Item details
Item ID
KK1-0451
Title Nhtu lu la ai lam (How men got swords) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Once upon a time, there were two motherless boys in a village. They were Hkai Gam and Hkai Naw. Their father was a dragon. One day, they two were playing near a lake where their father lived. They wanted to build a boat. But they didn't have a knife to cut the wood. So, they were hitting pieces of iron to make a knife near the lake. They hit the iron every day to get a knife. Then, the dragon came out of the water and said, "My children, what are you two doing? I can't sleep well because of the sound." They replied, "We need a knife. So, we are making it." The dragon asked them, "What are you going to do with that knife?" They said, "We are going to build a boat." He said, "If you two really want to have a boat, I will give you a knife. Use it. And build a boat like a vaginant leaf (which is used for divining)." He also gave them some wood and showed them how to build a boat. Then, they two started cutting the wood with that knife and built a boat. After they had built, they tested rowing a boat in the water. They went fishing and caught many fish, prawns and crabs. One time, they got a big fish when they went fishing. They put that big fish on the side deck of the boat. And they cut it with their knife. At that time, the boat broke into two parts. The two brothers were on each side. The elder brother was on one half, which led to the up-river area, while the younger brother was on another half, which led to the lower river area. They were separated. The elder brother kept rowing towards the up-river area and reached at one stream. He saw the land and went up there. There were only monkeys there. He lived there and got married to a female monkey. He spent his life there and got older. On the other hand, the younger brother reached a place where people lived. He also lived there and got married to a lady. Many years later, he really wanted to meet his brother again. He could remember where the boat split. He knew that his brother would be somewhere in the up-river area. So, he went up along the river with his friends to find his elder brother. He kept going and saw the stream. Then, he thought his brother would be somewhere this stream ended. He had to go past some streams and land. At that time, he saw that there was a farm. There was rice growing too. Seem like some people were living there. But, he didn't see any people. Suddenly, he saw that there was a creature like human carrying a basket. He was looking at that carefully. When he looked at it carefully, it didn't look like a human. He saw that it was eating the rice and putting the rice plants into the basket too. He and his friends thought, "It is eating the rice plants. It couldn't be a human." So, they shot it with the gun and killed it. They didn't know that it was his brother's wife. Then, they kept going through a lane. At that time, they saw that there was a man who was sitting on a branch of a tree together with some monkeys. But, he acted like a monkey. He was sitting upright on a tree near the stream, and the other baby monkeys were sitting on his laps and shoulders. The younger brother looked carefully at him and saw that he was his elder brother. The younger brother thought, "I will call his name. If he is my brother, he will respond." With that thought, he called, "My brother." Then, that man answered, "Ahhh." He answered like a monkey. There was hair all over his elder brother's face and body. But, he still had his face when he was young. So, the younger brother could remember him. When he called his elder brother, he responded to him. The elder brother asked, "You are Hkai Naw, aren't you? How did you come here? By the way, did you see your sister-in-law on the way?" Then, he said, "I am not sure she is my sister-in-law or not. We saw one woman who was carrying a basket. But, we killed her." His elder brother was upset and said, "Why did you kill her? She is your sister-in-law. Today, these kids will not have anything to eat." At that time, he was angry and said to his