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Edition: , unpublished; selection edited and published by A. L. Kroeber, "The Languages of California North of San Francisco", University of California Publications in American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

Yurok audio (original):  
| Password required

Yurok audio (filtered, signal removed above 2000 Hz):  
| Password required

  1. Weeshtue' so'n 'ekw. Keetkwo lego 'oolekwohl Lerger'l.
    This is exactly how it was. Buzzard was still a person.
  2. Weeshtue' ho so'n: nuemeechyue, nuemeechyue nep'.
    This is what he did: he ate everything, everything.
  3. Puelekuek 'w-erpkery ko nee mehl hohpkecho'l. Tue' weeshtue' me'womecho'l.
    He began downriver from where the river starts. That's where he came from.
  4. Tue' 'o nuemeechyue hek'ws: leyolekws, hlmeyep'ee'r, hlkerrwers, hlkerrwers, hlkwerterkws.
    He found everything: gartersnakes, rattlesnakes, salamanders, salamanders, frogs.
  5. Toomeneek k'ee nue segonowonee tue' nep'.
    He ate all the kinds of things that existed.
  6. Neekeechyue sook tue' nep', 'emsee k'ee huuek hlkeyuer.
    He ate every kind of thing, even the slimy babies.
  7. Tue' kolo ne'w wohpue 'ee nee looleek k'ee wer'ergeryerwernee wenchokws 'ue-meyoomoyk'.
    He could see them thrown in the water by pregnant young women.
  8. 'Imee skewoksee'm kee koleesh 'ue-komchuemek' kue 'ue-meyoomoyk'. Weet wohpueks 'o loot' nee kue '-uueks keech ko'l so'n.
    She did not want anyone to know she was pregnant. So she threw her child who died in the water.
  9. Peeshtue' weeshtue' 'o nep' kem. Nuemeechyue nep'.
    Then he ate it too. He ate everything.
  10. Tue' noo laa'y, wek tue' noo laa'y so pech.
    He kept going along, he kept going upriver.
  11. Tue' noo laa'y, tue' pechkues 'o ho neskwechok'w nee soneenee.
    He kept going along, he arrived upriver doing so.
  12. K'ee mer'wermery tue' nee soneenee weeshtue' so'n nuemeechyue nep'.
    Doing so where the river comes from he ate everything.
  13. K'ee chegee new 'we-segonowonee, k'ee chegee new 'we-sook, k'ee kwen cho' nee newo'meesh, tue' nee nep'.
    Everything he saw of all descriptions, every kind of thing he saw, whatever he saw, he ate it.
  14. Peesh, kwesee 'o loksee'hl, kwesee 'eeshkuue 'ee weeshtue' so'n, keech tue' weeshtue' ho soo gego'l. 'Eeshkuue nee slo'ehlko'.
    Well, then it was a year, and slowly it was like this, since he had gone around like that. Slowly he wasted away.
  15. 'Eeshkuue nee slo'ehlkok'w k'ee won 'we-lokseehlek'.
    Slowly he wasted away until a year was up.
  16. Te nue hloyko'm wooneyeek. K'ee 'ue-'werhlker' keech muuewolo' soneenep'.
    He tried to go uphill. His bones started to feel all burnt.
  17. Kolo keech nee mok'w ho 'ekek'olehlkok'w. Nee soneen keech che'lee'. Nee mok'w k'ee mehl sku'y soneenep'.
    It was as if he no longer had strong legs. He got dry. There was nothing that made him feel better.
  18. Te nue chyue soneenee ye's k'ee sku'y soneenah, kem tue' neemee hlo'm k'ee 'we-sku'y soneenah.
    He tried to do everything he thought of to make himself feel better, but he didn't take what would make him feel better.
  19. Peesh, kwesee weeshtue' 'o so'n kohchee, keech nuemee mok'ws 'we-neskwey.
    Well, when he was like this once, he became very sick.
  20. Kwesee weeshtue 'o ho neskwechok'w Ho'owen. Ho'owens ho neskwechok'w. Perwer'k'uek keet wo sooto' mokee.
    That is how he came to Ho'owen. He came to Ho'owen. He was going south then.
  21. Peeshtue' weet keech 'o nuemee mok'w 'we-neskweyowok', 'o nuemee mok'w 'we-neskwey.
    Then he became very sick, he was very sick.
  22. Peesh kwesee 'eeshkuue ko'mo'y kolo ko'l 'o chweenkep'. Kesomehl negeee'n so heenoo.
    Then he suddenly heard what seemed to be someone speaking to him. He looked back on his left side.
  23. 'O negeee'no'w so heenoo. 'Oko, tee'nee' 'we-chweenkepek'? 'O ne'w kaap'oleehl yo' 'o pegahchew.
