Item details
Item ID
KK1-1734
Title Magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla (The elephant and the blind men) with English translation and notes
Description Translation (Seng Pan)
This is about an elephant and six blind men. There were six blind men and an elephant. A mahout rode the elephant and passed by the six blind men. At that time, the blind men said, "What is the elephant look like?" Since they were blind and didn't know anything if they didn't put their hands on, they agreed to touch the elephant. For example, if they touch this, they know it is the book. If they touch the table, they know that is the place to put on the things. They only know what it is when they touch it. Therefore, they also touched the elephant. Among six blind men, a man touched the elephant's trunk and said, "The elephant is like a rope." Another man touched the elephant's tusk and said, "The elephant is pointed like a spear." Next blind man touched the elephant's ear and said, "The elephant is like a hand fan." The other man who touched the elephant's leg said, "The elephant is like Shinglin tree (it's a kind of wood-oil tree)." He means that what he touches is like a tree, a Shinglin tree. A blind man touched the elephant's belly and said, "The elephant is like a brick wall." Another man touched the tail and said, "The elephant is like a snake." Then, the mahout gathered all the blind men and explained, "The part you touched is the elephant's trunk, the one that you touched is the elephant's tusk, the part you put your hands on is the elephant's ear, your part is the elephant's leg, the one that you touched is its belly, and that part is the elephant's tail." The mahout explained them well, and the six blind men were also so happy.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla, mi na kaga ndai gaw kaga. Ya magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla 6 nga ma ai da. Dai she magwi gawt ai wa gaw gawt sa wa ai da. Dai shaloi myikyaw ai ni gaw magwi ngu gaw kaning re re ta nga ai da. Dai shaloi she da grai masawp yu ga nga na, shanhte gaw myi nmu ai re majaw n masawp yang gaw n chyoi ai le i, masawp yang gaw chye ai, ndai hpe myi nmu ningdi masawp yang gaw laika buk re ngu, ndai masawp dat jang ning re saboi hpe masawp, aw saboi rai mara ai baw re nga chye ai zawn, shanhte gaw masawp yang she chye ma ai da. Ta hte jum yu yang she, re majaw magwi hpe chyam yu ma ai da. Marai 6 re yang gaw maria langai mi gaw da magwi jinlam dai hpe masawp ai da. Har magwi ngu ai gaw sumri zawn re she re hka i nga ai da. Re yang she bai langai mi gaw dai magwi u kawng dai hpe masawp ai, aw magwi ngu gaw n ri zawn masen re ai hka i nga ai da. Bai langai mi gaw na hpe masawp magwi na hpe masawp hkrup jang gaw aw magwi ngu gaw layit zawn re re hka i nga ai da. Bai langai mi bai re jang gaw magwi lagaw hpe masawp hkrup ai da. aw magwi ngu gaw shingli hpun zawn she re nga hka. Hpuntawng zawn re ngu mayu ai ga, shinglin hpun zawn san re i ngu tsun ai da. Bai marai langai mi gaw bai garep magwi a ndai garep hpe sa masawp, aw magwi ngu gaw wut shakum zawn re she re nga i bai nga ai da. Bai marai langai mi gaw bai n mai hpe masawp hkrup ai da. Aw magwi ngu gaw lapu hte bung ai she re nga ai nga tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she da magwi gawt ai wa gaw yawng hpe shaga la na she a tsawm ngu na magwi ngu gaw ding re na masawp ai gaw nang masawp ai gaw na nang masawp ai gaw kawng, nang masawp ai gaw jinlam, nang masawp ai gaw lagaw, nang masawp ai gaw garep, nang masawp ai gaw nmai re ngu na tsun dan ai tsun dan ai da. Tsun dan ai nga mayen ga lawm wa ai, dai ngu tsun dan ai shalen dan ai da, dan na shanhte mung grai kabu ma ai da.

Notes
1. This story is widely distributed in Asia and has its root in a parable originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent.
2. For a similar story in Lahu, see Lahu Texts (28) at: https://stedt.berkeley.edu/node/18.html
Origination date 2017-03-10
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/1734
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
M. Hka Mary : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598c868732dbe
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), M. Hka Mary (speaker), 2017. Magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla (The elephant and the blind men) with English translation and notes. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-1734 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598c868732dbe
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-1734-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 15.5 KB
KK1-1734-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 2.5 MB 00:02:43.971
KK1-1734-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 90.3 MB 00:02:43.959
3 files -- 92.8 MB -- --

Show 10 Show 50 Show all 3

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
Comments

Must be logged in to comment


No comments found