elder brother, "Sister-in-law? Stop talking nonsense!" He pointed at the baby monkeys and continued, "What are they?" His brother said, "They are my babies." Then, he said, "How could a human live with an animal? Let's go back!" He took his brother back to his home. And the knife which they used when they accidentally broke the boat was with the younger brother. When they arrived at the village, he showed his elder brother that knife. And he said, "Because of this knife, we had to be apart. But this knife is really glorious. We could drive all bad luck and bad things out of this village by this knife." They two spent the rest of their lives happily there. Since Hkai Naw had got two sons, he gave that knife to his sons. The two sons knew that the knife was really glorious because their father had told them about it. They took the knife and travelled to another village. In that village, there was no human. There were only houses which people didn't live in. Then, they walked every house in and out. There, they saw a thing like a box. They opened it and were surprised. There were two girls inside that box. The two girls said, "Why are you two coming to this village? There are no people in this village anymore. Only we two left. We are also afraid, so we are hiding in this box. Run away from this village. You can't stay here!" Then, the two brothers asked, "What kind of monster came to you? Why aren't there any people in this village? Tell us! We are not scared! We have a knife too." The two sisters said, "Okay then. We will tell you about that. When we call a pig, a snake comes out and eats people. If we winnow rice on a bamboo tray, a big bird flies down to the village and picks up a person. If we pound the rice, an ogress comes to our village." So, the two brothers said to the girls, "Then, you two try to winnow rice. Let's see if the big bird really comes or not." Not long after they winnowed the rice, the big bird flew down to peck at them. At that time, the two brothers quickly cut the bird with the knife. The bird was killed. Its head and neck were separated. The two brothers said, "See. Don't be afraid. We will kill those dangerous monsters with this knife. Now, call the pig." The two girls called the pig by producing the sound "Mawh, mawh". Then, a huge snake really crawled out from the back of the village. The two brothers asked the girls, "In which path does the snake usually crawl out?" The girls showed the way. Then, the brothers put the knife on the way of the snake crawling. The snake went over the knife, and its body was cut open automatically. Inside its belly, there were many dead villagers. The brothers said, "Now, we've killed the snake too. What's left to kill?" The girls said, "There is an ogress left." The brothers said to them, "Then, pound the rice." So, they pounded the rice, and the sound of pounding rice was coming out rhythmically, 'duk, duk, duk'. At that time, the ogress came from the forest by holding a cudgel. The brothers called the ogress, "Grandma, come here. Come and sit down, please. You must be tired walking." And they took the cudgel from the ogress. Actually, the cudgel was very important for her. When they took the club, the ogress was very angry. She said, "This is not what you could use! You can't touch it!" They asked, "Why?" Then, she explained, "If you hit someone with this side, he will die. If you hit someone with that side of the club, he will be alive." They said, "Ah, like that. We understand." And they hit the ogress with the side of the cudgel, which could make someone dead. The ogress was dead right there. They said, "Now, let's take the dead people out from the snake's belly. Let's make them alive." And then, they touched the dead with the side of the cudgel, which could resurrect people. Every villager was resurrected. There were many people in the village now. The brothers protected the village with that glorious knife. They built a peaceful village and lived happily there for the rest of their lives.