Chester Pepper: "Love Medicine" (1957)

Primary participants: Chester Pepper (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-51
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 252-255, Text 51
Additional contributor: Erik Maier (annotator)

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

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[1]	ôok	kun'ífanik	ithivthanéen'aachip	áxak	ikxareeyav'ifápiitichas
	here	they.grew.up	center.of.world	two	spirit.girls

Two spirit girls grew up here at the middle of the world.

[2]	víri	peekxaréeyav	tá	kunimfipishniháyavha
	so	the.spirits	PERF	they.assembled.from.all.over

The spirits gathered together.

[3]	hûut	chí	kuninísheesh
	how	soon	they.will.do.it.with.them

What were they to do with (the girls)?

[4]	púxay	iruvôonuptihara
	not.yet	they.did.not.come.outdoors

They (the girls) wouldn't come out of the house.

[5]	kári	xás	uxúsaanik	kahyuras'afishríhan
	then	then	he.thought	Klamath.Lakes.Young.Man

Then Klamath Lakes Young Man thought (about it).

[6]	xás	uxús	tîi	kanvâarami
	then	he.thought	let...	let.me.go.there

And he thought, "Let me go there!"

[7]	uxús	naa	káru	ikxaréeyav
	he.thought	1sg.	also	spirit.person

He thought, "I'm a spirit too."

---

[8]	xás	uxús	hûut	áta	nikupheesh
	then	he.thought	how	maybe	I.will.do.it

And he thought, "How shall I do, I wonder?"

[9]	xás	péekxurar	uthivrúhish
	then	when.evening	he.floated.ashore

And in the evening he floated to shore.

[10]	xás	sáruk	u'árihfak	xás	pasáruk	usaamvárak
	then	downhill	he.went.downhill	then	where.downhill	it.flows.down.from.upriver

And he went downhill where the water was flowing toward the river.

[11]	kári	xás	vaa	káan	uvákurih
	then	then	so	there	he.went.into.water

And he went into the water there.

[12]	xás	ta'ítam	peeshkêesh	upuhyîimahitih
	then	so	the.river	it.was.risen.high

The river was at the high-water mark.

[13]	ta'ítam	vaa	káan	ukyámiichva
	so	so	there	he.played

So he played (i.e., made 'medicine') there.

[14]	xás	mupírish	úkyav	pasáhyuux
	then	his.medicine	he.made.it	the.sand

And he made his 'medicine,' it was (composed of) sand.

[15]	kúkuum	vúra	imáan	péekxurar	uthivrúhish
	again	Intensive	tomorrow	when.evening	he.floated.ashore

Again the next day he floated to shore in the evening.

[16]	kúkuum	vúra	vaa	káan	upikyámiichva
	again	Intensive	so	there	he.played.again

Again he played there.

---

[17]	kári	xás	ta'ítam	uxús	chími	kanvâarami	ôok	ithivthanéen'aachip
	then	then	so	he.thought	soon	let.me.go!	here	center.of.world

And so he thought, "Let me go there (lit., here) to the middle of the world."

[18]	chavúra	ithivthaneen'achipkâam	tu'árihvarak
	finally	just.upstream.of.the.middle.of.the.world	he.had.come.down.from.upriver

Finally he was coming down from upriver, just upstream of the middle of the world.

[19]	yiimúsich	vúra	utsîip	pamukun'ikrívraam
	little.ways.off	Intensive	he.caught.sight.of.it	their.house

He saw their house a little ways off.

[20]	yánava	uchívchaaksurahitih
	visible	a.door.was.open

He saw the door was open.

[21]	chavúra	káan	u'uum
	finally	there	he.arrived

Finally he got there.

[22]	xákarari	u'áaktak
	on.both.sides	he.put.his.hands.on.top.of.it

He put his hands on each side (of the door).

[23]	xás	pamupírish	umûutish	sáhyuux
	then	his.medicine	he.put.it.down	sand

Then he put his medicine down, the sand.

---

[24]	xás	kunipêer	chími	vôonfuruki
	then	they.told.him	soon	enter.the.house!

Then (the girls) told him, "Come in!"

[25]	xás	kunipêer	chími	vôonfuruki	iim	kahyuras'afishríhan
	then	they.told.him	soon	enter.the.house!	2sg.	Klamath.Lakes.Young.Man

They told him, "Come in, you Klamath Lakes Young Man!

[26]	yôotva	nani'ávanheesh
	hurray!	my.future.husband

Hurray, (you) will be my husband!"

---

[27]	xás	upíip	pûuhara
	then	he.said	no

And he said, "No.

[28]	naa	ni'áhootih
	1sg.	I.am.traveling

I'm traveling."

[29]	ta'ítam	u'áhooheen
	so	he.traveled

Then he traveled.

[30]	yúruk	ithivthaneen'ípan	káan	xás	mukxurarahíram	úkyav
	downriver	at.end.of.world	there	then	his.camp	he.made.it

He made his camp at the downriver end of the world.

---

[31]	víri	teepshítaanivanihich	axmáy	kúnish	fâat	uthítiv
	so	after.a.while	suddenly	sort.of	what	he.heard.it

After a while suddenly he sort of heard something.

