Coyote and Owl, Mescalero Apache Text excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes |
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2. Coyote and Owl
as told by Charles Smith
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 | Coyote and Owl, Mescalero Apache Text |  |
2. Coyote and Owl as told by Charles Smith
From there Coyote went on farther along the road.
'Áshíͅ ndásá Shóͅóͅdé 'íńtin hołghołná'a.
Shá'óͅóͅ'áͅnégo, kóͅóͅhégo choołhiłná'a.
Nńyáná'a.
'Iyéłch'áͅná'a.
'Iyáahee yidoosts'áͅná'a.
Dá'iłk'áyeejiͅ náá'iyaałts'íͅíͅłná'a.
Dásíshá'ii'áhyágo 'iyáahee dihndígo 'idoosts'áͅná'a.
The sun having set, it was becoming a bit dark.
He stopped.
He listened.
He had heard something.
He kept hearing it again at intervals.
He had heard something making a noise directly to the west.
1. kóͅóͅhégo choołhiłná'a 'it was becoming a bit dark'. kóͅóͅhé "little, a bit' [part.]. choołhił, prog. of chaa- |...[hi- perf.]-ł-gheeł 'to become dark' [act. intr.].
2. yidoosts'áͅná'a 'he had heard it'. 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of di-|...[si- perf.]-ts'íͅ 'to hear' [act. tr.]. The perfective paradigm is irregular: Sg. 1. disíts'áͅ; Sg. 2. disínts'áͅ; Sg. 3. yidoosts'áͅ or yidoots'áͅ [also, rarely, yidiists'áͅ]; Sg. 3a. ch'idoosts'áͅ or ch'idoots'áͅ [and ch'idiits'áͅ]; Du. 1. disiͅiͅts'áͅ. Since di-|, found in many verbs having to do with sound, generally takes the hi- perfective [e. g., 'ádóͅóͅndii 'he has said so'] it is possible that the above paradigm represents a stage in the shift from the hi- perfective to the si- perfective.
3. dá'iłkáyeejiͅ 'at intervals, one after another'. dá- 'just'; 'ił- reciprocal; -káyee- ?; -jiͅ 'to' [pp.; cf. Chir -zhiͅ].
Then he went in that direction.
'Ákoo 'ákaago hiiłteená'a.
'Ákaa yaach'íńt'iná'ago'a, Niishjaanáí dashíͅ dasidáná'a.
'Ákoo yiͅiͅłts'áͅná'a.
'Áshíͅ dasidáná'a.
Dá'áshíͅ neesdáná'a.
When he go there, [it was] only Owl sitting up [somewhere].
Then he saw him.
He was sitting up over there.
[Coyote] sat down right there.
1. hiiłteená'a 'he went'. 3rd person perf. of hi-|...[? perf.] -l-té 'to go, walk, run' [act. intr.]. This verb seems to be of more frequent occurrence in Mesc. than in Chir.
2. niishjaanáí 'only Owl'. niishjaa 'Owl' [no analysis]; -ná 'just, only'; -í relative.
He looked down to the ground.
1. gok'énádigaałná'a 'he looked down at him'. go- 'him'; k'é- 'at'; ná- 'back' plus the 3rd person imp. of di-...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'to look' [act. intr.]. ná- 'back' causes the text form to have the -d- classifier [see Grammatical Sketch, §7].
2. bizaaí ntsaago 'in a gruff voice'. Literally, 'his voice being big'. When this text was told, the informant pronounced all the -a- vowels of this sentence with an -w- timbre to imitate the quality of Owl's voice. See Ethnological Note to the English Translation of this line.
In telling the stories different tones of voice are used in keeping with the characters of the birds or animals who are speaking. Owl, who is a fearsome bird to the Mescalero, and who was a man-eating monster in the mythological days, is always represented as having a deep, gruff voice.
"Come down. Let's sit on the ground. Tell me stories,"
1. naańndá 'come down'. 2nd person imp. of naa-di-...[hi- perf.]-yá 'one person comes down' [act. intr.]. naa- 'down, off'; di- inceptive [?]. See passage 5, line 2 for the 3rd person perfective of this verb.
2. shiłgóͅłndi 'tell me stories'. shi- 'me'; ł- 'with, to' [pp.]. góͅłndiͅ, 2nd person imp. of go-...[hi- perf.]-ł-ndi 'to tell, narrate' [act intr.].
