Linda Poboto

Inspired by a text found in A Grammar of Kham by David E. Watters, ©2002, Cambridge University Press.

 

Ŋasaras linda pobotoza zisirinohe. Ŋono poto liŋi, yatayatavadu lira. Poto liŋiye, muros dahidahi liŋi, morono.

Moronen muros dahidahi liŋiye, uri erenano. Liyeza naka, liyenen yiri buros nara. Koyo erenaya yiri erenanen yereme. Erenaya keruvelime. Naya ŋarunos ŋono pezes ebeno, naya ŋarunos yozos tileya ŋarahidu hape aŋaka.

Naya kureza kideza liye ira. Liye tene satas dimidimi eka. Liye tene satas piŋino, govogovo bavasano.

Liya nadu evi, “Ŋaŋitohi. Govogovo koyonen ŋaŋitohi. Lidu gehevanen ŋaŋinahi.” Linda sorodo erena sarape baŋibaŋi.

Lirunos linda besarino aŋaka. Linda tili arenda tili bese saŋi. Lidu luguradu sano. Erenaza saka, liyenen yeremeto.

Saya nadu evi, “Linda laki koyo yeleŋe. Samas dimidimi yakato! Sadu gehevanen yaŋi!” Liyes erena dimidimi nakato aŋaka.

Saya evi, “Ŋaya kere ebes linda laki ira.” Naya kere ebes liye ira. Naya liye tene satanda pezes garanen piŋera. Yozonda erenara, naya zosos yereme.

Besariya marodo tonos liye ira. Maras lira, muros dahidahi liŋi, lidurunulona. Pobotonen rehela lipena.

Translation

You may have heard news of my sickness. I was very sick, almost to death. While I was sick, I lay on the mat, and a dream came.

With the dream, while I was lying on the mat, the wind spirits came. They grabbed me and took me to the mouth of a dry wash. These spirits play with the dry wash spirits. The dry wash spirits create dust devils. They make a distant pool of water appear to you and then before you can go there they make it fail to appear.

They took me across thorns and rocks. They (the thorns and rocks) hit all of my body. I felt pain on all of my body and all kinds of bad.

I said to them, “You could stop. You could stop doing all these kinds of things. You could start to be good to me.” But the spirits did not listen to my words.

And then I saw my uncle. He was my late grandmother’s uncle. He came to help me. He grabbed the spirits and the game with me stopped.

He said to them, “This person is my daughter. Stop hitting her! Be good to her!” And then the spirits stopped hitting me.

He said, “Take my daughter to the sacred pool.” They took me to the sacred pool. They washed the pain from all of my body. The spirits went from there and played elsewhere.

Uncle set me on the road to home. I went home, I lay down on the mat, and my eyes opened. I began to not be sick afterwards.

 

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