Item details
Item ID
KK1-0167
Title Nsu nat byin pru wa ai lam (Origin of the spirit of jealousy) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Now I'm going to talk about how Nsu Nat "enviou spirit" came to be. Once upon a time, there were two orphan brothers in a village. The elder brother was not so sharp and smart. The younger brother was smart. But the elder one was warm-hearted and good-natured. The younger brother was a bit unkind although he was smart. Then, it was the time to grow and plant rice grains. The younger brother said, "My brother, it is not time to grow only rice. We should grow other grains and vegetables too. Let's grow those too!" Then, the elder brother was cleaning the bushes in the field. But seem like he didn't have any vegetable seeds. He told his younger brother, "What should I grow then?" His brother gave him a horn of buffalo and said, "Scrape that. scatter them on the field." But the younger brother grew vegetables in the field. His elder brother was actually doing as he told. Later, he asked his brother, "How about your farm? Some vegetables are growing gradually in my farm. How about yours?" ('Kyi rawng kyi htawng' means like bamboo shoots are growing, some vegetables start bearing, etc.) Surprisingly, there were many buffaloes in the elder brother's farm. The elder brother said, "I can hear the grunts 'ngoit ngoit' now." When the younger brother heard that, he was so surprised. He couldn't believe his ears. Then, he went to his brother's farm to check. He saw that there were a lot of buffaloes there. He was greedy and wanted to own those buffaloes. Then, he ground some rice. (Do you know 'shadung'? It means grinding the rice and making it into powder.) And he applied rice powder on herds of buffaloes to make them turn into white. He told his elder brother, "My brother, all the white herds are mine! The black buffaloes will be yours." He already applied ground rice on buffaloes, but there was a heavy rain that night. Then all the rice powder which he put on the buffaloes was gone. When he looked at them, there weren't any white buffaloes. So that, the younger brother didn't get any buffaloes. But he wanted to own those buffaloes. So, he thought to himself, "I want to own those. What should I do? Shall I just kill my brother?" Then, he went to his elder brother. In Kachin, we call 'Kanam' to the wife of the younger brother, and 'Karat' to the wife of the elder brother. Then, the younger brother said, "My brother, my wife is dead. So, let's go and make a coffin." His brother didn't check whether his younger brother's wife was dead or not. They went to make a coffin. The younger brother told him, "My brother, you and my wife have similar height and size. So, to know if this coffin is perfect for my wife, lie down there." Then, he just lay down there without any suspicion. On the other hand, the younger brother already planned to deceive him. As soon as he lay down, his younger brother closed the coffin and tied it with vines. The younger brother planned to kill him by closing him inside the coffin. But he could go out of the coffin. It was because his younger brother tied only with vines. His brother didn't tie it tightly. Then, he kicked the lid of coffin and could get out. Even though he was not as sharp as his younger brother, he wasn't naive. He felt a bit angry on his younger brother. He said, "My younger brother, your sister-in-law is dead. Let's go and make a coffin." At first, he went together to make a coffin when his younger brother requested. So, the younger brother needed to follow him when he asked him to make a coffin. Then, the younger brother went there together with his elder brother to make a coffin. The elder brother knew this time. He couldn't leave it like that. He prepared thin bamboo strips. He tightly tied that too. Then, he told his younger brother, "My brother, you have similar body size as your sister-in-law. Lie