Item details
Item ID
KK1-0072
Title Grai masu chye ai Nang Bya a lam (The liar Nang Bya) with English translation and notes
Description Translation (Sarama Lazing Htoi Sam)
The title is "Ngan Bya was very good at lying." One day in a forest, there were Nang Bya and a tiger (from now on, Tiger). They were friends and living in the same forest together. While they were inhabiting together, Tiger was clever and hard working. On that, one day was near the rainy season and Tiger was preparing for that (the rainy season). As the rain was coming soon, he kept the food. After saving the food, he covered things that needed to be covered in his house when the rain fell. He was working very hard to prepare for the coming rainy season. At that moment, Nang Bya was staying happily like what he could find today then he ate all today. He was living like this and never kept nor prepared for anything and lived happily while Tiger was working very hard. He told Tiger, “Hey, friend, why are you working hard like this? No need to work hard. We can only find for today and eat today.” Tiger answered him: “No, my friend, we have to work hard. The rain will come soon.” So Nang Bya replied, “Ok, ok, you can work as you like. I am happy. I will sleep.” Then he slept and lived as he used to day by day, happily. Oh! The rainy season was getting closer and closer, and it was almost the time. Then, Nang Bya was thinking about how he could safely get away from the rainy season as he was very good at lying. He was such a liar and always lied to his friends so that no one wanted to trust him and made friends with him. Whenever they met him, they all never escaped from his lies and fell onto them. He told Tiger, “Hey Tiger, come and see my house. When you reach my home, you will see the sky, moon, and stars widely, and you will be delighted.” Tiger thought Nang Bya was going to lie to him, and he did not believe what Nang Bya said to him. It was still in the summer month. So Tiger (replied), Nang Bya’s house was nice to live in. He did not go and see Nang Bya’s house for that night. The following night, Nang Bya told him again. “Tiger, come and see. My place is very nice. If you lie down and watch the sky. Oh! Moon and stars are in the sky, enjoyably. You should come and see this.” On that night, Tiger definitely went to Nang Bya’s place. When he reached upstairs, he turned over his body on the floor and watched the sky. He saw the sky with stars and moon which were beautifully, pleasurable, and perfect. And he said to Nang Bya, “They are so nice, so enjoyable and so cool.” Then Nang Bya told Tiger, “Do you want to change my house with yours?” Tiger answered: “Eeee, let’s change, let’s change!” So the two friends changed houses with each other. Tiger enjoyed staying there. Watching the sky, stars, and moon all night and slept happily every night. Soon after that, the rainy season had come and heavy rainfall began. Then, Tiger remembered his old house since he built his house well,; he covered his roof well and made sure to prevent leaking roofs during rains. While Tiger was busy with the rain, Nang Bya was sleeping soundly. Tiger went back to his old house and called his friend, “Nang Bya, Nang Bya, please let me in. Bring me in. There is heavy rain.” Nang Bya replied to him, “This is not your house anymore. Go back. We have changed our house already. Tiger was amazed by his friend’s saying and realized that that’s why all of Nang Bya’s friends and others called him “the lair Nang Bya”. Like this, there are many more people in today's world who are good at lying in our life. Therefore, we must think carefully and wisely about who to trust or not in all of our ways.