"All right, Coyote. I'll tell you stories,"
'Ákoo naadóͅóͅyáná'a dashíͅ.
'Ákoo ndiishíͅ ch'ineeskéná'a.
Then he came down from up there.
The two sat down on the ground.
Then Coyote looked at him.
'Ákoo Shóͅóͅdé gonéł'íͅná'a.
Nzhóͅnóo gonéł'íͅná'a.
He looked at him closely.
1. nzhónóo 'closely' > nzhóné, a relative form of nzhóͅ 'it is good, well' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. ni-] plus the subord. encl. -go.
2. doodókohéédó 'wonderful'. An unanalyzable intensifying particle.
3. ghe'nénł'áͅná'a 'you seem to be wearing,'. 2nd person of ghe'-ni-...-l-'áͅ 'to wear [a headdress of any sort]' [si- perf. neut.]. ghe'- 'in, inside'; ni- terminative; -l-'áͅ 'to have one's head in position'. Note that -ná'a, in this verb, gives a dubitative connotation. See the Ethnological Note linked to the English Translation of this line.
4. beeshíͅsíͅ 'show me the power of it'. 2nd person imp. with 1st person obj. of 0'ee-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-zíͅ 'to show, give power by means of something' [act. tr.]. ee- 'by means of'.
Coyote refers to Owl's ears as a hat. This device of speaking of one thing in terms of something else which it may remotely resemble, is a common one in these tales, and causes great merriment when it is used.
"I'll show you the power of what are my ears, if you like them,"
"Now then, sit facing the east,"
'Ákoo'a, Shóͅóͅdé 'ákaago neesdáná'a.
'Ákoo Niishjaaí nádiidzáná'a.
Ha'ii'áshégo nińyáná'a.
Tádídíń biganí denshndáshíné yeedahyajishná'ahá.
Tádídíń díͅíͅnyá yiłdahdiiłndiiná'ahá.
Goch'iͅiͅyóo náheeyáná'a.
Tádídíńí gotsiit'á kádahyiijaaná'a.
'Áshíͅ gondiií nanyágo káik'ee'iizoná'a.
'Ákoo gok'édeesghalná'a.
Then Coyote sat down that way.
Then Owl got up.
He stood on the east side.
He was holding up some pollen in his right hand.
He raised the hand holding the pollen to the four directions.
He turned around to face [Coyote].
He put pollen on the top of his head for him.
Then he marked the side of his face for him.
Then he looked at him.
1. denshndáshíné 'right'. denshndá 'right [as opposed to left]' [no analysis]. -shíné > -shíͅ 'from' plus the archaic'relative -é.
2. goch'iͅiͅyóo 'to face him' > go- 'him'; ch'iͅiͅ 'toward'; -yá pp.; and -go subord. encl.
3. kádahyiijaaá'a 'he put it on for him'. ká- 'for him' plus the 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of dah-|...[si- perf.]-jáásh 'to put a mass on' [act. tr.; dah- 'on']. Note that the text form, a 3rd person si perfective, lacks the s- prefix. See note 1.24, §2.
4. káik'e'iizoná'a 'he marked it for him'. ká- 'for him'; -ik'e- > -yik'e- 'on it'. 'iizo, 3rd person perf. of 'i- |...[si- perf.]-zo 'to mark' [act. intr.]. 'i-| ?. In this form, the -s- of the 3rd person si- perfective merges with the initial stem consonant.
Then he moved toward him from the south also.
'Áshíͅ nandi'áshíͅgo goch'iͅiͅnáánádzáná'a.
Tádídíńí 'áshíͅ yee'ághánáágóͅóͅdlaaná'a.
'Áshíͅ shá'ii'áshíͅ goch'iͅiͅnáánádzáná'a.
'Áshíͅdó dá'ághágóólaaná'a.
'Áshíͅ náhakosshíͅgo goch'iͅiͅnáheeyáná'a.
He did so with the pollen again from there.
Then he moved toward him again from the west.
From there also he did the same thing.
Then he turned toward him from the north.
ye'ághánáágóͅóͅdlaaná'a 'he did so with it again'. yee- 'with it'; 'ághá- 'so, thus'; náá- 'again'; góͅóͅ- > go- 'him' plus the 3rd person hi- perf. prefix; -dlaa, -d- form of the perfective stem of -lá 'to do to' [act. tr.]. The prefix náá- 'again' requires the -d- form. Cf. dá'ághágóͅóͅlaaná'a 'he did the same thing' in the fourth line of this passage. [this edition reproduces a discrepancy in Hoijer's edition between the word: dá'ághágóͅóͅlaaná'a as it is described here in the notes and it's appearance as dá'ághágóólaaná'a in the text--MEC].