[32]	káruk	útroovutih
	upriver	he.was.looking.upriver

He looked upriver.

[33]	axmáy	kunithvíripvarak	peekxareeyav'ifápiitichas
	suddenly	they.ran.down.from.upriver	the.spirit.girls

Suddenly the spirit girls ran down from upriver.

[34]	kun'áharamutih
	they.were.chasing.him

They were chasing him.

[35]	víri	vaa	kunkupitih	pathakan'ávak	tá	kunthataktakúraan	pamukunyáfus	pamukunyupastáran	mûuk	pakun'ívunti	kahyuras'afishríhan
	so	so	they.were.doing.it	above.the.knee	PERF	they.were.tattered	their.dresses	their.tears	with.(by.means.of)	that.they.were.crying.for.him	Klamath.Lakes.Young.Man

They did this, their dresses were all tattered up above the knees from the tears that they were weeping for Klamath Lakes Young Man.

---

[36]	kári	xás	uxús	chími	kan'ípahoo
	then	then	he.thought	soon	let.me.go.again!

And he thought, "Let me go on."

[37]	kári	xás	páy nanu'ávahkam	u'ípahoo	páy nanu'ávahkam	ukâakamhitih
	then	then	sky	he.went.again	sky	he.was.a.little.ways.upriver

So he went on to the sky, he was a little ways upriver in the sky.

[38]	káan	xás	uxús	chími	ôok	ikxurarahíram	kaníkyav
	there	then	he.thought	soon	here	campsite	let.me.make.it!

There he thought, "Let me make camp here!"

[39]	ta'ítam	ukyâaheen
	so	he.made.it

So he made it.

[40]	xás	iinâak	upikrîish
	then	indoors	he.sat.back.down

And he sat down inside.

[41]	teepshítaanivanihich	axmáy	kúnish	fâat	uthítiv
	after.a.while	suddenly	sort.of	what	he.heard.it

In a little while, suddenly he sort of heard something.

[42]	xás	yúruk	utrûuputih
	then	downriver	he.looked.downriver

And he looked downriver.

[43]	axmáy	yúruk	kunithvíripraa	peekxareeyav'ifápiitichas
	suddenly	downriver	they.ran.up.from.downriver	the.spirit.girls

Suddenly the spirit girls ran up from downriver.

[44]	vúrava	kun'áharamutih
	just	they.were.chasing.him

They were chasing him that way.

---

[45]	xás	iinâak	upvôonfuruk
	then	indoors	he.went.back.inside

Then he went back inside.

[46]	teepshítaanivanihich	axmáy	kuníthyiimfuruk	peekxareeyav'ifápiitichas
	after.a.while	suddenly	they.fell.inside	the.spirit.girls

In a little while, suddenly the spirit girls fell into the house.

[47]	víri	pakuníthyiimfuruk	ta'ítam	kun'inívruuhvarayva
	so	when.they.fell.inside	so	they.rolled.around

When they fell in, they rolled around.

[48]	kári	xás	vaa	kunkúupha	kurihkirá'aachipvari	uthrîish	pamukunyupastáran
	then	then	so	they.did.it	towards.the.middle.of.the.roof-beam	they.ran.together	their.tears

They did this, their tears collected halfway up the roof-beam.

[49]	kári	xás	uxús	kahyuras'afishríhan	hûut	áta	ník	níniishvunaa
	then	then	he.thought	Klamath.Lakes.Young.Man	how	maybe	a.little	I.do.with.them

And Klamath Lakes Young Man thought, "How ever shall I do with them?"

[50]	kári	xás	ithváay	u'aktararíshriihva
	then	then	chest	he.pressed.his.hands.down

Then he pressed his hands on their chests.

[51]	teepshítaanivanihich	xás	kunpífuksip
	after.a.while	then	they.got.back.up

Then in a little while they got up.

[52]	xás	takráav	xákarari	kun'íxupkiish
	then	shoulder	on.both.sides	they.lay.against.it

And they lay against his shoulder.

[53]	xás	kunipêer	yôotva	nanu'ávanheesh
	then	they.told.him	hurray!	our.future.husband

And they said, "Hurray, (you) are our husband!

[54]	kóovan	vúra	nupkêevishriheesh
	together.with.(plural)	Intensive	we.will.be.transformed

We will be transformed together."

---

[55]

kári

xás

uxúsaanik

kahyuras'afishríhan

yaas'ára

nanipírish

tu'aapúnmahaak

yaas'ára

káru

vúra

vaa

ukupheesh

then

then

he.thought

Klamath.Lakes.Young.Man

rich.person

my.medicine

if.they.know.it

rich.person

also

Intensive

so

they.will.do.it

And Klamath Lakes Young Man thought, "If Mankind knows my medicine, Mankind will do this way also."

[56]	víri	naa	kích	îin	tá	nu'apúnmiik
	so	1sg.	only	TOPIC	PERF	I.learned.it.from.you

I alone have learned it from you.

[57]	víri	naa	káru	vaa	nikupheesh
	so	1sg.	also	so	I.will.do.it

I will do that way also."

(Bright: "The last two sentences are addressed to Klamath Lakes Young Man by the person reciting the formula.")