Hocąk Text — The Boy Who Wants to Go to War
by Stella (Blowsnake) Stacey, a.k.a. Mountain Wolf Woman
transcribed and translated by Sheila Shigley
|
| Stella Stacy (Mountain Wolf Woman) |
| 00:02.58 | ||||||
| "Tócą́r̨áirekjenégiži | wą́k | wóšgą́žą | te’é | heré, | hąké | hokíwáhas |
| "When they will go to war | men | a ceremony | this | it is, | not | place/time at which they chase after each other |
| wóšgą́ | hižą | herénı̨́, | nųnįgé. | hinı̨́k | háxjį, | hąké | šaranı̨́ | rónįgigų́n', | ho’ų égi.́ |
| ceremony | a | it is not, | but, | son | my beloved, | not | you do not go | I am asking you, | this time. |
| 00:40.5 | 00:47.5 | |||||||
| Hinı̨́, | [ókistı̨́na],* | wéną́k | giži, | hára† | ižą́ | rékjenąhéra. | Šų́gépága | howéną́giriekjenén', |
| [Expression of fear,] | [meeting place?] | [traveling] | when, | [?] | one | you will be going. | Dog Head | he will go away running, |
* it also sounds rather like ókisténa. Presumably an initial /h/ has been lost due to external sandhi. Could this be a corruption of hokistó, "gathering place, conference site, meeting spot" (literally, "place where they meet each other"); variant hokistu (Ao KAi roto), "gathering place, conference site, meeting spot" (Kingswan)?
† is this an afterthought for wéną́(k) hára? Did she slip in the hára meaning to have attached it to the wéną́(k)? However, it is followed by the indefinite article, so it should be a noun occuring after -giži, here functioning apparently more as a conjunction.
| 00:56 | |||||||||||
| žé | éja | šerékjén'," | éže, | wą́k | hi’ą́c | híre. | Giži | wą́k, | hocı̨́cıją́ną,̨́ | we, | "Žąąą, |
| this one | there | you will go," | he said, | man | father | he was. | So | man, | the boy, | he said, | "[Exclamation?] |
| 01:02.9 | ||||||
| méžésge | yárégajéré[ną]. | Wą́gᵉrá | hižą́kíra | tugą́š | hįhíre, | kiríšge |
| this/thus | I would have thought. | The men | just one | I tried to get but missed | I am skinny, | he jumped from side to side also, |
| 01:12.4 | |||||||||
| né | ų́įnékje, | ésgé | yárén'. | Žigínų́bᵉrá* | wą́gᵉrá | nų́píwi | [hi?]kjaną́wišge | ne | winų́bᵉra |
| for me | it may be done, | so | I thought. | Again a second time | men | two | they did it also | for me | the second time |
* < žige-hinųp-ra.
| 01:18.4 | 01:24.3 | ||||||||
| ų́įnékjen'. | Égi | žigé | wą́gᵉrá | tán' | kiriwíšge, | né | witánįną | ų́įnegiži. | Égi, |
| it may be done. | And | again | men | three | jumped from side to side also, | for me | the third time | they did. | Then |
| 01:32 | ||||||||
| wą́gᵉrá | jop | kiriwíšge, | né | wijóbᵉra | ų́įnékje, | gážésge | yárén'. | 'Ge |
| men | four | jumped from side to side also, | for me | the fourth time | they will have done, | like that | I think. | So |
| é | esge | nįšge | té | ną́’įną,* | egi | égų | gokjene† | ho | ke | [hįt’anįkjen',"]‡ | eže, |
| then | therefore | I also | I started to go | I tried, | and | then | to come back, | ho | not | I will not die," | he said, |
* uncertain reading, but probably correct.
† this form appears to exhibit the common enough swapping of an /o/ for a /u/ in the word gukjene, "to come back."
‡ Stella overruns the glottal stop (’) which then causes the word to be pronounced as hitanįkjen', "there will not be a third time." This would not make sense, since we have already had four dodges. However, to say, "I will not die," is meant to reassure his father.
| 01:41.5 | 01:45.5 | |||||||||
| wąkwacekjąna, | hocįcįjega. | E | esge | hąke | ranįže, | hocįcįžą. | Hirujis | e, | hi’ąjᵉra | hireranąga, |
| the young man, | the boy. | He | therefore | not | he did not go, | a boy. | To fall short | he, | his father | it was done, and |
| 01:53.1 | |||||
| [kawaxgužek,]* | tocąnąirekjenegiži. | Nųnįge | wąk | hocįcįjaną | wokarakiž',† |
| [he went to break loose,] | when they were about to go to war. | However, | man | the boy | when telling his own story, |
* this word, of unknown meaning, may be a mishearing of giwąxguže (Ki w xoKo de), "he went to break loose," which makes sense in this context, as it would imply that he was trying to free himself in this case from his father's control.
† the terminal suffix -giži has its initial /g/ assimilated by the terminal /k/ of wokarak, and its final /i/ disappears as a result of being elided with the next word.
| || 00:01:56.3 | |||
| esge | eže, | airen'. | |
| thus | he said, | it is said. |
Source:
Stella Stacy, "The young boy who wanted to go war," reading by Sheila Shigley, from audio tapes in the American Philosophical Society. 10-04. Fraenkel, Gerd. Mss.Rec. 29, recorded 12 July 1959, 1 .mp3; 00:00:02.58 - 00:01:56.3. Copy made by Gerd Fraenkel of an original tape held at the Archives of Languages of the World, Indiana University. This program comes from original tape 526.12. APS accession number 7212; APSdigrec_0953; Recording Number: 02; Program Number: 14.