Formula of Medicine to Cause the Infant to Grow Fast
told by Emma Lewis
December, 1901
Hoopa Valley, California
Transcribed by Pliny Earle Goddard
Source: Hupa Texts (UCPAAE vol. 1, no. 2), p. 286
- digyung
- Here
- yiduq
- east
- ya:łe:da'a:-ding
- in the corner of the world
- na:tehłdichwe:n
- grew
- k'ehłtsa:n
- a maiden,
- łiwuning
- all alone.
Here in the eastern corner of the world grew a maiden by herself.
- hayah-mił
- And
- łiwuning
- alone
- ch'e'ida'
- she used to live.
- diywhe'eh
- Nobody
- do:-ch'iłtsis
- she saw.
She lived all alone, seeing no one.
- mixa'
- Tracks
- -heh
- even
- do:-ch'iłtsis
- she did not see.
- mine:jixomił
- after a time,
- łah-xw
- without reason
- hayah
- there
- k'iwilkya:n
- she was pregnant.
- diywhe'eh
- Nobody
- 'e:ng'
- it was
- q'ing'
- too
- do:-ch'iłtsis
- she saw.
After a time without cause she became pregnant. She had seen no one. She had not even seen the tracks of people.
- 'a:diwung - xokyung - na:'iya'
- about herself she thought,
- da:ydi-ding gya'awh
- "Where is it
- mił
- from
- xixiy
- baby
- 'iwhtsa:n
- I found,"
- ch'o:'ine'
- she kept thinking.
"From whom have I a child," she kept thinking.
- mine:jixomił
- After a time
- mingyay
- it was nearly time
- ch'idiwinch'ah-te:
- that she was going to be sick.
After a while the time for her to be sick had nearly come.
- mine:jixomił
- after a time
- ch'idiwinch'a:t
- she was sick.
- xowa:n
- from her
- sile'n
- it came
- hay
- that
- mije'e:din
- baby.
Finally she was sick and gave birth to a baby.
- 'a:ch'ondehsne'
- she thought
- ya:nawhtiwh
- I will pick up
- hay
- that
- mije'e:din
- baby.
- yawhtiwh
- "Let me pick it up,"
- ch'ondehsne'
- she thought.
"I will pick up that baby," she thought.
- ła:(n)-dzi-xolung
- Many times
- 'a:diyah-te:
- it did that.
- yawhtiwh
- "Let me pick it up,"
- ch'o:'ine'
- she thought;
- xoky'a:-ch'ing'
- from her
- ya:'idqot'
- it always dodged.
- yiwidin-e:-mił
- Finally
- de:-nohq'it
- from the sky
- yitsin'
- down
- tehdiqot'
- it tumbled.
Many times she tried to pick it up but it eluded her until finally it fell down from the world above.
- yiwidin-e:-mił
- Finally
- yima:n-yitsin'
- across west
- tehwidqot'-te:-sile'n-e:
- in the water it seemed about to tumble.
- tiwimah
- Close to the beach
- hijit
- then
- no:ndiqot'-e:
- it stopped.
When it had crawled near the beach across toward the west it stopped.
- hayahujit
- And then
- tehłchwe:n-e:
- grew
- hay
- that
- mitł'owe'
- medicine.
- mikin'-ding
- At its base
- hijit
- there
- no:ndiqot'-e:
- it stopped.
Where it stopped the medicine grew.
- hayahujit
- And when
- ch'idiwimich
- she broke it off
- hijit
- then
- hay
- that
- mił
- with
- ya'wiłte:n-e:
- she picked it up.
- hayahujit
- And then
- hay
- that
- mitł'o:w'
- medicine
- sile'n-e:
- became.
- hay
- That
- ch'idiwimich-hit
- when she broke it off
- mił
- with it
- ya'wiłte:n-e:
- she picked him up.
- hayah-de'
- There
- tehłchwe:n
- it grew
- hay
- that
- mitł'o:w'
- medicine
- silin'-te:
- going to be
- hay
- that
- mich'ing'
- toward
- tehdiqot'
- it tumbled.
She broke off some of it and with that picked up the baby. That which grew at the place toward which he crawled became the medicine.
- hayah-mił
- And
- digyung
- here
- yiduq
- east
- ya:łe:da'a:-ding
- the corner
- na:'iłdite:n-e:
- she took him back.
- hay
- That
- miyeh
- under
- no[']ningxa:n-e:
- she put.
She took him back to the eastern corner where she steamed him with it.
- hay-'ung'
- Then
- hay
- that
- mitł'owe'
- medicine
- na:'ischwe'n-e:
- grew
- xołchwił-tah-t'un'nahsma:ts'*
- wild ginger.
The medicine was wild ginger.
*Asarum caudatum Lindl.