Then Owl had done so for him four times.
'Ákoo Niishjaaí díͅíͅn ká'áíͅlaa.
Nágo:
And:
"Yes. I am grateful for it, friend. Thank you,"
Owl stood before him.
Nishjaaí goch'iͅiͅnińyáná'a.
Díͅíͅn, gokéshíͅgo, ndásá kéńghilná'a, ha'ii'áhí bich'iͅiͅyágo.
Four times, from behind him, he pushed him on toward the east[3].
niłnzhóͅnáli 'do you like it?'. ni- 'you'; ł- 'with, to'; nzhóͅ 'it is good'; -náli interrog. encl. [?].
The ceremonial procedure and motions described here are an accurate account of elements found in many curing ceremonies.
Coyote got up.
Shóͅóͅdé nádidzáná'a.
Kát'iͅiͅná'ahá.
Bijaaí naayikédiłndiiná'ahá.
Ńnáhábiłnzhóͅná'a.
Yaa'iłéńziͅná'a.
He did that.
He moved his hands over his ears.
He liked them very much.
He was grateful for them.
1. ńnáhábiłnzhóͅná'a 'he liked it very much'. ńnáhá- 'very, a great deal' [procl.]; biłnzhóͅ 'he likes it; it is good with him'.
2. doo'iyáa'isht'íͅda 'I have nothing'. doo- ...-da negative; 'iyáa 'anything, something'. 'isht'íͅ 'I have' [?]; cf. 'á-ni-...-tíͅ 'to be so' and há-...tíͅ; 'to want, desire', both imp. neut. intr.
3. The last line of this passage is literally as follows: "'In spite of that, / anything / that you have told me / at every time / that I will do so it is so,' / he said to him."
Then, as he started to leave Owl, he said to him:
'Ákoo, Niishjaań goch'áͅnádeesdzágo,
k'adóo'iͅiͅdáͅáͅ'é 'it is time that we eat'. k'adóo > k'adé 'now, right now' plus -go subord. 'iͅiͅ-dáͅáͅ', a bound form of 'iͅiͅdáͅ, 1st person dual imp. with indef. obj. of -yáͅ 'to eat' [act. tr.]; -é relative.
Note that the verb 'to eat' suffers alternations of the stem initial similar to those of -yá 'one person moves'. See nndáͅ 'you will eat' [2nd person imp.] in this passage and k'adéhisháͅáͅ'é 'that which I would eat now' [1st person imp.] in passage 15. It is characteristic of both Chir. and Mesc. that stems beginning with y- combine with the prefixed consonants immediately preceding. This is also true of other Athapaskan languages. See F.-K. Li, Mattole, An Athabaskan Language [Chicago, 1930], §11, pp. 14-16.
"Friend, that which I [would] eat right now is buffalo intestines and roasted buffalo ribs,"
'iyánéłizhiní 'buffalo'. A compound of 'iyáné 'cattle'; 'łizhiͅ 'it is black' [3rd person imp. neut. with prefixes łi-ni- adj.]; and the relative -í. 'iyáné > 'iyáͅ 'he eats' [3rd person imp. with indef. obj.] plus the archaic relative -é.
It is curious that the Mesc. word for 'buffalo' should have as a base the word for 'cattle' since it is very likely that the Mesc. knew the buffalo long before they encountered cattle. It is probable, however, that 'iyáné originally meant 'buffalo' and was made to include 'cattle' when these animals became important in.Mesc. culture. Then, when the necessity for distinguishing the two animals arose, this compound was devised to designate the buffalo, by then the less important animal to the culture.
"I will not eat with you,"
"Let's eat. Then we'll go away from each other,"
"All right,"
Then that which he had named, prepared that way, lay scattered about.
'Ákoo'a 'áíí ch'óͅóͅzhíní, k'át'éyá, yaaheesndilná'a.
Nágo'a Shóͅóͅdé 'ee'nyáͅná'a.
'Ákoo, kíí'a, gahí, kát'éyá, sitíͅná'a.
Bee'ch'iniiłghałná'a.
And Coyote began to eat.
Then, for [Owl], a rabbit, already prepared, lay there.
He began to eat it[4].
