The Foolish People and the Missing Pack, Chiricahua Apache Text excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes |
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24. The Foolish People and the Missing Pack as told by Sam
Kenoi
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| 24.1. |
| 24.2. |
| 24.3. |
| 24.4. |
| 24.5. |
| 24.6. |
| 24.7. |
| 24.8. |
| 24.9. |
| 24.10. |
 | The Foolish People and the Missing Pack, Chiricahua Apache Text |  |
24. The Foolish People and the Missing Pack as told by Sam Kenoi
The Foolish People are not clever people
Tsiͅłkizhéne ndé 'Foolish People' [see Ethnological Notes to the English translation of this story, note 24:1]. There is no certain etymology for this word. It may be composed of tsiͅ, 'tree, wood'; -łkizh > łikizh 'it is spotted' [3rd person imp. neut. intr.]; - é relative and -ne 'people of such and such a group'.
These "foolish people" are said by the Chiricahua and Mescalero Apache to have been an actual group, formerly living near or in Mescalero territory and speaking an Apache language. Two persons now living on the Mescalero Apache Reservation are pointed out as the last living descendants of members of this group. It is barely possible that some small Mescalero family or local group whose members were not considered over-bright and which has since been decimated and scattered, has been made the butt of these stories. The stories themselves are purely traditional, however, and are now used to rebuke the stupid, to train the young [by teaching them what not to do], to furnish a socially controlled outlet for pent up sexual interest and repression [most of the episodes of this type do not appear in these texts], and to serve as good stories for the long winter evenings. Other Apache tribes tell almost identical stories.
They were travelling.
They had stopped.
They were carrying packs.
They put them down just anywhere.
1. hééł 'pack, burden'. Cf. the theme -ghee 'to carry a burden' [prog. stem -ghééł].
2. daígheená'a 'they were carrying them'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of ni- ...[ni- perf.] -ghee 'to carry a burden' [act. tr.; ni- completive]. daí- > daa- plus yi- plus ni-.
3. dábikádé 'any place, any where'. dá- 'just'. -kádé may be related to -ká 'surface'.
When they had stopped, one of them had put his pack down on a slope.
Nnáheesáͅgo, łi' gosdáádéyá hééł nyíń'áͅná'a.
Dádzaͅaͅshíͅ, gosdaná'a.
Tsénáńt'iná'a.
Nódágo 'ákaa góń'áná'a.
From right here, [the ground] dropped sharply.
There was a cliff.
This was high [and] there was an arroyo.
gosdáádé 'a slope'. Cf. gosda 'a cliff, bluff, sheer drop' in the second line of this passage. Neither form can be analyzed.
This one who had put down the pack ran off to where the encampment had been made.
Díń hééł nyíń'áͅń koyá nnádaaheezáͅyá 'oołghoná'a.
'Áshíͅ, dzaͅaͅee bighéle si'áͅee náłghoná'a.
Nágodee'áͅshíͅ héélí si'áͅná'a.
Baa'isda'óómáázná'a.
Dzaͅaͅnee ch'éda hééłí hánáyintaaná'a.
Naiłkaaná'a.
'Iͅiͅshíͅ, gosdaná'a.
Díídíí héélí baa'isda'óómáázná'a.
Koyá, góń'áyá, isda'oołtoͅná'a.
Dádzaͅaͅeená ch'éháyintáná'a.
From there, he returned to where his pack lay.
The pack lay on the slope.
It had rolled away from him.
He searched in vain for the pack in the place where it had been.
He trailed it here and there.
From here, [the ground] dropped off sharply.
The pack had rolled down this [slope].
Over there, into the arroyo, it had fallen.
He searched in vain only right here [where it had been].
1. nnádaaheezáͅyá 'to where the encampment had been made'. Distrib. perf. of ni-ná-hi- ...[si- perf.]-zé 'a movement of people stops, comes to an end' [act. intr.]. ni- 'to a stop'. See linguistic note 23.1.
2. bighéle 'his pack'. - bighéle poss. form of hééł 'pack'.
3. nágodee'áͅ 'a slope'. No analysis.
4. baa'isda'óómáázná'a 'it had rolled away from him'. baa- 'from him' plus the 3rd person perf. of 'isda- 'i|...[hi- perf.]-máás 'to roll away' [act. intr.; 'isda- 'down, off'; 'i-| 'away']. It seems likely that -'óómáás was misheard for -'oómaás.
5. naiłkaaná'a. 'he trailed it here and there'. 3rd person imp. with 3rd person object of naa- |...[si- perf.]-ł-kaa 'to go about trailing, to trail here and there' [act. tr.].
6. isda'oołtoͅná'a. 'it had fallen'. 3rd person perf. of isda-'i-|...[hi- perf.]- ł-toͅ 'to fall off' [act. intr.]. Cf. §4 above.
Then he spoke thus:
joondéí 'friends'. joondé 'friend' is the noun base for the verbs joo-ni-...-ndee 'to be helpful, friendly' [imp. neut. intr.] and 0- joo-|...[si- perf.]- ndee 'to help, assist' [act. intr.].
Then the Foolish People came to him in a body.
baajiyeezhoozhná'a 'they came to him in a body' . 3rd person perf. of Oaa-ji-yi-...[si- perf.] -zhoosh 'a group comes to someone' [act. intr.; aa- 'to'; ji-yi- ?].
"The pack that I put here, who has taken it from me?"
Then many of them trailed this pack from here where it had been.
