Item details
Item ID
KK1-1094
Title Lep kanu a lam (The mythical wild-woman inhabiting the wilderness) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Long time ago, there was a village. The villagers mainly did farming for their living. That year, grass grew rapidly on their farms. Then, two women went to pluck the grass in their farms. While they were plucking the grass, one woman said, "Let's sleep here tonight." Another woman said, "Okay." When she heard the reply, she thought that there was her friend on the other side of the farm. So, she said, "Then, you find some vegetables to eat. I will cook the rice first." Her friend said, "Okay. I will." It was getting dark, and she went back to the hut in her farm. Her friend came back and showed her, "See. I got lots of vegetables." When she looked at those, there were only worms and caterpillars. Then, she said, "You cook the curry since I've cooked the rice." After getting the curry, they prepared to eat dinner. The human woman was frightened and didn't eat the curry. She was pretending to eat. Then, Lep (a Nat spirit which has very long hair and the nose is on the back of her face) who was pretending like her friend saw that and said, "Why do you throw that delicious curry without eating?" Then, Lep (a Nat spirit) picked that up and ate that. After having dinner, they got sleepy. Before they slept, the human woman asked Lep, "How do you sleep at night?" Lep said, "Like this," and showed how she slept. Then, the human woman immediately knew that she was not her friend. She said, "No, we sleep as our mouth is open." So, Lep said, "I will also sleep like that." Then, she slept as she opened her mouth. While Lep was sleeping, the human woman thought, "I will melt my bronze hand chain and pour it in the mouth of her." With that thought, she melted her hand chain. When she looked at Lep, she was sleeping soundly. Then, the woman poured it in Lep's (Nat spirit) mouth. In the past, all living things such as trees, bamboos could speak. After she had poured the liquid into Lep's mouth, she prepared to go back to her house. She said to the farm, "I will go back now. If someone asks you that I go past the farm, please say I didn't go past." Then she said like that to sand, rivers, streams, rocks, birds, trees, leaves, rice plants and everything she had passed through. When she went across the streams, she said, "If somebody asks me, say I didn't go across the streams, please." After some time, she got home. Lep (an evil Nat spirit) asked everything on the way to the human woman's house if she went passed by. But all said, "No, she didn't go past." The evil Nat thought, "Even though they said she didn't go past, I will follow her. Since she is one of the villagers, she will definitely go back to the village. I have to follow there. I will just ask everything when I arrive at the village." But the human woman had already said to everything she went past, "If someone asks you if I go past, say I didn't." She said like that to every living thing in her house compound too. She told the fruit trees, pigs, chickens, grass, and thatch the same. And she said to the paddy mortar, "Say you didn't see me, okay?" She also said to the ladder, "Say I didn't step on you." But, she forgot to say to a cock. Then, when Lep (evil spirit) arrived the woman's house, the cock said, "She went past! In the house! In the house!" So, Lep went into the house. When we first went under the blanket and slept, our feet were cold. The one who went under the blanket for a long time got his feet warm. Lep knew that and said, "Warm or cold? Warm? Cold?" And Lep was checking who the woman was. The woman was lying in the middle. Then, Lep got to touch the cold feet and ate the human woman immediately. This is the end.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Moi shawng de mare langai mi nga ai da. Dai mare masha ni gaw yi hkrai hkyen sha ai da, yi hkyen sha re shaloi she, dai shaning gaw da tsing grai laja ai shaning re ai da. Tsing grai kaja ai shaning re na she, yi tsing sa magang ai da, num 2 gaw yi tsing sa magang yang shi na yi, nye na yi hku na sa magang re shaloi she jan du wa re shaloi she nang maga na kana jan gaw e ning dai na yi yup ga i ngu tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she au lo ngu tsun ai da oh ra maga na wa gaw au lo ngu tsun yang she kaja wa she shi gaw shi manang wa nga taw ai shadu sai le i. Shadu yang gaw e ning wa rit lo nang si mai simaw tam na wa rit yaw, ngai shat shadu da na ngu tsun ai da, mai ai lo bai ngu da, dai hku nga yang she jan du wa yang she shi gaw wa sai da. E simai simawng grai lu wa ai ngu di she shaw dan yang wa she, latung sumbra ni hkrai wa rai she shi gaw hkrit na ya simai gaw nang shadu u, shat gaw ngai shadu sai ngu tsun na e mai ai ngu di shi shadu ai da, dai shaloi she shan 2 gaw shat