Nettie Ruben: "The Story of Skunk" (1957)
Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-46
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 246-247, Text
46
Additional contributor: Nico Baier (annotator)
Text display mode: paragraph | sentence | word | word components
[1] |
víri |
vaa |
káan |
uum |
vúra |
kun'ûupvunaati |
tayiith |
so |
so |
there |
3.SG |
Intensive |
they.are.digging.it |
Brodiaea |
|
(Ground squirrels) were digging brodiaea roots there. |
[2] |
máruk |
tá |
kunítraatih |
uphill |
PERF |
they.are.looking.upward |
[3] |
axmáy |
ík |
máruk |
ára |
u'íhuniheesh |
suddenly |
must |
uphill |
person |
he.will.dance.down |
|
Suddenly a person was about to dance down. |
[4] |
chátik |
vúra |
tá |
ûumukich |
finally |
Intensive |
PERF |
near |
[5] |
púyava |
kunímuustih |
you.see |
they.are.looking.at.him |
[6] |
tá |
kuntápkuup |
pakunímuustih |
u'íihtih |
PERF |
they.like.him |
when.they.watch.him |
he.is.dancing |
|
They liked him as they watched him, he was dancing. |
[7] |
púyava |
kun'áraarahitih |
kunímuusti |
axchaytunvêechas |
mukúnuuthkam |
tupíhivriin |
you.see |
they.are.living |
they.are.looking.at.him |
little.ground.squirrels |
seaward.from.them |
he.has.danced.back.and.forth |
|
So they sat, the little ground squirrels watched him, he danced back and forth
in front of them |
[8] |
púyava |
kári |
xás |
tóo |
pif |
you.see |
then |
then |
he.has |
fart |
[9] |
kári |
xás |
tá |
kuniktírish |
pa'axchaytunvêechas |
then |
then |
PERF |
they.faint |
the.little.ground.squirrels |
|
And the little ground squirrels fainted. |
[10] |
kári |
xás |
tóo |
psáansip |
patayíith |
tishnamkanvínusunach |
then |
then |
he.has |
carry.back |
the.brodiaeas |
skunk.sp. |
|
Then (the type of skunk called) tishnamkanvínusunach carried off the
brodiaeas |
[11] |
ii! |
tá |
kunpifúksiip |
oh! |
PERF |
they.get.back.up |
|
Oh, then they got up again. |
[12] |
kári |
xás |
tá |
púfaat |
pamukuntáyiith |
then |
then |
PERF |
nothing |
their.brodiaeas |
|
And they had no brodiaeas. |
[13] |
púyava |
kúkuum |
vúra |
imáan |
chími |
nu'ûupvanvi |
kúkuum |
you.see |
again |
Intensive |
tomorrow |
soon |
let's.go.dig.roots |
again |
|
So again the next day (they said), "Let's go dig roots again!" |
[14] |
púyava |
táay |
tá |
kun'ûupva |
patayíith |
you.see |
much |
PERF |
they.dig.roots |
the.brodiaeas |
|
So they dug a lot of brodiaeas. |
[15] |
xás |
kúkuum |
kunítraatih |
kúkuum |
tu'íhithun |
then |
again |
they.are.looking.upward |
again |
he.danced.around |
|
And again they looked uphill, he was dancing down again. |
[16] |
kári |
xás |
upiip |
púya |
payêem |
ík |
vôohara |
mûuk |
ivúreesh |
papay'ôok |
tu'íhithunahaak |
nunúthvaaykam |
then |
then |
he.says |
and.so |
now |
must |
digging.stick |
with.(by.means.of) |
you.will.jab.him |
when.here |
when.he.danced.around |
in.front.of.us |
|
And (one) said, "Say, this time we must jab him with a digging stick when he
dances around here in front of us." |
[17] |
xás |
púyava |
vúra |
tu'íhuni |
tá |
ûumukich |
then |
you.see |
Intensive |
he.danced.down |
PERF |
near |
|
And so he danced down close. |
[18] |
púyava |
vúra |
tá |
kunkáriha |
pakunkupavúraheesh |
you.see |
Intensive |
PERF |
they.are.ready |
when.they.will.jab.him |
|
And they were ready to jab him. |
[19] |
kári |
xás |
víri |
vaa |
tupuxíchkaanva |
poo'íihtih |
kûufan 'an 'an
'an |
then |
then |
so |
that |
he.worked.hard |
when.he.was.dancing |
kûufan 'an 'an
'an |
|
And there he was exerting himself as he danced, (singing) "kûufan 'an 'an
'an." |
|
(Bright: "These words evidently contain kuuf, the name of a species of skunk. It is not clear whether kuuf and tishnamkanvínusunach are two names for the same species.") |
[20] |
kúuk |
tukúchnaaxma |
upífeesh |
to |
he.stuck.his.buttocks.toward.them |
he.will.fart |
|
He turned his buttocks toward them, he was about to break wind. |
[21] |
kári |
xás |
chikus! |
tuvur |
then |
then |
sound.of.poking |
he.jabbed.him |
|
And wham! They jabbed him. |
[22] |
kári |
xás |
ukyívish |
áfup |
patá |
kunvúr |
vôohara |
mûuk |
then |
then |
he.falls.down |
buttocks |
when |
they.jab.him |
digging.stick |
with.(by.means.of) |
|
Then he fell down, when they jabbed him in the buttocks with a digging
stick. |
[23] |
kári |
xás |
pamukuntáyiith |
kunipsháansiip |
kunpíhmar |
then |
then |
their.brodiaeas |
they.pick.them.up |
they.run.back |
|
Then they carried off their brodiaeas, they ran home. |
[24] |
kunpírurav |
they.run.away |
[25] |
púyava |
vúra |
koomahich |
you.see |
Intensive |
little.bit |