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Moi shawng e da ndai jahkrai ma 2 le i, hkai naw hkai gam re na hku ang ai ya tsun yang dai ma 2 gaw da kanu n lu mat sai jahkrai ma re. Dai jahkrai ma 2 she ndai kawa ngu na gaw baren re na kun, i kanawng la-ing makau kaw she shan 2 gaw gasup taw na ai da yaw. Gasup taw nga na she shan 2 gaw hkali galaw mayu ai majaw le i, hkali galaw mayu ai majaw shan 2 gaw nhtu ra taw ai le. Nhtu ra re na she shan 2 gaw hpyi adaw atang zawn re hpe she adup hkrai adup re na she hka kau kaw agying adup shangoi taw ai da. Hpang shani bai du tim adup, kade ya mung kade ya dai n htu ra na re le i, nhtu byin hkra adup hkrai adup taw re jang she dai hka kata ka la-ing kata kaw rawng ai shi kawa ngu na baren dingla gaw pru wa na she nan nau 2 ngai yup nlu sha, na hpang ai ngu yang hpa baw galaw taw ai ngu san yang shan nau gaw an nau nhtu grai ra ai ngu tsun ai da. Nhtu hpa baw galaw na ngu tsun yang she nhtu hte hkali galaw la na ngu tsun ai da. Hkali galaw na hpun daw na hkali shachyaw la na ngu she, aw dai ram hkali ra yang ngai jaw dik ga ngu na she shi gaw nhtu langai jaw dat ai da. Nhtu jaw dat, ndai lang u, ndai lang di na hkali ma ndai zawn re galaw u ngu na she shaba lap langai mi di la na i, shawn shawn re dai galaw na she n dai zawn re galaw u yaw ngu na hpun tawng hpe akrawk la na i, hkali hpe ndai zawn re shaba lap zawn re galaw u ngu na sharin dat ya ai da. Re di na shan nau ma ndai lang di na hpu daw la hkali akawk la na shan nau gaw nhtu dai hpe hpye tawn na gau chyam yu ai le i, hka kata de dai hkali hpe ganawng na gau hkawm re na nga rim hkawm na hku nga, nga rim hkawm, nga ma rim hpa (amyo song) dai hku rim hkawm taw nga she, kalang mi shan nau nga kaba law lu ai hku re nga. Kaba law lu ai shaloi she nga dai gaw dai hkali (bawng) kaw le i, hkali shakum kaw tawn mara tawn na she kahtam dat ai wa hkali wa daw 2 byin mat wa ai le. Daw 2 byin mat wa rai na she kahpu gaw maga mi de kahpu gaw ndai hkahku maga de ang ai, kanau gaw hkanam maga de byin mat wa ai da. Dan re na she shan nau gaw kaga ga rai mat wa sai le, nga mung daw daw, hkali mung daw daw re di na shan 2 re mat wa re shaloi she kahpu gaw da hkahku maga de lung mat wa, lung hkrai lung mat wa she hto hkahku hkyet mat sai hkashi kasha sha byin sai dai kaw du hkra du mat wa da, du mat wa she shi gaw dai hka hkyet mat jang she hkahku du jang shi gaw dai kawng de lung mat wa ai le. Lung mat wa na nam de masha ma nnga, woi ni hkrai kaman nga ai hkahku de nga hkawm mat re na she num mung woi num la mat ai hku re nga shi gaw woi num la na woi hte htinghku de na nga mat wa re na she dingla mat sai da. Grai dingla na nga taw hkra re sai da, shaning grai na mat wa ai shaloi kanau ma kanau gaw hkanam de yu mat wa re jang she kanau gaw le masha nga ai mare de du mat wa ai le shi, du mat wa re na shinggyin masha atsawm sha tai, shinggyin masha hte sha dinghku de re na mare langai mi kaw nga, dingla re jang she, asak grai kaba yang shi kahpu hpe grai hkrum mayu wa ai majaw nye hpu hte ngai hte kachyi sha naw law ai kaw na hka mat wa ai re wa nga na shan nau gaw hkali daw mat ai shara dai ni ma shi matsing da ai nga jang she hkahku de e rai na re, nye hpu gaw i ngai naw wa tam yu na ngu na lanimi gaw shi manang ni hte rau hkahku de lung wa sai da yaw. Hkahku hto dai shi hpu na hkali wa htum ai shara ngu na wa jahtum e shara ngu na ram kaw shi ndai hkan tam yu sana ngu na shi hpu hpe dai hku na hkashi hku na hkan lung wa, kawng de bai du, kawng de bai lung bai yu tam hkrai tam mat wa she shara mi kaw gaw yi zawn re galaw da ai nga ai da. Masha nga ai zawn re nga ai mare gaw nnga ai da, retim mung ndai yi langai mi mam ma hkai da ai da, dai zawn re yi langai mi kaw du re shaloi gaw shi ndai yi kata kaw yu dat yang masha mung nmu ai da. Masha n mu timmung shingnoi gun ai gaw mare langai mi masha zawn zawn tsan tsan kaw na yu ai le i. Masha zawn zawn dusat zawn zawn re na shanhte ni gaw oh ra hpa re kun, shingnoi gun ai masha gaw re kun, atsawm bai yu yang masha bai nre ai da. Ndai mam mung ndai n-gup de na di bang shingnoi de ma di bang re taw ai da. Dan re jang e ndai n-gup hte mam di bang ai gaw masha nre na re ngu na she shanhte gun ai sanat dumhpau dai rau wa she dai woi kanu hpe n grau kanu