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Tlingit Conversation #9
Speaker is La.óos Tláa, Ḵaax̱ʼeinshí, Stʼaaní Tláa, Ḵáa sáekʼ Ida Calmegane. Recorded August 21, 2009, at Ed and Janice Hotch’s House in Klukwan, Alaska, by Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff.
This material is based on work supported by National Science Foundation grant 0853788 to the University of Alaska Southeast with Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff as Principal Investigator, and by National Endowment for the Humanities fellowship 266286-19 to Ljáaḵkʼ Alice Taff. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation or National Endowment for the Humanities.
Tlingit transcription and English translation by G̱ooch Tláa Anne Johnson and Koolyéiḵ Roby Littlefield. Edited by Daasdiyáa Ethel Makinen and G̱ooch Tláa Anne Johnson with Koolyeiḵ Roby Littlefield, also by Shag̱aaw Éesh Devlin Anderstrom.
SYMBOLS: Brackets = {false start}, [translator/transcriber's note]. (added for clarity), ??? = canʼt understand. «quotation marks for Tlingit text (so as not to be confused with Tlingit ʼ)». Time-aligned text for this video was accomplished using ELAN ((Versions 6.0 (2020), 6.1 (2021), and 6.3 (2022) [Computer software]. Nijmegen: Max Planck Institute for Psycholinguistics, The Language Archive. Retrieved from https://archive.mpi.nl/tla/elan
Ḵaax̱ʼanshée ḵa Le.oos Tláa yóo x̱at duwasáakw.
My names are Ḵaax̱ʼanshée and Le.oos Tláa.
Yú Tagish,
Tagish,
Taagíshxʼ kux̱aa.óo.
I live in Taagish.
Ax̱ léelkʼw Taagíshdáx̱ áwé setéeyin ḵa
My grandmother was from Tagish and
hú tsú du saayí Le.oos Tláa ḵa
her name also was Le.oos Tláa and
Ḵaax̱ʼanshée yéi dusáagun.
she used to be called Ḵaax̱ʼanshée.
Am,
Um,
Deisheetaan sháa áwé x̱át.
I am a Deisheetaan woman.
Chʼu yéi x̱at kusegéinkʼi áwé {ax̱ tláa ax̱}
When I was little,
ax̱ léelkʼu een ét nax̱agútch.
I would go around with my grandmother.
Chʼe g̱ég̱aa, am,
Even though
wé {du} du waaḵ áwé {tíl}
her eyes
tíl ushkʼéiyin {ya}.
were bad.
{yaa yaa} Yaa ndashánee du waaḵ chʼu tle hóochʼ.
As she got older, her eyes were just done.
{Ḵut aawaxíx}
Ḵut wooxeex. Am,
(Her eyesight) was lost. Um,
{yéi} yéi áwé x̱at daaÿaḵáayin {yóo x̱} yóo x̱at kusegéinkʼee,
she told me when I was little,
ax̱ een et sh kalneek neejín.
she used to tell me some stories.
Á áwé, a,
So uh,
{ét wu} ét wutuwa.aadí aag̱áa, am,
as we went around for, um,
kalsʼáak {j} yís áwé ét na{x̱}too.étch,
weʼd go around for squirrels,
ḵa g̱áx̱ yís,
and for rabbits,
chʼe daa sá.
whatever.
{yéi k} Yéi kusegeinkʼi aa. Am,
Small (animals). Um,
Dleey yís, ét wutuwa.aatch.
we would walk around for meat.
Á áwé,
So,
yóo x̱at daaÿaḵáa neech am,
she always tells me, um,
chʼe tléináx̱ tlél du tuwáa ushgú du náḵ kut x̱wagoodí, aag̱áa áwé yóo x̱at daaÿaḵá chʼe, am,
she doesnʼt want me to go off alone and lost from her, so then she tells me just, um,
Daa sé yéi?
What is?
Yéi aawasáa kóoshdaaḵáa.—«Kóoshdaaḵáa áwé...
She called it a land otter person. “A land otter person...
{i i gux̱la}
igux̱lix̱áa, »
will eat you up,”
yóo x̱at daaÿaḵáa neech.
she álways tells me.
Á áwé,
So,
ax̱ tuwáa sigóo, {wáa s} daa sáyú yéi aÿasáakw kóoshdaaḵáa?
I would like (to know), what is it that she calls land otter person?
Á áwéi, chʼe tlákw áwé, {chʼe tlákw a}
So, all the time,
ax̱ tóo naxixji neech {yá yá}.
Iʼd be worried about it.