The conspicuous part which food and feeding play in these tales is a faithful reflection of the seriousness of the food-quest for these roving, hunting and gathering Apache.
Then they ate.
'Ákoo 'ich'iyáͅná'a.
Ch'iikéná'a.
Doo'iłch'iͅiͅyách'iłtidan'á'a.
Dánaach'íłk'eh 'ich'óͅóͅyáͅná'ago,
They were seated.
They did not speak to each other.
When both of them had eaten, Coyote said to him:
He got up.
1. dánaach'íłk'eh 'both of them', also heard dá'naach'íłk'eh. I cannot explain naa-; the usual form is dá'ch'íłk'eh. Cf. also dánahíłk'eh 'both of us, both of you'; dágółk'eh, dá'łk'eh, and dá'gobíłk'eh 'both of them'; and Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 1.1, §4.
2. hóóhgo nk'eh'ooshghał 'you have fed me well'. hóóhgo 'good, fine, well' [part.]. n-, reduced form of ni- 'you'; -k'eh 'by reason of, because of [pp.]; 'ooshghał, the 1st person perf. with indef. obj. of ...[hi- perf.]-ł-gha[ 'to eat meat-like substances' [act. tr.].
As Coyote was speaking to him, he had started to move toward him.
Shóͅóͅdé goołndiná'ago, goch'iͅiͅyóodeeyáná'a.
'Ákoo bídó bich'iͅiͅyágo shdeeyáná'a.
'Ákoo'a 'iłzénách'iisndiigo 'iłch'áͅáͅ'á náshdeest'áájná'a.
Then he also had started to move toward [Coyote].
Then they embraced each other and parted.
shdeeyáná'a 'he had started to move'. shdeeyá 'he had started to move' [3a person perf. with di- inceptive prefix] is contracted from ch'ideeyá.
Then Coyote returned to his home.
'Ákoo'a Tsék'eeshchíhéń bikooghaͅyá nádzáná'a.
'Áshíͅ díͅíͅ'í hiiskáͅná'a.
'Ákoo bich'iͅiͅch'ideeskaná'a.
Dásínzhóͅgo díͅíͅ'í hiiskáͅná'ago, bikooghaͅnáyá baach'íͅkáná'a.
Then four days passed.
Then they had started to come to him.
When exactly four days had passed, they came to him at his home.
dásínzhóͅgo 'exactly'. dásí- ', just, exactly': nzhóͅ 'it is good'; -go subord encl.
"Coyote, we are coming to [visit] you,"
"Yes,"
"Wife, spread [a robe] for those people. They will sit here,"
1. shóͅóͅdé 'wife'. This word means literally 'friend, partner' but is restricted in usage to the coyote stories. See Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 10.3, §1.
2. góbá'égóͅłtił 'spread [a robe] for them'. góbá- 'for them' > góbi- 3rd person dual pronoun plus á- 'for'. This special form for the 3rd person dual [object and poss.; see Grammatical Sketch, §§6 and 11] is more often used in Mesc. than in Chir.
'égóͅłtił, 2nd person imp. of 0é-go-...[si- perf.]-ł-tił 'to spread out a fabric-like object' [act. intr.]. No further analysis is possible.
3. ńgodibiͅiͅ 'they will sit down'. 3rd person imp. of ní-di-...[si- perf. -biͅiͅ- 'several sit down' [act. intr.]. ní- is probably ni- terminative, that prefix taking a high tone when it precedes a prefix beginning with -d-. di- inceptive. The deictic prefix go- functions here as a 3rd person dual [or plural] subject.
Then she spread [a robe] for them.
And they sat down there.
ńch'ideebiͅná'a 'they sat down'. 3a person perf. of the verb noted in 2:25, §3. Note that the -s- of the si- perf. is lacking. See note 1.24, §2.
"They come to me here because of something which I shall do for them,"
"What do you know that you will do for them? You are crazy. You cannot do anything for them,"
lóngo 'you are crazy'. 2nd person of ló-|...-go 'to be crazy' [imp. neut. intr.]. This is a form derived by conjugation from lóogo 'crazy, he is crazy' > Spanish loco 'crazy'. See Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 38.21.
"What did you come for? What shall I do for you?"
háahka 'you have come for'. 2nd person dual perf. of há-...[hi- perf.]-ká 'several come for' [act. intr.]. há- 'for'. I am not certain of this analysis, nor can I explain the -h- before the stem of the text form.
