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Item details
Item ID
KK1-1754
(Collection Details)
Title Baw nu kaja ai u hku (The wise owl) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Water. The flowing water. The animals were happily playing near the pleasant water, where green plants and flowers grew. The bear was like a prime minister. One day, he hit the gong and announced, "Animals living here, if you are not helpful to humans, leave this place!" Then animals such as snakes, wild beasts, and venomous creatures left the place. At that time, the frog and the gecko went to the bear and said, "We want to be helpful to humans, but we are not strong. Let us go learn how we can be helpful to humans." They took their things and set out on their journey. The owl was inside his burrow. He was wise and knowledgeable. He asked them, "Where are you heading?" They said, "We are on our way to learn how we can be helpful to humans." The owl said, "Come here. Come." He taught them something. He taught the gecko about weather forecasting. And he taught the frog how to call for rain. People usually hear what geckos sound like. They say 'Rain' or 'Sunrise' following the gecko's sound. When it stops at 'Sunrise,' the sun will be shining. When the gecko stops at 'Rain,' it means it is going to rain. The frog that learned how to call for rain made a sound like 'Om-ing, om-ing'. Its eyes bulged out as it shouted loudly. We have heard that when the frog calls for rain, its eyes bulge out. This is the end.

Transcription (Lu Hkawng)
Ndai hka i, lwi ai hka, hka kau kaw nam ni tsit lali tsawm htap re taw ai shaloi dai kaw dusat ni ma hkra gaw dai kaw pyaw chyai sha chyai taw ai shaloi dai kaw lu sha nna nga ai shaloi gaw lani mi na ndai Tsap gaw ndai (Win-gyi asin) rai na hku nga dai wa she ndai bau dum nna e shana ai , ''Ndai shara ndai bu ndai ga kaw nga ai, dusat dumyeng ni shinggyim masha ni hpe akyu n jaw na ni gaw dai ni kawn na ndai kawn yawng hkoi'' ngu na bau dum nna ndau shana ai. Oh ra lapu ni, ndai matse labye ni shinggyim masha i dai Kawa yang e matawk rawng ai baw ni dai kawn na hkoi mat wa ai da. Dai shaloi Shu ni Kawk-gu ni dai marai lahkawng dai Tsap wa hpang sa nna she ''E du wa e, an gaw shinggyim masha ni hpe akyu gaw jaw mayu ai law rai tim an gaw n-gun atsam hte ngu yang n-gun n lu, n-gun atsam n lu rai yang kaning di na jaw na ta an hpe shinggyim masha ni hpe akyu jaw na matu hpaji naw sa sharin na ahkang jaw rit law'' ngu she shan gaw dai shan a rai sha shajoi hpai re nna sa mat sai da. Yawng mat rai yang oh Uhku gaw htaw nhkrun kaw rawng taw na hku nga Uhku mung hpaji rawng ai re nga ''E gara sa wa ai'' ngu she anhte shinggyim masha ni hpe hpaji jaw na shinggyim masha ni hpe garum na matu hpaji tam hkawm nga ga ai law ''Lung wa rit lung wa rit'' ngu shaga la she, dai nhkrun kaw shaga la yang she shanhte gaw hpa sharin ra ai i nga yang dai (Tawkte) ngu ai gaw dai ya tsun ai Kawk-gu dai kaw ya myen ga hku tsun yang (Moe-le-wa-ta-beding) ngu ai sharin ya da. Dai na dai sharin u e ngu na oh ra shawoi gaw (Moe-call-gahta) ngu ai ndai marang shaga baw sharin ya re e dai ya du hkra dai (Tawk-te) dai shinggyim masha ni na yu ai (Moe-ya- Nay -pu) (Moe-ya- Nay -pu) nga hkan shaga ti (Nay-pu) nga jang gaw Jan ja na re lo (Moe-ya) nga jang Marang htu na re law nga chye na la ti (Moe-call-gahta) sharin ai wa shi gaw (Om-ing) (Om-ing) ngu ai she shi myi tum wa ntsa de male mat ai da. nau jahtau nna shi gaw myi pyi male mat nna dai marang shaga ai Shu gaw myi male mat ai nga dai ni na yu ai le i, ndai kaw htum sai.
Origination date 2017-03-10
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/1754
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
M. Hting Dan : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598c86df69557
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), M. Hting Dan (speaker), 2017. Baw nu kaja ai u hku (The wise owl) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-1754 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598c86df69557
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-1754-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 13.5 KB
KK1-1754-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 2.43 MB 00:02:39.659
KK1-1754-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 87.9 MB 00:02:39.637
3 files -- 90.4 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 August 5, 2025, the collection includes 2,491 stories, 2,491 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,610 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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