A Visit to the Mountain Spirits, Chiricahua Apache Text excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes |
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22. A Visit to the Mountain Spirits as told by Duncan
Belacho
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| 22.1. |
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 | A Visit to the Mountain Spirits, Chiricahua Apache Text |  |
22. A Visit to the Mountain Spirits as told by Duncan Belacho
This woman [had] a little girl [and] little boy.
Díí 'isdzáń 'it'éekébizáͅáͅyé 'icheeshkébizáͅáͅyé.
Díń 'isdzáńń 'áłchiné beená'iistł'óͅ jaghééł.
This woman was carrying a baby in a cradle.
1. 'it'éeké 'girl' [also heard 'idéeké; cheeshké boy' [also heard 'ijeeshkéńń. This narrative is from a member of the Warm Springs band of the Chiricahua. It may be, therefore, that these are dialectical variants.
2. beená'iistł'óͅ 'in a cradle'. Literally: 'it had been wrapped around it'. A passive perf. of the theme - tł'óͅ 'to tie up, to wrap' with the prefixes ee- 'by means of'; ná- 'around' and 'i- indef. pronoun.
A bear came toward her.
Shash goch'iͅiͅnádiiłgho. Ditsiͅ 'édiͅ. Gołga.
'Ákoo shash biisił.
'Ákoo bizóół yik'éjíńdzíͅíͅs.
Goyeesxíͅ.
There were no trees.
It was a plain.
And she was caught by bear.
Then he tore her throat open.
He had killed her.
yik'éjíńdzíͅíͅs 'he tore it open'. 3rd person perf. of 0-k'é-ji-ni-...[ni- perf.]-dzíͅíͅs 'to tear open' [act. intr.]. k'é- 'off, open' ji- ?; ni- completive [?].
Then the bear picked up the baby.
'Ákoo shash 'áłchiné náinłtíͅ.
Ts'ał shashí yóótaͅ.
Tséyeehayóółhaal.
Goyeesxíͅ. 'Áłchiné hiyeesxíͅ.
The bear took hold of the cradle.
He struck a rock with it.
He had killed it.
He had killed the baby.
1. Note, in the second line, that the object precedes the subject; i. e., ts'aał 'cradle', the object of yóótaͅ he took hold of it' precedes shashí 'the bear'. Cf. the line preceding.
2. tséyeehayóółhaal 'he struck a rock with it'. tsé 'rock'. yee- 'with it' plus the 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of ha-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-ghaał 'to strike' [act. tr.].
Then he had killed them.
And he had done nothing to this boy and girl.
t'óodagobílaa 'he had done nothing to them'. t'óoda 'nothing', a Warm Springs variant of dooda 'nothing' [?]. gobílaa, 3rd person perf. with 3rd person dual obj. of - lá 'to do to' [act. tr.].
Then a Gray One from the mountains came to them.
nóoká 'come'.'Literally: 'let us go'. 1st person dual opt. of the theme -ká 'several move' with a prefix ni- ?.
When Chiricahua are conducted into the mountain interiors, into the homes of the Mountain Spirits, it is usually the Gray One or clown who acts as a guide for them.
Then they went back with him to the mountains.
'Ákoo gołnádeeska dziłá.
Tsénáńt'ií bitł'áh, daanádéńtan ghahá'áílaa.
Goł'áhoka díͅíͅn daanádéńtaͅ'.
Nágo kágót'ézhiͅ ch'éńka.
Nndé łáͅ.
Dádííndéí k'ehát'é.
Under a rock wall, a door had been open.
They went in with him [through] four doors.
Then they came out into [country] like this.
There were many people.
They were just like these people.
1. daanádéńtan 'door, gate-way' [no analysis].
2. kágót'ézhiͅ 'to a place like this'. ká-ni-...- t'é 'to be that' [imp. neat. intr.] with a place subject. ká- is a demonstrative prefix.
"Come here!"
Łáͅ
"No."
We went with him to where a ceremony was being held.
