1895: “Chinook Hymns” in Chinuk Pipa (Part 1: “An old song for Christmas = Ça bergers”)
There is so incredibly much Chinook Jargon written in the BC “Chinuk Pipa” alphabet that I still keep finding material I haven’t previously read!
Thanks to Alex “Kaltash Wawa” Code and to Stubs, on the Discord “Chinuk Wawa” server, for mentioning this old shorthand (Chinuk Pipa) favorite the other day:
“Chinuk Shanti” (image credit: the phenomenal Archive.org, who you should be donating money to)
“Chinook Hymns” (6th edition, 1895, Kamloops).
Some of these “Chinook Hymns” are in Latin, and one is in Secwepemctsín (“Shuswap”) Salish.
I just want to focus on the Chinuk Wawa stuff, for my audience here.
Today, specifically, it’s the song on page 17 titled Ankati Shanti Kopa Krismas, “Oldtime Song for Christmas”:
Shipirtz aiak gitop (shépərd-s* áyáq gitə́p) ‘Shepherds, hurry to wake up’
Aiak aiak gitop (áyáq, áyáq gitə́p) ‘Hurry, hurry, wake up’
Shipirtz aiak chako kopa Bitliim (shépərd-s* áyáq cháku kʰupa betlehem*) ‘Shepherds, come quick to Bethlehem’
Nanich msaika ridimir (nánich msayka rədímər*) ‘To see your redeemer’
Shisyu msaika ridimir (shisyu msayka rədímər*) ‘Jesus (is)* your redeemer’< + > Rifrin < + > (rifréyn*) ‘Refrain’
Na kata naika (ná*(,) qʰáta nayka) ‘Hey, what am I up to?’
Wik na naika kaltash musum (wík na nayka kʰə́ltəs(h)-músum) ‘Aren’t I idly sleeping?’
Nanich, wik na naika kaltash (nánich, wík na nayka kʰə́ltəsh) ‘Look, aren’t I idly’
Musum nanich? (músum-nánich?) ‘Dreaming?’Nawitka naika komtaks (nawítka, nayka kə́mtəks) ‘It’s true, I know’
Ayu klaska shanti (háyú łaska shánti) ‘There are lots of them singing’
Ayu mamuk tintin (háyú mamuk-tíntin) ‘Lots making music’
Kopa sahali ilihi (kʰupa sáx̣ali-ílihi) ‘In heaven’
Wik na nsaika komtaks (wík na nsayka kə́mtəks) ‘Don’t we understand’Nanich kopa sahali ilihi (nánich kʰupa sáxali-ílihi) ‘Look, in heaven’
Nanich ukuk tlus (nánich úkuk łúsh) ‘Look at that beautiful’
Shaining star (sháyning* stár*) ‘Shining star’
Pi iaka mamuk komtaks (pi yaka mamuk-kə́mtəks) ‘And it will show’
Alta pus nsaika (álta pus nsayka) ‘Now if we’
Mitlait kopa Bitliim (míłayt kʰupa bétlehem*) ‘Are at Bethlehem’
Shisyu nsaika ridimir. (shisyu nsayka rədímər*) ‘Jesus (is)* our redeemer.’
Those lyrics are a trip.
- They involve some old-time, Southern Dialect stuff (religious texts often do),
- like the na questioning particle,
- the interjection ná for ‘hey!’,
- and the phrase musum-nanich for ‘dream(ing)’ (literally, ‘sleep-seeing’).
- At the same time, they bring in brand-new borrowings from English (typical for BC Jargon),
- such as shining star
- and redeemer.
This particular combination of flavours indicates a new Northern Dialect composition created recently — from an 1895 perspective — in British Columbia. So the author of these lyrics is almost certainly Father JMR Le Jeune himself, the publisher of the Kamloops Wawa newspaper.
Our discussion on Discord also focused on what the tune of this Christmas carol must have been.
The consensus we reached seems to be that this is a Jargon version (not necessarily a translation — a situation we so often find with Jargon songs!) of…“Ça bergers”, a song from France that was well-known in Canada by 1895.
Click here to hear the legendary Chieftains performing 2 songs that we have Jargon translations for, “Il est né” & our “Ça bergers”.
See if you can fit the Jargon lyrics to the original tune!
Bonus fact:
On the same page, untitled, is the hymn we know from other Kamloops publications as “O ilep tloos tanaz” = ó íləp-łúsh tənás = “Oh, very best child”.
You’d have to develop some deep Chinuk Pipa reading knowledge to know that, though. On the page, it’s only titled < + Hloima + >.
That is, “Another One”!
Could maybe add that the lyrics are maybe more inspired by “Shepherds Arise” than the tune they likely used (Ca Bergers). Take a look:
Shepherds arise, be not afraid, with hasty steps prepare
To David’s city, sin on earth,
With our blest Infant—with our blest Infant there,
With our blest Infant there, with our blest Infant there.
Sing, sing, all earth, sing, sing, all earth eternal praises sing
To our Redeemer, to our Redeemer and our heavenly King.
Laid in a manger viewed a Child, humility Divine,
Sweet innocence sounds meek and mild.
Grace in his features—grace in his features shine,
Grace in his features shine, grace in his features shine.
Sing, sing, all earth, sing, sing, all earth eternal praises sing
To our Redeemer, to our Redeemer and our heavenly King.
For us the Saviour came on earth, for us his life he gave,
To save us from eternal death
And to raise us from—and to raise us from the grave
To raise us from the grave and to raise us from the grave
Sing, sing, all earth, sing, sing, all earth eternal praises sing
To our Redeemer, to our Redeemer and our heavenly King.
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Also Check out the sheet music Stubs made: https://kaltashwawa.files.wordpress.com/2024/01/shipirtsaiakgitop-2.pdf
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Wow! Naika wawa mirsi kopa kanawi mokst msaika!
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“This particular combination of flavours indicates a new Northern Dialect composition created recently — from an 1895 perspective — in British Columbia. So the author of these lyrics is almost certainly Father JMR Le Jeune himself, the publisher of the Kamloops Wawa newspaper.”
Zacharie Picotte, OMI attributes this Christmas Carol to Father Pandosy (Archives Deschatelets-NDC HR932.C53R2 Cantiques Chinook). That would explain why Le Jeune titled it an “Ankati Shanti.”
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