Then:
'Ákoo'a:
Then:
'Ákoo'a:
"Make [my] people for me like your [people]
The first line of this passage is literally as follows: "Those / that you are so / being just so / those / people / you will make them so for me." See Ethnological note to the English translation of Mescalero text 2.5.
This passage is somewhat obscure. The meaning to be conveyed is that Owl is asking Coyote to make hats [or ears] for his people similar to those possessed by Coyote's people.
Then Coyote got up.
'Ákoo Shóͅóͅdé nádiidzáná'a.
Tádídíń yóͅóͅkeená'a.
Tádídíń baach'íń'iͅiͅná'a.
He asked for pollen.
[His wife] gave him pollen.
1. nankeesh 'sit down'. 2nd person dual of ni-...[si- perf.]-keesh 'two persons sit down' [act. intr.; ni- terminative]. Cf. the stem forms of this theme, viz., -keesh, -kééj [alternating with -ké], -kish, -kish, -keesh, with the corresponding Chir. forms: -kee, -ké, -ke, -ke, -kee.
2. Niishjaandénlíͅne 'those who were Owl people'. niishjaa 'Owl'; ndé 'people'; nlíͅ 'they are' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. prefix ni-]; -ne relative suffix denoting a group or class of people.
Then the two of them sat down facing the east.
'Ákoo'a naadiłt'égo ha'ii'áhí yich'iͅiͅyágo goneeskéná'a.
'Áńdeeda Shóͅóͅdé nádiidzáná'a.
Tádídíńí náinjaaná'a.
Ha'ii'áshíͅgo goch'iͅiͅyóonińyáná'a.
Tádídíńí gotsiit'áee díͅíͅn kádahyiijaaná'a.
'Áshíͅ naashégodó gondiií káik'e'iizoná'a.
'Áshiͅ nandi'áshíͅdóná'a.
'Áshiͅ shá'ii'áshíͅdóná'a.
'Áshiͅ náhakosíbitł'áshíͅdóná'a.
Now Coyote got up.
He picked up some pollen.
He stood facing them from the east.
Four times he put pollen on top of their heads for them.
Then he also made a line on one side of their faces for them.
Then from the south also.
Then from the west also.
Then also from the north.
1. naashégodó 'one side also'. naashé 'one side' [naa- ?; -shé 'side']; -go subord. encl.; -dó 'also'.
2. náhakosíbitł'áshíͅdóná'a 'also from the north'. náhakosí 'north'; bitł'á 'under it'; -shíͅ 'from'; -dó 'also'. The Mesc. and Chir. idiom corresponding to our 'in such and such a direction' is 'under such and such a direction'. In Chir, the postposition -yaa 'under' is usually employed, however [see e. g., Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 33.4, §1].
"Now,"
Goch'iͅiͅnińyáná'a.
T'á dayha'iͅiͅłná'aí yideestsóͅná'a.
Gojaaí 'áshíͅ ká'iyóͅóͅtsiná'a.
Díͅíͅ'í ká'áíͅlaaná'a.
He stood facing them.
He had started to stretch a feather he was holding up.
He put it into their ears for them.
He did so with four [feathers] for them[6].
t'á 'feather'. In Chir., this noun occurs only in the possessed form -t'á'.
Then the two went toward the Owl man with them.
Nágo Niishjaanndéń yeebich'iͅnch'íń'aashná'a.
Niishjaahaastiͅiͅń gonéł'íͅná'a.
Bíí doobiłnzhóͅdaná'a.
Dá'ághát'éndah, gódóͅóͅłkiná'a.
Old Man Owl man looked at them.
He did not like it.
In spite of that, he asked them about it.
Niishjaanndéń 'Owl man'. Note that, in Mesc. , the word for 'man, person, people, etc.' occurs both in the Chir. form ndé and in the form it has in this compound, nndé.
They moved their hands over them.
Naak'ééshdiłndiiná'a.
'Áń nndé gojaa góbá'ánách'idláń:
Those people for whom ears had been made said:
Then Owl man said:
'Ákoo'a Niishjaahaastiͅiͅń:
"Are you ready to eat now?"
As Old Man Owl was about to say yes, [the other two] said yes and no simultaneously.
This passage is literally: "Owl man / yes / that he will say, / together / yes / no / they had said, it is said."
dá'iłéé'é 'together' is unanalyzable.
Then:
'Ákoo'a:
Then Coyote brought to them some hard dry meat that could not be chewed.
