Potlatch Club ball invitation
The Daily Morning Astorian. (Astoria, Or.) Tuesday, March 27, 1888, column 3.
I invite your interpretations of this text! Most of it’s quite clear. Some is new to me. — Dave
Potlatch Club Ball. —–
The event of the season at Olympia will be a ball, on the 4th. of April, at Columbia hall. The invitations are in manner and form as follows:OLYMPIA, Whulge, Illa he,
Lokit moon, pe Lokit sun.
Tahtlum pe stotekin, hias
tahtlum, pe stotekin taht-
lum pe stotekin cole.Ole man–pe mika klootchman, tilla-
cums.
Nesika tum tum hias tike, nesika
chaco copa Town Hall, Olympia, pe
nunish pe ma-mook tanse pe hyu he-he
copa nesika tillicums, okoke polalky.
Ikt papel ikt dolla.
POTLATCH SKOOKUM STICK.
—–
UPDATE 04/24/2013:
Incorporating what some of you have written to me about this invitation (naika wawa aias mersi), here is my understanding of what it says in Jargon. I’ve gone back into the original text and underlined what was new to me.
OLYMPIA, Puget Sound [Lushootseed Salish word] country,
Fourth month [April] and fourth day.
Eighteen big
ten [i.e. hundred], and eigh-
ty and eighth year [1888].
Oldtimers–and your wives and fri-
ends.
Our hearts desire for us
to come to Town Hall, Olympia, and
visit and dance and have plenty fun
with our friends, that evening.
A dollar a ticket.
POTLATCH CLUB.
Olympia, annual seasonal [on]
4th month and 4th day (April 4th)
18 century and 88 years (1888)
Gentlemen and ladies, “friends”
We very much like [that]
we [all] come to the Town Hall [in] Olympia and
see [each other] and dance and have fun
together with our friends, that night
One ticket is one dollar
POTLATCH SKOOKUM STICK
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Hi Jim, great to see you here!
Thanks for your translation.
I really had difficulty with the tagline, “POTLATCH SKOOKUM STICK”…?
Anyone else want to have a go?
–Dave–
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I had difficulty with the tagline too. That’s why I didn’t attempt to translate it. I am thinking that refers to a club name or a specific item/location.
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Is “skookum stick” a play on “club”, so “Potlatch Skookum Stick” = “Potlatch Club”?
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By Jove, Brian, I think you’ve got it! Thanks for this insight where I was reading too literally. Later I’ll put an update in the body of the blog post, giving my interpretation of the CJ text. — Dave
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