{ kínde kín yaa}
{yaa x̱at nay yaa x̱at nay a yaa áyá}
Shaawátx̱ x̱at nastéekʼ, aag̱áa
When I became a woman, at that time,
chʼoo {chʼe ldekét} chʼe ldekét {a} ḵáa,
everybody still
{yéi ha yéi yéi hes haa daaÿaḵá} yéi hes haa daaÿaḵáa neech, et yétxʼix̱ haa seteeyí,
kept telling us when we were children,
« Kóoshdaaḵáa áwé igux̱lax̱áa áwé!
“The land otter person will eat you up!
{tíl} Tíl ét neegútch yú
Donʼt you go walking around yet
chʼe tléináx̱, » {yóo x̱at} yóo hes haa daaÿaḵá.
alone,” they tell us.
Áyá chʼe tlákw ax̱ tóot naxíxch daa sáyú yéi hes esáakw kóoshdaaḵáa?
So I would always wonder about it, what is it they call land otter person?
Á áwéi, am, yá ax̱ tláa yaa ndasháni,
So when, um, my mother was getting old,
{yóo a}
chʼe ldekét um, meeting-dé hes woo.aat, aa,
everyone went to a meeting, uh,
áwé hes wuduwax̱oox̱.
they were summoned.
Yóo, am, ah
The um, uh,
anthropologist yéi hes dusáagu aa, chʼe ldekét
the ones they call anthropologists, they all
áxʼ haat hes uwa.ét, yóo Whitehorse.
came to Whitehorse.
Á áwé, a, a,
So, this, uh, uh,
tléináx̱ ḵáa, a, a,
one man, uh, uh,
xʼúxʼ du jee yéi téeyin. Am
he had a book. Um
{ax̱óo.aa} A x̱oodé {aaa}
In it
á áwé {yáa yáa a}
there was
yáa am, neek.
this um, information.
Du jee yéi téeyin, a,
He had, uh,
kalneek. [shkalneek]
a story.
Yóo, a, Lingít
Those, uh, people,
{té a}
Tananaa Ríver, {yóo yóo} yóo áwé dusáagun.
it was called Tananaa River.
Hés áwé,
It was them
aaá,
yes,
yéi hes x̱ʼayaḵáayin yóo
they used to say
aandaat keneheegée
a monkey
hesdu x̱oot wugoodín
walked among them
chʼáakw yée.
long ago.
Á áwé
So
wé xʼúxʼ a kaadé akawshixít yóo,
he wrote in the book
yóo {a} Lingít
that those people
hesdu een ekenéegin.
told them about it.
Á áwé a
So
aax̱ x̱waatóow,
I read it from there,
wé xʼúxʼ.
that book.
Á ásgíwé
Perhaps it was
aandaat keneheegée daat ásgíwé {hé} yéi x̱ʼatángin.
a monkey that he was talking about.
Wé ḵáa, du saayí,
That man, his name,
Robert,
Robert,
Robert Mckinnon yéi dusáagun.
his name was Robert Mckinnon. ???
Professor Robert Mckinnon
from Anchorage.
Anchorage áwé {yéi ḵ} yéi jinéiyin.
He used to work in Anchorage.
{wéi wéi a}
tláakw, {yóo am yóo am}
fast
Máa sá duwasáakw, a?
What is it called, uh?
Tanana River.
Tanana River.
Áxʼ áwé
At that place
yéi et woonee. Ah.
something happened. Uh.
Chʼe ldekét, chʼe ldekét ḵáa
All, all the people,
ḵa chʼe ldekét, chʼe ldekét aadé hes woogáasʼ yóo
they all moved over to
{x̱áat} x̱áat aan hes exʼáani yé.
the place where they smoked fish.
{We léin lʼéiw a}
Tléixʼ ÿateeyi shaawát shaan áwés tlíl aadé {ét na} ét woogoodi yé s. {Chʼa yéi} Éch x̱áawé
This one old woman couldnʼt walk. So, you see,
{du du am} du dechx̱ánkʼ du x̱án wududzinook.
her grandchild was sat by her.
« Tlíl xʼún {i i} i léelkʼu x̱ándáx̱ yeegoodée, » {yéi}
“Be sure not to leave your grandmotherʼs side,”
yéi daayeduḵá. Yú du léelkʼw,
he is being told. His grandmother,
«Tle du x̱án g̱anú!»
“Just sit by her!”
Á áwé, du x̱án {yéi g̱} yéi {a} g̱anóo, an.
So he sat by her.
Sitgamsáan du léelkʼu x̱ʼéix̱ et wuteeyí hú tsú et uwax̱áa.
At noon, when he fed his grandmother, he ate too.
Kʼidéin at uwax̱áa, aag̱áa áwé du tuwáa sigóo, {yóo}
He ate good, and then he wanted,
yóo wé shaaká áwé altín.
he was looking at that mountain top.
Á áwé,
So,
du tuwáa sigóo {a.aa}
he wants
jáaji {a} awulyeix̱í.
to make snowshoes.