'Ákoo'a 'itsiͅntł'idzí nóółtsaaí doodádaach'ó'aałhát'édaí goch'iͅiͅni'ńkáͅná'a, Shóͅóͅdé.
'Ákoo'a doodádaach'ó'aałhát'édaí godáayá nch'íńkáͅná'a.
Then he put that which could not be chewed before them.
'itsiͅntł'idzí nóółtsaaí doodádaach'ó'aałhát'édaí 'hard dry meat that could not be chewed'. -tsiͅiͅ 'meat'; ntł'idz 'it is hard' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. prefix ni-]; nóółtsaa 'it is dry' [no analysis]; daach'ó'aał 3a person distrib. opt. of ...[hi- perf.]-'aał 'to chew' [act. tr.].
Then:
'Ákoo'a:
'Ákoo'a 'iłzénádaach'iisndiiná'a, dách'ík'eh.
'Ákoo goch'áͅnáshdeeskaná'a.
Then all of them embraced one another.
Then they went away from him.
Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer
1. kóͅóͅhégo choołhiłná'a 'it was becoming a bit dark'. kóͅóͅhé "little, a bit' [part.]. choołhił, prog. of chaa- |...[hi- perf.]-ł-gheeł 'to become dark' [act. intr.].
2. yidoosts'áͅná'a 'he had heard it'. 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of di-|...[si- perf.]-ts'íͅ 'to hear' [act. tr.]. The perfective paradigm is irregular: Sg. 1. disíts'áͅ; Sg. 2. disínts'áͅ; Sg. 3. yidoosts'áͅ or yidoots'áͅ [also, rarely, yidiists'áͅ]; Sg. 3a. ch'idoosts'áͅ or ch'idoots'áͅ [and ch'idiits'áͅ]; Du. 1. disiͅiͅts'áͅ. Since di-|, found in many verbs having to do with sound, generally takes the hi- perfective [e. g., 'ádóͅóͅndii 'he has said so'] it is possible that the above paradigm represents a stage in the shift from the hi- perfective to the si- perfective.
3. dá'iłkáyeejiͅ 'at intervals, one after another'. dá- 'just'; 'ił- reciprocal; -káyee- ?; -jiͅ 'to' [pp.; cf. Chir -zhiͅ].
1. hiiłteená'a 'he went'. 3rd person perf. of hi-|...[? perf.] -l-té 'to go, walk, run' [act. intr.]. This verb seems to be of more frequent occurrence in Mesc. than in Chir.
2. niishjaanáí 'only Owl'. niishjaa 'Owl' [no analysis]; -ná 'just, only'; -í relative.
1. gok'énádigaałná'a 'he looked down at him'. go- 'him'; k'é- 'at'; ná- 'back' plus the 3rd person imp. of di-...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'to look' [act. intr.]. ná- 'back' causes the text form to have the -d- classifier [see Grammatical Sketch, §7].
2. bizaaí ntsaago 'in a gruff voice'. Literally, 'his voice being big'. When this text was told, the informant pronounced all the -a- vowels of this sentence with an -w- timbre to imitate the quality of Owl's voice. See Ethnological Note to the English Translation of this line.
1. naańndá 'come down'. 2nd person imp. of naa-di-...[hi- perf.]-yá 'one person comes down' [act. intr.]. naa- 'down, off'; di- inceptive [?]. See passage 5, line 2 for the 3rd person perfective of this verb.
2. shiłgóͅłndi 'tell me stories'. shi- 'me'; ł- 'with, to' [pp.]. góͅłndiͅ, 2nd person imp. of go-...[hi- perf.]-ł-ndi 'to tell, narrate' [act intr.].
1. nzhónóo 'closely' > nzhóné, a relative form of nzhóͅ 'it is good, well' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. ni-] plus the subord. encl. -go.
2. doodókohéédó 'wonderful'. An unanalyzable intensifying particle.
3. ghe'nénł'áͅná'a 'you seem to be wearing,'. 2nd person of ghe'-ni-...-l-'áͅ 'to wear [a headdress of any sort]' [si- perf. neut.]. ghe'- 'in, inside'; ni- terminative; -l-'áͅ 'to have one's head in position'. Note that -ná'a, in this verb, gives a dubitative connotation. See the Ethnological Note linked to the English Translation of this line.
4. beeshíͅsíͅ 'show me the power of it'. 2nd person imp. with 1st person obj. of 0'ee-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-zíͅ 'to show, give power by means of something' [act. tr.]. ee- 'by means of'.
