A Girl Is Lost, Chiricahua Apache Text :: :: University of Virginia Library

A Girl Is Lost, Chiricahua Apache Text

excerpted from Chiricahua Apache Texts, with Ethnological Notes

36. A Girl Is Lost as told by Duncan Belacho

36.1.

Long ago, when they were moving, a girl was lost.

36.2.

Then many of them trailed her.

36.3.

Then, she had apparently gone to a place where the ground was cracked open.

36.4.

Then a shaman made a ceremony for her.

Linguistic Notes by Harry Hoijer

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36. A Girl Is Lost as told by Duncan Belacho

Long ago, when they were moving, a girl was lost.

(36.1)[1]
'Iłk'idáͅ, nóozééłgo, 'it'éeké ha'óótł'is.
'Ákoo nnáheezáͅ.
'Ákoo díń 'it'éekéń hádaajintá.
T'óonádaashnłtíͅda.

Long ago, when they were moving, a girl was lost.
Then they made camp.
And they searched for this girl.
They did not find her.

[_]

(36.1) Linguistic Notes

1. ha'óótł'is 'she was lost'. This is evidently a 3rd person hi- perf. pass. with prefix complex ha-'i- and stem -tł'is. No further analysis is possible, however.

2. t'óonádaashnłtíͅda 'they did not find her'. t'óo- ...da variant form of the negative affix plus the 3a distrib. perf. of ná-di- |...[ni- perf.]-ł-tee 'to pick up an animate being' [act. tr.].

Then many of them trailed her.

(36.2)
'Ákoo jiláͅgo naadaajíłkaa.
Gołgayá dáditsiͅda 'édinyá 'oołghoná'a.
'Ákaa bikék'eh.
'Ákaa, híłghoyá, naandéhéná'a.
Dá'ághát'éndah, t'óonádaashnłtíͅda.

Then many of them trailed her.
She had apparently gone to the plains where there are no trees.
There [were] her tracks.
There, where she had gone, she had apparently played about.
In spite of that, they did not find her.

Then, she had apparently gone to a place where the ground was cracked open.

(36.3)[3]
'Áshíͅ, ndii'iłk'áodla' 'ázhiͅ 'oołghoná'a.
'Ákoo 'áee naandéhéná'a.
'Áshíͅ, nájíká.

Then, she had apparently gone to a place where the ground was cracked open.
And she played about there, it seems.
From there, [the searchers] returned.

[_]

(36.3) Linguistic Notes

ndii'iłk'áodla' 'the ground was cracked open'. ndii 'ground'; 'iłk'áodla' 'it has been cracked' [no analysis].

Then a shaman made a ceremony for her.

(36.4)[4]
'Ákoo ndédighiͅń káhikéé'gotaał.
'Ákoo díń nndéń 'ágoołndí:

"Dooła'náhadláhát'éda."

goołndi.
'Ákoo t'óoła'nádzáda.

Then a shaman made a ceremony for her.
Then this man spoke thus to them:

"No one can bring her back."

he said to them.
And no one came back.

[_]

(36.4) Linguistic Notes

káhikéé'gotaał 'he made a ceremony for her'. Literally: 'he sang after it for her'. ká- 'for her'; hikéé'- bound form of hiké- 'after it, behind it, following it'; gotaał, 3rd person imp. of go- ...[hi- perf.]-taał 'to sing a ceremony' [act. intr.].