Hotcâk Text -- The Boy who would be Immortal

Hotcâk Text -- The Boy who would be Immortal - 2

Original Hotcâk-English Interlinear Text

There are two Hotcâk MSS of the "Boy who would be Immortal." The original is in the typically sloppy hand of Paul Radin and is repleat with numerous uninterpreted abbreviations for common syllables found in Hotcâk. The present version is a revision based upon the original. It is in Radin's more mature orthography and is written in ink in a very clear hand.

In manuscript form, this revised version is not actually interlinear. It is a double spaced text in Hotcâk only. The English has been supplied from a combination of the very loose translation in English that accompanies it, and the English found in the original interlinear text.

At the top of the first page is written the numeral "13" which matches the "XIII" written in the corresponding place in the original MS.

p. 1 --

Wâk	nîkdjâk	îreki-hijâ.	Hi-â´tci-giji	wéje,
Man	child	one alone.	Once his father	he said,

"Hâdé-haginâ`tcre	îreki	wâkcikc'îra	winâ´ji	nîtcûcgúnira;
"Fast	alone	you are living	to hope from	there is none;

xopini	warádjire	hijâ	nâtcónidjâgìji	écanâ
spirits	the various	one	they will bless you	only

woinâji	nîtcúnâ."	Jésge	higéje.	Hige-gíji
hopes	you will have."	Thus	he spoke.	Having said it to him

jésge	híje.	Hâde-haginâtcje.*	"Nîgiák,	s'ic'û-gádjâ
so	he did.	He fasted.	"Son,	having done it for a long time

*This has been hyper-corrected from an earlier "Hâdáginâtce," which would be from "hâde-haginâtc" + "-ce", the "c" disappearing through sandhi.

hâde-haginâtcra	nâ´iji	wajâ´ra	hijâ	hipereskúni,
the fasting	by this time	something	it is	you must have known,

jedjânâ´ixdjî	curucdjâ-giji	pînónâ."	"Djadji,	hisgé
about now	you should stop	it would be best."	"Father,	all

waca-núnige	higû	haipî´wâk[canâ."]*	"Égi
you speak right	but still	I like it."	"And

*The earlier MS has a backward epsilon which is interpreted as the sentence terminator "-canâ." In this MS the sentence concludes with "esge" ("and so"), which in the original MS would be symbolized by an epsilon faced in the correct direction.

djagú	hirahâdéje?"	"Djagú	haginâtc	hîracíra
what	have you dreamt of?"	"What	you told me	to fast for

jésge	yahâdénâ:	wanioitcgéra	hoit'éhira djasge
and so	I have dreamt of:	animals	to kill as I like

hakdje	[jésge]*	hîgigû´s-hirènâ.	Égi	jigé	wâkcik-ho'î´ra
and	[thus]	I am taught.	And	again	with life

*The original MS contains the symbol (lambda) for the word jésge, which has been omitted from this MS probably by accident.

djadjáîxdjî	hijédjaîxdjî	hira'uni	nâtchirodjâ-hireje,	hîgá-hirenâ.
as long as it is	that long	from one end to another	they bless me with,	I am told.

p. 2 --

Égi	jigé	wagáirenâ	hîgu-ádjirenâ.	Mâxíwâkregi
And	again	to tell something	they came after me.	To the clouds above

wâkdócewe	hotcí-hijâ	égi	akregi	édja
doctor	in his lodge	and	from above	there

hini-âkírenâ.	Wâkcíkra	híjâ	t'ekdjanécge	ni-âphákdje,
they took me to.	Person	a	is near death	I could make him alive,

jésge	nâtcirodjâ´irenâ.*	Jénûga	hâ´de-haginâ`kre**	hîgáirenâ
thus	they blessed me.	To end	to fast anymore	I was told

*The original MS has nâdjiroidjaî´nenâ.
*The original MS has hâdáginandjere, so this should probably read, hâ´de-haginâ`tcre.