    He looked back. Hey, who spoke to me? He saw a plant there moving around.
  24. To' wee' 'o tek kue kaap' 'o pegah. 'O chweenkep' kue kaap', kwesee 'o le'm, 'Iee!
    The plant was growing there and moving around. The plant was talking, and it said, Ii!
  25. To' kwel kome neskweyowo'm, keetee ko'l sonowo'm. Komchueme'm hes keetee ko'l mehl sonowo'm?
    You are very sick, you are about to die. Don't you know that you are about to die?
  26. 'O le'm, Paa! Kwelekw neemee komchuemek'.
    He said, No! I don't know it.
  27. 'O le'm, Kwelekw nek kee nepaane'm, ko 'o lewoloche'm. Kwelekw weet keech mehl sonowo'm.
    It said, You will eat me and you will get well. This is why you have become like this.
  28. K'ee nuemeechyue sook k'e-negepek', k'ee 'oohl ko'l wee' sonowoo'm tue' nepe'm.
    You eat every kind of thing, you even eat people who are dead.
  29. K'ee chegee nue 'we-sook hlmeyep'ee'r tue' nepe'm. Tue' weet keech k'e-me'womechkook'.
    You eat every kind of thing, even rattlesnakes. That is what you have become sick from.
  30. Tue' nekee' kee nah.
    [He said,] I will.
  31. 'O le'm, Nek kee nepaane'm. Hehl, cho' sku'y soneenee week 'ee sonkoo'm.
    It said, You will eat me. So, prepare (me) well there.
  32. Keyomohl cho' ket'ohpeene'm. Cho' s'eme'm, tue' weet ko 'o so tegeruepaane'm.
    Cook (me) in a basket dipper. Pound me up, then you will talk to me.
  33. 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!
    You will get well from that, for you are thin, you no longer have flesh. Look at yourself!
  34. 'O neee'no'w 'ue-'wes. Neesh! Tue' kome neskweyowok'.
    He looked at himself. Alas! He was sick.
  35. K'ee nee 'rgerkerhl chpee wee' ko nee 'rgerkerhl, 'ue-'werhlker' chpee kome ro'oh ho hlkeleek.
    Only his joints, his joints [?], on his bones alone he stood on the ground.
  36. So'n 'ekw, keech neemok'w 'we-tewon, 'ohlkuemee weeshtue' keech 'ue me'womechkok'w.
    That is just how he was, he now had no flesh, because he had become sick from that.
  37. Peesh, 'o le'm, Weetue' kee sonowok'.
    Well, it said, I will do so.
  38. Weetue' kee mehl weeegenoyek' 'o 'wes'onew, kyekwen kee soo hogoole'monee k'ee 'oohl; kwelekw woyn keetee yoole'm k'ee 'oohl.
    For that I will always be called in the world, as long as people will live thus; for there will be another people.
  39. Weet kee neeegemue'. Weeshtue' kee negep' 'o'loolekweesh'ol k'ee nekah.
    People will always carry it. Human beings will always eat us.
  40. 'O le's, Chuue', to' wee' kee sonowok'. Kwesee 'o nep' kyew 'o pyewolue' 'emsee rekwoh.
    He thought, OK, I will do so. Then he ate and chewed there and also drank.
  41. Peeshtue' wee'eeetue weeshtue mehl ma so'n. 'O le'm: Kwelekw nek weet nee sonowok'.
    That is what he did with it. He said: Well, that is how I am.
  42. To' 'ue-markwenee nep' 'o'loolekweesh'ol, keeto 'ue-markwenee nep'.
    A human being eats everything, he will eat everything.
  43. Tue' weeshtue' ko 'o nep', weeshtue' ko 'o lohkue'.
    He will eat, and then they will make it.
  44. Peeshtue' weet kee sonowoo'm 'o'loolekweesh'ol. Weeshtue' ko 'o soneenee weeshtue' sonowohl 'o'loolekweesh.
    Human beings will do so. Human beings will act like this.
  45. Nekah kee sonowoo'm. Weet 'wes'onah 'o knegon.
    We will do so. I am leaving it like that in the world.
  46. 'Wes'onah weeshtue' ko 'o mehl hegook' kolo 'o'loolekweesh'ol.
    People will be in the world as if I were around.
  47. Weeshtue' kee segonoksee': Weeshtue' kee yegohkue' mocho keech slo'ehlko' 'oohl.
    This is what he thought: This is how they will make it if a person gets weak.
  48. Weesh kee nep', weeshtue' kue 'o lohkue'm 'ue-meskwoh, mo weetue' nek soo skuyahpelek'.
    He will eat this, and he will make his medicine, because that is how I got better.
  49. Peeshtue weetue' chpeen so'n.
    Well, that's just how it was.