Nettie Ruben: "The Pikiawish at Katimin" (1957)

Primary participants: Nettie Ruben (speaker), William Bright (researcher)
Date: 1957
Project identifier: WB_KL-83
Publication details: William Bright, The Karok Language (1957), pp. 294-297, Text 83
Additional contributor: Shane Bilowitz (annotator)

Note: Bright: "The informant had served as ifuthkam'ahóovaan or junior priestess, and dictated this text from the memory of her experience."

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

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[1]	tá	níkrav
	PERF	I.pounded.acorns

I pounded acorns.

[2]	púyava	patá	ni'iik	xás	tá	ni'asímchak
	you.see	when	I.struck	then	PERF	I.closed.my.eyes

When I struck, I closed my eyes.

[3]	ôok	tu'árihraa	peekxariya'áraar
	here	he.had.come.up.to.this.place	the.priest

The priest came up there.

[4]	xás	kuyrákyaan	tu'iik
	then	three.times	he.had.struck

And he struck three times.

(Bright: "kuyrákyaan may in this case mean not 'three times' but 'the third time'; this would be in accord with the priestess's experience recounted in Kroeber and Gifford, p. 27.")

[5]	xás	îikam	tuvôonupuk
	then	outdoors	he.did.go.outside

Then he went outside.

[6]	yûum	tu'árihrup
	uphill.downriver	he.did.go.downriver

He went a little ways downriver.

[7]	yúruk	tóo	trûuputih	peeshkêesh	tóo	muustih
	downriver	he.was	looking.downriver	the.river	he.was	looking.at.it

He looked downriver, he looked at the river.

[8]	úuth	tóo	tkáratih	peeshkêesh	tóo	muustih
	out.to.water	he.was	looking.across.river	the.river	he.was	looking.at.it

He looked out across the water, he looked at the river.

[9]	peeshkêesh	tóo	muustih	uvêenatih
	the.river	he.had	was.looking.at	he.was.praying

He looked at the river, he prayed.

[10]	kári	iinâak	nu'iin
	then	indoors	we.(two).stayed

And we two (priestesses) stayed inside.

[11]	nu'asímchaaktih
	we.were.keeping.our.eyes.closed

We kept our eyes closed.

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[12]	xás	tá	ivshá'kukamich	tutaxáraaproov
	then	PERF	just.downhill.from.house	he.did.stride

Then he strode upriverward, just downhill from the house.

[13]	kasóohraam	tuvâaram
	placename	he.did.go

He went to kasóohraam.

[14]	káan	aah	tóo	kyáar
	there	fire	he.had	went.in.order.to.make

He went to make a fire there.

[15]	pakúmateech	nutákireesh
	when.later.in.the.day	we.will.leach.(acorn.meal)

We were going to leach (acorn meal) soon.

[16]	púyava	káan	sáruk	tu'aramsîip
	you.see	there	downhill	he.had.come

Then he came from downhill there.

[17]	máruk	ahíram	tuvâaram
	uphill	fireplace	he.did.go

He went uphill to the fireplaces.

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[18]	púyava	yáas	níkraamtih	paxúrish
	you.see	then	I.was.grinding	the.acorn.meat

Then I pounded the acorn meats.

[19]	tá	nipíkyaar	koovúra
	PERF	I.finished	all

I finished everything.

[20]	xás	númpaan	sáruk	tá	nuyâaram	kasóohraam
	then	we.ourselves	downhill	PERF	we.two.went	placename

Then we two ourselves went downhill to kasóohraam.

[21]	asipárax	nu'átivuti	káru	múruk	káru	tásvaan	káru	tarípaan	káru	ikrívkir	nu'êethtih
	cooking.basket	we.were.carrying.in.burden.baskets	also	mealing-tray	also	spatula	also	dipper.basket	also	disk-seat	we.were.carrying

In burden baskets we carried cooking baskets and tray baskets and soup stirrers and dippers, and we carried a stool.

[22]	kúmateech	poo'ípakahaak	peekxariya'áraar	vaa	ukrivkíreesh
	later.in.day	when.he.came.back	the.priest	that	he.will.sit.on.it

Later on, when the priest came back, he was going to sit on that.

[23]	víriva	patóo	thárish	peekrívkir	sákriiv	ukyâati	peethívthaaneen
	thus	when.he.had	put.down	the.stool	hard	he.was.making.it	the.world

When he put the stool down on the ground, he was making the world firm.

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[24]	axaksúpaa	asuuxáras	nu'íin	káru	ithéekxaram
	two.days	fasting.ones	we.(two).stayed	also	all.night

We two stayed fasting for two days and a night.