Á áwé, {yóo yóo sh}
So,
yóo shaaká altínee
when he is looking on the mountain
{aag̱áa} aag̱áa áwé {a am}aas, jáaji aasí tlein áxʼ {yéi} yéi yetee.
then there was a tree, a big snowshoe tree there.
Áyá and du léelkʼu yéi adaaÿaḵá, « Yóo tliyaadé yóo aadé kḵwagóot yóo, {yóo, a
And then he tells his grandmother, “Iʼm going to go to the other side over there, that,
ax̱ tuwáa sigóo {yú} yú aas aax̱ yéi x̱wseneeyí.»
I want to get that tree from there.”
Dúḵ áwé yéi daadunéiyin.
People used to make it out of cottonwood.
{a} Á áwé,
So,
du léelkʼw {yéi daa}
his grandmother
yéi daaÿaḵá, «‹Tíl {ye}
tells him, “ʼDonʼt,
tíl ax̱ náḵ yigoot,›
donʼt leave me,ʼ
yéi idaaÿaduḵá, »
you are told,”
{yóo} yóo adaaÿaḵá du dechx̱ánkʼ.
she tells her grandchild.
Á áwé chʼa aan woogoot.
He went anyway.
« Chʼe yáaxʼ g̱anú, léelkʼu!
“Just sit here, grandmother!
{yóo} Yóotʼét yóotáx̱ áyá,
That thing from over there,
yei {g̱is} x̱at g̱isetéen áxʼ ét x̱wagoodí,»
you will see me walk around,”
yóo áyú edaayaḵá.
he says to her.
« Tléikʼ, {tíl tíl} tíl aadé negú, » yéi daayaduḵá, chʼe aan áwé aadé woogoot.
“No! Donʼt go!” he is told, but he went there anyway.
Chʼáakw nestée wé yaa ḵunashg̱ídi áwé chʼe ldekét ḵáa neil hes uwa.ét.
When it got to be a long time and as it was getting dark, everyone came home.
« Goosú i dechx̱ánkʼ?» yéi daaÿaduḵá.
“Where is your grandchild?” people said to her.
« Ax̱ dechx̱ánkʼi yóo tliyaadé, yóo {d} dáḵde shakéede woogoot jáaji aadáx̱ yís. Am.
“My grandchild went across into the woods and up toward the top of the mountain to get snowshoes from there. Um.
{tíl} ‹Tíl nagú. Tíl aadéi nagú!› yóo daaÿax̱aḵá, chʼe aan é woogoot. »
Donʼt go! Donʼt go there!' I tell him, but he went anyway.”
Chʼe ldekét ḵáa áwé, chʼe {de yóo yóo am yóo am}
All the people, just
{aa hé hé tsu ḵáa} hé tsu ḵáa {ét woosh hés} ét hes wujixeex.
so other people were running around.
Chʼe aan áwé {tlíl}
However,
chʼe g̱ég̱aa hes du.éexʼ neech, chʼe ldekét.
they were calling for him in vain, all of them.
Aag̱áa áwé, {neil hes woo,} neil hes woo.aat.
And then they went home.
Yóo x̱áat hes dexʼáani áwé chʼe ldekét ḵáa aadé ne.étch.
When they were putting up fish, all of the people went there.
Ayéin, ayaandéin hes {ne ne} neneech áyú táakw neech.
They would always starve in the winter time. [Probably intended ye.éindéin hes neneech, ʼthey would starve.ʼ]
Éch x̱áawé chʼe ldekét
Thatʼs why they all
aadé hes ne.etch yóo x̱áat, x̱áat yís.
would go there for the fish.
Á áwé {tléi—} tléixʼ ÿateeyi aa
So this one
ḵáa, {wé a, am}
man,
wé ḵáa {as} du saayí... am...
the man, his name... um...
Máa sé duwasáakw? Am,
Whatʼs his name? Um,
Etkʼ.ehéeni, tléikʼ. Am,
A Believer, no. Um,
Yú ḵáa áwéi {a...}
That man
et awsikóo, a,
he knows things,
chʼe ldekét awsikóo. A.
he knew it all. Uh.
Hú áwé chʼe tléináx̱,
He alone,
{shaawá—} ḵáa shaan,
an old man,
ét woogoot.
was walking around.
Yóo e shekéede, shaa,
Toward the top of it, a mountain,
shaa shakéede ét negútch. {chʼe lde—}
he would walk around toward the top of the mountain.
Chʼe ldekét yéi áyá ét negútch {wé, wéit, am}
He would walk around all over the place
wéit ḵáa yís.
(searching) for that man.
Aag̱áa áwé,
And then,
chʼáagudé áwé, a
a long while later,
{a} ét uwa.áx̱.
he heard something.
