The Killing of the Prairie Dogs, Chiricahua Apache Text excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes |
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5. The Killing of the Prairie Dogs
as told by Lawrence Mithlo
|
 | The Killing of the Prairie Dogs, Chiricahua Apache Text |  |
5. The Killing of the Prairie Dogs as told by Lawrence Mithlo
Now Child of the Water spoke thus to his mother:
K'adi Tóbájishchinéń bimáń `áyiiłndíná'a:
`Ákoo hich'iͅiͅ'inááhadzáná'a.
And he started off toward them.
1. dá'iͅiͅeená 'égodiͅ 'just one more remains'. I cannot explain this form. dá'iͅiͅeená looks like dá-....-ná 'just, only', 'í- 'there', and -ee. 'at' which would mean literally 'just at that place'. 'égodiͅ seems to be the imp. neut. intr. verb 'é...-diͅ 'to be not' with a place subject; thus 'a place is not. But the combination is translated 'there is just one more place' and, in addition, there are the following similar forms: naakin 'égodiͅ 'two more times' [naaki 'two', -n times'], táán 'égodiͅ 'three more times' [táá- 'three'],
2. n'aa- 'over there' plus -yá pp. This is the only occurrence of n'aa-; cf. the demonstrative stem 'aa- [Grammatical Sketch, §3].
3. dlóͅí'prairie dog'. A variant form also occurs: dlóͅye [see passage 3 of the text]. I cannot explain this variation which also occurs in other words; cf., for example, nai, maiye 'coyote.
The Prairie Dogs cannot kill one close [to them] with their eyes.
They only kill at a distance with their eyes. [2]
1. áháánézhiͅ 'to its vicinity, in its vicinity'. áhááné, 3rd person of 'to be close, near' [imp. neut. intr.].
2. ńzaazhiͅ 'to a distance, far away'. ńzaa 'a long way, a distance' [part.].
This was true of all the monsters who had the power of killing with their eyes. That was why Child of the Water was not killed by the eyes of the Eagle [see Chiricahua text 1.4] when the latter took him to his nest.
[Child of the Water] lay hidden from him.
Bándziyeedzáná'a.
Dlóͅ'yeí gołgayáshíͅ bigooghaͅaͅná'a.
Kóͅóͅhézjiͅ bi'áńyá `ánááhałghołgo,
hanááhałghołshíͅ, bigooghaͅ'í bikáshíͅ
`iłch'áͅgo dees'íͅgo sizíͅná'a.
Jichago, bich'iͅiͅjiisdágo `a'ááłná'a.
The Prairies Dog's home [was] in a plain.
For a moment he'd run into his hole, [then], running out again, he'd stand on the top of his house looking in all directions.
Weeping, [Child of the Water] sat facing him a long time.
1. bigogháͅná'a 'their homes [were], it is said'. gogháͅ 'home, wickiup, tipi' [thematic].
2. kóͅóͅhézhiͅ 'for a moment. kóͅóͅhé 'a little, a moment, gently' [part.].
3. bi'áńyá 'to his hole'. bi'áń, 3rd person poss. of 'ii''áń 'hole, den'.
4. 'ánááhałghołgo 'he, running in again and again'. 3rd person prog. of -l-ghee. 'to run, move rapidly with the prefixes 'á- [also heard áh-] 'in, into' and náá- 'again and again'. Cf. the next word, hanááhałghołshíͅ 'from which he was running out again and again', in which ha- 'out' replaces 'á-.
Then a Gray Lizard came to him.
He spoke thus to him:
Ma'ishóͅíłbáyé 'gray lizard'. ma'ishóͅí 'lizard may be a compound of ma'i-, possibly related to ma'ye 'coyote', and -shóͅí which is a unique morpheme. -łbáyé is evidently an archaic relative of łbáyé 'he is gray' [3rd person imp. neut.].
Then:
`Ákoo:
1. ń'áń 'that one'. Cf. 'áń 'that one'. See also note 5.1, §2.
