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Item details
Item ID
KK1-1603
(Collection Details)
Title Ladat jaw ai wa hte hkan sa ai wa (The stupid man) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Once upon a time, there was a man. He was stupid. One day, he went out to collect some grass for his buffaloes and cows. It was far away from his house. He collected grass for his animals. When it was getting dark, he thought of going home. He tied the grass into a large bundle and placed it on his shoulder pole. And he went back home. It was a heavy bundle of grass. He thought, "Why is it so heavy? Such a heavy bundle!" He was angry and looked at his grass bundle. He thought, "This is so heavy! I should hang something heavy on the other side of the yoke to balance the weight." He tied a big rock to the other side of his shoulder pole. And he continued carrying it. Then it made it heavier for him to carry. It was more difficult for him to carry, so he took a rest for a while on the way. At that time, an old man came towards him and asked him, "What are you doing?" He answered, "I am heading back home after collecting grass for my cows and buffaloes. It's really heavy, so I hang a rock on the other side to balance it and carry it. It makes it heavier. I don't know what to do." The old man said, "You are such a stupid man. If you divide your bundle of grass into two smaller bundles, it will be easier for you to carry. It won't be too heavy. So, throw the rock away and divide the bundle into two. Then hang one on each side. Then it will be easier for you." He said, "Okay." And he did as the old man said. He found it easier to carry, so he felt grateful to him. He told the old man, "Grandpa, where do you live? I will live at your house. I want to learn from you." The old man said, "You won't learn anything from me. At the moment, I'm traveling from place to place. So, you just stay here." He simply helped him divide the grass into two bundles and sent him home. This is the end.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Moi shawng ye da i la langai mi gaw da la langai mi nga ai da. Dai la wa gaw grai anya ai da shi gaw i dai lani mi na aten hta gaw da shi na nga wuloi ni dumsu ni hpe she i shi gaw nam jaw sha na tsin jaw sha na ngu na shi gaw tsin hpe tam sa mat wa sai da. Shi nga ai shara hte grai tsan ai da lo dai tsin tam sa ai shara gaw dai she shi dai de sa mat wa re she tsin ni ma lu la wa sai shana de ma du wa sai majaw ning sin wa sai ngu na shi gaw lawang wa ra ngu na she shi gaw tsin ni hpe mung shabawn kaba re di na shabawn langai sha bawn na shi gaw dai kaw oh ra hpang shingna kaw she i um hpai ti na wa sai da. Wa re she grai li da lu grai li na she shi gaw gar ndai ram li ai rai gaw ndai ram ram li ai rai gaw ngu na shi gaw pawt mayu na she yu dat she ndai ram ram li ai gaw ndai hte bung ai li hpa langai bai bang dat na re ngu na shi gaw nlung tawng kaba hpe grit la ti na she dai shingna kaw bai bang ai da yaw dai shina kaw bai hprawn na shi gaw hpai wa hpai wa re dai shaloi gaw grai li na shi gaw um dai hku nau li na shi gaw grai nga yak na she dai makau kaw jahking mi hkring taw she dingla langai mi sa ai da. Shi na makau kaw sa wa na she nang hpa di taw ai rai ngu tsun ai da. Ngai ngai na dumsu wuloi ni sha na matu tsin wa tam ai ya she wa ai ni nau li ti na pi naw nlung tawng hte hpai nga grau bai li taw na ngai kaning nchye di na hkring taw nga ai ngu dai hku tsun yang she nang i nang gaw da i anya ai ndai tsin hpe ndai tsin hpe gaw i lahkawng shabawn na hpai yang nang na matu grau hkyem sa ai li ma nau n li sai dai majaw ndai nlung hpe hpyen kau ti na tsin hpe bai e lahkawng brang bai galaw kau ti na hpai u rai yang nang grai pyaw sa na ra ai ngu tsun yang she e nga na she dai hku galaw kau na hpai yang she grai tsan na shi gaw grai chyeju dum na dai hku dingla kaw tsun ai da. Dai dingla kaw tsun yang dwi la i nang nga ai shara gara kaw rai ngu ngai nang na nta kaw nga na um i dang re hpaji ni hpe sharing la mayu ai ngu tsun yang she i ndai gaw hpaji hpaji sharing la kaw na e hpaji gaw hpaji gaw ngai gaw i sharing la yang gaw i nlu ai le i ngai gaw i ya ten hta gaw da i um gara shara hkan ni chyam hkawm ra ai dai majaw nang gaw dai kaw sha nga taw sanu ngu na dai hku tsun na shi hpe gaw i dai tsin shabawn sha galaw kau dat na shi hpe wa kau shangu ai da.
Origination date 2017-02-25
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/1603
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
N. Seng Nu Mai : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598c8442aed7c
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), N. Seng Nu Mai (speaker), 2017. Ladat jaw ai wa hte hkan sa ai wa (The stupid man) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-1603 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598c8442aed7c
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-1603-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 20.7 KB
KK1-1603-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 2.22 MB 00:02:25.919
KK1-1603-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 80.4 MB 00:02:25.913
3 files -- 82.6 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 a community-based collaborative fieldwork project in northern Myanmar. As of July 29, 2025, the collection includes 2,491 stories, 2,491 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,606 translations.


Transcriptions were contributed by Gumtung Lu Awng, Pausa La Ring, Galang Lu Hkawng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, and Keita Kurabe. Translations were prepared by Nbanpa Rita Seng Mai, Sumlut Gun Mai, Lazing Htoi San, Maran Seng Pan, Dumdaw Mike Tu Awng, Nhkum Htoi Awng, and Keita Kurabe.

Related resources on Kachin culture and history are available at:

https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK2
https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK3
https://www.youtube.com/@kachinfolktales
https://www.facebook.com/KachinStories

This research was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Numbers JP17H04523, JP20K13024, JP20H01256, JP24K03887), Linguistic Dynamics Science 3 (LingDy3), Description and Documentation of Language Dynamics in Asia and Africa　(DDDLing), and TUFS Field Science Commons (TUFiSCo), all from the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), as well as the 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
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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
Metadata
RO-Crate Metadata
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