Lingít at.shoog̱ú yáx̱ áwé duwa.áx̱ch.
It sounded like human laughter.
{Tlíl ḵu.aa} Tlíl ḵu.aa Lingítx̱ sitee.
It wasnʼt human, though.
Á áwé chʼu tle du x̱ánde aawatlʼóon.
So he just closed his eyes next to him.
???
???
Yéi áwé chʼu tle, a,
{wé, wéi, wés} wé ḵáa,
that man,
{wé}
{that}
wé ḵáa du shá áwé,
that manʼs head,
{ét hes a.....ét hes a, ét hes a}
{they}
hoosh x̱ánde
to each other
{hés a ... a ... aahh}
they
hoosh x̱ánde kínde hes etʼáchji.
they were hitting it up in the air to each other.
Á áwé
So then
chʼu tle daak wuxeexí áwé
when it fell,
á áwé hes eshooḵ.
they would laugh at it.
{Aag̱áa} Aag̱áa áwé,
And then,
kʼidéin awsiteen {wé, wéi, wé, wé am}
he really saw
{yee} yét, etkʼétskʼu.
a child, a small child.
Hú du shá áwé
Him, it was his head
{yé} yéi hes edaané.
they were doing that to.
{yóo} Yóo, a,
Those, uh,
aandaat keneheegée
monkey
yóo áwé hes esáakw.
is what they call them.
Chʼe aan ḵu.aa hesdu lʼeet
Although their tails
yéi kooyáatʼ.
were long.
Wé, wé ḵáa shaan kʼidéin {a , hes a, ei, ei} .
The, the old man, carefully
hesdu x̱ánt uwagút.
went near them.
{Chʼe} Chʼe aadé negútch,
He would go toward there,
and uh, yaa ḵune.édi áwé
and uh, when night was falling,
neildé hes ne.étch yóotʼét.
those creatures would go home.
Chʼe ldekét ét.
Everything.
{Yóo a} Yóo shaa tlein áwé, a tóode hes ne.étch yóo,
That big mountain over there, they went inside it,
{ḵoo—} a ḵoowú; hesdu ḵoowúx̱ sitee.
their den; itʼs their den.
{yaa nakí... kina.édee áwé}
Yaa ḵune.édi áwé,
As night was falling,
{ aa...} neil hes ne.étch.
they would go home.
{Chʼe aan—chʼe, chʼe lda—}
Taat yeen áxʼ yéi hes neteech.
They would be there during the night.
{Aag̱áa,} Aag̱áa áwé,
And then,
chʼe yeisú tsʼootaat áwé
early in the morning
{né ... aadáx̱ ... neil} aadáx̱ hes ne.étch. And
they would leave from there. And
{wéi,} wéi ḵáa shaan, {wéi}
that old man,
wéi dís wugaaní,
when the moon was burning,
tíl tsu tléixʼ aadáx̱ neil hes ne.étch.
not even one of them had gone inside.
Chʼu tle {chʼe} xáanaa chʼu tle
Then in the evening,
du ḵoowúdéi {ne} hes ne.étch aag̱áa tsá
they would go to their den, and then finally
tsʼootaat áwé aadáx̱ {ne} hes ne.étch.
in the morning they would leave it.
Kudzidéin wé etyétxʼi sáani
So very many children
hesdu jeedáx̱
from them
hesdu jeedáx̱, am,
from them, um,
hes el—le.aat neejín,
they would take.
Ḵaa chʼe aa sé tléináx̱ ét wugoodí.
And whoever was walking by themselves.
Héʼ, dei tsoo hes—
My, then again they—
tíl neil hes aat neech.
they wouldnʼt go home.
Á áwé wéi
Then that—
wéit ḵáa shaan {neil} neil uwagút.
that old man came inside.
{hes du een ... hes du}
Hesdu een ekenéek wáa sé ét {awsi—}
He was telling them what
hes awseteení.
they saw.
Yéi edaaÿaḵá yá
He told them
"Moon", yáa dís
“The moon”
aag̱áa dís
and then the moon
uh,
yá dís
this moon
yáa dís uh, uh,
this moon
kawugaanée, aag̱áa áwé
when itʼs shining, at that time,
aag̱áa áwé am,
and then um,
aadéi kax̱too.áat,» {yóo hes—yóo hes—}
we will go there,”
yóo hes edaayaḵá.
he told them.
{chʼe ld...}
«Chʼe ldekét wé shaa tlein áwé chʼu tle
“That entire big mountain
kawdiwool.
has holes all over it.
{Lo—} Kudzidéin has yatee.
{A lot} There are a lot of them.
Easy.
Easy.
{chʼe yéi...gax̱dus...}
Kʼidéin gax̱dusnée,» yóo x̱ʼayaḵá {wé dleit} wéi shawat.shaan, wéi
They are going to fix it good,” the old woman said.