down inside the coffin." Then, he had to listen to his elder brother. So, he lay down inside the coffin. As soon as he lay down, the elder brother closed the lid tightly with the bamboo splits. The elder brother tied the coffin with bamboo splits. And he went back home. The younger brother couldn't get out of the coffin no matter how hard he tried. His elder brother didn't release him because he always bullied him. Then, the elder brother hung that coffin, which his younger brother lay down in, atop a tall tree above the waterfall. And he told a squirrel, (The elder brother just wanted to teach a lesson to his brother. May be, he would take his younger brother out after some time.) "Go and check a person who is inside the coffin if he is okay." But the squirrel misheard and thought it had to cut the splits off. So, it cut the bamboo splits. Then the younger brother who was inside the coffin fell down into the waterfall and died. He became Nat (evil spirit) after he died. People worshipped and gave offerings to Nsu Nat "enviou spirit". This is how Nsu Nat became.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Ya gaw ndai nsu nat ngu byin pru wa ai maumwi nga, Moi shawng de, jahkrai ma yan shang nau nga ai, kahpu hte kanau nga ai da, rai gaw kahpu gaw kaji mi a n zen ai, kanau gaw zen ai rai tim kahpu gaw myit grai kaja ai malang ai, kanau gaw zen gaw zen tim loi mi myit hta n kaja ai myit loi mi rawng ai shi, rai jang gaw mam hkai aten du wa sai da, re ai shaloi gaw e hpu e ya gaw, e mam sha n re ai le i laga le, hkai n mai yawng nli nai li jahkrat ten rai sai re majaw gaw nli naili um yi hkyen na gat ga ngu ai da, rai jang gaw kahpu mung yi hkyen shi gaw nli nai-li tum mung n lu sam ai gaw, rai jang gaw e dai kanau hpe tsun ai da, kanau e ngai gaw hpa baw hkai na rai ngu jang she, e dai nga rung dingsa, nga rung ngu chye ai i, nga rung le nga nga kaw na rung le, e nga rung dai nga rung kaw na dingsa hpe hkut u da, hkut hkut na dai kaw grit ti gat u ngu u da shi gaw ha..ha..ha yi de gat u ngu jang she, oh ra kanau gaw nli nai-li gat sai le i, mam ni hpa she n rai tawng rai gaw kahpu gaw ai kahpu gaw kanau wa a ngu ai hte maren nga rung dingsa ahkut na gat dat jang she, ya hpang ye gaw kanau gaw kahpu hpe sa nna, ah hpu e na yi gaw gara hku rai wa sai ta, nye na nye na yi gaw kyi rawng kyi htawng gaw rai sai na yi gaw gara hku rai sa ta ngu, kyi rawng kyi htawng ngu ai gaw, maku ni ku wa sai e matuk ni pru wa sai ga ngu ai ga rai nga, rai jang she, dai nga rung dingsa gat ai yi kaw wa she, dumsu nga ni wa tup rai mat wa ai da yaw, hpring hkra nga mat wa rai jang she, rai gaw shi gaw e ngai na yi kaw na ngoit ngoit gaw nga ai shaga nsen le i, ngoit ngoit gaw garu sai ngu ai da rai gaw shi gaw grai na mau sa, gar gara hku rai ai kun ngu na she, ah.. na mau na she, kaja wa sa yu yang gaw, nga ni dumsu ni gaw mana maka nga, rai na she, re gaw shi gaw dai madu la mayu sai lu kanau gaw, madu la mayu na she e shi gaw gara hku di ai i nga jang she, shadun htu ai le ma pawn nna shadun, shadun chye ai i, oi hpau hpau da galaw kau ai le, ashe hpe le ngu hpe le shadun le e hpraw byin hkra le i, n-gu hpe htu nna she nga ni hpe yawng chya ahpraw yawng yi ting rai jang gaw shi gaw kanau yi tsun ai gaw, e dai kaw na nsam hpraw ai hpraw daw gaw ngai na rai na re dai laga chyang ai gaw nang hpu na ngu da, rai jang she dai shana she mi gaw ndai shadun chya ai yawng hpraw mat sai n rai i, maran kaba htu rut rai na she dai shadun ni atsai rai wa jang gaw bai hpang shi sa yu yang gaw, hpraw ai langai mi n nga sa rai jang she, nga langai mi n lu ai kanau gaw rai tim shi gaw dai hpe madu la mayu ai, madu la mayu na she kahpu hpe gara hku na gram na i sat kau na i ngu shi myit ai, e myit na she shi gaw kahpu hpang de sa ai da sa nna she, e hpu e na nrat jinghpaw ni gaw ndai kanau a madu jan hpe gaw garat ngu ai yaw aw kanam le, kanam ngu ai, e na kanam si wa sai i, dai majaw du-u daw ga ngu la