Maččan, Wa Xawwan, 'inn Makkeweks

Coyote, His Wife, and Makkeweks

A Rumsen Story





The following is another Rumsen Ohlone story. Makkeweks, by the way, is the name of a Rumsen mythological "sea monster." I just completed a draft of a paper with this text and a review of the grammar incorporated in it. I have not included the grammatical notes in this post.


Neeyink ku wattin kaawtak maččan. Neeyink ku was kayy wa xawwan. Kuu ku me koyypon. Neeyinkmur Makkeweks ku was koyypomp. Neeyink ku was maččan koyypomp. Neeyinkmur ku was Makkeweks koyypomp maySantopin. Neeyinkmur ‘innay Sa lačyankw maččan xawwa. Neeyinkmur lakkuy wa koyyponin. Maččan was kayy: tommins me ‘etten, xakkaw, ‘immey me ‘ettenakay 'išku kuu koyypon kuumur was monsemiki Makkeweks wamur ‘etten. Tanmur lakkuy, neey ku was liiw maččan, neey ku was wattis ‘ewwey, xuyyamur kuu tonn was sakkes lattap Makkeweks Sa lačyankw. Neeyink ku ‘ummap maččan, neeyinkmur naterimp xuya sottow, xuya saanay xuya sottow ‘išku muSSen neeyink ku muSSey. Neeyink ku xaal maččan wa ‘oxšenin, neeyink ku čunnuy, neeyink ku čitt. Neeyink ku puSSep(iki) wa xawwan neeyink ku kappes ‘attap xallu rottey mur wa čunn maččan, tanmur čitt.

1. Neey-ink ku watt-in kaaw-tak maččan.
then-? IRREAL come-PAST beach-LOC coyote


2. Neey-ink ku was kayy wa xawwan.
then-? IRREAL 3S-ACC say 3S-POSS wife

3. Kuu ku me koyypon.
NEG IRREAL 2S be.afraid

4. Neey-ink-mur Makkeweks ku was koyypo(n)-mp
then-?-? IRREAL 3S-ACC be.afraid-CAUS

5. Neey-ink ku was maččan koyypo(n)-mp.
then-? IRREAL 3S-ACC coyote be.afraid-CAUS

6. Neey-ink-mur ku was Makkeweks koyypo(n)-mp maySantop-in.
then-?-? IRREAL 3S-ACC be.afraid-CAUS rise.up-PAST

7. Neey-ink-mur ‘innay Sa lačyankw maččan xawwan
then-?-? fall DEF woman coyote wife

8. Neey-ink-mur lakkuy wa koyypon-in.
then-?-? die 3S be.afraid-PAST

9. Maččan was kayy: tommins me ‘etten, xakkaw, ‘immey me ‘etten-akay
coyote 3S-ACC say ? 2S-POSS uncle ? ? 2S-POSS uncle-PL

10. ‘išku kuu koyypon
in.order.to NEG be.afraid

11. kuu-mur was monsem-iki Makkeweks wa-mur ‘etten.
NEG-? 3S-ACC advise-PAST 3S-POSS-? uncle

12. Tan-mur lakkuy, neey ku was liiw maččan, neey ku was watt-is
when-? die then IRREAL 3S-ACC ? coyote then NEG 3S-ACC come-?

13. ‘ewwey, xuyya-mur kuu tonn was sakkes lattap Makkeweks Sa lačyankw.
far down-? NEG ? 3S-ACC look.at ? DEF woman

14. Neey-ink ku ‘ummap maččan, neey-ink-mur nateri-mp
then-? IRREAL ? coyote then-?-? ?-CAUS

15. xuya sottow, xuya saanay xuya sottow ‘išku muSSen neey-ink ku muSSey.
down fire down side down fire in.order.to get.warm then-? IRREAL warmed

16. Neey-ink ku xaal maččan wa ‘oxšen-in,
then-? IRREAL jump coyote 3S do.magic-PAST

17. neey-ink ku čunnuy, neey-ink ku čitt.
then-? IRREAL sing then-? IRREAL dance

18. Neey-ink ku puSSep-(iki) wa xawwan neey-ink ku kappeS ‘attap xallu
then-? IRREAL revive-(PAST) 3S-POSS wife then-? IRREAL three times jump

