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Item details
Item ID
KK1-0515
(Collection Details)
Title Magwi hkawhkam a lam (The king of the elephant) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
I'm going to tell you about an elephant king. The elephants were probably from Hugawng Valley. The situations were in conflict at that time. It seemed like the elephants were moving from their place because of unconfortable situations. There was an elephants' well somewhere near the China-Myanmar border. When I was young, I even witnessed the well where the elephants used to play. And I even saw the elephant king's footprint and the place where it slipped and fell down. As the civil war was happening near Hugawng, groups of elephants were moving to China. Elephants were looking for their territories. They also lived in Kayin State. The war was getting serious, so the elephants went to the China border. They moved along the Sailaw path, near Sadung village. Transportation is still difficult in that place, and there is still no motorway. Some people witnessed many elephants moving there. It was truly the elephant king's well. Maybe elephants could speak in the past. The elephants said that it was their well. The king didn't even choose Hugawng to be the place where his body lay, so he led his fellow elephants and went to the China border. He told them, "There is a well to which we belong. I will spend the rest of my life there." All of them went to Nawmun Village along Sadung Road. There was a well. They also drank water from it. The elephant king said, "Although there is our well here, there is no way that peace will take place here. We will have to go to China. There is our place too." Then they went to that place. On the way, they had to climb the rock mountain, and the way was filled with stones and rocks. The elephant king slipped in one place and died on the spot there. There is still the footprint left by the fall on the mountain after passing Nawmun Village and the Dumbang River.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Magwi (bayin) na lam, ya ngai tsun na gaw magwi hkawhkam a lam tsun na re. Moi shawng de da hugawng a hto ah she nanyung bansau ndai maga de lam kaw na hugawng maga, hugawng ginra dai maga de na magwi hkawhkam rai na hku re nga, re yang she shi gaw da ndai mung shuk mungdan shuk wa jang ndai magwi ni mung mung n pyaw jang magwi ni mung shanhte ginra kaw na htawt ai da. Ya anhte hto miwa jarik maga de dai maga de mung shara mi shanhte magwi hkawhkam ni na hka htung nga ai. Magwi hkawhkam ni na hkahtung nga ai dai ni hpe pa naw anhte kaba ai ahkying aten hta dai magwi hkawhkam wa kabye da ai hkang shi kashawt di na si mat wa ai shi na hkang ni anhte ma shaloi mu lu ai dai. Hto hugawng danai lam de na magwi dai gaw da ndai hugawng ga de mung grai shuk agying agang dai hku grai shuk ai, majan byin ai mungkan majan agying byin ai ten hta da dai kaw na magwi ni wa she ndai anhte miwa mung lam de ndai maga de shanhte yawng uhpung nawng yan di na shanhte ndai nam magwi ngu gaw shanhte na shara ndai shanhte ndai gara kaw rai shanhte kade tsan tim nam magwi ni gaw shanhte na shara, shanhte na ginra ngu nga ai da. Ndai magwi ni gaw dai she nam magwi ni gaw shanhte na ginra ndai hto kayin mung dai zawn re dai hkan de mung shanhte na ginra ngu nga ai da. Dai she ya hpang e ndai hugawng ga de majan grai byin hkrai byin she nam magwi ni wa yan lung na nang miwa mung jarik de yan lung wa re di na she ya anhte dai ndai sailaw lam sadung lai lam dai de ga sailaw lam hto nam mare re ya du hkra pa dai de mawdaw ni cycle ni nmai sa ai. Dai kaw she shanhte ni uhpung u nawng lung wa na she moi masha ni mu ai da. Dai she magwi hkawhkam na hkahtung re ngu da, dai shaloi gaw magwi ni gaw ga ni chye shaga ai she nrai na i. Magwi anhte na hkahtung anhte hkawhkam ni na hkahtung re ngu na tsun ai da. Dai shaloi dai magwi uhpung u nawng re kaw she ndai danai hugawng de pa shi n si di na she ngai na hkawhkam na hkahtung ndai miwa jarik de langai naw nga ai, dai maga de du di na she ngai na baw dai kaw tawn na re ngu na magwi gaw dai hku ngu ai da. Ngu di na ndai anhte miwa mung hkran de shi dai magwi ni gaw ah hpraw hkawhkam du hkra yawng re di na dai de yan lung wa re shaloi she sadung lam sa wa ai lam dai nawmun mare dai maga de shanhte yawng lung wa di she dai kaw hkawhkam magwi hkahtung ngu dai kaw nga ai, dai kaw shi hka ni ma shi wa lu ai. Dai kaw wa lu di na she ndai maga nye na hkawhkam hkahtung mi nga nga ndai maga de gaw mung simsa wa na lam nau nnga ai. Miwa mung de she ngai ram wa ra ai. Ya ngai miwa mung de nye shara naw nga ai, dai de rap wa na ngu na shi rap wa dai lung wa ai ngu, lung wa ai bum grai tsaw ai bum de lung wa ai shaloi dai magwi hkawhkam gaw shanhte grai law ai hprawng she hprawng lung wa ai shaloi she dai kaw nlung ni dai nlung lam ga ngu nnga ai dai kaw gaw nlung pa pa san di she ga wa nlung tai taw ai dai kaw she wa kashawt di shi lagaw hkang pa naw dai kaw kap di wa kashawt di na she dai kaw si mat wa ai. Si mat wa ai, dai na magwi hkawhkam na lagaw hkang si mat wa ai shi na hkang shi na hkrang ni hkrang bum sumla ni yawng ndai ya dai nawmun mare ngu kaw na dumbang hka kaw na lai wa ai bum dai ntsa kaw shi na ndai nlung hkrai hkrai ga nnga ai, shi si mat ai shara kaw dai shi na lagaw hkang dai ni du hkra naw nga ai ngu hpe tsun dan mayu ai re.
Origination date 2017-02-09
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0515
URL
Collector
Keita Kurabe
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Countries
Myanmar - MM
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Language as given Jinghpaw
Subject language(s)
Jingpho - kac
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Content language(s)
Jingpho - kac
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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
G. Bawm Maw : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598896e1489ba
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), G. Bawm Maw (speaker), 2017. Magwi hkawhkam a lam (The king of the elephant) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0515 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598896e1489ba
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0515-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 17.5 KB
KK1-0515-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 3.86 MB 00:04:13.466
KK1-0515-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 139 MB 00:04:13.449
3 files -- 143 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
Myanmar - MM
To view related information on a country, click its name
Languages
Jingpho - kac
To view related information on a language, click its name
Access Information
Edit access Nick Thieberger
Keita Kurabe
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Data access conditions Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Data access narrative
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