Osage Indians -- Folklore; Osage language -- Texts
10 Nikacíʞa-dáɔĭ. Another reading is níkacíʞaqtsi-dáɔĭ: _they were not
complete human beings_.
11 A different reading of lines 17 to 25 is as follows:
Máxe úsakí*d*a | ʇú*d*a | níkacíʞa¢á*d*e: | á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
Parallel upper worlds | four | they were made human beings | he
really said | O grandfather!
Cŭn’ŭnckíta | é | e¢á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
Awhile | he said | indeed, he really said | O grandfather!
Ɔiñ’ʞa | ɔuíʞa | wa¢iñ’ʞa*d*e, | é añká: | á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
Child | body | they have none | he was saying | he really said | O
grandfather!
Há, | wisŭñ’ʞa! | é | e¢á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
Ho | younger brother! | he said | indeed, he really said | O
grandfather!
Úʇan*d*e | añʞáxe tatsé: á*d*intaú, Tsiká!
Attention | we shall make | he really said | O grandfather!
Máxe úsakí*d*a | ¢a*d*¢in | ĕ’ʇsi | antsí naɔin’: | á*d*intaú, |
Tsiká!
Parallel upper worlds | three | there | they (?) came and stood | he
really said | O grandfather!
| Ɔiñ’ʞa | ɔuíʞa-*d*ácĭ | é | e¢á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
| Child | had no bodies | he said | indeed, he really said | O
grandfather!
| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇan*d*e | añʞáxe tatsé: | á*d*intaú, | Tsiká!
| Awhile longer | attention | we shall make | he really said | O
grandfather!
| Máxe úsakí*d*a | ¢ŭn’*d*a | ĕ’ʇsi | antsí naɔin’: | á*d*intaú, |
Tsiká!
| Parallel upper worlds | two | there | they (?) came this way and
stood | he really said | O grandfather!
_Translation._
At the fourth upper world they were made human beings.
"Still," said he (the elder brother?), indeed he really said,
"The children have no bodies.
"Ho, younger brother!
"We must give this matter our attention."
They came to the third upper world.
"The children have no bodies."
"Still must we give this our attention," said one.
They came to the second upper world. (From this line on there is no
variation from what has been given above.)
12 Here they obtained human souls, though they were in the bodies of
birds. See the bird hovering above the four upper worlds in the
chart. Then began the descent to this earth.
13 Why the Black Bear was called Káxe-wáhü-san was not explained to the
author.
14 Cáʞe | ʇsüʇsean’ ¢akcí¢ĕ &c. _You shall take me for your servant_;
literally, _You shall walk, causing me to burn my feet_; that is,
_You shall make me go through fire and water for you_.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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