Hočąk Text — Potato Magic

Hočąk Text — Potato Magic

narrated by George Ricehill

The MS is written in ink in a highly legible cursive hand. Numbers for footnotes have been placed in the text but no notes were written in. It has no title on its first page, and the upper left and upper right corners have page numbers each belonging to a different numbering system. Almost every word has an interlinear translation.

English Translation

p. 81 —

cohaíⁿjaⁿ	rájᴇra	howacútcga	higaírenaⁿ	hagâréjaⁿ
Šohaį́žą	rážera	Howašúčga*	higaíreną.	Hagaréžą
Sioux Indian	name	"Red Elk"	they called him.	Sometimes

*this should be Hųwųšúčka.

dokếwêhijê’úṇa	mañkáx	wagi’û́ⁿ	maⁿhíxêdê	mañkánijaⁿ
tokéwehiže’ų́na	mąkáx	wagi’ų́,	Mąhíxete	mąkánižą.
wild ground-potatoes	dirt	he made them	one white man	a doctor.

kibagígi	dokếwêhìra	hijáⁿ	c’ûñgíjaⁿ	jurára
Kibagígi.	"Tokéwehíra	hižą́	š’ųgížą,	žurára
[He doubted it.]*	"Wild potatoes	one	make one,	dollars

*the translation has, "don't blame them".

kerêpốnêsàtcaⁿ	honík’ûñkdjènaⁿ	cehónuka*	higaírenaⁿ	hodjá
kerepónesáčą	honík’ųkjéną,"	Šehónąka	higaíreną.	"Hojá."
fifty	I will give you,"	Sioux	he says.	"Yes."

*this is written in another hand above an original ~~cónûñga~~.

egi	mañkánidjega	máṇa	giswagáxkanañk	rokdégi
Égi	mąkánijega	mą́na	giswagáxkanąk.	"Roktégi
And	the doctor	the earth	he makes a circle around.	"Inside the circle

hijáⁿ	c’ûñgíji	kerêpốnêsàtcaⁿ	honik’û́ñkdjonaⁿ	égi
hižą́	š’ųgíži,	kerepónesáčą	honik’ų́kjeną."	Égi
one	[if] you make,	fifty	I will give you."	And

p. 82 —

coháⁿdjega	édja	dokêwêhíjaⁿ	edja	’únaⁿ
Šohą́jega	éja	tokewehížą	eja	’úną.
the Sioux	right there	a wild potato	right there	he made.

jénûñga	mañkánidjèga	hohirénaⁿ*	jénûñga
Žénųga,	mąkánijéga	hohiréną.	Žénųga.
That's all,	the doctor	he got beaten.	That's all.

*something is written above the letter /r/ that is difficult to make out.

Source:

George Ricehill, "A Tale of a Sioux," in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Freeman #3892 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, n.d.) Winnebago III, #11a, Story 5: 81-82.