1. denshndáshíné 'right'. denshndá 'right [as opposed to left]' [no analysis]. -shíné > -shíͅ 'from' plus the archaic'relative -é.
2. goch'iͅiͅyóo 'to face him' > go- 'him'; ch'iͅiͅ 'toward'; -yá pp.; and -go subord. encl.
3. kádahyiijaaá'a 'he put it on for him'. ká- 'for him' plus the 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of dah-|...[si- perf.]-jáásh 'to put a mass on' [act. tr.; dah- 'on']. Note that the text form, a 3rd person si perfective, lacks the s- prefix. See note 1.24, §2.
4. káik'e'iizoná'a 'he marked it for him'. ká- 'for him'; -ik'e- > -yik'e- 'on it'. 'iizo, 3rd person perf. of 'i- |...[si- perf.]-zo 'to mark' [act. intr.]. 'i-| ?. In this form, the -s- of the 3rd person si- perfective merges with the initial stem consonant.
ye'ághánáágóͅóͅdlaaná'a 'he did so with it again'. yee- 'with it'; 'ághá- 'so, thus'; náá- 'again'; góͅóͅ- > go- 'him' plus the 3rd person hi- perf. prefix; -dlaa, -d- form of the perfective stem of -lá 'to do to' [act. tr.]. The prefix náá- 'again' requires the -d- form. Cf. dá'ághágóͅóͅlaaná'a 'he did the same thing' in the fourth line of this passage. [this edition reproduces a discrepancy in Hoijer's edition between the word: dá'ághágóͅóͅlaaná'a as it is described here in the notes and it's appearance as dá'ághágóólaaná'a in the text--MEC].
niłnzhóͅnáli 'do you like it?'. ni- 'you'; ł- 'with, to'; nzhóͅ 'it is good'; -náli interrog. encl. [?].
1. ńnáhábiłnzhóͅná'a 'he liked it very much'. ńnáhá- 'very, a great deal' [procl.]; biłnzhóͅ 'he likes it; it is good with him'.
2. doo'iyáa'isht'íͅda 'I have nothing'. doo- ...-da negative; 'iyáa 'anything, something'. 'isht'íͅ 'I have' [?]; cf. 'á-ni-...-tíͅ 'to be so' and há-...tíͅ; 'to want, desire', both imp. neut. intr.
3. The last line of this passage is literally as follows: "'In spite of that, / anything / that you have told me / at every time / that I will do so it is so,' / he said to him."
k'adóo'iͅiͅdáͅáͅ'é 'it is time that we eat'. k'adóo > k'adé 'now, right now' plus -go subord. 'iͅiͅ-dáͅáͅ', a bound form of 'iͅiͅdáͅ, 1st person dual imp. with indef. obj. of -yáͅ 'to eat' [act. tr.]; -é relative.
Note that the verb 'to eat' suffers alternations of the stem initial similar to those of -yá 'one person moves'. See nndáͅ 'you will eat' [2nd person imp.] in this passage and k'adéhisháͅáͅ'é 'that which I would eat now' [1st person imp.] in passage 15. It is characteristic of both Chir. and Mesc. that stems beginning with y- combine with the prefixed consonants immediately preceding. This is also true of other Athapaskan languages. See F.-K. Li, Mattole, An Athabaskan Language [Chicago, 1930], §11, pp. 14-16.
'iyánéłizhiní 'buffalo'. A compound of 'iyáné 'cattle'; 'łizhiͅ 'it is black' [3rd person imp. neut. with prefixes łi-ni- adj.]; and the relative -í. 'iyáné > 'iyáͅ 'he eats' [3rd person imp. with indef. obj.] plus the archaic relative -é.
It is curious that the Mesc. word for 'buffalo' should have as a base the word for 'cattle' since it is very likely that the Mesc. knew the buffalo long before they encountered cattle. It is probable, however, that 'iyáné originally meant 'buffalo' and was made to include 'cattle' when these animals became important in.Mesc. culture. Then, when the necessity for distinguishing the two animals arose, this compound was devised to designate the buffalo, by then the less important animal to the culture.
1. dánaach'íłk'eh 'both of them', also heard dá'naach'íłk'eh. I cannot explain naa-; the usual form is dá'ch'íłk'eh. Cf. also dánahíłk'eh 'both of us, both of you'; dágółk'eh, dá'łk'eh, and dá'gobíłk'eh 'both of them'; and Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 1.1, §4.
