Kamloops Wawa pictures, part 10: Philibert-Michel Termoz
Chinuk Wawa is a language for talking about your real life — so how about learning to say ‘I had some hard work to do, so I’m running late’?
You can learn that today. News you can use!
<Mgr. Termoz.>
<Kamloops, Dec. 27, 1894.> Nsaika tlap aias
‘We find (ourselves with) very’til mamuk alta: wik saia nsaika tulit kopa ukuk pipa.
‘hard work lately; we were almost late with this issue.’
As usual in the “Kamloops Wawa”, the “we” is the “editorial we” of Father JMR Le Jeune. And stuff < between angled brackets > is not in the Chinuk Pipa alphabet on the original page.
Here’s the rest…
< Mgr. Termoz. >
<Monsignor Termoz.> Klaksta ukuk liplit iaka
‘Who is this priest whose’siahus kopa ukuk pipa? Iaka ukuk monsingor Tirmos, iaka
‘face is on this page? This is Monsignor Termoz, who’chako kopa Kamlups kopa Novimbir < 1, 1894 >, iaka lamis kopa
‘came to Kamloops on November 1, 1894, (and) who said Mass at’Kamlups pi iaka patlach Å [likalisti] kopa kanawi tilikom klaska iskom
‘Kamloops and gave Communion to all the people who took’Å kopa Novimbir < 1 >. < X > Iaka nanish tilikom kopa katikism haws,
‘Communion on November 1. X He met the people at the catechism house,’iaka iskom lima kopa kanawi pi iaka drit tlus tomtom nanish klaska.
‘he shook hands with them all, and he was quite happy visiting them.’
— images and text from Kamloops Wawa #125 (February 1895), page 18
The preceding page of the same issue tells us more in English:
Monsignor TERMOZ, canon honorary of Grenoble, whose picture appears in another column, passed through Kamloops last November, on his way back from an extensive tour through Arabia, Ceylon, China and Japan. His Reverence celebrated high mass on November 1st, and gave Holy Communion to 150 Indians. He examined their progress in the Chinook writing, and he was very much pleased with what he saw and heard at Kamloops.
Between this English information and the Chinuk Wawa mention of the “katikism haws” visit, we know that Termoz witnessed one of the popular Chinuk Pipa classes at Kamloops. The catechism house there was the place where people gathered to learn and practice the new skill of literacy, in Chinook Jargon.
I haven’t managed to learn much yet about Monsignor Philibert-Michel Termoz of Grenoble, but apparently he was a close adviser to the Pope on missionary activity, leading him to to take a world tour in 1894 that included British Columbia.
