Ararahih'urípih
A Dictionary and Text Corpus of the Karuk Language

Chester Pepper: "Deer-hunting Medicine" (1957)

Primary participants: Chester Pepper (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-53
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 258-259, Text 53
Additional contributor: Erik Maier (annotator)


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


[1] púufich    u'ákunvareesh   
deer    he.was.going.to.go.hunt.it   
They were going deer-hunting.

[2] xás    vaa    ukúphaanik    páy nanu'ávahkam veekxavnamíchmiif   
then    so    he.did.it    sky.black.wolf   
And páy nanu'ávahkam veekxavnamíchmiif (name of an ikxaréeyav, probably "black little-wolf of the sky") did this.

[3] xás    vaa    ukúphaanik   
then    so    he.did.it   
He did this.

[4] pufíchtaay    kuniykáratih    itráhyar    mutúnviiv   
lots.of.deer    they.were.killing.them    ten    his.children   
His ten sons were killing lots of deer.

[5] xás    uxús    kíri    kinpíychaak    pamutúnviiv   
then    he.thought    I.wish    they.inflict.them.with.bad.luck    his.children   
And he wished that his children would have bad luck.
(Bright: "Literally, 'he thought 'let his children have bad luck.'' A more normal mode of expression would be with... nanitúnviiv 'he thought, 'let my children...'' The unexpected person of the possessive perhaps reflects the structure of English indirect discourse.")

[6] kári    xás    uhravrikûunish    pamuhrôoha   
then    then    he.copulated.with.her    his.wife   
So he copulated with his wife.
(Bright: "Sexual intercourse is believed to bring bad luck in deer-hunting.")

[7] xás    u'av    papúufich   
then    he.ate.it    the.deer.meat   
And he ate the deer meat.


[8] xás    púyava    kunpákunvanva    kúkuum   
then    you.see    they.went.hunting    again   
Then they went hunting again.

[9] púra fâat    iykárat   
nothing    they.killed.it   
They didn't kill anything.

[10] kúkuum    vúra    imáan    kunpákunvanva   
again    Intensive    tomorrow    they.went.hunting   
The next day they went hunting again (but were still unsuccessful).

[11] víri    káan    ník    mâam    kun'iruveehrímpiithva   
so    there    a.little    uphill    they.stood.around   
They stood around uphill there.

[12] víri    kôokaninay    kúuk    kunthítiimutih    peekxaréeyav mukinínaasich   
so    everywhere    to    they.listened.in.that.direction    the.spirit's.pets   
They heard the deer (lit., "spirit's pets") everywhere.

[13] fâat    kúnish    kun'ixáxanaatih   
what    sort.of    they.were.crying   
They were sort of crying somewhat.

[14] peekxaréeyav    kunpiykáranaa    ikxaréeyav mukinínaasich   
the.spirits    they.killed.them    deer   
The (other) spirits were killing the deer.

[15] kári    xás    kunxus    xâatik    nupêerunpa   
then    then    they.thought    it's.better    we.die   
Then they thought, "Let's die!"

[16] kunkôoha    pa'ahavíshkaanva   
they.stopped    hunting   
They stopped hunting.


[17] kári    xás    yítha    niinamichtâapas    xás    upiip    chími    nupahavíshkaanvi    páy nanu'ávahkam   
then    then    one    smallest    then    he.said    soon    let's.hunt!    sky   
Then the littlest one said, "Let's hunt in the sky!"

[18] káan    ník    kunpihmáriroopithva    páy nanu'ávahkam   
there    a.little    they.ran.around.in.a.circle    sky   
They ran around there in the sky.

[19] vúra    púra fáat   
Intensive    nothing   
(But) there was nothing (i.e., no deer).

[20] ikmaháchraam    kunpavyíhivrath   
sweathouse    they.went.back.into.the.sweathouse   
They went back to the sweathouse.


[21] kári    xás    pihnîichich    uvôonsip    pamukun'ákah   
then    then    old.man    he.got.up    their.father   
Then the old man got up, their father.

[22] ta'ítam    pírish    úkyav   
so    plant    he.made.it   
And he made medicine.

[23] kári    xás    ta'ítam    upakxuuyvávathvunaa    pamutúnviiv   
then    then    so    he.rubbed.medicine.on.them    his.children   
Then he rubbed it on his children.

[24] yáas        kunpákunvanva   
then    PERF    they.went.hunting   
Then they went hunting again.

[25] peekxúrar    púvaxay    thivrúhish    koovúra    axupa'ithvutiharamúrax   
the.evening    not.yet    float.ashore    all    nothing.but.those.carrying.dressed.deer.meat.on.the.back   
When evening hadn't (even) floated down yet, they were all doing nothing but carrying dressed deer meat.


[26] kári    xás    uxúsaanik    yaas'ara'îin        na'apúnmiikahaak    víri    yaas'ára    káru    vúra    vaa    ukupheesh   
then    then    he.thought    Humankind    PERF    if.it.learned.it.from.me    so    rich.person    also    Intensive    so    he.will.do.it   
Then (the father) thought, "If Mankind has learned it from me, Mankind will do this way too."

[27] naa    kích    îin        nu'apúnmiik   
1sg.    only    TOPIC    PERF    I.learned.it.from.you   
I alone have learned it from you.

[28] naa    káru    vaa    nikupheesh   
1sg.    also    so    I.will.do.it   
I will do that too.