du-u ngu chye ai i du-u le dai hpe daw ga ngu jang she, daw kaja wa kahpu mung le shi na kanam si n si mung n sha gawn yu sa, rai na she kanau ngu hkraw na she du-u daw galu di daw nna she, e hpu e nan nye na madu jan na kanam gaw nang na hkum hkrang hte bung ai dai kaw galeng yu ngu da. Rai kahpu mung hpa n chye ai le i, hpa nchye na she, dai kaw galeng du-u kaw galeng yang shi gaw mi kaw na maw da sai n mu i, shi mi kaw na hpa baw ngu na i, nkaja ai myit rawng ai le i rai jang she, dai kaw gaw kalang ta magap htep di na sumri hte gyit hpun ru hte gyit da gyit da ti si u ga ngu ai le i, rai yang she e rai tim mung kahpu gaw dai du-u kaw na lu male ai hku nga, shi gaw hpun ru hte sha gyit ai majaw le i, e dai kaw na male pru wa rai jang she, ndai atsam sha n gyit sai le, rai jang gaw shi gaw aw kaw na htawng nna le mat wa, kahpu gaw aw nang dai hku i, ngu na she kahpu gaw kade wa anya nga tim mung kaji gaw loi gaw she ze le i shinggyim masha rai gaw, rai jang gaw e nau e nang na nrat shi na madu jan le i sit mat sai, du-u sa daw ga ngu ai da, rai jang gaw mi kahpu hpe shi saw yang shi ma hkan nan ai majaw ya kahpu saw yang ma shi hkan ra sai le n re i, rai shi gaw kahpu kaw hkan nan na she du-u daw rai jang gaw shi gaw kahpu mung chye sai ndai wa hpe gaw n mai sai ngu na she, dai gyin shi ngu chye ai i ndai gyin shi le ashe hkri hkri ai le hkri nna ndai ga shadawn nhtu ning gan hkan de chyawp ai le, hkri nna le, nhtu ning hku hkan de, chyawp ai le hkri nna le, nhtu nin-hku hkan de chyawp ai le, gyin shi le grai ngang hkra hkri ai le, dai ni ma yawn hkri da shi gaw, rai na she e ya nau e, nang na nrat gaw nang hte hkum hkrang bung ai, nang gale yu ngu jang she, mi kahpu ma shi tsun ai hte hkraw sai le i, rai jang gaw shi mung n hkraw n mai sai gaw, rai jang she shi mung galeng taw rai jang she kahpu gaw kalang ta magap htep mi na shi hkri da gin-shi hte hkrup hkrup gin-shi gaw ri pali le i ri pali rawt taw ai le i, dai pali hte le, hkri pali hte she gyit sai n mu i, dai nna she nta de wa mat, n lu male sai shi gaw gara hku di na n lu male sai, re gaw kahpu mung shi hpe nau zin ri ai majaw mau ai majaw kahpu mung n shaw la sai, rai na shi hpe she oh ra hpa la na htaw hka rum ntsa kaw hpun nan de gaw hka rum le i, hpun nin re ai kaw dai kaw du-u dai kanau rawng ai dai hpe gyit da na dai kaw gyit da ai hku n rai ni, rai jang she kahpu gaw kadu hka hpe saw ai, e oh ra kaw na du-u kaw rawng ai, masha shi gaw ya grai na jang gaw shaw la na ngu mi loi sharin shaga na bai shaw la na ngu myit yang myit na le i, sa gin dan yu su, sa shaga yu su dai kata na masha gara hku rai ai kun ngu, kadu hka na la ai gaw sumri gan di u ngu bai na ai da e, sa gin dan yu su ngu yang she, sumri dan di su ngu dai hku ngu she na la na shi gaw hpa n re sa kalang ta, ma kyen na sumri dan di jang le hka rum de dai du-u hte nawn si mat wa rai gaw dai kanau gaw nat tai mat wa nsu nat ngu ai i rai na jaw jau ai le, jaw jau ai ngu ai gaw mi na zawn re na u sat wa sat na dai nat dai hpe jaw ai dai nsu nat byin wa ai gaw dai hku re da.
Origination date 2016-12-22
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0167
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
W. Awng : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/5988913be5bbe
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), W. Awng (speaker), 2016. Nsu nat byin pru wa ai lam (Origin of the spirit of jealousy) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0167 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/5988913be5bbe
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0167-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 55.4 KB
KK1-0167-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 8.81 MB 00:09:38.350
KK1-0167-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 318 MB 00:09:38.325
3 files -- 327 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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