Transcription (Lu Hkawng)
Grai masu chye ai Nang Bya re ai da, gabaw gaw. Lani mi na nhtoi hta da, nam langai kaw da, e nam langai kaw da, e Nang Bya hte sharaw shan 2 gaw manang re na nga ai da. Shanhte ni nga rai yang she sharaw gaw da grai myit su ai da. Shi gaw da, a.. ya.. e.. shi gaw ya ndai yanam ta du wa sai re nga. Shi gaw lu sha ni mung mahkawng lu sha ni mung mahkawng ngut jang marang ni htu wa sa na re majaw shi gaw a.. marang ni mung e.. marang ni mung htu wa sana re majaw nta mung e.. magap ai ni magap da, re na shi galaw taw ai da. Grai bungli shakut taw ai da. Kei!! dai shaloi gaw Nang Bya gaw grai pyaw di na nga na shi lu sha ni mung, shi dai ni tam dai ni sha rai na galaw rai na shi gaw dai hku sha nga ai da. Dai hku sha nga re yang she, dai hku sha nga re she, e shi gaw pyaw pyaw pyaw pyaw re na she nga ai da. Dai she sharaw gaw grai shakut ai da. Sharaw hpe tsun ai da, "E!! Sharaw nang hpa dai ting shakut ai?" da. "N shakut ra ai gaw" da. "Dai ni tam dai ni sha le," ngu tsun ai da. Dai she sharaw gaw "Nre ai hkau e, shakut ra ai. Ya kade nna yang marang htu sa na," ngu di na tsun ai da. Dai she Nang Bya wa gaw "E... rai sai, rai sai, nang galaw yang galaw taw sanu." "Ngai gaw pyaw ai, ngai yup na," ngu na shi gaw yup, sha dai hku re na grai pyaw rai na lani hte lani dai hku nga re yang she, Kei!! Kade nna wa yang marang htu wa na ten du wa sai da. Dai shaloi nang bya wa gaw dai shaloi gaw shi gaw myit sai da. Shi gaw grai chye masu sha ai da. Shi gaw manang ni hpe nau masu sha na kadai ma shi hpe nkam (hkaw la) ai da. Rai tim mung shi hte hkrum dat ai ni mahkra gaw shi masu sha ai kaw hkrai katut ai da. Shi gaw tsun ai da, sharaw hpe "Hey sharaw nang de yu," da. "Ya nye nta kaw sa yu yaw" da. "Nang nye nta kaw du yang yu dat yang oh, lamu ni shata ni shagan ni grai mu grai pyaw lu," ngu di na shi dai hku tsun ai da. Dai she sharaw gaw "E ndai wa masu sha hkyen maw ai rai sam ai law." Rai ti mung nkam ai da. Dai shaloi gaw kahtet ta re nga gaw le i. Pyaw ai lel i. Shi na... sharaw aw... Nang Bya na nta gaw grai pyaw taw ai da. Dai she shi nsa yu ai da. Sharaw lana ni nsa yu ai da. Dai she hpang shana gaw bai tsun ai da. "Sharaw e nang she wa yu" da. "Nye na shara grai pyaw ai gaw." "Oh nang sha galeng dat yu u. Lamu ntsa de ngu kei.. shata ni shagan ni mu grai kei! lamu ngu gaw pyaw she pyaw nang sa yu u," ngu tsun ai da. Dai she dai shaloi she kaja wa dai shana sharaw sa yu sai da. Sa yu dat ai shaloi wa she sharaw wa nre i, ntsa nta kaw du re yang she "Kei! kaja wa i, na nta wa kei... galeng dat ai hte wa shata ni shagan ni mung grai tsawm hkra rai na pyaw, grai hkrak hkra rai nga, grai mike nga ai le, grai hkrak nga le," ngu tsun ai da. Kei! dai yang gaw Nang Bya wa gaw tsun ai da. "E, nang ngai na nta galai mayu sai nre i," ngu tsun ai da. Dai she, "Eeee galai ga, galai ga," ngu di na shan 2 gaw nta galai kau ai da. Galai kau ai shaloi she kei!! marang htu ta dai shaloi gaw shana shagu grai pyaw na hku rai nga ei... shata shagan sha yu di na yup yup re yang she, kei! marang ta du wa yang she marang raw raw rai htu taw ai shaloi sharaw gaw myi na shi na nta gaw atsawm sha rai na gap da ai. Arr, nta marang na gayun na ni hku galaw da ai. Dai shaloi gaw nang bya wa gaw nang bya ah pyaw sha rai na yup taw ai da. Dai shaloi gaw da sharaw gaw "Hkau Nang Bya, hkau Nang Bya, ngai hpe ma nang woi la rit." "Nang ngai hpe naw woi la rit, marang grai htu taw ai," ngu tsun ai da. Nang Bya wa gaw "Ndai na nta nre, wa su," ngu na tsun ai da. "Ngai nang hpe nta galai kau sai le," ngu di na tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she dai shaloi she sharaw gaw "Aw.. dai majaw she, masha ni dai majaw she, manang ni mahkra gaw shi hpe grai masu chye ai Nang Bya nga di na tsun ai rai nga hka" da. "Tsun ai rai nga hka," nga di na shi grai mau taw ai da. Ndai zawn sha anhte mungkan masha ni mahkra kaw dai ni na prat hta gaw grai masu sha chye ai ni grai law taw sai. Dai majaw tinang gaw e lam shagu hpe tinang myit sawn sumru di na, ah tsawm sha myit na galaw na, kam gying ai nkam gying ai hpe myit sawn ginhka let galaw ga ngu na tsun mayu ai.

