Item details
Item ID
KK1-0602
Title Mam lu la ai lam (The rice and chameleon's bad omen) with English translation
Description Translation (Htoi Awng)
This story took place at a time when humans and rice could communicate with each other. In the past, human beings are immortal. There was no rich or poor too. The rice grain was really big in the past. It was as big as a horse's tail. It was huge so that we couldn't even carry it with a basket. It was much bigger than a basket. Then, there was a chameleon who didn't want this situation. It went to humans and told a lie. It said to some people, "Human has to die when you are young." But they couldn't hear it well and said, "What! We have to die when we are old." The chameleon said, "Nope! No! You have to die when you are still young." Later, it went to the rice grain and said, "You will not be as big as a horse's tail anymore. You will be as small as my tail." The chameleon was just telling a lie to the human and the rice grain. When it said like that, the rice grain said, "No! We will be as huge as a horse's tail forever. And we will be food for humans." Then, it said, "NO! Look at my tail! You will grow this much." The rice grain said no. But the chameleon kept telling the rice grain, "No, you will only be this much!" So, the rice grain started to believe the chameleon's words. Since then, the rice grain grows only as big as the chameleon's tail. The chameleon's tail is tiny. In the past, people were full after they had eaten two rice grains. There were many rice grains growing on one rice plant. People could get tons of rice. But because of the chameleon's lousy omen, rice grains were getting small. No matter how many we planted, we got just a small amount from each plant. The chameleon kept telling people, "Humans will die at a young age! You will die." People said, "NO! We will live till 1000 years." But it kept saying like that. Later, people forgot what it said. So, people asked it, "What did you say to us?" It said, "Humans will die at a young age." People asked it again, "What? We will be dead when we are 1000 years old?" It answered, "No, you will die at a very young age." The chameleon was saying omen to humans and rice grains. There is even a saying in Kachin, 'the chameleon's bad words'. We call someone who usually denies what the others say as 'the chameleon's bad words'. So, people get only a small size of rice grains when they grow rice today. It's all because of the chameleon, which was jealous of humans. And people are dying at their young age too. So, we kill a chameleon wherever we see it. This is the end of the story.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Ya ngai tsun na maumwi gaw moi shawng de ndai mam hte shinggyin masha ni ga naw hkrum ai ten hta na rai nga ai. Shinggyin masha ni gaw moi gaw i anhte shinggyin masha ni gaw shaning grai si ai ngu mung nnga ai i. Si ai ngu mung nnga ai, matsan ai ngu mung nnga ai amam mung grai kaba ai nmai zawn zawn re na kaba ai i. Mam grai kaba mam hpun mung grai kaba mam nsi mung gumra nmai zawn zawn re na manu kaba ai i. Mam nsi langai mi hpe dan yang mung gun she ndang ai i, gun she ndang ai, shingnoi ka kaw ngu she nshang hkra hkra re na anhte mam ngu ni mung manu mana mam hte dai hku na man nsi ni mung kaba ai i, matsan ai ngu mung nnga ai. Dai shaloi she sanyen gaw dai majaw dai ni anhte sanyen gaw sa wa na she anhte shinggyin masha ni hpe sa masu ai i. Anhte shinggyin masha ni gaw da asak kaji yang si ra na ngu na tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she shinggyin masha ni gaw na nna na she anhte gaw da asak kaba yang she si na ga ai ngu na tsun ai. Re jang she sanyen gaw nre ai da, nanhte gaw da asak kaji yang si na re nga na bai sa tsun ai i. Mam nhpun hpe mung nanhte gaw da gumra nmai nre da, nye nmai zawn re na re nga na sa tsun ai i, sanyen nmai zawn nga sa tsun ai re jang gaw shi gaw nre ai da anhte gaw da ndai sanyen gaw grai zen