More humor in Chinuk Wawa: The magic lantern show
From an evening of Bible stories told in Chinook Jargon (“Kamloops Wawa” February 1916, No. 259):
1890s magic lantern slide of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead (image credit: ebay)
Anecdote: Once, Father Chirouse was showing magic lantern pictures of Gospel scenes; the operator of the lantern was a Native, and they were showing the resurrection of Lazarus as Chirouse described, through an interpreter, the scene, but the operator kept turning the crank, making Lazarus travel in an arc through the air to land on the other side of the scene; the crowd of Indigenous people burst into laughter, Chirouse laughing equally hard.
Another anecdote: at Canoe Creek, Father Chirouse was again narrating the magic lantern show, starting with “See these two people, Martha and Mary Magdalen,” which the Secwepemc Salish interpreter rendered “in Indian” as “Martin and Marie Mdeleine” [sic]; Chirouse continued, “They are two sisters, klaska telikom” (in Chinúk Wawa = they’re related / people) and the interpreter said “They’re brother and sister”; Le Jeune whispered to him, “Say they’re two sisters”, but the interpreter replied, “In our language we say brother and sister”, so Le Jeune told him, “Get out of here with your language”.