Notes:
1. Mang Bya is a popular trickster in Kachin folktales, who are a person or an animal that always lies and teases others. It is known by the names of Mang Bya, Nang Bya, Mawng Byaw, and others depending on dialects and languages.

2. For more stories about Mang Bya, see:

KK1-0027
KK1-0028
KK1-0072
KK1-0233
KK1-0234
KK1-0296
KK1-0297
KK1-0326
KK1-0339
KK1-0364
KK1-0475
KK1-0549
KK1-0640
KK1-0709
KK1-0735
KK1-0973
KK1-1209
KK1-1210
KK1-1286
KK1-1379
KK1-1462
KK1-1711
KK1-1785
KK1-1786
KK1-1788
KK1-1789
KK1-1790
KK1-1791
KK1-1792
KK1-1793
KK1-1794
KK1-1795
KK1-1798
KK1-1855

3. See Kurabe (2018) for a story of Mang Bya.

References
Kurabe, Keita. 2018. A Jinghpaw folktale text: A liar Mang Bya. Journal of Kijutsuken 10: 69-80.
Origination date 2016-12-14
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0072
URL
Collector
Keita Kurabe
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Language as given Jinghpaw
Subject language(s) To view related information on a language, click its name
Content language(s) To view related information on a language, click its name
Dialect Standard Jinghpaw
Region / village Northern Myanmar
Originating university Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Operator
Data Categories primary text
Data Types Sound
Discourse type narrative
Roles Keita Kurabe : depositor
H. Lu Lu Aung : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/59888fe5e0e61
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), H. Lu Lu Aung (speaker), 2016. Grai masu chye ai Nang Bya a lam (The liar Nang Bya) with English translation and notes. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0072 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/59888fe5e0e61
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0072-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 57 KB
KK1-0072-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 3.56 MB 00:03:53.743
KK1-0072-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 129 MB 00:03:53.729
3 files -- 132 MB -- --

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Collection Information
Collection ID KK1
Collection title Kachin folktales told in Jinghpaw
Description Recordings of Kachin folktales and related narratives in Jinghpaw. These materials were collected by Keita Kurabe, Gumtung Lu Awng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, Labang Tu La, Gumtung Htu Nan, and Lashi Seng Nan as part of community-based collaborative fieldwork in northern Myanmar. A total of 2,491 stories with 2,481 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,369 translations are currently available (March 25, 2024). Transcriptions were contributed by Gumtung Lu Awng, Pausa La Ring, Galang Lu Hkawng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, and Keita Kurabe. Stories were translated by Nbanpa Rita Seng Mai, Sumlut Gun Mai, Lazing Htoi San, Maran Seng Pan, Dumdaw Mike Tu Awng, Nhkum Htoi Awng, and Keita Kurabe.

Animated stories are available at:

https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK3
https://www.youtube.com/@kachinfolktales
https://www.facebook.com/KachinStories

Other Kachin culture and history are available at:

https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK2

Our research was made possible under the support of JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP17H04523, JP20K13024, JP20H01256, Linguistic Dynamics Science 3 (LingDy3) from Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), and JSPS Program for Advancing Strategic International Networks to Accelerate the Circulation of Talented Researchers "A collaborative network for usage-based research on lesser-studied languages."
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Languages To view related information on a language, click its name
Access Information
Edit access Nick Thieberger
Keita Kurabe
View/Download access
Data access conditions Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Data access narrative
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