Hocąk Text —The Island Weight Songs

Hocąk Text — The Island Weight Songs

narrated by Jasper Blowsnake


Winnebago III, #1: 71		Winnebago II, #1: 96		Winnebago II, #5: 97

English Translation

As is the case with a number of other Radin interlinear MSS, this text is full of abbreviations for common word terminations. The revised texts in Winnebago II, #1: 96-97 and Winnebago II, #5: 97-99, can be used as a kind of Rosetta Stone for interpreting their values:

α	β	γ	ε	ρ	τ	υ	ω
égi	žigé	-giži	ésge	ánąga	žegų	-regi	žigé

N	X	2	ɕ	9	>	-	÷	⨪
hicókewahíwira	wąkšig	-že, -še	-xjį	-žą	-gáją	-ra	nągera	-nąk, -nąg

In the interlinear text where the translation is missing, it has been supplied whenever possible from the English text of The Road of Life and Death (see Source below). Where a missing translation has been supplied from other sources, it is enclosed in brackets, [ ].

Key —

First Row	"raw" interlinear text from Paul Radin, Notebook, Winnebago III, #1: 71-73.
Second Row	revised text from Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Winnebago II, #1: 96-97, and Winnebago II, #5: 97-99.
Third Row	English translation based on that of The Road of Life and Death.

p. 71 (= Winnebago II, #1: 96, Winnebago II, #5: 97) —

'uañgí[9]	tcowáredjáñ[ɕ]	hageré[9]	hądé[γ]	widjiráwaséwe[-]
Wągížą	cowarejąxjį	hagaréžą	hątégiži.	Wijirawaséwera,
A man	long before us	once	he dreamt.	The Island Weights,*

*Radin's translation has "the four island weights", but the number is not expressed in the Hocąk.

p. 72 (= Winnebago II, #1: 97, Winnebago II, #5: 98) —

[N]	hąbókahi	nihá	wañgat'ą́benañgwíre	honihá
hicókewahíwira,	hąbókahi	nihá	wągat'ą́benągwire	honihá
our grandfathers,	every day	song	that they placed on us	the song

gigų́zire[2´]	honihá[-]	hi[9´]caną	higiwa-aį́ne[2]	tconí[ɕ]
gigų́zireže.	Honihára	hižą́šaną	higiwa-aį́neže.	Coníxjį
they taught him.	The songs	one apiece	they started for him.	The very first

hąborgurégi[⨪]re	nąwaį́[9]	higiwá-añgi	nąwą́	tconína
hąboguréginągere	nąwaįžą	higiwá-añgi	ną́wą	conína
the one in the east	a song	he started for him	song	the first

erehí[2]	[α]	[ω]	widjugámi[÷´]	hohuhí
erehíže.	Égi	žigé	wijugáminągera	hohuhí*
he made it.	And	again	one placed on the edge of the earth	direction

*Radin has hohahí, since in the original MS the /u/ looks like an /a/.

xedéra	s'aniñk	siniwagú[υ][⨪]re	honihaí[9]	hicgé
xetéra	sánįk	siniwagúreginągere,	honihaížą	hišgé
big one	side	the north one,	a song	also

higiwá-ą[2]	jée	ną́wą	hinųbrá	erehí[2]
higiwáąže.	žeé	ną́wą	hinųbra	erehíže.
he started for.	That	song	the second	he made it.

[α]	[ω]	s'aniñk	yoiré[υ][÷]re	hicgé
Égi	žigé	sánįk	yoiréreginągere	hišgé
And	again	side	the west one	also

nąwaį́[9]	higiwá-ą[2]	nąwą́	jeé	hidanína
nąwaį́žą	higiwa-ą́že.	Nąwą́	žeé	hitanína
a song	he started.	Song	that	the third

herehí[2]	[α]	[ω]	hicgé	s'aniñk
herehíže.	Égi	žigé	hišgé	sánįk
he made it.	And	again	also	side

yorotcądje[υ´]	rekúhuhi	higaí[υ]	nąwaį́[9]	higiwá-ą[2]
yorocą́jeregi,	Rek'uhuhí	higaíregi,	nąwaį́žą	higiwá-ąže.
on the south,	"Down Stream"	they call it,	a song	he started.