sha saka nga shat sha re shaloi she ndai shinggyin masha jan gaw hkrit na she shi gaw anhte shinggyin masha ni gaw n mai sha ai gaw i, dan re gaw shi gaw sha masu su na chyinghkyen n pu de jahkrat bang kau kau re da, dai she dai lep jan wa gaw mu di na she e ning e nang dai ram mu ai hpe wa dingdi kau gaw hka ngu di shi gaw hta sha kau da. Hta sha kau na she hpang e gaw gai ya gaw yup ten du sai nanhte shinggyin masha ni gara hku yup ai ngu tsun ai da, dai shaloi she shi gaw dai hku ngu tsun ai hte shi gaw lep kanu re grau na chye mat ai le i, anhte shinggyin masha ni yup yang ning nga na n gup mahka na yup ai ngu tsun ai da. N gup mahka na yup ai, reng gaw ngai mung n gup mahka na yup na re ngu da, num dai gaw shi nyan nyan sai da, ndai shi n gup mahka di yup ai shaloi nye na magri tawng hpe wan ju da na a hkyeng ngan di na n gup kaw bang kau da na re ngu na shi myit ai da. Dai myit re shaloi she kaja wa she shi gaw ju taw sai da, nat num jan gaw hkrawk nga di yup taw sai da, n gup mahka di na yup taw re na shi gaw dai magri tawng kaw wan grai hkyeng ai dai hta la na n gup kaw kashaw bang kau da ya ai da. Kashaw bang kau da ya da, moi prat gaw da ndai asak n hkrung ai lam ndai hpun tawng hpun kawa mahkra ni hte ga chye shaga ai da, ga chye shaga re shaloi she gai yi wa e ngai naw wa sa na ngai hpe le ai i nga, nle ai ngu tsun ya yaw hpuntawng hpunla e hkashi hkanu e zaibru e, n lung e uri ugan e, hpuntawng hpunla kawa alap ni e namlap ni e mam ni e yawng hpe tu matu hkrung mahkrung shi laiwa laiwa yawng hpe tsun ai da. Tsun masha lai wa i nga, n lai wa ai ngu tsun yaw, masha lai i nga n lai wa ai ngu tsun yaw ngu she, e hkashi hkanu e ngai naw rap na masha rap ai i nga n rap ai ngu tsun ya yaw ngu dai hku yawng hpe dai hku ngu na shi lai lai lai hpuntawng langai shingkawt yang mung dai hku ngu tsun yawng hpe dai hku tsun na nta de du wa sai da. Yawng shingkawt hkrai shingkawt dai hku di na she shi gaw tsun sai da, nlai n lai nga she nat wa mung bai tsun ai da, lep wa mung i, mi nang hku masha nlai ai i, n lai ai, nlai ai , nlai ai nga she n lai ai nga tim naw shachyut naw hkan yu ra ai ngu na hku nga, nlai ai ngu tim naw hkan yu da, shi gaw myitja ai le i, hpa mi nga nga ndai mare de re sai nga na shi gaw n re lo hkashi hkarap hkan lai yang mung nang kaw masha n lai ai i nga san, n lai ai lo ngu san oh ra ni gaw kachyi kajau tsun dat ya, nlai ai nga na gaw grai tsun ai re she n lai timmung mare masha re majaw ndai gaw naw hkan yu na ngu tsun ai da. Mare kaw du yang she san na ngu na hku nga, du re yang gaw mare kaw du yang gaw shi na nta du na hkyen ai lam ni hpe mung yawng tsun sai, nga ma nga shi lai malai shi mu ma mu nga manga yawng hpe masha lai n lai ngu, n lai ai ngu tsun shanhte nta wang kaw du ai da. Nta wang kaw du re she shi a namsi hpun ni hpe ma tsun ai da, namsi hpun ni e ngai lai masha lai kun nga n lai ai ngu tsun ya rit yaw, u ni wa ni e masha lai ai kun n lai ai ngu tsun ya rit yaw, tsingdu tsingman ni e mumhkaw shingrun ni e, ning nga na shingrun ni e tsun re she ndai mam htu ai baw htum ni htummun ni e masha shang wa i nga n shang wa ai ngu tsun, lakang e masha lung wa i nga nlung wa ngu tsun u yaw n tawt e masha kabye ai i nga n kabye ai ngu tsun u yaw ngu tsun ai da. Dai kaw she shi gaw u la tanggawng hpe tsun da malap na hku nga, u la tanggawng hpe tsun da malap re na she e lai wa lo shang wa lo shang wa lo ngu di u la tanggawng kajet she kajet na tsun na hku nga. Kajet she kajet na tsun ai shang wa ai da, re na shi gaw dai kata de shang na hku nga. Dai she shanhte gaw ya nnan shang na wa yup taw ai gaw katsi na re nga le i, mi yup taw ai ni gaw grai lum taw na nga le dai kaw. Katsi nlum, katsi n lum ngu di she shi gaw madat hkawm ai hku ta shawn na chyam hkawm ai shaloi she ka-ang kaw wa she yup taw na hku re nga, kaang kaw yup ai she dai wa she nang i kaang kaw wa yup tim nang gaw katsi ai gaw ngu di she garawt sha kau ai da, dai lep maumwi gaw dai kaw ngut sai.
Origination date 2017-02-15
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/1094
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. Nang Mai : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598b32ab3e408
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), L. Nang Mai (speaker), 2017. Lep kanu a lam (The mythical wild-woman inhabiting the wilderness) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-1094 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598b32ab3e408
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-1094-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 27 KB
KK1-1094-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 3.78 MB 00:04:08.319
KK1-1094-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 137 MB 00:04:08.294
3 files -- 140 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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