Section 7.9 Wet'suwet'en - HALHT'脧'M B脧 C'OLDIW TS'AN
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean
Illustrated by: Bethani L'Heureux
Wet'suwet'en translation by: Rita George and Gary George of the Wet'suwet'en Nation
A note about the recording of this story from Gary George:
鈥�This story had a journey in the actual recording itself.
Rita George's (Gulaxkan) home is located in the Burns Lake (Tsil Kaz Koh) region of BC. Sometimes big trucks can be heard going by her home as it climbs the steep hill and this noise was interfering with the recording. So we drove down by the lake (Bin) also known as Ka Kuz Bin, near the home of the late Henry and Patrick Isaac. It was windy n茂lhts'iy) and this too was affecting the sound, so we decided to drive across (nyen) the lake and onto the yinta (land), where we found a quiet spot in the forest and completed the recording. That evening we also saw a deer (niltiw') on the road and it was a beautiful (honzu') on the land.
This recording is the end result of that adventure on the land in July 2021. Thanks to modern technology (i-pad mini), and the perseverance of Rita George (who is now 82), this recording was made possible. It should be noted that similar terms are used in this Wet'suwet'en recording: Yis (wolf) or D'ikuntikh lhic (wild dog). In addition, there are variations on terms depending on location of fluent speakers. For example, the term for bald eagle in Wet'suwet'en is Sgg茂git which is similar to Gitxsan term of x瘫sgaak, while Wet'suwet'en speakers in eastern regions around Burns Lake, also referred to eagle as Syil-beya (Wet'suwet'en) and s瘫balyan (Nadleh-Stella Whut'enne).鈥�
See 础辫辫别苍诲颈虫听础.1 for a glossary of Wet'suwet'en words and phrases
Si Soz茂鈥� Halht鈥櫭�檓 B茂 c'oldiw di cidede鈥� Tso sa nawinec gwin an adec bitso鈥� habe nawinec Ts鈥檃n k毛yikh wa zuh ai een 鈥榠lyegh
My name is Small Number. This is a story that I鈥檝e heard from my grandmother and that she heard from her grandmother. It is about an old totem pole built by my ancestors on a beach close to our village.
鈥櫭媗hidz茂n sgg茂git yik t鈥檃lh ka c鈥櫭�櫭玭 lhok cyo oi ya bihl Yik da lehn to guht Yik Kay yit Nadah Bilegh Bits鈥檌 yiz z茂 lhok tabe 鈥榚nekh kya Sgg茂git Bits鈥檌nt鈥檃鈥� Ti ehl tus t毛kh en kya lhok 鈥榚ne khlil
One day, the eagle was looking for food. He spotted a huge salmon just below the surface of the water, he plummeted to the river and caught the salmon with his mighty talons. But, the salmon was so big that even eagle鈥檚 strong wings could only lift the fish just a bit above the surface of the water.
Sgg茂git Gyehl sihll Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh
鈥淗elp! Help!鈥� 鈥� screeched the eagle.
Detsan Yezeehs-zi nadah Bidebegh bi lhok ya din geht
The raven heard eagle鈥檚 cry, so he flew down and pierced his beak into the salmon鈥檚 body.
sgg茂git detsan lhok hi-yehl-suhts et dihn ze tab茂 hehn kyeh Tobegh ne-nihl-zuht
The eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon together, but the fish was so big that they only moved the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh Sgg茂git kwa Gyehl sihll
鈥淗elp! Help!鈥� 鈥� screeched the eagle again.
Sgg茂git gyuhl sihl Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh Sus sgg茂git gyuhl sihl ut diz tzi da kyun tuhts hahl kla sa y茂n belagh kyo beyin Sgg茂git hi yiz gowh
The bear heard the eagle鈥檚 piercing shrill, ran out of forest, stood up and grabbed the eagle with his huge paws.
Sus sgg茂git Kiyh yihl kehl kla sgg茂git Detsan lhok ohye Kiyh yihl kehl dinze lhok tabegh un kyah onzah tab茂 winu naneehlti
The bear was pulling the eagle, and the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh sus dihl gwagh
鈥淗elp! Help!鈥� 鈥� roared the bear.
D鈥檌kuntikh lhic (yis) sus gyuhl sihl yin diz zigh d鈥檏yun tuht hahl gla duhk dad茂n ya kl sus bikyuhn duhtz yiz gowh
The wolf heard the bear鈥檚 call, ran out of forest, stood up and grabbed the bear with his long front legs.
D鈥檌kuntikh lhic (yis) sus oh ya ki yihl kehl sus gw茂n an sgg茂git oh ya ki yihl kehl sgg茂git ingwa gih detsan oh ya ki yihl kehl detsan lhok oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok Tab茂 in kyah adin za lhok Tab茂 wa zouh ni ki ehl kyot
The wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh Yis gyahl sil
鈥淗elp! Help!鈥� 鈥� howled the wolf.
Tsa D鈥檌kuntikh lhic Yis di zihs i to guht dut ne c鈥檌kwah wus zu hahlt kla yis bile ba yiz gouwh
The beaver heard wolf鈥檚 whimpering, ran out of the river, and grabbed the wolf with her hands.
Tsa D鈥檌kuntikh lhic (Yis) oh ya ki yihl kehl D鈥檌kuntikh lhic (Yis) sus oh ya ki yihl kehl sus sgg茂git oh ya ki yihl kehl sgg茂git detsan oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok zehl in kyah adin za lhok Tab茂 wa zouh na nihl ti
The beaver was pulling the wolf, the wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg鈥檌knekh Sleg鈥檌knekh tsa gyahl sil bi kyeht b茂 to guht hadihl da
鈥淗elp! Help!鈥� 鈥� the beaver cried as she slapped the water with her tail.
Dilkw'akh, tsa gyahl sil c鈥檌kwah Bik毛cin (leg) Dilkw'akh tsa ghyel zihl a diz sigh
The frog heard beaver鈥檚 call, ran out of the river, and grabbed the beaver with his legs.
Dilkw'akh tsa gyahl sil sus sgg茂git detsan lhok Dilkw'akh tsa yis sus sgg茂git detsan lhok
The frog was pulling the beaver, the beaver was pulling the wolf, the wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, and together they heaved the salmon on to the shore.
Sgg茂git detsan, sus, lhok, D鈥檌kuntikh lhic (Yis) tobegh Dilkw'akh
Question: Why did the eagle, the raven, the bear, the wolf, and the beaver need help from a little frog to pull the salmon on to the shore?