19. rottey mur wa čunn maččan, tan-mur čitt.
be ? 3S-POSS song coyote when-? dance

The coyotes went to the beach. Coyote told his wife not be afraid. But then she became afraid when Makkeweks rose up from the water, and she fell dead from fright. Coyote had told her that the sea lion, mussel, and crab were her uncles and not to be afraid, but he did not tell her that Makkeweks was her uncle. When she died, Coyote carried her on his back and laid her down on her side next to the fire so she could get warm. She got warm. Then Coyote jumped while performing a shamanic ritual, sang, and danced. His wife came back to life then Coyote jumped three times and sang and danced.


Pronunciation:
' = glottal stop (before all words beginning with vowel)
č = English ch
S = retroflex s (with tongue curled back in mouth)
š = English sh
x = no equivalent in English, but like an exaggerated h sound or like ch in German Bach

Hawai’i
What does it mean, anyway?

I was looking into the name "Hawai’i" to try and find its meaning, if there was one. I checked the Hawaiian Dictionary by Pukui and Elbert (1986). This is what they say:

Elsewhere in Polynesia, Hawai’i or a cognate is the name of the underworld or of the ancestral home, but in Hawai’i the name has no meaning.

However, in an interesting little book by Leinani Melville titled, Children of the Rainbow, Melville states that he was told by a Hawaiian elder fisherwoman named Ta Ruahine the following (almost oddly scientific) creation story which may give some clue to the name’s actual origin and meaning:

At commencement of the earth’s history this blazing globe, a rumbling, quivering, ball of fire, sprouted from the sun, containing all of its fertilizing elements. The spinning orb, screaming and crackling, raced through space whistling among the spheres, roaring in the wind, radiating light as it flashed through the night of its creation. It was directed to this dark abyss in the vast emptiness of space by the mind, the will, and the energy of [ke Akua] God. The fireball gradually slowed down, found anchorage in this pit of heaven which was destined to become its permanent home, and began revolving slowly in unending circular movements.

When the flaming globe found its orbit, lava, seething within the pumping bowels of its raging surface, attracted from the colder realms of outer space a blanket of clouds laden with moisture. The earth’s electrical magnetism caused a downpour of nectar from the firmament. Thus rain was born. Crystal raindrops cascaded in glistening sheets upon this jagged, treeless crater, drenched its raw plains and quenced its flames. The rains swept tempestuously on to bathe the expansive depths of the earth’s sizzling cradle. Thus the ocean was born from the water that washed clean this crater of heaven. And thus Havai’i received its name from the moisture which mercifully cooled the steaming terrain.

This apparently relates to the word hāwai, which literally means “to generate steam in an earth oven by pouring on water; to purify with water" (Pukui & Elbert 1986:62). The little particle i at the end means, among other things, "by means of." Thus, according to this story, the name Hawai’i apparently originates from hāwai + i = Hawai’i, or "by means of purifying with [rain] water." (With shortening of the long vowel, which can happen with compounds in Hawaiian, e.g., 'ōlelo, speak; mo’olelo, story).

By the way, as it's about time for me to get Kansas registration and license (since my California one expires next month), I'm hoping to get a personalized license plate, which in Kansas has a picture of a bison on it, and I want to put KAOLELO on it. This means "the language" in Hawaiian, ka + 'ōlelo. (Can't do the glottal stop or macron signs, but oh well.) I'm hoping nobody else in Kansas will have Hawaiian words on a bison license plate! (And, since front license plates are not required in Kansas, I'll leave my old California plate on it, lest anyone forget where I'm from!)

Citations:

Melville, Leinani (1969). Children of the Rainbow: The Religion, Legends, and Gods of Pre-Christian Hawaii. Wheaton: The Theosophical Publishing House.

Pukui, M. and S. Elbert (1986). Hawaiian Dictionary. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press.