2. ch'ídégoda 'in vain' [part.].
Then the Gray Lizard spoke thus to him:
`Ákoo Ma'ishóͅíłbáyéí `ágoołndíná'a:
1. 'íͅíͅyaͅaͅń 'well then'. Cf. note 3, §1.
2. nzhooshnee should read nzhooshndee 'I'll help you" 1st person imp. with 2nd person obj. of zhoo-|...[si- perf.]-ndee 'to help assist' [act.tr.]. zhoo- is a thematic prefix.
3. hanáánásghogo 'he, having run out again' 3rd person perf. of ha-náá-ná- [si- perf.]-l-ghee 'to run out again' [act. intr.]. ha- 'out', náá- 'again'.
4. 'ii'áhnáánóołghogo 'he, running in again'. 3rd person prog. of 'ii'áh-náá-ná-...[si- perf.]l-ghee 'to run in again' [act. intr.]. 'ii'áh- is a unique prefix; cf. 'ii'áń 'hole' and the prefix 'áh- in, into'.
5. haadí dásí'itisgo beenłtłií 'as fast as you can'. haadí 'whatever' [see Grammatical Sketch, §4]. dásí- 'very', 'itis 'over it, the best. beenłtłií, relative in -í of the 3rd person perf. of Oee-hi-|...[? perf.]-l-tee 'to run, move, walk' [act. intr.]. Literally, the phrase reads: 'whatever is the best [speed] with which you have run'.
6. beenádiyóółyoł 'you are running with it'. bee- 'with, by means of it'; 'it' referring to the phrase analyzed in §5. nádiyóółyoł, 2nd person prog. of ná-di-|...[ni- perf.]-l-ghee 'to run' [act. intr.].
7. nii'á should read ndii'á 'on the ground'. ndii 'ground' plus -yáá pp. Why the -'- appears, I do not know.
8. nóółghałgo 'you, throwing yourself'. 2nd person prog. of ni-...[si- perf.]-l-ghał 'to throw oneself' [mediopas.]. ni- terminative.
9. ts'ííyaa 'immediately, at once' [part.].
Then [Child of the Water] did just exactly so.
`Ákoo dá'ághájílaaná'a.
Nágo koshíͅ hanáánásghoná'a.
Nágo dá'iͅiͅshíͅ bich'iͅiͅ'áháánéshíͅ jiistíͅná'a.
Nágo `áhnáánóołghoná'a.
Dábibéyá ya'jinóógoná'a.
And [the Prairie Dog] came out again.
Then [Child of the Water] was lying right there close to him.
Then [the Prairie Dog] went in again.
[Child of the Water] dashed in right behind him.
ya'jinóógoná'a 'he dashed in, it is said'. 3rd person perf. of ya-'i-ni-...[hi- perf.]-gee 'to run inside, to dash into' [act. intr.]. ya'i- > ya'- 'inside, into'; ni- terminative. It is quite possible that I misheard this form and that ya- should read yá-, an intensifier. 'i- means 'in' and yá'i- would therefore mean 'right in' as the context requires.
He was carrying [a bag of] salt.
Deek'oshé jajishná'a.
Nágo `ii'áńyá bitajiłghoná'a.
Koͅoͅzhíͅ nanńt'iná'a.
He went among them in the hole.
They were seated around the fire.
1. deek'oshé 'salt'.
2. bitajiłghoná'a, 'he had gone among them, it is said. 3rd person perf. of 0-ta-ni-...[ni- perf.]-l-ghee 'to go among' [act. intr.]. -ta 'among'; ni- completive.
3. nanńt'iná'a 'they were lined up, it is said'. 3rd person perf. of nan-ni- [ni- perf.]-té 'several line up; several get in line' [act. intr.]. nan- 'in a line' [?]; ni- completive.
Preceded by koͅoͅzhiͅ 'to the fire', this phrase means literally: 'they were lined up to the fire, it is said'.
4. 'íłtsé 'here, wait' [exclamation]. Cf. note 1.1, §1.
