Grey Willow
told by Verdena Parker
July 25, 2011
Near Tish-Tang Village (diysh-ta:ng'a:-ding), Hoopa Valley, California
Transcribed by Justin Spence and Lindsey Newbold
- Okay
- tohxotaway
- grey willow
- 'olye:
- it is called
- hayi
- that
- ya:'ułchwe:
- they pick it
- ła:n
- lots of it
- ya'ułchwe:
- they pick
- hay
- that
- ła:n
- a lot of it
- che'iłchwe:-ne'in
- she used to pick
- haya:ł
- and then
- 'a'uliw
- she always did it
- 'aht'ing
- all
- ch'ide'imil
- you strip it off*
- xe'e'imil
- you throw it away
*Verdena translates many of the verbs in this text with the English second-person subject "you," used generically to mean "someone." Many of the corresponding Hupa verbs are in the third person.
- haya:ł
- and then
- mina:di
- around it
- 'a'uliw
- you do to it
- haya:ł
- [and then]
- misits'
- its bark
- mina:di
- around it
- ch'e'iloy'
- you wrap
- misits'
- its bark
- haya:ł
- [and then]
- 'a'wile:lil
- you keep doing to it
- haya:ł
- and then
- che'iłtsay'
- she dries it
- łiqay
- white
- 'e'iliw-e:
- they become
- haya:ł
- [and then]
- hayi
- that
- miq'i-k'e'itł'o'
- she used to weave on it
- wile:lil
- it becomes
- ch'e'iłchwe:
- she used to make
- This
- right
- here
- is
- grey
- willow
- from
- the
- river.
- And
- my
- grandmother
- used
- to
- pick
- this,
- she
- would
- pick
- a
- whole
- bunch
- of
- it.
- But
- you
- have
- to
- take
- the
- stem
- here,
- and
- you
- take
- the
- bark,
- and
- you
- pick
- it
- away
- from
- the
- stick
- and
- you
- wrap
- it
- around.
- And
- each
- one
- and
- it
- comes
- all
- off
- in
- one
- solid
- piece
- if
- it's
- skinning
- off
- really
- good.
- Then
- you
- dry
- these
- in
- the
- sun
- and
- they
- turn
- white,
- and
- then
- they're
- more
- firm
- so
- when
- you
- want
- to
- make
- a
- basket,
- you
- put
- them
- in
- water.
- And
- they
- become
- pliable,
- so
- they
- don't
- break
- when
- you're
- weaving
- on
- it.
- wiłtsa:y
- it's dried
- na:mitł'a'-ding
- after
- do:-xoling 'igya:s
- it wouldn't break
- haya:ł
- and then
- hayi
- that
- miq'i-ya'k'e'itł'o'
- they always weave on it
- So
- you
- can
- make
- a
- basket,
- serving
- basket,
- with
- it,
- or
- you
- can
- make
- a
- wide
- basket,
- sometimes
- you
- can
- even
- make
- q'ay'timił
- burden basket
- if
- you
- get
- long
- ones,
- certain
- time
- of
- the
- year.
- 'e'iliw-e:
- it becomes
- q'ay'timił
- burden basket
- ya:'ułchwe:
- they make
- haya:ł
- [and then]
- q'ay'timił
- burden baskets
- ch'in
- [they say]
- mił
- out of it
- ch'ischwing'
- you can make
- do:-xoling
- not
- mije'e:din
- baby
- ma:
- for it
- me'
- in it
- site:n
- it lies*
- k'intł'oy
- you weave
- mił
- [with it]
- łisch'
- board
- 'e'iliw
- it becomes
- ma:n
- for that reason**
*During the transcription session, Verdena says that at the moment of speaking she couldn't think of the word {xe:q'ay'} ('baby basket') so used this expression instead.
**Verdena notes that the prohibition might have been due to the fact that corpses were buried on boards.
- So
- they
- had
- a
- law
- that
- this
- kind
- of
- basket
- sticks,
- you
- can
- make
- a
- burden
- basket,
- but
- you
- are
- not
- supposed
- to
- weave
- anything
- for
- a
- baby
- with
- these
- sticks,
- because
- it
- becomes
- a
- board,
- and
- they
- had
- a
- superstition
- about
- putting
- baby
- in
- on
- boards,
- because
- you
- only
- do
- that
- to
- them
- if
- they're
- dead.
- That
- was
- one
- law,
- there
- were
- so
- many
- laws
- about
- everything.
- That ...
- if
- you
- pick
- this
- kind
- of
- sticks,
- that's
- how
- you
- do
- it,
- the
- processing
- of
- it.