{dleit—ha! dleit}
Wéi {am}
The
ḵáa shaan
old man
{gain—} «Again kax̱tootsʼóow
“Weʼll chop it again
ḵa xʼúsʼ {aadé kax̱toots—}
and clubs
ḵa {...} hes tule.aat.
[they took there].
Aag̱áa tsá, a,
Then finally, uh,
x̱ʼaan yéi kax̱tusanéi, ḵa am,
we will make a fire, and um,
wéi a x̱ʼaháat yee,
underneath the door,
aag̱áa tsá wéitʼét
finally that thing,
{aadéi aadáx̱}
aadáx̱ {haat hes} haat hes loowagug̱u yé,
where they ran here from,
wé xʼúsʼ een {kax̱ dus}
with clubs
{kax̱ too} hesdu shá kax̱tootʼéix̱ʼ,»
we will smash their heads,”
yóo hes x̱ʼayaḵá.
they said.
Á áwé,
So then,
yéi áwé {hes} hes awsinei.
thatʼs what they did to them.
{chʼa ldekét} Chʼe ldekét ḵáa,
All of the men,
chʼe ldekét,
all (of them),
áxʼ yéi hes awsinei yóo kawdiwooli yé.
they did that right where the holes are.
Á áwé,
So then,
á áwé,
thatʼs it,
yéi hes x̱ʼayaḵá,
thatʼs what they say,
{yú yóo} yú néek.
that story.
{ách} Ách áwé {tíl a}
So thatʼs why,
{tíl yéi yéi hes a yéi hes aan}
yóo am, aandaat kanaheegí
those, um, monkeys,
yá aadáx̱ {tíl} tíl yáa át ḵustée neech.
from then on, these things donʼt exist any more.
Aag̱áa,
So,
yóo Lingít, Lingítʼaaní
(in) Tlingit, Tlingit Country, [or (in) the world?]
{tíl tíl a} tíl yéi ét setée neech.
those kinds of things are not.
Haaw!
My!
When I was little girl, my grandmother used to tell us stories all the time and um,
and um, me and my little cousins and stuff. And um,
she always told us, uh, not to go away too far.
And my parents, my mother always tell us donʼt go away too far, the kooshdaa ḵaa gonna get you.
And uh,
I wondered, I wondered why they tell us that, you know and, all my life I wondered about it, kooshdaaḵáa.
And um, anyway um, one time, uh,
when my mother was alive, uh, there was a gathering of anthropologists
people in Whitehorse and,
because my mother did a lot of storytelling for them
they invited her to come, too.
And because I was the
{ca}caregiver, I, I was
I drove her, I took her down there. And uh,
and I, I was listening to them talking and stuff and
and uh, while I was there the one uh, man,
his name was Robert Makinen
and he was a anthropologist from the University of alaska in Anchorage. And he um,
from the, from the people in, in uh, inland
Northway around uh, around, around in that area,
Copper River, Copper River Indians and that.
And one, I, I picked up that book and I was leaf, leafing through it and, and I noticed a story about
the long tailed ones so I started reading it and
and I, I recognised the story that uh,
that uh, that I had heard when I was little
about uh, about these long tailed ones being around here and that
and our language we call it aandaat keneheegí.
And, and that,
I wondered about that, why uh,
why did we have a name for monkeys and we donʼt have any around here. And uh, I found out that uh,
that uh, this family, this uh, community
there was a village people.
When its time to fish
the people they just spend all their time fishing.
Because you know the winters a long time ago used to be,
used to be really cold and long, the winters.
And the people
would have to cut fish and stuff
and dry it
not only for themselves too, but they travel around with dogs.
In the summertime they have dogs to help them pack.
And they have to feed their dogs, too.
So they used to
dry lots of fish.
Anyway, the whole community was down in this uh, in the fish camp and
everybody went down there, little kids and all.
Cause they could pack, they could pack fish and,
and stuff.
They could do things too.
And they had one old lady in the camp that um,
that was helpless, wasnʼt able to do very much.
So they left her teenage grandson with her.
And they told him to,
to feed her. They left,
they left their food and stuff for him to feed his grandmother
and, and himself.
And they told him not to leave her, to stay there all the time.
And uh, and here um,
after a, after a while he was
he had nothing to do so
he look up on the mountainside, on the hillside there just above their camp.
Thereʼs a, a big stretch there with a
sort of like a meadow before you.
Not a meadow but there was a flat place before you climb the mountain
And they had their, their camp in between that mountain and the river.
And uh, he went up.
He told his grandma he was going to go up there for
for uh, birch trees; thatʼs what they make snowshoes out of.
