Hotcâk Text --Testing the Slave, Version 1

The following are Greek letters used as morpheme abbreviations in Radin's text. The Culture of the Winnebago: As Described by Themselves can be used as a kind of Rosetta Stone for interpreting their values:

alpha	rho	tau	psi	backward C	M
égi	ánâga	gíji	hâké	-kdjonènâ	Mâ'ûna

The top line in the interlinear text presented here as well as much of the English line, comes from the original interlinear text in Radin's notebook, Winnebago II, #6: 178-179. The second line is from the revised text in Winnebago III, #6: 375-376. Words in brackets represent translations supplied from other sources since no translation was given in the original interlinear.

English Translation

p. 178 --

djadjaîxdjîp'á		wâkcikc'îcéregé	jedjaî´djîpa
Djadjaî´xdjî	p'a	uâkcíkc'îcèregi,	jedjaî´xdjî	p'a
As long as	[it has been]	that you live on,	[that far]	[it has been]

hîkagá	hocarágení[backward C]	[-]	[-]	[-]
hîk'agá	hocarágenîkdjonènâ,	jedjaî´xdjî	p'a	hîk'aga
[never]	you will not tell it,	[that far]	[it has been]	[never]

[-]*	hocarakíji	mânógere	jedjû[backward C]	[tau´]
hocarágenî´kdjanènâ[.]	Hocarak'íji	mânâ´gere	jedjûkdjonènâ,	giji.
[you will not tell it.]	If you tell it,	the earth	it would come to an end	[.]

*this and the previous three words all were omitted from the interlinear text.

hanâtc´	hît'ékdjanáwina	ésge	horágera	rokixinâkcana
Hanâtc´	hît'ékdjonàwinâ.	Asge,	horágera	rok'ighinâ´kcanâ.
[Everything]	we shall die.	[Therefore,]	[to tell]	they warm one another.

jee	hagoréjâ	wanikîjâ	je wigû´ziwínena*	wanihî´djega
Jee	hagaréjâ	wanihíjâ	je wigûzi'úinenâ.	Wanihîdjega
[That one]	[in the course of time]	a captive, slave	they mark the time.	The slave

*a vertical separation line was placed between the /je/ and the succeeding syllable.

gixaídja	híraper[rho´]	mâkîunâ´gere	djasgé	hiwaúnâki
gixaídja	hirap'eránâga,	"Mâk'â'únâgre	djasge	hiwa'únâk'i
in the brush	they wait for him and,	"The Medicine Dance	what	they're doing

hocárai[backward C]	higaíreje	hâk'ocarágenîgi	cdjé[backward C]	higaíreje
hocáraikdjonènâ,"	higaíreje.	"Hañk'ocarágenîgi	cdjékdjonénâ,"	higaíreje.
you're going to tell,"	[they said to him.]	"If you don't tell it,	you're going to die,"	[they said to him.]

p. 179 --

hocárakícanâ´	[psi]	t'éninîkdjenáwina	higaíreje	[tau´]
hocárak'ìcanâ,	hañké	t'éninîkdjonàwinâ,"	higaíreje	giji.
but if you tell,	[not]	we won't kill you,"	[they said to him]	[.]

wanikî´djega	wéje	jegû	t'éwíwiné	éje
Wanihî´djega	weje,	"Jegû	t'éwíwíni,"	eje.
The slave	[he said,]	"Just	kill me,"	[he said.]

s'irédja	hagatcéjare	jeguâkodágenî[backward C]	jegû	t'éwíwine
"S'iréxdjî	hagatcéjare.	Jeguâk'odàgenîkdjonènâ.	Jegû	t'éwíwini,"
"Long time ago	I died.	I won't tell it at all.	[So]	kill me,"

éje	jeskége	hitcakorowahirá	(horaíkdjenéje)*	hicéjare
eje.	"Jesgége	hitcak'árowahìwirá	hóraíkdjonèje	hicéjare.
[he said.]	["It is the way]	his friends	(he's going to tell on them)*	you said.

*the parentheses are in the interlinear text.

jerécgera	hâkórageníje	ésge	hijâ´	horagwigi
Jeerécgera	hañk'orageníje."	Asge	hijâ	horagwígi
Even he	he didn't tell."	[Therefore,]	one of them	if he told it,

newanódjodjaî´sge	hiwakík'ûkdjonáwigi*	horágera	roghínâkce	[M]
newanodjodjaî´sge	hiwak'ík'uñkdjonàwi	horágera	roghínâkce.	Mâ'úna
poor	we make ourselves	to tell	it is forbidden.	[Earthmaker]

*/onáwi/ is written above an underlined /ane/.

ejesge	hína	mée	hanugháwîna	p'îhikdjáwi
éjesge	hínâ.	Mee	hanughâ´wîna.	Pîhikdjáwi
that	he did.	This	keep it secret.	We'll do good

jesgé.	higé	jesge	hihiadjâwina	hikorokehíwina
jesge.	Higé	jesge	hihi-adjâ´winâ.	Hik'árokehìwira
[that way.]	[Still]	[that way]	we're [keeping it.]	[Our Grandmother]

[alpha]	rokcéxdjî	hañké*	hurá***	hax'ép'îní****
égi	rokcíxdjî	[-]**	hura	haghep p'î´ni
[here]	very deep	[not]	the root	it can't stick out

*this is written over two crossed out [psi's].
**omitted in Winebago III, #6.376, s. 161.
***in a note on the interstitial page (178v), Radin writes, "hañkéhura = anything held secret."
****in a note on the interstitial page (178v), Radin writes, "haghépîni = not possible for it ever to come up."

rokcíxdjî	hoicípdjî	hit'û´bikdjawi	([A]wína)
rokcíxdjî	hoicípdjî	hit'û´bikdjàwi.	niñk'uruhindjwìnâ.
[very deep]	all the time	we keep it that way.	[We greet you ?].

Jegû kira	yagé.
Jeguñk'íra	yagé.
That is all	I say to them.

Source:

For the original handwritten interlinear text, see Winnebago II, #6: 178-179. For a revised phonetic text, see Winnebago III, #6: 375.154-376.158. A loose English translation is found in Paul Radin, The Road of Life and Death: A Ritual Drama of the American Indians. Bollingen Series V (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1973 [1945]) 265.