'Ákoo łáͅgo díí hééłní 'iͅiͅshíͅ si'áͅnshíͅ naadaiłkaaná'a.
Godashíͅ nnádaiłkaaná'a.
Góń'áyá hééłí si'áͅ ndah dooháń góń'áyá dighaałná'a.
'Ákoo dá'iͅiͅshíͅ gosdashíͅ 'ádzaͅaͅzhiͅ hééł si'áͅnzhiͅ nnádaiłkaaná'a.
They trailed it back and forth the edge of the slope.
The pack lay in the arroyo but no one looked in the arroyo.
Then they trailed it back and forth just from here on the edge of the slope to where the pack had been.
néńgoná'a 'it seems to have gone'. Here the narrative enclitic gives a dubitative significance. néńgo cannot be analyzed.
2. nnádaiłkaaná'a 'they trailed it back and forth'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of ni-ná-...[ni- perf.?]-l- kaa 'to trail back and forth' [act. tr.]. ni- 'to a stop' ná- 'back'. Cf. note 24.4, §5.
3. dooháń góń'áyá dighaałná'a 'no one looked in the arroyo'. Note that doo- alone denotes the negative in this phrase. dighaał, 3rd person imp. of di- ...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'to look' [act. intr.].
Then the one Mescalero man who was said to live among them came there.
'Ákoo Mashgaléń nndéń dáłe'é bita nlíͅná'ań 'á'híłghoná'a.
Gosdáádézhiͅ nnádaiłkaaná'a.
They trailed it back and forth on the slope.
Then this Mescalero went to the slope.
'Ákoo díí Mashgaléń gosdáádézhiͅ ńłghoná'a.
Nágo góń'áyá dees'íͅná'a.
Góń'áyá, dágołgayá, hééłí si'áͅgo yiiłtsáͅná'a.
'Ákoo 'áshíͅ náyin'áͅná'a.
And he looked into the arroyo.
In the arroyo, in plain sight, he saw the pack lying.
Then they brought it up from there.
dágołgayá 'in plain sight'. da- 'just' plus gołga 'a plain, a clearing' which is probably łi-ni-...-ga 'to be white' [imp. neut. intr.] with the place subject. Literally: 'right in an open place'.
Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer
Tsiͅłkizhéne ndé 'Foolish People' [see Ethnological Notes to the English translation of this story, note 24:1]. There is no certain etymology for this word. It may be composed of tsiͅ, 'tree, wood'; -łkizh > łikizh 'it is spotted' [3rd person imp. neut. intr.]; - é relative and -ne 'people of such and such a group'.
1. hééł 'pack, burden'. Cf. the theme -ghee 'to carry a burden' [prog. stem -ghééł].
2. daígheená'a 'they were carrying them'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of ni- ...[ni- perf.] -ghee 'to carry a burden' [act. tr.; ni- completive]. daí- > daa- plus yi- plus ni-.
3. dábikádé 'any place, any where'. dá- 'just'. -kádé may be related to -ká 'surface'.
gosdáádé 'a slope'. Cf. gosda 'a cliff, bluff, sheer drop' in the second line of this passage. Neither form can be analyzed.
1. nnádaaheezáͅyá 'to where the encampment had been made'. Distrib. perf. of ni-ná-hi- ...[si- perf.]-zé 'a movement of people stops, comes to an end' [act. intr.]. ni- 'to a stop'. See linguistic note 23.1.
2. bighéle 'his pack'. - bighéle poss. form of hééł 'pack'.
3. nágodee'áͅ 'a slope'. No analysis.
4. baa'isda'óómáázná'a 'it had rolled away from him'. baa- 'from him' plus the 3rd person perf. of 'isda- 'i|...[hi- perf.]-máás 'to roll away' [act. intr.; 'isda- 'down, off'; 'i-| 'away']. It seems likely that -'óómáás was misheard for -'oómaás.
5. naiłkaaná'a. 'he trailed it here and there'. 3rd person imp. with 3rd person object of naa- |...[si- perf.]-ł-kaa 'to go about trailing, to trail here and there' [act. tr.].
6. isda'oołtoͅná'a. 'it had fallen'. 3rd person perf. of isda-'i-|...[hi- perf.]- ł-toͅ 'to fall off' [act. intr.]. Cf. §4 above.
joondéí 'friends'. joondé 'friend' is the noun base for the verbs joo-ni-...-ndee 'to be helpful, friendly' [imp. neut. intr.] and 0- joo-|...[si- perf.]- ndee 'to help, assist' [act. intr.].
baajiyeezhoozhná'a 'they came to him in a body' . 3rd person perf. of Oaa-ji-yi-...[si- perf.] -zhoosh 'a group comes to someone' [act. intr.; aa- 'to'; ji-yi- ?].
néńgoná'a 'it seems to have gone'. Here the narrative enclitic gives a dubitative significance. néńgo cannot be analyzed.
2. nnádaiłkaaná'a 'they trailed it back and forth'. 3rd person distrib. imp. with 3rd person obj. of ni-ná-...[ni- perf.?]-l- kaa 'to trail back and forth' [act. tr.]. ni- 'to a stop' ná- 'back'. Cf. note 24.4, §5.
3. dooháń góń'áyá dighaałná'a 'no one looked in the arroyo'. Note that doo- alone denotes the negative in this phrase. dighaał, 3rd person imp. of di- ...[si- perf.]-ghaał 'to look' [act. intr.].
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