hpe gap sat kau ai da. Dai n grau kanu gaw shi kahpu a madu jan re ma nchye ai le. Nchye re na gap sat kau da na re mat wa re shaloi she, lam kachyi chyi numsum lam ni hku dai hku na hkan hkawm mat wa re shaloi she dai kaja wa shi hpu ning re hka hkyin gau kaw tu ai hpun lakung langai kaw she shi hpu hte woi dai n grau kasha ni hte rau she sumpum mi ting kahpu mung n grau zawn byin mat sai da. Lahput kaw i lahput sha ma grai dingla sai majaw le lahput 2 a lapran kaw baw matep na i dai hku n grau kasha ni gaw shi kasha ni gaw ndai baw hkan, lahpa hkan e dung taw nga re na she, oh ra gaw masha zawn zawn gaw re law ngu na shi kanau gaw yu da. Myi man hpe atsawm yu yu she shi kahpu na myi man re taw ai da. Dan na she shi gaw um ndai nye hpu rai yang htan wa na re nga na shi gaw hpu ngu na shaga dat na hku ga, hka hkaraw kaw na i hto hka hkinggau kaw tu ai hpun ntsa na masha zawn zawn re dingla hpe shaga dat yang she shi hpu rai taw na oh ngu na she ndai nsen pyi gaw naw woi nsen she byin wa sai da. Ta hkan e ndai myi man hkan e yawng mun hkrai hkrai re na she woi raw re taw nga, retim shi hpu re myi man gaw moi na kaji yang na myi man naw nsam hpe naw chye yu ai majaw shi gaw shi hpu re nga na hpu ngu dat jang woh ngu na htan na she, nang manaw nre i ngu yang re le, ya gara de na du wa ai lam kaw na rat hpe nmu ai i ngu na hku nga, dai shaloi she e rat re kun hpa re kun n chye, shingnoi de mung di bang, n gup kaw di bang re yi langai mi kaw mu kau da ai nga. Dai ngai gap galau kau da sai ngu na hku nga. Shaloi she e hpa re na gap galau kaw ai n dai ma ni shat hpa n sha sai dai na gaw, dai na n rat she re goi ngu woi nsen hku she shaga mat ai da. Dai shaloi she shi kanau gaw shi kahpu hpe pawt mayu na hpa baw na rat rat ngu na she ndai gaw e dai nye kasha ni re ngu na she bai maga rai, dai tawn kau da u, ngu tsun ai da, sa sa ngai kaw hkan yu wa ga, ndai dusat hte dinghku de sha ai baw nre ngu na she, a hpre jahkrat, dai woi kasha woi grau ni hpe ma ah hpre kau da na dun la na shi hpe dun la na she hkanam de bai woi yu wa na masha nga ai mare de du wa sai da. Shi kanau kaw gaw mi na ntau nhtu shan 2 ndai hkali kahtam di kau ai n htu gaw kanau kaw lawm mat wa ai hku re nga. Rai yang she dai n htu dai gaw bai kanau kaw naw nga, moi an nau lang ai n htu dai re nga ai ngu na mare de woi wa na shi kahpu hpe wa madun, aw ndai n htu a majaw an nau hka mat wa ai rai nga ai. Retim mung ndai nhtu gaw hpung shingkang grai rawng ai nhtu re nga na she, ndai nhtu hte ndai mare kaw na i n kaja ai ni yawng hpe e anhte sat kau ai re ngu na tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she shan 2 mung la re na dai nhtu dai hpe gaw shanhte a kashu kasha ni hpe bai jaw kau da ai da. Shan a kasha 2 dai mung dai kaw na manaw a kasha ngu na 2 la kasha 2 sha ngam sai le, shan 2 si mat ai hpang dai 2 kaw dai nhtu bai lang da re na she lani mi la kasha dai 2 gaw dai mare de nhtu lang na wam hkawm, nhtu dai gaw hpung shingkang rawng ai re chye ai le i, chye ai shan nau, kawa hkai dan da ai majaw chye na dai nhtu lang na bai mare langai de sa wa shaloi she, mare dai kaw masha 1 ma nnga ai da. Masha 1 mung nnga, nta gaw gaman gaman grai law taw da. Dai shaloi she aw ndai nta gaw masha nnga gara hku re i gara hku re i nta hkan ne yawng hkan hpaw yu,hkan kalap hkawm yu she sadek zawn re 1 kaw she num sha 2 rawng taw ai da. Num sha 2 rawng taw na she dai numsha yen 2 gaw da e nan nau ni hpa rai na ningkaw sa wa ma ni, ndai mare kaw na masha yawng ma sai. An 2 sha ngam sai ya an 2 hpe pyi sa sha kau na hkrit na an 2 gaw ndai sadek kaw makaoi taw ai re, lawan hprawng mu, lawan hprawng mu, ndai kaw nmai nga ai ngu na dai yen 2 tsun jang she aw nan nau dai hpa baw sa wa wa re ta? ngu tsun, pru wa yu, pru wa yu, an 2 hpa n hkrit ai, an 2 kaw n htu lawm ai i, dai majaw nan 2 pru wa u, pru wa na tsun dan u, ndai mare kaw hpa baw majaw, hpa baw sa sha kau kau re na masha ma mat wa ai re ngu tsun yang she, dai num sha 2 ya an nau tsun dan na wa shaga yang gaw lapu kaba sa na masha sa mayu sha kau ai ngu da. Re na she ndai u kaba law pyen sa wa yang gaw ndai n gu katsap yang gaw u kaba law ai pyen sa wa ai