She told him not to go. "Donʼt go," she tell him. "They told you not to gol"
"Gramma," he said. "Just sit here. Look up that hillside. "You gonna see me walking around.
Those trees right there," he said, "on the hilside thatʼs just,
you just sit here. You could watch me, watch me," he tell her.
And he went. And that even(ing) when people,
started get dark, everybody come back from the fishing.
And they ask her, "Where, where is he? Whereʼs your grandson?"
She said, "He went up there to get some birch to {ni}
He want to make, [video break] he came up on that hillside. I couldnʼt see him up there," she said.
So there was young, young, a whole bunch of teenagers. They,
they run around all over in the bush there looking for him.
Hollering for him. Hollering for him.
Was nothing, not a sign of him no place.
They couldnʼt see him no place.
Well they finally came home, they couldnʼt find him. And the,
the one wise man in the village, he was
sort of like a medicine man. He um,
he never gave up. He went up the mountain. He went up on the high mountains,
the high hills and look around, look around. For days he did that.
And finally one day he heard something making noise.
And uh, he couldnʼt figure out what that noise was, he listen and listen.
And he watch which way the wind was blowing and everything.
And he kept coming closer and closer, and he hide.
He was hiding and hiding, until he came to the meadow.
He got to this meadow and he saw those things,
long tailed ones, they had long tail.
And, and they had hands and,
and they use their hands just like human hands.
And they had that boyʼs head and they were
making a ball out of it.
Theyʼd throw it to each other and when they miss it,
when that head fall down on the ground thatʼs what they were laughing at it.
Just like they were laughing.
And uh, and he watch them really good.
And, and he saw which way, which way they were going and stuff.
He, he got out of their way, but he watched which way, which way they go.
And here he saw them.
They go into the dens. They had lots of dens in that mountain.
Dens all over the place.
All over the place there in that mountain. There was just lots, lots of them.
And that man, he watched them.
And he {say} he stay there until morning sometimes and he see them come out,
out of the dens.
But once they go in they never come out until its good daylight, then they come out.
And then he, he made a meeting with all the people in,
in the village and he told tehm what he saw and what he thought.
And he said that,
"We could get rid of them easy, because," he say, "when the moon is full," he said, "and itʼs just
moon is bright daylight, just like daylight when the moon is full,"
he said. "Then we can, we can go there and we can smoke them out. We can asphixiate them.
If some of them come out,"
he said, "weʼll be standing right at the mouth of the,
of the den and, and uh,weʼll club them with our clubs."
He got them to, he got them to make good solid clubs.
And, and uh, and thatʼs what they did. They got ready.
Before the, before the,
the moon was full they got, they got their brush and stuff they gonna make fires with.
They found all the dens on that mountainside. There was lots of dens there.
They found all the dens and,
and they, they made sure that there was two or three people at each uh, in each den. And uh, and
in case they all rush out and stuff.
And so thatʼs what they did. They made,
they made the fire there and they made smoke.
People when they make smoke, they put blankets in front of the
smoke like that and then they make the smoke go the right way.
Anyways they, they asphixiated them, some of them in the
dens. Some of them run out, try to run out and they kill them right at the den.
All the monkeys, that say how they got rid of them,
aandaat kanaheegí.
monkeys
I ask uh, I was at a meeting one time at um,
Celebrations in Juneau, they had a elders room there. And
there was two old ladies sitting there in the corner there. And
they were talking Tlingít to each other and I listen to them talking. And
and after a while when they, when they werenʼt, werenʼt,
when they werenʼt talking anymore, I came up to them. And I,
I introduced myself to them and I told them where I came from.
And I, I asked them if they heard,
if they ever hear about uh, ḵóoshdaa ḵaa.
And the, the ladies said, "Yeah!
We here, we know ḵooshdaaḵáa," they say.
They say, "We got a family living up the valley from
from our village," they said.
They said, uh, "When the wind blowing down,"
she said, "We could hear their babies cry.
It sound like our babies," they say.
Said uh, "We donʼt bother them and they donʼt bother us," she say.
"When uh, when itʼs getting dark and we picking clams and stuff on the beach," they say,
"we go home. We go home when it start to get dark," they say, "We,
and they, they come down, them. When itʼs moonlight they go down there and they pick clams and stuff in the moonlight and stuff," they say.
"We stay away from the beach
when they come down," she said. "Because they come down and fish and stuff. Them too," she say.
And she was, I think she was talking about sasquatch. Iʼm not sure what she was talking about.
But uh, thatʼs uh, thatʼs what she was, what they were telling me.
Somebody knocking?
Um, when I was a young girl
my father used to tell us about his uncle Bert. And
and uh, he lived in Skagway and he grew up in uh, in uh,
in, in Douglas. There was an Indian village. "Are you going to talk in Lingít?" Yeah.
