Item details
Item ID
KK1-1653
Title Jahkrai ma hte sahte wa a lam (The honest orphan) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Once upon a time, there was an orphan boy who worked as a daily wage farmer at a rich man's house. The rich man often hired other daily wage workers, but they were not hardworking. He never continued hiring them for more than a year. However, the orphan boy was well-mannered and hardworking. He hired the pure-hearted orphan boy to work on his farm every year. One day, after plowing the field, the orphan boy took a break for lunch. While he was sitting down to eat lunch, a beggar approached and asked him for some food. The beggar said, "Kid, I am starving. I came here to ask for some food." The poor boy said, "Grandpa, I only cooked enough for myself. If I give it to you, I will have nothing to eat." The beggar said, "Please, give me some food. I am starving." Then the poor boy gave food to the beggar. The farm owner saw the boy give his food to the beggar. He was angry at the boy and said, "I left this food for you because I wanted you to eat, but you gave it away to another man! If you are doing like this, I won't give you any food!" And he walked away. Then the beggar said to the orphan boy, "The farm owner is angry with you because you gave your food to me. So, I will give you a gift in return." Then he gave the boy a large package. The orphan boy said, "You don't need to give me anything." But the old beggar said, "The farm owner is really mad at you. Let me give you something." Then he gave it to the boy. After the beggar walked away, the orphan boy unwrapped the gift. It was wrapped in many layers. He unwrapped it layer by layer. In the end, he found a beautiful, high-quality jade inside. The jade was a beautiful and high-quality one. He thought to himself, "I got this jade while working on this rich man's farm. I think I can't keep it for myself. I should give it to the farm owner." When he gave it to the farm owner, the owner also thought, "I'm just a rich man in this village. We have a king who rules over us, so I should give this jade to him." When the king unwrapped it, he found only a simple, ordinary stone. Then the king said to the rich man, "You lie to me!" He ordered his servants, "Tie him up! Beat him! Take him outside the village and kill him!" At first, the rich man didn't mention that the orphan boy gave him the jade. He lied to the king that he owned the jade and gave it to the king. He acted like he was the owner. When he was about to be killed, he said, "This is not mine! The orphan boy who works on my farm gave it to me." Then the king said, "Bring that orphan boy here!" When the orphan boy came and picked up the stone, it transformed back into high-quality jade. It shimmered so brightly that it lit up the entire palace. The king rewarded the orphan boy and let him stay in the palace. He even gave him half of his kingdom.
Transcription (Lu Awng)
Moi da jahkrai ma grai matsan ai jahkrai ma langai mi gaw ndai sahte wa nta kaw hkauna galaw n chyang sa shang ai da. Dai sahte wa gaw kaga hkauna galaw nchyang mung law law saw ai da, retim kaga ni gaw shi shangun yu yang e nau n hkrak ai, nau n ket ai ni hpe gaw shi gaw dai 1 ning mi sha shangun sha na hpang shaning gaw nmatut saw mat ai da. Retim dai jahkrai ma matsan ma dai wa gaw grai myitsu ai, bungli galaw tim grai kang ka ai, grai myit hpraw san seng ai majaw dai matsan ma hpe gaw shi gaw shaning shagu hkauna galaw nchyang saw ai da. Re jang she e lani mi na ahkying aten hta gaw ndai jahkrai ma gaw shi hkauna galau re na nga lang ngut re na she bungli hkring re na shat wa sha na ngu na wa dung nga ai da. Wa dung nga yang she shi yu yang gaw mawhpyi re ngu na yu ai da, mawhpyi langai mi wa she shi kaw shat wa hpyi sha ai da. Ma e dwila grai kansi na nang kaw e shat hpyi sha na ngu na shang wa ai re law ngu na tsun ai da. Dai shaloi e matsan ma wa gaw e dwi la e ya ngai gaw ngai sha na