[τ´][γ]	nąwǫ́na	djopíwi	higiwa-aį́ne[2]	[α]
Žegųgíži	nąwą́na	jopíwi	higíwa-aineže.	Égi
Thus it was,	songs	four	they started.	And

hicgé	é[ɕ]	honihá[9]	gųsé	e[ɕ´]
hišgé	éxjį	honihážą	gųsé;	éxjį
also	he himself	a song	he made;	he himself

hoixgǫ́xgǫ	haniná	kéwewi[ρ´]	[β]	we[2´]
hoixgą́xgą	haniná	kewewi-ánąga	éja	wéže,
customs	theirs	he thought of, and	there	he said,

hitcókera	djagu	igerá	hi'ųdjá[2]	e[2´]
"Hicókera,	jagú	higéra,	hi'ųjáže,"	éže.
"Grandfather,	what	he told,	he tried it,"	he said.

Winnebago II, #5, p. 99* —

nąwą́ka	hitcóke[-]	wak'ą́wañxgi	higisgékdjané[2]	higegí
Nąwą́ka	hicókera	wak'ą́wąxgi	higisgékjaneže,	higegí.
The singer,	grandfather,	if he poisoned him,	it would be so,	[as] he told him.

*handwritten at the top of the page of this typescript is, "waratcga = guess at with mouth[,] worutcga = guess at with hand".

p. 73* —

[X]ią	káwañx[>´]	djagónagi	t'ékdje	hegegí
Wąkcigią́	kąwąxgáją	jajónagi	t'ékje;	higegí
A man	that he poisoned	when,	he would die;	[as] he told him,

*at the top of the page is written, "reháge - to send forth by utterance[,] reráge [c?e?rerági][,] rehíge". After the last word, nothing is written.

jedjóna[>´]	t'e[2´]	[ε]	nąwáñka	gųsé
žejónagają.	T'ežé.	Ésge,	nąwánąka	gųsé.*
so it would end.	He died.	Thus,	the song	he made.

*in Winnebago II, #5, p. 99, interlinear couplet 3, Radin draws a vertical line in pencil after this word.

[α]	[ω]	hidjąnéją	gųsé	nąwaí[9]
Égi	žigé	hijánežą	gųsé,	nąwaį́žą
And	again	another one	he made,	a song

'uáñkdjega	e	wádje[2]	wakáwañ[γ][ρ´]	[X]riją́
wą́kjega	e	waježé.	Wakawawąxga-´nąga*	wąkšígerižą́†
the man	he	he said it.	He poisoned him, and	one of the men

*this is anomalous. It should apparently have been, Wakawawągadją́nąga, but [γ] was supposed to have represented -giži, as it does elsewhere. No instance is known of giži-anąga, to my knowledge.
†the corrected text has, wañkcígera hiją́, removing the effects of external sandhi.

t'ehigá	e	ną́waįt'úne	ną́wǫna	hi[9]
t'ehigá,	e	nąwaįt'ų́ne,	nąwą́na	hižą́
when he killed him,	that	a song he would make about it,	the song	one

gųs'á[2]	honihá[-]	é	worátcgakdjóniháwi[>´]
gųs'áže.	Honihára*	e	worácgakjaniháwigają.
he would make.	The songs	them	we will try to make.

*in Winnebago II, #5, p. 99, interlinear couplet 6, Radin draws a vertical line in pencil after this word, although the word seems to fit the succeeding sentence better.

Source:

The original interlinear is found in Jasper Blowsnake, Jasper Blowsnake's Account of the Medicine Rite, in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.) Winnebago III, #1: 71-73. A highly legible handwritten MS is found in Jasper Blowsnake, Jasper Blowsnake's Account of the Medicine Rite, in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.) Winnebago II, #1: 96-97. The corrected text is an interlinear typescript in Jasper Blowsnake, Jasper Blowsnake's Account of the Medicine Rite, in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.) Winnebago II, #5: 97-99. For a loose English translation, see Paul Radin, The Road of Life and Death: A Ritual Drama of the American Indians. Bollingen Series V (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973 [1945]) 179-180. For a loose English translation, see Paul Radin, The Road of Life and Death: A Ritual Drama of the American Indians. Bollingen Series V (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973 [1945]) 119-120.