Well, I gonna tell you in English first? "No, just tell it in Lingít" OK.
Ax̱ éesh áwé chʼe tlákw haa een ekenéegin
My father always used to tell us
du a, du
his uh, his
káak áwé, am,
his motherʼs brother, um,
Skagway ḵu.óowun. Á áwé
he stayed in Skagway. So
haa x̱ánt uwagút du shát een
he came here with his wife
táagunís. {a yei}
for the winter.
Shaawátx̱ x̱at nestéeni, aag̱áa áwé
When I was becoming a woman, thatʼs when
haat hes uwa.ét.
they came here.
Yéi áwé hes ḵunóogun neech, a, chʼáagu ḵáawu.
Thatʼs what they used to do, the old people.
Aag̱áa áwé {haa} haa een, e, sh kelneek.
At that time, he tells us stories.
Yóo x̱at daaÿaḵá, a,
He told me, um,
ax̱ shátx̱ tsú áxʼ yéi téeyin aag̱áa
my older sister also was there at that time,
ḵa a, ax̱ kéekʼ.
and my younger sister.
Yéi kusigéinkʼ hú ḵu.aa.
She was very little though.
Yóo haa daaÿaḵá, {a tlax̱ a}
He said to us,
«Yáa haa ḵustí áwé {yóo}
“Our way of life
yóo, a, génti yaakw yáx̱ yatee, yaakw yáx̱ yatee.
was like those, uh, motor boats, like boats.
Yóo {a héen} héen naadaayí
That flowing water
a een áwé yóo, a, yóo yaakw een,
with a boat,
{aadé ét} ét wutuwaḵúx̱.
we went there by boat.
{yín} Yínde kawlixʼáas yóo,
It was dripping down very fast, that,
yú, a, héen.
that water.
Á áwé, {yóo} yaa naḵúx̱ yóo, a,
So it was going along, that, uh,
{etlʼeix̱,} etlʼeix̱ yaa naxíx {yóo} yú áa yaax̱.
there was a dance being held on the shore of the lake.
Á uháan ḵu.aa chʼu tle yú yaakw,
As for us, those boats,
yú yaakw,
those boats,
haa yéi {ḵux̱a} haa ḵusteeyí yóo yaakw yáx̱ yatee.
our life is like a boat.
Kʼidéin áwé {ét ét wutoo ét wu} ét wutuwaḵoox̱,
We are cruising around just fine,
yóo yaakw et géide neneejée,
when something wrong happens to the boat,
yóo áwé haa ḵusteeyí setéeyin
thatʼs how our life used to be
chʼáakw,» {x̱at} yóo haa daaÿaḵá.
long ago,” he told us.
«Chʼe máa sé et wuneiyí, a,
“If anything happens, uh,
haa éekʼ áwé {gutóot, en} egutóode,
our brother, into the forest,
{haa gux̱da haa gux̱da haa}
haa jikg̱watáan,»
he will take us,”
{yóo x̱at daa, yóo hes daaÿa}
yóo x̱at daayeduḵá. Am,
they told me. Um,
Tlíl aa se,
Nobody,
tlíl aa se, a,
nobody
{lingít a} Lingít {a} yáx̱
like a Tlingit.
{iya iya}
Tlíl aadé Lingít, a, x̱oo, e, et, chʼu tle wé yaakw áwé chʼu tle kʼidéin ig̱walit e éeg̱walatín.
???
{yóo yóo} yóo tlʼeix̱,
those dances,
yóo tlʼeix̱ yéi daanéiyi, chʼe aan
the people doing the dances, even so,
ḵa uháan ḵu.aa yú yaakw yít wutooḵéen.
and us, we were sitting in the boat.
Chʼe máa sé {et} et g̱unée,
Whatever is going to happen,
hei gug̱anée {tíl tíl kʼidéin wutuwa tuwa am}
it will happen
tíl kʼidéin wu{tuwa}toosháadi.
if weʼre not keeping a good hold on it.
Alshát yú.á. Éch x̱áawé, a,
They say heʼs holding onto it. Thatʼs why
haa éekʼ
our brother
etgutóode haa gax̱dul.áat.
(he) will take us into the forest.
Tʼukenéiyi haa jeet wuduteeyí yóo haa daayaduḵá.
When they give us a baby, thatʼs what they said to us.
{éch} Éch x̱áawé tlax̱ kudzidéin áwé
Thatʼs why (there are) very many (things)
{hawf}
haa éet et wutuwax̱éitlʼ.
we have become afraid of.
I really am,
I um,
My fatherʼs uncle and his wife, they lived in Skagway. One of his uncles, they lived in Skagway and,
and itʼs the custom of the people long time ago
to talk to the young girls. And um,
my sister and I and my, my young cousin was there.