5. bich'iͅiͅdaanáł'áͅgo 'putting your heads toward it'. bich'iͅiͅ 'toward it'. daanáł'áͅ, 2nd person distrib. of ni-...-l-'áͅ 'to have one's head in position' [mediopas. si- perf. neut.]. ni- terminative plus si- perf., ah- 2nd person dual, and the classifier gives náł-.
6. k'édaadahaał 'look at it'. 2nd person distrib. of k'é-di-...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'look at' [act. tr.]. See note 2.16, §2. di- plus the 2nd person dual pronoun gives dah-; dah- plus - ghaał gives dahaał.
7. dainéł'íͅgo 'as they looked at it'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of né-...[hi- perf.]-ł-'íͅ 'to look at' [act. tr.]. né- ? daa- plus yi- gives dai-.
8. bich'iͅiͅtséjóółkaaná'a 'he threw it toward them into the fire, it is said'. bich'iͅiͅ- 'toward them' plus 3a person perf. of tsé-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-kaa 'to throw several objects into the fire' [act. tr.; tséé-| into the fire']. The theme alone refers to the throwing or forcible propulsion of many objects.
[The salt] exploded toward them.
Bich'iͅiͅdaadeesch'iłná'a.
Bindáaí bił`idaaheesta'ná'a.
`Ákoo, doodaa'a'íͅda daasilíͅgo, dá'ázhiͅ taidziisndiná'a.
Naajiistseená'a.
It scattered into their eyes.
Then, as they became blind, he knocked them down right away.
He killed them.
1. bich'iͅiͅdaadeesch'iłná'a 'it exploded toward them, it is said. 3rd person distrib. perf. of di-|...[si- perf.]-ł-ch'iił 'to explode, burst, pop out' [act. intr.]. di- is probably the prefix denoting noise, though here it takes the si- perf. rather than the usual hi- perf. [see note 1.15, §3].The si- perf. and hi- perf. tend to merge in meaning in Chiricahua; in the case of some verbs, either perfective may be used.
2. bił'idaaheesta'ná'a 'it scattered into them, it is said'. bił- 'to them, with them' plus 3rd person distrib. perf. of -'i-hi-...[si- perf.]-tá 'to break and scatter; [fine particles] scatter [as from an explosion]' [act. intr.; 'i- 'away'; hi- ?]. Note that the subject referring to a mass of salt particles takes the distributive number.
3. doodaa'a'íͅda daasilíͅgo 'they, having become blind'. doodaa'a'íͅda 'blind, they cannot see anything'. doo-...-da negative plus 3rd person with indefinite object of -íͅ; 'to see' [prog. neut. tr.]. This form functions as an adverb to daasilíͅ 'they have become'.
4. dá'ázhiͅ 'right away'. dá- 'just, exactly'; 'á- 'there'; -zhiͅ 'to' [pp.].
5. taijiisndiná'a 'he knocked them down, it is said'. 3a person perf. of O-taa-ji-...[si- perf.]-l- ndi 'to knock several down one after another' [act. intr.]. Here, however, the indirect object pronoun is lacking [cf. note 4.9, §3]. tai- > taa-ji; the 3a pronoun ji- becomes -i- before another prefix beginning with dz- or j-.
Then, when he had finished, he returned to his mother.
`Áshíͅ, `égojiisdiͅiͅgo, gomáń baanájídzáná'a.
Gomáń kaa'iłéńziͅná'a.
His mother was very happy over it.
'égojiisdiͅiͅgo 'he, having finished it'. 3a person perf. with place object of 'éé-...[si- perf.]-ł-diͅiͅ 'to finish, complete' [act. tr.; 'é- thematic prefix].
Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer
1. dá'iͅiͅeená 'égodiͅ 'just one more remains'. I cannot explain this form. dá'iͅiͅeená looks like dá-....-ná 'just, only', 'í- 'there', and -ee. 'at' which would mean literally 'just at that place'. 'égodiͅ seems to be the imp. neut. intr. verb 'é...-diͅ 'to be not' with a place subject; thus 'a place is not. But the combination is translated 'there is just one more place' and, in addition, there are the following similar forms: naakin 'égodiͅ 'two more times' [naaki 'two', -n times'], táán 'égodiͅ 'three more times' [táá- 'three'],
2. n'aa- 'over there' plus -yá pp. This is the only occurrence of n'aa-; cf. the demonstrative stem 'aa- [Grammatical Sketch, §3].
3. dlóͅí'prairie dog'. A variant form also occurs: dlóͅye [see passage 3 of the text]. I cannot explain this variation which also occurs in other words; cf., for example, nai, maiye 'coyote.
1. áháánézhiͅ 'to its vicinity, in its vicinity'. áhááné, 3rd person of 'to be close, near' [imp. neut. intr.].
2. ńzaazhiͅ 'to a distance, far away'. ńzaa 'a long way, a distance' [part.].
1. bigogháͅná'a 'their homes [were], it is said'. gogháͅ 'home, wickiup, tipi' [thematic].
2. kóͅóͅhézhiͅ 'for a moment. kóͅóͅhé 'a little, a moment, gently' [part.].
3. bi'áńyá 'to his hole'. bi'áń, 3rd person poss. of 'ii''áń 'hole, den'.
4. 'ánááhałghołgo 'he, running in again and again'. 3rd person prog. of -l-ghee. 'to run, move rapidly with the prefixes 'á- [also heard áh-] 'in, into' and náá- 'again and again'. Cf. the next word, hanááhałghołshíͅ 'from which he was running out again and again', in which ha- 'out' replaces 'á-.
Ma'ishóͅíłbáyé 'gray lizard'. ma'ishóͅí 'lizard may be a compound of ma'i-, possibly related to ma'ye 'coyote', and -shóͅí which is a unique morpheme. -łbáyé is evidently an archaic relative of łbáyé 'he is gray' [3rd person imp. neut.].
1. ń'áń 'that one'. Cf. 'áń 'that one'. See also note 5.1, §2.
2. ch'ídégoda 'in vain' [part.].
1. 'íͅíͅyaͅaͅń 'well then'. Cf. note 3, §1.
2. nzhooshnee should read nzhooshndee 'I'll help you" 1st person imp. with 2nd person obj. of zhoo-|...[si- perf.]-ndee 'to help assist' [act.tr.]. zhoo- is a thematic prefix.
3. hanáánásghogo 'he, having run out again' 3rd person perf. of ha-náá-ná- [si- perf.]-l-ghee 'to run out again' [act. intr.]. ha- 'out', náá- 'again'.
4. 'ii'áhnáánóołghogo 'he, running in again'. 3rd person prog. of 'ii'áh-náá-ná-...[si- perf.]l-ghee 'to run in again' [act. intr.]. 'ii'áh- is a unique prefix; cf. 'ii'áń 'hole' and the prefix 'áh- in, into'.
5. haadí dásí'itisgo beenłtłií 'as fast as you can'. haadí 'whatever' [see Grammatical Sketch, §4]. dásí- 'very', 'itis 'over it, the best. beenłtłií, relative in -í of the 3rd person perf. of Oee-hi-|...[? perf.]-l-tee 'to run, move, walk' [act. intr.]. Literally, the phrase reads: 'whatever is the best [speed] with which you have run'.
6. beenádiyóółyoł 'you are running with it'. bee- 'with, by means of it'; 'it' referring to the phrase analyzed in §5. nádiyóółyoł, 2nd person prog. of ná-di-|...[ni- perf.]-l-ghee 'to run' [act. intr.].
7. nii'á should read ndii'á 'on the ground'. ndii 'ground' plus -yáá pp. Why the -'- appears, I do not know.
8. nóółghałgo 'you, throwing yourself'. 2nd person prog. of ni-...[si- perf.]-l-ghał 'to throw oneself' [mediopas.]. ni- terminative.
