Florence Shaughnessy
"The Mourning Dove" (1951)
Writing system: no hyphens | hyphens
Display style: paragraph | sentence | look-up
Text identifier: LA16-1
Speaker: Florence Shaughnessy
Primary documentation: R. H. Robins
Edition: R. H. Robins, The Yurok Language (1958), pp. 155-157
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English translation: | | Password required |
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Hee-kon kue 'e-la hoo-le'-mo-nee nee-kee chyue 'o gookw, kwe-see kue 'o'-ro-wee' kem 'o
gookwch'.
Once upon a time the inhabitants of the earth were all gambling, and the dove too was gambling. -
Kwe-see 'ok'w 'ue-pee-cho-wos.
He had a grandfather. -
'O noo-wo'r kue 'ee nue 'er'-gerp 'we-go-lek', Kwe-lekw keet mar-ke-wech' kue me-wee-mor.
A messenger ran up saying, The old man is going to die. -
'O ga'm 'o'-ro-wee', To' kee kem ko gookw-chek', 'ohl-kue-mee keech rew-pe'n.
The dove said, I will gamble again, for he was winning. -
Kwe-see kem 'o noo-wo'r 'we-go-yek', Kwe-lekw cho hee-moo-rey-yo-wo'm! Kwe-lekw keet
mar-ke-wech' kue k'e-pee-cho-wos.
And again someone ran up telling him, Well, hurry! Your grandfather is going to die. -
Kem 'ee ye'm 'o'-ro-wee', To' kee kem ko hookw-chek'; mo-cho kem kee 'ap ne-wook'
keech 'ue-mar-ke-we-chek', kem kee weet 'o so-no-wok'.
The dove said, I will gamble again; and if I find him already dead when I come, this is what I will do. -
K'ee kwen cho kee no-'o-mue'n k'ee 'wes-'o-nah, kee noohl me-gey-kwe-le'-weyk'.
So long as the heavens endure, then I will mourn. -
Tue' wee'shk'oh 'e-nue-mee wee' so'n.
And today that is just what he is doing. -
Mo-cho kee ko'l ko'-mo-yo'm 'o key 'o'-ro-wee', ko ko'-mo-yo'm ko-lo wo-ken 'o
mey-kwe-le'-we'y.
If somewhere you hear the dove as he sits there, you will hear him as it were mourning. -
Nue-mee sku'y soo wo-ken 'o ge'm, Weee puue puue.
Very well he says, Wee poo poo. -
Tue' so'n keet-kwo 'ue me-gey wee'shk'oh.
And so it is that he still mourns today.