2. hóóhgo nk'eh'ooshghał 'you have fed me well'. hóóhgo 'good, fine, well' [part.]. n-, reduced form of ni- 'you'; -k'eh 'by reason of, because of [pp.]; 'ooshghał, the 1st person perf. with indef. obj. of ...[hi- perf.]-ł-gha[ 'to eat meat-like substances' [act. tr.].
shdeeyáná'a 'he had started to move'. shdeeyá 'he had started to move' [3a person perf. with di- inceptive prefix] is contracted from ch'ideeyá.
dásínzhóͅgo 'exactly'. dásí- ', just, exactly': nzhóͅ 'it is good'; -go subord encl.
1. shóͅóͅdé 'wife'. This word means literally 'friend, partner' but is restricted in usage to the coyote stories. See Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 10.3, §1.
2. góbá'égóͅłtił 'spread [a robe] for them'. góbá- 'for them' > góbi- 3rd person dual pronoun plus á- 'for'. This special form for the 3rd person dual [object and poss.; see Grammatical Sketch, §§6 and 11] is more often used in Mesc. than in Chir.
'égóͅłtił, 2nd person imp. of 0é-go-...[si- perf.]-ł-tił 'to spread out a fabric-like object' [act. intr.]. No further analysis is possible.
3. ńgodibiͅiͅ 'they will sit down'. 3rd person imp. of ní-di-...[si- perf. -biͅiͅ- 'several sit down' [act. intr.]. ní- is probably ni- terminative, that prefix taking a high tone when it precedes a prefix beginning with -d-. di- inceptive. The deictic prefix go- functions here as a 3rd person dual [or plural] subject.
ńch'ideebiͅná'a 'they sat down'. 3a person perf. of the verb noted in 2:25, §3. Note that the -s- of the si- perf. is lacking. See note 1.24, §2.
lóngo 'you are crazy'. 2nd person of ló-|...-go 'to be crazy' [imp. neut. intr.]. This is a form derived by conjugation from lóogo 'crazy, he is crazy' > Spanish loco 'crazy'. See Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 38.21.
háahka 'you have come for'. 2nd person dual perf. of há-...[hi- perf.]-ká 'several come for' [act. intr.]. há- 'for'. I am not certain of this analysis, nor can I explain the -h- before the stem of the text form.
The first line of this passage is literally as follows: "Those / that you are so / being just so / those / people / you will make them so for me." See Ethnological note to the English translation of Mescalero text 2.5.
1. nankeesh 'sit down'. 2nd person dual of ni-...[si- perf.]-keesh 'two persons sit down' [act. intr.; ni- terminative]. Cf. the stem forms of this theme, viz., -keesh, -kééj [alternating with -ké], -kish, -kish, -keesh, with the corresponding Chir. forms: -kee, -ké, -ke, -ke, -kee.
2. Niishjaandénlíͅne 'those who were Owl people'. niishjaa 'Owl'; ndé 'people'; nlíͅ 'they are' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. prefix ni-]; -ne relative suffix denoting a group or class of people.
1. naashégodó 'one side also'. naashé 'one side' [naa- ?; -shé 'side']; -go subord. encl.; -dó 'also'.
2. náhakosíbitł'áshíͅdóná'a 'also from the north'. náhakosí 'north'; bitł'á 'under it'; -shíͅ 'from'; -dó 'also'. The Mesc. and Chir. idiom corresponding to our 'in such and such a direction' is 'under such and such a direction'. In Chir, the postposition -yaa 'under' is usually employed, however [see e. g., Linguistic Note to Chiricahua text 33.4, §1].
t'á 'feather'. In Chir., this noun occurs only in the possessed form -t'á'.
Niishjaanndéń 'Owl man'. Note that, in Mesc. , the word for 'man, person, people, etc.' occurs both in the Chir. form ndé and in the form it has in this compound, nndé.
This passage is literally: "Owl man / yes / that he will say, / together / yes / no / they had said, it is said."
dá'iłéé'é 'together' is unanalyzable.
'itsiͅntł'idzí nóółtsaaí doodádaach'ó'aałhát'édaí 'hard dry meat that could not be chewed'. -tsiͅiͅ 'meat'; ntł'idz 'it is hard' [3rd person imp. neut. intr. with adj. prefix ni-]; nóółtsaa 'it is dry' [no analysis]; daach'ó'aał 3a person distrib. opt. of ...[hi- perf.]-'aał 'to chew' [act. tr.].
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