Domingo of Weitchpec

"Buzzard's Medicine" (June 3, 1907)

Writing system: no hyphens | hyphens
Display style: paragraph |sentence | look-up

Text identifier: I4
Speaker: Domingo of Weitchpec
Primary documentation: A. L. Kroeber
Project transcription: Andrew Garrett, with the assistance of Susanne Stadlbauer
Edition: , unpublished; selection edited and published by A. L. Kroeber, "The Languages of California North of San Francisco", University of California Publications in American Archaeology and Ethnology, volume 9 (1911), pp. 425-426
Translation: A. L. Kroeber, Yurok Myths (1976), pp. 313-314 (myth I4)
Manuscript source: A. L. Kroeber, Yurok field notebook 75, pp. 19-31; click here to view PDF

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1.

Weeshtue' so'n 'ekw. Keetkwo lego 'oolekwohl Lerger'l. Weeshtue' ho so'n: nuemeechyue, nuemeechyue nep'. Puelekuek 'w-erpkery ko nee mehl hohpkecho'l. Tue' weeshtue' me'womecho'l. Tue' 'o nuemeechyue hek'ws: leyolekws, hlmeyep'ee'r, hlkerrwers, hlkerrwers, hlkwerterkws. Toomeneek k'ee nue segonowonee tue' nep'. Neekeechyue sook tue' nep', 'emsee k'ee huuek hlkeyuer. Tue' kolo ne'w wohpue 'ee nee looleek k'ee wer'ergeryerwernee wenchokws 'ue-meyoomoyk'. 'Imee skewoksee'm kee koleesh 'ue-komchuemek' kue 'ue-meyoomoyk'. Weet wohpueks 'o loot' nee kue '-uueks keech ko'l so'n. Peeshtue' weeshtue' 'o nep' kem. Nuemeechyue nep'. Tue' noo laa'y, wek tue' noo laa'y so pech. Tue' noo laa'y, tue' pechkues 'o ho neskwechok'w nee soneenee. K'ee mer'wermery tue' nee soneenee weeshtue' so'n nuemeechyue nep'. K'ee chegee new 'we-segonowonee, k'ee chegee new 'we-sook, k'ee kwen cho' nee newo'meesh, tue' nee nep'. Peesh, kwesee 'o loksee'hl, kwesee 'eeshkuue 'ee weeshtue' so'n, keech tue' weeshtue' ho soo gego'l. 'Eeshkuue nee slo'ehlko'. 'Eeshkuue nee slo'ehlkok'w k'ee won 'we-lokseehlek'. Te nue hloyko'm wooneyeek. K'ee 'ue-'werhlker' keech muuewolo' soneenep'. Kolo keech nee mok'w ho 'ekek'olehlkok'w. Nee soneen keech che'lee'. Nee mok'w k'ee mehl sku'y soneenep'. Te nue chyue soneenee ye's k'ee sku'y soneenah, kem tue' neemee hlo'm k'ee 'we-sku'y soneenah. Peesh, kwesee weeshtue' 'o so'n kohchee, keech nuemee mok'ws 'we-neskwey. Kwesee weeshtue 'o ho neskwechok'w Ho'owen. Ho'owens ho neskwechok'w. Perwer'k'uek keet wo sooto' mokee. Peeshtue' weet keech 'o nuemee mok'w 'we-neskweyowok', 'o nuemee mok'w 'we-neskwey. Peesh kwesee 'eeshkuue ko'mo'y kolo ko'l 'o chweenkep'. Kesomehl negeee'n so heenoo. 'O negeee'no'w so heenoo. 'Oko, tee'nee' 'we-chweenkepek'? 'O ne'w kaap'oleehl yo' 'o pegahchew. To' wee' 'o tek kue kaap' 'o pegah. 'O chweenkep' kue kaap', kwesee 'o le'm, 'Iee! To' kwel kome neskweyowo'm, keetee ko'l sonowo'm. Komchueme'm hes keetee ko'l mehl sonowo'm? 'O le'm, Paa! Kwelekw neemee komchuemek'. 'O le'm, Kwelekw nek kee nepaane'm, ko 'o lewoloche'm. Kwelekw weet keech mehl sonowo'm. K'ee nuemeechyue sook k'e-negepek', k'ee 'oohl ko'l wee' sonowoo'm tue' nepe'm. K'ee chegee nue 'we-sook hlmeyep'ee'r tue' nepe'm. Tue' weet keech k'e-me'womechkook'. Tue' nekee' kee nah. 'O le'm, Nek kee nepaane'm. Hehl, cho' sku'y soneenee week 'ee sonkoo'm. Keyomohl cho' ket'ohpeene'm. Cho' s'eme'm, tue' weet ko 'o so tegeruepaane'm. Kwelekw weet kee mehl hewoloche'm, mo wee'eeet tue' mehl slo'ehlkoo'm, keech mehl mok'w k'e-tewon. Wek hehl neee'nes k'e-'wes! 'O neee'no'w 'ue-'wes. Neesh! Tue' kome neskweyowok'. K'ee nee 'rgerkerhl chpee wee' ko nee 'rgerkerhl, 'ue-'werhlker' chpee kome ro'oh ho hlkeleek. So'n 'ekw, keech neemok'w 'we-tewon, 'ohlkuemee weeshtue' keech 'ue me'womechkok'w. Peesh, 'o le'm, Weetue' kee sonowok'. Weetue' kee mehl weeegenoyek' 'o 'wes'onew, kyekwen kee soo hogoole'monee k'ee 'oohl; kwelekw woyn keetee yoole'm k'ee 'oohl. Weet kee neeegemue'. Weeshtue' kee negep' 'o'loolekweesh'ol k'ee nekah. 'O le's, Chuue', to' wee' kee sonowok'. Kwesee 'o nep' kyew 'o pyewolue' 'emsee rekwoh. Peeshtue' wee'eeetue weeshtue mehl ma so'n. 'O le'm: Kwelekw nek weet nee sonowok'. To' 'ue-markwenee nep' 'o'loolekweesh'ol, keeto 'ue-markwenee nep'. Tue' weeshtue' ko 'o nep', weeshtue' ko 'o lohkue'. Peeshtue' weet kee sonowoo'm 'o'loolekweesh'ol. Weeshtue' ko 'o soneenee weeshtue' sonowohl 'o'loolekweesh. Nekah kee sonowoo'm. Weet 'wes'onah 'o knegon. 'Wes'onah weeshtue' ko 'o mehl hegook' kolo 'o'loolekweesh'ol. Weeshtue' kee segonoksee': Weeshtue' kee yegohkue' mocho keech slo'ehlko' 'oohl. Weesh kee nep', weeshtue' kue 'o lohkue'm 'ue-meskwoh, mo weetue' nek soo skuyahpelek'. Peeshtue weetue' chpeen so'n.