da. Dai shaloi she masha sa hpai mat wa wa re ai da. Dan na she ndai wa yaw mam htu yang gaw lep dinggai sa wa ai ngu tsun ai da. Dan re jang gaw dai lep dinggai e dai re jang gaw gai gai nan 2 mam htu yu, n gu shawng katsap mu ngu tsun ai da, n gu shawng katsap ngu jang n gu katsap dan yu, u sa wa ai kun yu yaw ngu, n gu katsap dan re shaloi she kaja wa u kaba law pyen sa wa na she i shanhte hpe agying ah chye na hku na sa wa she kalang ta dai ntawng nhtu rau ning hku di dat ai hku nga, dai hku di dat ai hte dai u gaw daw 2 byin mat sai le i, baw kaw na di mat na di hkrat kalang ta dai kaw di hkrat si mat ai da. Mu ai nre i ngu, dan jang nan 2 hkum hkrit sa yaw ya anhte ndai nhtu rau sat kau na re ngu na, ya bai ah she shaga yu u, wa bai shaga yu ngu tsun ai da, wa shaga rai dai numsha yen maw maw ngu na wa shaga jang she kaja wa shingnawm de na lapu kaba law majoi she manai makai re na sa wa sai da. Sa wa re yang she lapu gara lam hku sa wa ai rai nga yang ndai lam hku sa wa ai ngu jang dai kaw shan a nhtu dai hkra di da jang she lapu dai gaw dai nhtu hku lai lai, lai gaw lai tim shi na hkum gaw daw mat sai da, daw daw daw rai dai lapu galu kaw rawng ai masha wa hpa mare kaw na masha hkrai gaman re da. Dai she yawng jasi rawng taw ai le i, jasi rawng taw masha gaw dai hku re di na she gai ya lapu mung sat kau sai, ya hpa baw naw ngam ai ngu, lep dinggai naw nga ai ngu tsun ai da. Mam htu dat yu, mam htu, mam bai moi na ta htum hte i duk duk ngu htu jang she kaja wa lep dinggai daw hkrawng lang na sa wa sai da. Duk duk re na nam kaw na daw hkrawng lang na sa wa re shaloi she shan 2 gaw ndai la kasha yen gaw grai zen ai da. Grai zen di na she ah dwi ning kaw dung u, grai ba na sai ah dwi gaw ngu na she i, ah dwi lam hkawm sa wa grai ba na sai, nang kaw dung u ngu na she dai daw hkrawng gaw shan 2 gan lang kau ya sai le i, daw hkrawng dai kaw hpa baw ngu na i, daw hkrawng dai gaw dai dinggai na matu gaw grai ah hkyak ai rai nga. Dai majaw dai daw hkrawng gan la dat jang she, dai dinggai gaw pawt wa ai da, e ndai daw hkrawng nanhte nmai kajam ai ngu tsun ai hku nga, dai jang she hpa byin ai ngu tsun yang she daw hkrawng ndai gaw ndai maga hku ah chyaw yang gaw si wa ai, ndai maga hku ah chyaw yang gaw hkrung wa ai ngu na tsun dan dat ai da, aw re i dwi ngu na she dung shangun da na she dai dinggai hpe kalang ta dai si wa ai maga hku ret di la na she daw hkranwg dai hpe ret di la na she si wa ai maga hku dinggai hpe a nyaw dat jang dinggai dai gaw si mat ai da. Nhtu rau pyi n kahtam ra ai dai dinggai hpe shi daw hkrawng rau shi hpe a nyaw sat kau re na she gai ya hkrung ai maga hku oh ra lapu kan kaw na masha ni hpe sa shaw la ga ngu na she dai daw hkrang dai la na she lapu na kan hkan na masha jasi ni hpe yawng bai sa a nyaw jahkrung la na dai mare kaw e masha bai woi nga mat ai da. Masha grai law hkra bai ya hpa ma nhkrit ra sai ngu ndai nhtu gaw grai hpung shingkang rawng ai re, ndai nhtu rau dai mare hpe makawp maga di na ya grai ngwi pyaw ai mare ni buga ni shabyin shatai sa wa sai da. Dai jahkrai ma 2 gaw i.
Origination date 2017-02-05
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0451
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. Sau Wan : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598895cc145c4
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), L. Sau Wan (speaker), 2017. Nhtu lu la ai lam (How men got swords) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0451 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598895cc145c4
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0451-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 51.9 KB
KK1-0451-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 12.8 MB 00:14:00.46
KK1-0451-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 462 MB 00:14:00.20
3 files -- 475 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 1,437 translations are currently available (November 23, 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, JP24K03887, 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
Metadata
RO-Crate Metadata
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