ai. Dan na she shingyin masha ni hte ndai mam ni a lapran kaw shi gaw ga sa shahten ai i. Nre ai law da, nye nmai zawn she re u ga nga na tsun ai i, re jang mam gaw nre law da, ngai gaw gumra nmai zawn re na ngai shinggyin masha ni hpe bau ra ai nga na tsun ai i. Re she dai mam hpe bai sa tsun ai, nre da nye nmai hpe yu yu u da, nang gaw nye nmai zawn zawn sha re wa u ngu tsun ai. Ding nga na tsun dat ai nga she nre law ngai gaw gumra nmai zawn re na shinggyin masha ni hpe bau ra ai re nga na tsun ai i. Nre da nang gaw da nye nmai zawn zawn sha rai, nye nmai nga shi nmai hkrai sa madunre she, Dai shaloi gaw mam gaw nau sa tsun jang she shi gaw kam mat wa ai i. Kam mat she shi nmai zawn re na dai ni i shinggyin masha ni mam law law hkai timmung sanyen nmai ram zawn re na kachyi sha rai mat ai i. Sanyen nmai nga gaw grai kaji i kachyi sha law ya na mam nsi daram sha re moi gaw da shinggyin masha ni gaw kalang mi mam nsi 2 dan dat jang gaw da shinggyin masha ni gaw hkru mat wa i. Hkru mat wa, manu mana law, yi mi ting re jang gaw mam ngu dang hkying hku she lu, ndai mam n pawt langai mi kaw ngu ai gumra nmai zawn re yang gaw mam hpun mung grai kaba grai lusu grai nga mai ai re. Dai she sanyen gaw ga sa jahten ai majaw dai ni anhte shinggyin masha ni sha na ngu yang mung mam hpun kade mi hkai tim mung ndai shi nmai hte shi shadawn kau ya ai i. Re na she shinggyin masha ni hpe shi gaw sa na she asak kaji yang si u ga, asak kaji yang si mu, si u ga nga na i anhte shinggyin masha ni hpe sa tsun ai. Dai shaloi gaw shinggyin masha ni gaw n re da anhte gaw shaning grai kaba jang she shaning 1000 re jang she si na re ngu da. Nre da, nanhte gaw asak kaji yang si u ga, asak kaji yang si u ga nga na sanyen gaw dai hku sha n kaja ai sha sa tsun ai i, shinggyin masha ni hpe n kaja ai sha sa tsun sa tsun re jang she shinggyin masha ni gaw hpang e gaw hpa baw re aw sanyen e ngu jang she nre ai nanhte gaw da shinggyin masha ni gaw asak kaji yang si u ga nga na sa tsun ai. Hpang e shinggyin masha gaw gara kaw re aw ngu jang she dai ni nre nanhte gaw asak grai kaji yang si u ga , grai kaji yang si u ga nga tsun jang shinggyin masha ni gaw nchye na jang hpa baw re aw asak 1000 re jang si na re aw ngu jang nre da nanhte asak kaji yang si u ga nga na ni i shinggyin masha ni hpe dai hku na hkan tsun sa jahten hkawm rai, dai re ai majaw gaw dai ni anhte shinggyin masha ni i, mam mung sanyen a ga jahten nga i anhte jinghpaw ga malai ni naw nga ai, ga kaja tsun yang mung nre law nmai byin ai law nga jang galoi tim shinggyin masha ni gaw sanyen a ga jahten nga na tsun ai i. Sanyen a ga jahten nga na dai majaw anhte shinggyin masha ni gaw dai ni mam hkai sha timmung mam mung kachyi chyi sha law ai nsi ni kachyi chyi sha law ai mam nsi ni sha lu mat wa ai. Dai gaw anhte shinggyin masha ni moi ndai sanyen a ga jahten ai majaw anhte shinggyin masha ni hpe manawn ai majaw re. Dai re majaw anhte shinggyin masha ni mung asak grai jahten yang, kaji ai shaloi si ai, dai re majaw sanyen hpe mu ai shara kaw sat ai dai re, dai maumwi nga ai majaw re.
Origination date 2017-02-09
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0602
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
L. Roi Ja : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/5989e1a77776f
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), L. Roi Ja (speaker), 2017. Mam lu la ai lam (The rice and chameleon's bad omen) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0602 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/5989e1a77776f
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0602-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 25.2 KB
KK1-0602-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 4.34 MB 00:04:44.761
KK1-0602-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 157 MB 00:04:44.730
3 files -- 161 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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