Gotál si'áͅná'ee biłnka.
Dádíí dzaͅaͅee gotálí k'ehhát'é.
This was just like the ceremonies here.
"Stay right there inside the wickiup."
Dá'ákaa siikégo díͅíͅ' hiskáͅ.
Gotál 'énágoosdiͅiͅ.
We stayed right there for four days.
The ceremony was over.
saké 'you stay' and saké 'we stayed' are the 2nd person dual and 1st person dual respectively of -ké 'two persons sit' [si- perf. neut. intr.].
Then
'Ákoo
Dziłbizáͅí silá.
Several little mountains lay there.
The little mountains were open at four sides.
Dziłbizaͅí díͅíͅnshíͅ ghahá'át'é.
Dáń łáͅ dziłí bighe'yá.
'Ik'an, gołkaͅaͅdí, 'itsiͅiͅ, Gahée, nndé bidáń łáͅ hiiłtsáͅ.
Much food was inside the mountains.
We saw flour, sugar, meat, coffee, [and] much Indian food.
1. ghahá'át'é 'they were open'. ghahá 'over there' plus 'át'é 'it is so'.
2. gołkaͅaͅdí 'sugar' may be related to the theme -ł-kaͅaͅ-dí 'to become sweet' [act. intr.] or to łi-ni-...-kaͅ 'to be sweet' [imp, neut. intr.].
3. gahée 'coffee' > Spanish café.
From there, we went again further on.
A bear had been tied up with chains.
We came to him.
1. béheestł'óͅ 'he had been tied up'. Perf. pass. of 0é-hi-...[si- perf.]-tł'óͅ 'to tie on' [act. tr.; é- 'against, on'].
2. bééshbee 'with chains'. béésh 'flint, metal, iron, chains, knife'.
"This one did so to you."
daheestł'óͅ dáhindázhiͅ 'he has been tied up for life'. daheestł'óͅ, perf. pass. of dah-hi-...[si- perf.]-tł'óͅ 'to tie up, to tie to' [act. tr.; dah- 'up, on']. dá- 'just'; hindá 'he lives, he is alive'; -zhiͅ 'to'.
From there, we went back to the ceremonial grounds with him.
'Áshíͅ, gotálee biłnánka.
Then
1. dahahndá, 'what do you want to do?'. da- interrog. procl. plus 2nd person dual imp. of the theme -n dá, 'to do' [act. intr.]. This theme, like -lá 'to do', is usually found with the prefix 'á- 'thus, so' [see linguistic note to Chiricahua text 3.8, §5]. Here the interrog. procl. replaces 'á-.
2. doodagodó 'or' [part.]. dooda 'not' plus -go subord. and the enclitic -dó 'also'. [?].
Then:
'Ákoo
Then
nahkéyaayá 'to your country'. kéyaa 'country, homeland', a compound of ké 'foot' and -aa 'under'.
Then we started back with him.
'Ákoo biłnádeeka.
'Áshíͅ, 'Áá'ee nahkéyaa biłnánka.
Dooha'iyáada 'indaa dáłe'é 'áá'sidá.
'Áń baanánka.
From there, we went back to our country with him.
No one was there but one white man.
We went to him.
"Stay right here."
nahaaee nahaaee náká 'they will come back to you'. náhi- 2nd person dual pronoun plus aa- 'to' and ee- 'at'. náká, 3rd person imp. of ná-ni-...[ni- perf.]- ká 'several come back' [act. intr.]. Cf. 'áá'nahaanáká 'they came back there to us' in the second line of passage 21 of the text.
That happened just so.
'Áí dá'aghádzaa.
Nahitaań naht'éké 'áá'nahaanáká.
This incident is supposed to have occurred at the time the Warm Springs band of the Chiricahua Apache were being removed from their New Mexico home to Arizona. Later they were allowed to return to the vicinity of Warm Springs once more and these two children were united with their relatives.
Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer
1. 'it'éeké 'girl' [also heard 'idéeké; cheeshké boy' [also heard 'ijeeshkéńń. This narrative is from a member of the Warm Springs band of the Chiricahua. It may be, therefore, that these are dialectical variants.
2. beená'iistł'óͅ 'in a cradle'. Literally: 'it had been wrapped around it'. A passive perf. of the theme - tł'óͅ 'to tie up, to wrap' with the prefixes ee- 'by means of'; ná- 'around' and 'i- indef. pronoun.
yik'éjíńdzíͅíͅs 'he tore it open'. 3rd person perf. of 0-k'é-ji-ni-...[ni- perf.]-dzíͅíͅs 'to tear open' [act. intr.]. k'é- 'off, open' ji- ?; ni- completive [?].
1. Note, in the second line, that the object precedes the subject; i. e., ts'aał 'cradle', the object of yóótaͅ he took hold of it' precedes shashí 'the bear'. Cf. the line preceding.
2. tséyeehayóółhaal 'he struck a rock with it'. tsé 'rock'. yee- 'with it' plus the 3rd person perf. with 3rd person obj. of ha-|...[hi- perf.]-ł-ghaał 'to strike' [act. tr.].
t'óodagobílaa 'he had done nothing to them'. t'óoda 'nothing', a Warm Springs variant of dooda 'nothing' [?]. gobílaa, 3rd person perf. with 3rd person dual obj. of - lá 'to do to' [act. tr.].
nóoká 'come'.'Literally: 'let us go'. 1st person dual opt. of the theme -ká 'several move' with a prefix ni- ?.
1. daanádéńtan 'door, gate-way' [no analysis].
2. kágót'ézhiͅ 'to a place like this'. ká-ni-...- t'é 'to be that' [imp. neat. intr.] with a place subject. ká- is a demonstrative prefix.
saké 'you stay' and saké 'we stayed' are the 2nd person dual and 1st person dual respectively of -ké 'two persons sit' [si- perf. neut. intr.].
1. ghahá'át'é 'they were open'. ghahá 'over there' plus 'át'é 'it is so'.
2. gołkaͅaͅdí 'sugar' may be related to the theme -ł-kaͅaͅ-dí 'to become sweet' [act. intr.] or to łi-ni-...-kaͅ 'to be sweet' [imp, neut. intr.].
3. gahée 'coffee' > Spanish café.
1. béheestł'óͅ 'he had been tied up'. Perf. pass. of 0é-hi-...[si- perf.]-tł'óͅ 'to tie on' [act. tr.; é- 'against, on'].
2. bééshbee 'with chains'. béésh 'flint, metal, iron, chains, knife'.
daheestł'óͅ dáhindázhiͅ 'he has been tied up for life'. daheestł'óͅ, perf. pass. of dah-hi-...[si- perf.]-tł'óͅ 'to tie up, to tie to' [act. tr.; dah- 'up, on']. dá- 'just'; hindá 'he lives, he is alive'; -zhiͅ 'to'.
1. dahahndá, 'what do you want to do?'. da- interrog. procl. plus 2nd person dual imp. of the theme -n dá, 'to do' [act. intr.]. This theme, like -lá 'to do', is usually found with the prefix 'á- 'thus, so' [see linguistic note to Chiricahua text 3.8, §5]. Here the interrog. procl. replaces 'á-.
2. doodagodó 'or' [part.]. dooda 'not' plus -go subord. and the enclitic -dó 'also'. [?].
nahkéyaayá 'to your country'. kéyaa 'country, homeland', a compound of ké 'foot' and -aa 'under'.
nahaaee nahaaee náká 'they will come back to you'. náhi- 2nd person dual pronoun plus aa- 'to' and ee- 'at'. náká, 3rd person imp. of ná-ni-...[ni- perf.]- ká 'several come back' [act. intr.]. Cf. 'áá'nahaanáká 'they came back there to us' in the second line of passage 21 of the text.
| A Visit to the Mountain Spirits, Chiricahua Apache Text | |