jésge ha-núnige	higû	wa'uwâ´kcanâ.	Jige	kuhâ´regi
but	still	I kept on.	Again	from below

hî´gu-adjìrenâ,	kuhâ´regi	Wogû´s-hotcì-hijâ	édja
they came after me,	from below	a Creation Lodge	there

hingu-adjírenâ.	Jésge	hîgáirenâ	djagúrahanâ`tc	nâtcironidjâ´irenâ:
they came after me.	Thus	I am told	all things	they blessed me with:

wonâxírera,	wâkdócewera,	wot'éhira,	wâkcík-ho'îra	hanâ´tc
wars,	doctoring,	hunting,	with life	all of

nâtcironidjâ´irenâ.	Djánâga	wajâgû´sra	hâp-hirakara	Wagû´sra
they blessed me.	As many as there are	of created things	that he put in charge	the Creator

hanâ´tcî	nâtc-honidjâ´irenâ.	'Ésge	jénûga	hâde-haginâ`tcra
all of them	they blessed me.	'And so	an end to	the fasting

c'û´kdje,'	hinîgáirenâ.	Jésge ha-núnige	hâké
you should do,'	they told me.	But	not

p. 3 --

tcanîkdje	jésge	roágunâ.	Ésge	wa'uwâ´kcanâ,
that I would not die	that kind of thing	I longed for.	And so	I am doing this,

djádji,	jénûga	'uwâ´kwire.	Dée	nâ´tcirodjâiregìcanâ,
father,	so	let me continue on.	With this	if I am blessed,

dúcdjâkdjanènâ."	Hâké	rucdjâ´nije	hâ´de-haginâ`tcra.	"Wâkciké,
I will stop."	Not	he did not stop	the fasting.	"Human,

jenûga	'û´re	hâ´de-haginâ`tcra.	Wajâgû´sra	djadjâ´ixdjî*
to end	that much	the fasting.	Life	as long as

*The original MS has djadjaíñxdji, which suggests in the present orthagraphy, djadjâ´îxdjî.

wâkcíkc'îkdje*	honîk'û´ra.	hira'úni	wâkcík-ho'î`ra
anyone should live	that he gave you.	To the extent of it	life

*This MS reads "wâkcik c'îkdje," but the original presents these as a single word.

djagú	gipî´	wâkcikc'î´kdje,*	jésge
how	you please	you can live,	this kind

*This MS has "wâkcik c'î´kdje."

honîk'û´irenâ	pî."	"Núnige	hâké	tcanijéji
it is given to you	good."	"But	not	not to die

jésge	roágunâ,"	énâ.	Hâké	raxúrukiranìje.
this sort of thing	I desire,"	he said.	Not	they could not persuade him.

"Hâkagá	tcanîgícanâ	haipînónâ."	Raxúrukra	ruc'ákireje.
"Never	if I die - only	I would be satisfied."	To persuade him	they were unable.

T'ekdjéra	hisgédja	gitcexíje.	Ésge	wáireje
To die	very much	he regretted it.	And so	they talked

p. 4 --

gûsireje.	"Jénûga	t'ekdjéra,"*	áireje.	Ésge
they counseled over.	"That's all	he must die,"	they said.	And so

*The original text has t'ekdjénâ.

hâdé-haginâtcâka.*	Édja	horuxútcire-gàdjâ	t'ánâkje.	Hiâ´tcra
he was fasting.	There	when they looked	he was dead.	To his father

*Radin does not end the sentence here, but at "t'ánâkje."

wagáireje,	"Djagú-iyagàwira	jénisgekdjanènâ;	hâké	wajâ´-hihiranìre
they said,	"What we said to him	that will be for you;	not	you do not think anything of it

pî´hîkarat'û`pre,"	higáireje.	Ésge	woxé-hijâ-hak'èje.	Édja
and place him away,"	they said.	And so	he dug a grave.	There

karaxéje.	"Hinîkra,	djasgégadjâ*	hinîkara	wa'ûgúni,"
he buried him.	"My son	how is he	my son	that he is doing there,"

*The original MS has djasgéxdjîgadjâ with -xdjîgadjâ represented in symbolic form. Radin probably overlooked the symbol for -xdjî.

hireje.	Égi	hogirákireje	raxúrukra	ruc'ákireje.
he thought.	And	they told him that	the persuading	they were unable.

Waxopíni	warátcire	esge	méjesge	gigírenâ.
The spirits	various	therefore	for this reason	they did to him.

"Hâké	wajâ´	hiraníre	hirapéresirekdjanènâ,"*	higáireje.
"Not	anything	you think much about	you will know,"	they told him.

*The original text has "hirapérezikdjanenâ."

Xanihéra	hoipéhi	hi-édja,	édja	hoipéhi
Where he buried him	at the head	he arrived,	there	at the head

hi-édja	nâ´-hijâ	é-[dja]	...
thereat	a tree	[there]	...

The last five and a half sentences are missing from this MS. There is a following page 5, but it contains numbered sentences from 48 through 55 from a misplaced fragment of another story. The text continues in the original MS.

English Translation

Source:

"The Boy who Wished to be Immortal," in Paul Radin, Winnebago Notebooks, Winnebago III, #13, Freeman #3869 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1951 ?) 1-4.