nakûushi
	then	she.was.saying	copulate.with.me!

And (the person) said, "Copulate with me!"

(Bright: "nakûushi is a distortion of nakûuthi." Cf. the footnote to sentence 61 of "Coyote's Homecoming" (WB_KL-02).)

[7]	ithyarukpíhriiv	kunihyûunishtih	upêentih	nakûushi
	Across.the.Water.Widower	they.were.shouting.at.him	she.was.telling.him	copulate.with.me!

Across-the-Water Widower was shouted at, (the person) said to him, "Copulate with me!"

[8]	xás	kári	uxútih	yee	fâat	yáxa
	then	then	he.was.thinking	well	what	look!

And he thought, "Well, look! What is it?

[9]	fâat	kumá'ii	paneehyûunishtih
	what	because.of	she.is.shouting.at.me

Why is she shouting at me?"

[10]	xás	kúuk	úkfuukiraa
	then	to.there	he.grabbed.at

And he grabbed in that direction.

[11]	kári	xás	ukuth
	then	then	he.copulated.with.her

And he copulated with her.

[12]	kári	xás	hínupa	chantírih
	then	then	surprise	tick

And there it was Tick.

[13]	vaa	káan	sú'	vúra	upíkrii
	so	there	inside	Intensive	she.stayed

She stayed there inside (his penis).

[14]	xás	u'árihroov	ithyarukpíhriiv
	then	he.went.upriver	Across.the.Water.Widower

Then Across-the-Water Widower went upriver.

[15]	xás	uxus	yée	naa	íf	tá	nakúha
	then	he.thought	well	1sg.	truly	PERF	it.hurts.me

And he thought, "Say, it really hurts me!"

[16]	kári	xás	hûut	áta	tá	ná'iin
	then	then	how	maybe	PERF	I.have.something.wrong.with.me

And (he thought), "I wonder what's wrong with me?"

[17]	kári	xás	chavúra	puxích	tóo	kúha
	then	then	finally	very.much	it.had	be.sick

And finally it hurt him very much.

[18]	kári	xás	úkpaaksur	pamúsiish
	then	then	he.cut.it.off.straight	his.penis

So he cut off (part of) his penis.

[19]	xás	úuth	upáathkar
	then	out.to.water	he.threw.it.into.the.water

And he threw it out into the river.

[20]	xás	u'árihroov
	then	he.went.upriver

And he went upriver.

[21]	chavúra	tá	yíiv	káruk	u'árihroov
	finally	PERF	far	upriver	he.went.upriver

Finally, he went a long ways upriver.

[22]	xás	uxútih	íf	kúkuum	tá	nakúha
	then	he.was.thinking	truly	again	PERF	it.hurts.me

And he thought, "It really hurts me again!"

[23]	xás	kári	kúkuum	úkpaaksur	pamúsiish
	then	then	again	he.cut.it.off.straight	his.penis

And he again cut off (part of) his penis.

[24]	xás	kúkuum	úuth	upáathkar
	then	again	out.to.water	he.threw.it.into.the.water

And again he threw it out into the river.

[25]	púyava	payêem	paakráa	vaa	pa'úuth	uxyakâanvutih
	you.see	now	the.eels	that	which.out.into.the.river	he.was.throwing.into.the.water

So now the eels are that which he threw out into the river.

[26]	ithyarukpíhriiv	pamúsiish	uvupaksúroonik
	Across.the.Water.Widower	his.penis	he.cut.it.off

Across-the-Water Widower cut off his penis.

[27]	hínupa	chantirih'îin	sú'	patá	kunvôonkurih	vaa	kúth	pookpaksúrooti	pamúsiish
	surprise	Tick	inside	that	she.crawled.in	so	because.of	that.he.cut.it.off.straight	his.penis

There it was Tick that crawled into him, that's why he cut off his penis.

(Bright: "Another informant offered additional information: Before Across-the-Water-Widower's meeting with Tick, men (or rather, male ikxaréeyavs) had penises long enough to wrap several times around their necks, and could copulate with a woman on the other side of the river.")