shat sha shadu da ai wa, nang hpe jaw kau jang gaw ngai sha na nnga mat na re nga ai ngu jang she mawhpyi wa gaw nre law, ngai grai kansi ai ngai hpe she jaw sha kau rit ngu na grai tsun jang matsan ma gaw kaja wa dai mawhpyi wa hpe shat jaw sha ai da. Shat jaw sha na sha taw nga yang she dai hkauna madu wa gaw sa mu ai da. Sa mu jang she agying sa pawt ai da, nang hpe e nang sha na she tawn da ya yang me ya nang masha hpe mi jaw sha kau ai gaw ngu na agying sa pawt kau tawn da na dai hku re yang gaw nang hpe galoi lusha n jaw sha sai hpa ngu na pawt kau tawn da na wa mat ai da. Wa mat re jang she dai mawhpyi wa gaw jahkrai ma matsan ma hpe she e ya nang ngai hpe shat jaw sha ai majaw ya hkauna madu wa nang hpe grai pawt kau ai wa nang hpe ngai kumhpa jaw da na nga na she makai kaba law ai langai mi jaw da ai da. Re yang gaw n jaw ra ai law ngu tim mung jaw na, nang hpe e hkauna madu wa grai pawt kau hkra re nang ga grai lu sha kau sai nga na she jaw da yang gaw, dai mawhpyi wa wa mat ai hpang e ndai jahkrai ma wa shi hpaw yu ai shaloi gaw alam grai law hkra makai da ai da. Alam grai law hkra makai da ai, hpyen hkrai hpyen, hpyen hkrai hpyen yu yang she oh kata kaw she lungseng kachyi sha law ai kaja tsit tsawm ai lungseng wa rawng taw nga ai da. Dan na she lungseng dai gaw grai htoi tsawm ai lungseng rai re yang she shi gaw e ya ngai gaw ndai sahte wa ai hkauna galaw nna she ndai kaw nga na she lu ai gaw ndai gaw ngai nmai la kau na re, ndai ngai na hkauna madu wa hpe she ap na re ngu na she wa ap ai da. Wa ap re yang gaw dai hkauna madu wa bai re jang mung e ya ngai gaw ndai mare na sahte lauban sha re ya ndai mung hpe up ai mungdu mung nga ai re majaw gaw ngai mung ndai mungdu wa hpe e she ap na re ngu na sa ap ai da. Sa ap yang she dai mungdu wa bai hpaw yu yang gaw n lung jagang wa mi she re mat ai da. Re jang she dai mungdu wa gaw dai mare na lauban dai wa hpe she nang ngai hpe sa masu sha ai ngu na she shi a shangun ma ni hpe she gyit mu ndai wa hpe gyit adup mu, oh mare shinggan de sa sat kau mu, ngai hpe e masu ai ngu na she dai hku tsun re jang she dai lauban wa gaw e mi gaw ndai jahkrai ma shi hpe jaw ai re ntsun ai da, shi lu ai re ngu na dai hku sa masu jaw jang gaw dai nlung laban tai mat jang e shi hpe sat hkyen jang gaw bai e ngai lu ai nre loh, ndai nye hkauna galaw ai jahkrai ma jaw ai she re lo ngu na dai hku bai tsun dan jang she rai yang gaw dai jahkrai ma hpe sa shaga la mu, sa shaga wa mu ngu na sa shaga la shangun na she dai jahkrai ma bai wa la lang jang gaw lungseng manu mana kaja ai dai hkawhkam wang shi a mungdu wang ting htoi kabrim mat hkra re lungseng bai byin wa sai da. Re jang she ndai mungdu ndai wa gaw ndai jahkrai ma hpe gaw ndai manu mana shagrau sha a re na she e shi a wang kaw e woi nga kau, mungdan ni mung garan ya, re na dai kaw e woi nga kau ai da.
Origination date 2017-03-08
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/1653
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
S. Hkawn Shawng : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/598c8522ae102
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), S. Hkawn Shawng (speaker), 2017. Jahkrai ma hte sahte wa a lam (The honest orphan) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-1653 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/598c8522ae102
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-1653-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 20.3 KB
KK1-1653-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 4.85 MB 00:05:18.170
KK1-1653-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 175 MB 00:05:18.146
3 files -- 180 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 22, 2025, the collection includes 2,491 stories, 2,491 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,600 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 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
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