And Child of the Water was the child of White Painted Woman.
(1.4)[4]
`Ákoo `Isdzáńaádleeshéń Tóbájiishchinéń
bizhaaná'a.
`Ákoo Naaghéé'neesghánéń ndé
doonzhóͅdashégo ndé
`át'íͅná'a.
And Child of the Water was the child of White Painted Woman.
And Killer of Enemies was one of the evil people.[3]
[_]
(1.4) Linguistic Notes
1. bizhaaná'a '[was] her child, it is said'.
-zhaa 'child, little one', bi- third person possessive. Note that this
sentence requires no verb.This type of sentence is quite common in
Chiricahua.
2.
ndé
doonzhóͅdashégo 'being evil people'.
ndé' 'people'. nzhóͅ, third person of ni-...-zhóͅ 'to be good' [imp.
neut. intr.; ni- adjectival prefix]. doo-...-da negative;
-shé 'side, group' [pp.]; -go subordinating enclitic.
3.
ndé 'át'íͅná'a
'he is such a person, it is said'. Note that
ndé has a singular referent here
[cf. §2 above]. 'át'íͅ, third person of
'á-ni-...-t'íͅ 'to be so, thus'
[imp. neut. intr.]. 'á- 'so, thus'; ni- adjectival prefix. The latter prefix has
disappeared in the third person; cf. 'ánsht'íͅ' I am so' and 'áńt'íͅ
'you are so'.
[_]
Ethnological Note 3
The position of Killer of Enemies in Chiricahua and
Mescalero mythology is most interesting. For the Navaho, Western Apache, Lipan,
and Jicarilla, Killer of Enemies is the principal culture hero and performs
deeds and exploits comparable to those attributed to Child of the Water in this
story. By the Chiricahua and Mescalero, however, Killer of Enemies is relegated
to a subordinate position, an unenviable position, or is forgotten altogether.
In some versions he figures as an older but more timid brother of Child of the
Water, again as a maternal uncle (brother of White Painted Woman) or as the
step-father (husband of White Painted Woman) of Child of the Water. Very often,
as in the present version, Killer of Enemies is charged with cowardice (see
Chiricahua text 2) or is represented as the protector and benefactor of the
white man (see Chiricahua text 6). Some Chiricahua informants have said that the
term Killer of Enemies is synonymous with "enemy" or "white man" and cases have
been noted where parents and grandparents will not allow children to utter the
name of Killer of Enemies, giving the children the explanation that it is the
name of the "devil" or an "evil one" (see also text Mescalero text 8).
