Hočąk Text — The Ice Hole

The Ice Hole

interlinear text by Thomas A. Seboek

This text comes from an Ediphone (wax) cylinder recorded sometime well prior to 1945. In that year it was forwarded to Indiana University to be transcribed. A native Hočąk speaker, Stella Stacy of Black River Falls, Wisconsin, listened to the text three times, then repeated it from memory. The text was slightly redacted by Alvin Stacy, who described it as "archaic" and "awkward." [1]

Expressions appearing in brackets, [ ], are supplied by the editor (Richard Dieterle).

p. 168 —

Higų́hayninegì	hap'énįk	wa'ų́ąhírežè.	Hirarexčįgàją	wirá
In the morning	early	they got there.	In a little while	[the] sun

haǧép	hužé.	'Égi	Pų́zakexétenąkà	homąkíni
comes up	[to start] coming.	And	Big Sand	visit

hahí	wa'ų́hirežé.	Hičawįra	wežé,	"Héną
over there	they did it.	His wife	said,	"There

nínįgrà	hahí	hašgugi.	'Egi	rex'ížap
little water	over there	get it.	And	water bucket

hižą́	heregíhanianągà	žegųrežè.	Manį́regìheregí	nųǧrágiháp
one	he went down with it	he did.	In winter time	chop hole in the ice

hiránągà	niągų́nąkì.	Nųx	hoyhábra	wažonązįže.
he did it	where they get water.	Ice	where hole is	piled up around edge.

'Éja	nązábre	hiánągà.	Nųx	hoyháp
There	slip	he did it.	Ice	in the hole

'éja	howireže.	Rohą́	'éja	mąčíwa'ų́nąkí.
there	he went in.	Lot	there	camping.

Hirorugwéja	nųxhoyhàp	hičanežą	'éja	hahiáǧepše.
Some distance from it	ice hole	another one	there	he came out there.

'Eja	hiské	niągwa	hiregáją	hajáyreže.
There	some	went after water	[when] they did it	they saw him.

"Pežé'e	janinéže?"	higáyregi.	Weže,	"Pų́zagexètega
"Who	he belongs to?"	they called it.*	He said,	"Big Sand

*this can also be translated as "they said."

heníhanà."	'Egi	'eja	kérehahírežè.	Žegų́
my brother."	And	there	they took him over.	[So]

wą́gnąkà	hąké	xabníže.*	Žegų'epa†	hątáginąč
that man	not	say nothing.	From then on	he fasted

*xap, "to speak, be companionable"; ní, "not"; -že, sentence terminator.
†Sebeok concludes the previous sentence with this word, when it should probably initiate this sentence.

jirežé.	Čegéja	wiraročą́jegà	warų́čs'áže.*	Hahížigé
he did it.	When all was new†	at noon time	[he used to] eat.	All day long

*Sebeok has S'aže as the initial word of the next sentence, translated as "day goes on"; however, it is also a suffix meaning "he used to ..., he would ..." and probably goes with the last word of this sentence (waruč).
†more idiomatically translated as "first," "the first time."

hąhąhehis'áže.	Hahi'ųja'ų	'įhąp	nąžé.	Žegų'ųjes'àže.
night comes.	Fasting overnight	[he spent the] night	slept.	He [would] keep on doing it.

Hoyšip*	Pų́zakexetenąkà	hakarakižu	'unihežè.
All the time	Big Sand	he was with him	keep doing it.

*Sebeok has this as the last word of the previous sentence, but spatio-temporal words usually begin a sentence and verbs usually end them, although there are exceptions.

English Translation

Source:

Thomas A. Sebeok, "Two Winnebago Texts," International Journal of American Linguistics, 13 (1947): 167-170; Text I — Vision Quest, 168.