Life among the Crees, in Chinuk Wawa
(Tune in next time for Life among the Inuit, in Chinuk Wawa. I promise!)
Sometimes you can’t find the sun, but the fish won’t leave you alone:
Life among the Crees, as told by the visiting Monsignor Emile Jean-Baptiste Marie Grouard (another pioneer of publishing in Canadian Aboriginal languages) to the Secwepemc of Kamloops and Father Le Jeune.
Le Jeune in turns tells it to us in Chinuk Wawa:
Alta lisivik iaka mamuk komtaks kopa nsaika
Then the bishop reported to uskata ukuk ilihi pi ukuk tilikom kah iaka chako
how that country and those people are where he had come from.Ukuk ilihi kopa Kamlups aias tlus ilihi,
This country around Kamloops is a beautiful place,
pi ukuk ilihi kah iaka chako, wik kakwa. Iaka drit
but that country where he was coming from, it’s not like this. It’s really
saia kopa iakwa Iawa, kopa wam ilihi, son
far from here. There, in the summer, the suniaka ipsut kopa <10> oklak, pi iaka wiht
hides at 10 o’clock, and it once againgitop kopa <2> oklak, kopa sitkom pulakli.
comes up at 2 o’clock, in the middle of the night.Ilo pulakli kopa iawa ilihi; kopa <12> oklak
There’s no night in that country there; at 12 o’clock
sitkom pulakli kopa Kamlups, iaka drit lait kopa
midnight at Kamloops, it’s really light in
iawa ilihi.
that country there.
Pi pus liplit klatwa nanich tilikom kopa
And when the priest visits the peoplesaia, kopa north ilihi, son kwanisim chako
far away, in the north country, the sun keeps gettingilip aias. Tanas saia, pi son ipsut
bigger and bigger. After a little ways, the sun hideskopa <11> oklak, pi iaka gitop kopa <1>* oklak.
at 11 o’clock, and it comes up at 1 o’clock.Tanas saia wiht pi ilo iaka ipsut
A little farther still and it doesn’t hide,kopit iaka tanas klatwa kopa ilihi, sitkom
it just goes slightly towards the ground, halfklatwa kopa ilihi pi sitkom ilo Tanas
goes to the earth and half not. A little
saia wiht pi ilo iaka ipsut. Kopa mokst
ways farther and it doesn’t hide at all. For twoSondi, kopa tlun Sondi, kopa iht mun, kopa
weeks, for three weeks, for a month, formokst mun, kopa lakit mun, son iaka
two months, for four months, the sunkuli kopa sahali ilihi iaka klatwa rawn.
travels in the heavens, going around.Iaka chako tanas kikuli pi ilo iaka ipsut.
It gets a bit lower but it doesn’t hide.Ilo pulakli kopa <4> mun Pi kata ukuk
There’s no night for 4 months. But how do thesetilikom pus kakwa, wik na klaska slip?
people get by if it’s like that, don’t they sleep?Nawitka klaska slip Klaska mamuk pi chako
Indeed they sleep. They work until it gets to besitkom pulakli Kopit sitkom pulakli klaska
midnight. After midnight theyklatwa styuil Kopa <2> oklak iaka lamas
go to pray. At 2 o’clock it’s mass.Kopit lamas iaka iskom syupir, pi klatwa
After mass he [they] take supper, and goslip, aias hloima ukuk mamuk Ilip
to sleep; this way of doing things is very odd. Firstlamas pi iawa syupir taim pi iawa klatwa
mass and then suppertime, and then goingslip
to bed.
Nawitka, aias tlus iawa kopa Shulai:
Indeed, it’s very nice there in July:son, ilo pulakli kwanisim son kopa tlun
it’s sunny, there’s no night, always sunshine for threemun kopa lakit mun, pi pus chako kol ilihi
months, for four months, and when it gets to be winter,drit aias klahawiam iawa ilihi; son ilo
that country there is really miserable; the sun neverchako kopa tlun mun kopa lakit mun. Kwanisim
comes for three months, for four months. It’s alwayspulakli, klunas kopa sitkom son. Klaska
night, maybe [even] at noon. Theynanich tanas lait, kakwa pus son tiki chako
see a bit of light, as if the sun wants to comepi wik iaka chako, kopit sitkom son iaka wiht
but it doesn’t come, in the afternoon it’s once againaias pulakli, pi kakwa kopa tlun mun kopa lakit mun
very dark, and it’s like this for three months, for four months.
Tilikom iawa ilo tlap tlus makmak kakwa msaika
The people there don’t get good food like you folkskopa Kamlups: klaska makmak fish, pi fish pi
at Kamloops: they eat fish, and fish andfish. Tanas son fish sitkom son fish
fish. In the morning, fish; noon, fish;mimlus son wiht fish; kopa likarim ayu
evening, fish again; during Lent lots offish pus chako kopit likarim ayu fish
fish; when Lent comes to an end, lots of fish;kopa Krismas ayu fish pi kopa Pak fish
at Christmas lots of fish and at Easter fish;kwanisim fish Som taim klaska tlap iht
always with the fish. Sometimes they get apotito, pi klaska drit tlus tomtom
potato, and they’re overjoyedpus tlap potito Som taim wiht klaska
to get a potato. Sometimes they alsotlap tanas kalakala, pi klaska tlus tomtom
get a little bird, and they’re happymakmak kalakala. Som taim wiht klaska tlap
to be eating fowl. Sometimes they even getmawich, iaka nim karibu, pi klaska tlus
a kind of deer called caribou, and theytomtom pus klaska tlap ukuk mawich.
are happy to get that deer.Ilo kansih klaska nanich saplil̂ iht
They never see bread; onesak flawr kopa iawa ilihi <50> tala;
sack of flour in that country there is 50 dollars;pi ilo ayu flawr klatwa kopa iawa ilihi
and not much flour goes to that country there;liplit wiht kakwa klunas kopa Krismas klunas
the priest says it’s like this: maybe at Christmas, maybekopa aias Sondi iaka tlap tanas lagalit, pi iaka
on a holiday he gets a bit of bannock [bread], and he’syutl tomtom. Kanawi hloima son kopit fish iaka makmak.
delighted. Every other day, it’s just fish that he eats.
—Kamloops Wawa #137 (February 1896), page 36
Absolutely super stuff. Can’t wait for the Inuit texts.
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