[25]	káru	pu'íshaha	kín'iishtihara
	also	no.water	we.weren't.drinking.it

And we didn't drink water.

[26]	xás	máh'iit	chí	nupiyâarameesh	xás	táhpuus	nupáthraamutih
	then	morning	soon	we.(two).will.return	then	young.fir.tree	we.were.wrapping.our.hair.with.it

Then in the morning we were going to leave, and we wore our hair bound with fir boughs.

[27]	yáan	vúra	usúpaahitih
	recently	Intensive	it.was.becoming.day

It was just becoming day.

[28]	xás	tá	nupiyxôorar	patakiríram
	then	PERF	we.covered.it	the.acorn-leaching.hole

And we covered our leaching-hole.

[29]	xás	pananupáthraam	patáhpuus	tá	nuvêehkurih
	then	our.hair-wrapping	the.fir.boughs	PERF	we.stuck.them.in

And we stuck in the fir boughs from our hair-binding.

[30]	yáas	tá	nupáatiship	tá	kóo	máruk	tá	nupiyâaram
	then	PERF	we.carried.it.back.up	PERF	all	uphill	PERF	we.two.returned

Then we took up our burden baskets, we went back uphill with everything.

[31]	ikmahachram'íshiip	kúuk	tá	nu'íipma
	Katimin.sweathouse	to	PERF	we.went.back

We went back to the sacred sweathouse.

[32]	kári	koovúra	tá	nupávyiihraa	peekxariya'áraar	káru	imúsaan
	then	all	PERF	we.came.here	the.priest	also	assistant.priest

We all came back up, (including) the priest and the assistant priest.

[33]	koovúra'îin	kinímuustih
	everyone	they.were.looking.at.us

Everyone looked at us.

[34]	káan	tá	kunivyíhrishrih
	there	PERF	they.got.there

They gathered there.

[35]	koovúra	tá	kun'ikákpiithva
	all	PERF	they.jumped.around

Everyone jumped around.

[36]	yâamach	tá	kunipmahóonkoon
	pretty	PERF	they.felt

They felt good.

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[37]	itroopasúpaa	iinâak	nu'áraarahiti	ikmaháchraam
	five.days	indoors	we.were.staying	sweathouse

We all lived in the sweathouse for five days.

[38]	ikxúrar	nupâatvuti	ukrámkaam
	evening	we.were.bathing	pond.near.Katimin

In the evening we bathed in (the pond called) ukrámkaam.

[39]	xás	panunu'ífunih	vúra	xávish	mûuk	nupákootih	kíri	vâaramas	u'if	panunu'ífunih
	then	our.hair	Intensive	mock.orange	with.(by.means.of)	we.were.whipping.our.hair	I.wish	long	it.grows	our.hair

And we whipped our hair with syringa, (thinking), "Let our hair grow long!"

[40]	tá	nukíshap	paxávish	máruk	ahváraak	tá	nupíshunva
	PERF	we.tied.it.up	the.arrowwood	uphill	in.a.hollow.tree	PERF	we.hid.it

(Then) we tied up the syringa, we hid it in a hollow tree uphill.

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[41]	sáruk	uum	kun'íintih,	tá	írahiv
	downhill	3.SG	they.were.celebrating.the.world-renewal.ceremony.	PERF	world-renewal.ceremony

Downhill they were celebrating the world renewal, it was world-renewal time by then.

[42]	upeechkanvichvárahitih
	there.was.gambling

There was gambling.

[43]	tá	kunvuhvúha
	PERF	they.did.the.deerskin.dance

They did the deerskin dance.

[44]	káru	káh'ir	tuvárak
	also	upriver.world-renewal	they.had.danced.the.war.dance

And they did the war dance.

[45]	xás	yáas	tá	kuntharámpuk
	then	then	PERF	they.cooked.acorn.soup

And they cooked acorn soup.

[46]	víri	áama	tá	kunikúykirihva
	so	salmon	PERF	they.barbecued.salmon

They barbecued salmon.

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[47]	tá	kunkíxa	patúuyship
	PERF	they.burned.brush	the.mountain

(Previously) they burned brush on the mountain (i.e., Mount Offield).

[48]	xás	sáruk	tá	kunpavyíhunih
	then	downhill	PERF	they.went.back.downhill

Then they came back downhill.

[49]	áraar	patúuyship
	human	the.mountain

The mountain is a person.

[50]	ikxaréeyav
	spirit.person

It's an ikxaréeyav (a divine person, a god).