In our tradition we call our uh, cousins uh, sisters, on my motherʼs, motherʼs side, so.
They always refer to my cousin as my sister, my younger sister.
She wasnʼt very old, she must been about seven years old I guess, something like that.
I donʼt think she even remembered what he was saying and stuff because she
really couldnʼt understand what he was saying.
Anyways, uh, he uh, he sat us down,
after dinner one night and, and uh, and he told us that uh,
we have to be careful when we growing up, about how we, how we
conduct ourselves in public and stuff.
And uh, he said uh, you have to uh,
"Your life is just like uh, like sitting in a canoe," he say.
"You going down uh, down this rapids," he said. And
he said, "Thereʼs a big dance hall going on."
And he said, "And you have, you have to mind your, your um, canoe
when you going through the rapids, because uh, if you donʼt take care of, of your
the canoe," he said, "you could tip over. You gotta be careful what youʼre doing.
You gotta keep your eye on, on, on your canoe.
Never mind about whatʼs going on in the beach and stuff," he say.
"Just make sure you really mind whatʼs going through the rapids," he said.
"Thats the way life is," he say. He say, um,
"If you make a mistake when youʼre, when youʼre young," he say.
"Itʼs up to your brother to take you into the bush and leave you there," he say.
You canʼt, you canʼt uh, you canʼt,
"You must behave your self," he say. "You canʼt,
you canʼt have any children out of wedlock.
You have to make sure you have a husband before you have any families and stuff," he told us.
And he said, "Thatʼs the way life is," he said. "You,
you keep your eye on your canoe and, and your, and
make sure that you, you pay attention to where youʼre going. And
never mind whatʼs going on on the beach and stuff", he tell us.
And boy that really scared the living daylights out of us.
My sister and I and
especially when he say that it was up to our brothers to take us away and stuff like that.
I never ever heard of that going on in
in my life time, but
you know I know that some girls get into trouble and stuff and,
and uh,
people donʼt treat them very good and, and uh.
So, thatʼs what he was telling us, eh? We have to behave ourself, and stuff and.
And thatʼs, thatʼs one of the things that um,
the old people used to make sure of it.
They have somebody talk to your, your children, you daughters and stuff and
and tell them how to behave and stuff.
And how to dress appropriately.
Now itʼs sure different. You see girls walking around in little halter tops and stuff like that.
Just dress uh, inappropriately.
It sure is different than when we were growing up and stuff.
I was telling my granddaughters that
that they not to show off their bellybutton and stuff.
I laughed when think about it after because itʼs, itʼs uh
I remember when my grandma was, used to tell, tell us that you know. And, and uh,
we thought, we thought it was so funny when she telling us things like that.
And then now I seem, I do that to my grandkids.
My grandaug̱ters and and stuff and it, it really tickles me to
to hear myself repeating what gramma used to say to us.
Huh, so, thats good.
Yóo x̱at yeeyjée Yenyeidí Yétxʼi
You think thus about me, Yanyeidi children,
gwátgin x̱aagóot yóo x̱at yeeyjée
when in the future I have finally (come?), thus you think of me
[Ayáx̱ kadáan???] Jorj ḵut kei kg̱wagoodí
[Itʼs mighty fine???] that George will get lost,
Hei hee hei, hei hanee haaya.
Hei hanee haaya.
Yóo x̱at yeeyjée Yenyeidí Yétxʼi
Iʼm wondering, Yanyeidí Children
gwátgin x̱aagóot yóo x̱at yeeyjée
when in the future I have finally (come?), thus you think of me
[Ayáx̱ kadáan???] Jorj ḵut kei kg̱wagoodí
[Itʼs mighty fine???] that George will get lost,
Hei hee haay yei heehaayi.
Yei nestáx̱ʼw éi yáa lingitʼaaní
The world is sinking
[Hé kaxʼaayí???] x̱oodé kḵwagóot
I will go among [???]
Yóo ax̱ tootée neech yaa x̱at kakg̱ashéinín
Thatʼs how I feel whenever I start getting drunk
Hee haayoo, haay hani haay.
Yei nestáx̱ʼw éi yáa lingitʼaaní
The world is sinking
[Hé kaxʼaayí???] x̱oodé kḵwagóot
I will go among [???]
Yóo ax̱ tootée neech yaa x̱at kakg̱ashéinín
Thatʼs how I feel whenever I start getting drunk
Hei hee haay yoo, haay hanee haay.
Yei nestáx̱ʼw éi yáa lingitʼaaní
The world is sinking
[Hé kaxʼaayí???] x̱oodé kḵwagóot
I will go among [???]
Yóo ax̱ tootée neech yaa x̱at kakg̱ashéinín
Thatʼs how I feel whenever I start getting drunk
Hei hee haay yoo haay hanee haay.
Haha, now, you happy?