This is exactly how it was. Buzzard was still a person. This is what he did: he ate everything, everything. He began downriver from where the river starts. That's where he came from. He found everything: gartersnakes, rattlesnakes, salamanders, salamanders, frogs. He ate all the kinds of things that existed. He ate every kind of thing, even the slimy babies. He could see them thrown in the water by pregnant young women. She did not want anyone to know she was pregnant. So she threw her child who died in the water. Then he ate it too. He ate everything. He kept going along, he kept going upriver. He kept going along, he arrived upriver doing so. Doing so where the river comes from he ate everything. Everything he saw of all descriptions, every kind of thing he saw, whatever he saw, he ate it. Well, then it was a year, and slowly it was like this, since he had gone around like that. Slowly he wasted away. Slowly he wasted away until a year was up. He tried to go uphill. His bones started to feel all burnt. It was as if he no longer had strong legs. He got dry. There was nothing that made him feel better. He tried to do everything he thought of to make himself feel better, but he didn't take what would make him feel better. Well, when he was like this once, he became very sick. That is how he came to Ho'owen. He came to Ho'owen. He was going south then. Then he became very sick, he was very sick. Then he suddenly heard what seemed to be someone speaking to him. He looked back on his left side. He looked back. Hey, who spoke to me? He saw a plant there moving around. The plant was growing there and moving around. The plant was talking, and it said, Ii! You are very sick, you are about to die. Don't you know that you are about to die? He said, No! I don't know it. It said, You will eat me and you will get well. This is why you have become like this. You eat every kind of thing, you even eat people who are dead. You eat every kind of thing, even rattlesnakes. That is what you have become sick from. [He said,] I will. It said, You will eat me. So, prepare (me) well there. Cook (me) in a basket dipper. Pound me up, then you will talk to me. You will get well from that, for you are thin, you no longer have flesh. Look at yourself! He looked at himself. Alas! He was sick. Only his joints, his joints [?], on his bones alone he stood on the ground. That is just how he was, he now had no flesh, because he had become sick from that. Well, it said, I will do so. For that I will always be called in the world, as long as people will live thus; for there will be another people. People will always carry it. Human beings will always eat us. He thought, OK, I will do so. Then he ate and chewed there and also drank. That is what he did with it. He said: Well, that is how I am. A human being eats everything, he will eat everything. He will eat, and then they will make it. Human beings will do so. Human beings will act like this. We will do so. I am leaving it like that in the world. People will be in the world as if I were around. This is what he thought: This is how they will make it if a person gets weak. He will eat this, and he will make his medicine, because that is how I got better. Well, that's just how it was.