9. ts'ííyaa 'immediately, at once' [part.].
ya'jinóógoná'a 'he dashed in, it is said'. 3rd person perf. of ya-'i-ni-...[hi- perf.]-gee 'to run inside, to dash into' [act. intr.]. ya'i- > ya'- 'inside, into'; ni- terminative. It is quite possible that I misheard this form and that ya- should read yá-, an intensifier. 'i- means 'in' and yá'i- would therefore mean 'right in' as the context requires.
1. deek'oshé 'salt'.
2. bitajiłghoná'a, 'he had gone among them, it is said. 3rd person perf. of 0-ta-ni-...[ni- perf.]-l-ghee 'to go among' [act. intr.]. -ta 'among'; ni- completive.
3. nanńt'iná'a 'they were lined up, it is said'. 3rd person perf. of nan-ni- [ni- perf.]-té 'several line up; several get in line' [act. intr.]. nan- 'in a line' [?]; ni- completive.
Preceded by koͅoͅzhiͅ 'to the fire', this phrase means literally: 'they were lined up to the fire, it is said'.
4. 'íłtsé 'here, wait' [exclamation]. Cf. note 1.1, §1.
5. bich'iͅiͅdaanáł'áͅgo 'putting your heads toward it'. bich'iͅiͅ 'toward it'. daanáł'áͅ, 2nd person distrib. of ni-...-l-'áͅ 'to have one's head in position' [mediopas. si- perf. neut.]. ni- terminative plus si- perf., ah- 2nd person dual, and the classifier gives náł-.
6. k'édaadahaał 'look at it'. 2nd person distrib. of k'é-di-...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'look at' [act. tr.]. See note 2.16, §2. di- plus the 2nd person dual pronoun gives dah-; dah- plus - ghaał gives dahaał.
7. dainéł'íͅgo 'as they looked at it'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of né-...[hi- perf.]-ł-'íͅ 'to look at' [act. tr.]. né- ? daa- plus yi- gives dai-.
8. bich'iͅiͅtséjóółkaaná'a 'he threw it toward them into the fire, it is said'. bich'iͅiͅ- 'toward them' plus 3a person perf. of tsé-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-kaa 'to throw several objects into the fire' [act. tr.; tséé-| into the fire']. The theme alone refers to the throwing or forcible propulsion of many objects.
1. bich'iͅiͅdaadeesch'iłná'a 'it exploded toward them, it is said. 3rd person distrib. perf. of di-|...[si- perf.]-ł-ch'iił 'to explode, burst, pop out' [act. intr.]. di- is probably the prefix denoting noise, though here it takes the si- perf. rather than the usual hi- perf. [see note 1.15, §3].The si- perf. and hi- perf. tend to merge in meaning in Chiricahua; in the case of some verbs, either perfective may be used.
2. bił'idaaheesta'ná'a 'it scattered into them, it is said'. bił- 'to them, with them' plus 3rd person distrib. perf. of -'i-hi-...[si- perf.]-tá 'to break and scatter; [fine particles] scatter [as from an explosion]' [act. intr.; 'i- 'away'; hi- ?]. Note that the subject referring to a mass of salt particles takes the distributive number.
3. doodaa'a'íͅda daasilíͅgo 'they, having become blind'. doodaa'a'íͅda 'blind, they cannot see anything'. doo-...-da negative plus 3rd person with indefinite object of -íͅ; 'to see' [prog. neut. tr.]. This form functions as an adverb to daasilíͅ 'they have become'.
4. dá'ázhiͅ 'right away'. dá- 'just, exactly'; 'á- 'there'; -zhiͅ 'to' [pp.].
5. taijiisndiná'a 'he knocked them down, it is said'. 3a person perf. of O-taa-ji-...[si- perf.]-l- ndi 'to knock several down one after another' [act. intr.]. Here, however, the indirect object pronoun is lacking [cf. note 4.9, §3]. tai- > taa-ji; the 3a pronoun ji- becomes -i- before another prefix beginning with dz- or j-.
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