| Description |
Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
In Kachin, there are some evil nat spirits called Hpyi which have power or bewitch human beings. No one knows exactly when Hpyi (an evil spirit which can bewitch people) started. If there is one family who has Hpyi, no one likes them. In the era of ruling by feudal king, people drove the family who had 'Hpyi' away and sold them to the other lords. They became servants. The villagers sell people who have 'Hpyi' Nats to Shan chiefs and the rich. The villagers sell them to the farthest place from there. There are also some rich people who buy them and let them be servants. 'Hpyi' is the Nat which shouldn't exist in Kachin tribe circles. We don't know exactly who has 'Hpyi' or who hasn't. If there is some rumors that this family has 'Hpyi', people only focus and point out them. If the girl is from that kind of family, there is no boy who can get married to her no matter how beautiful she is. There is also no girl who can marry to the boy who has 'Hpyi'. If there is someone who has 'Hpyi', then it will be very uneasy for him or her. How did they get 'Hpyi'? They might have spoken with someone on somewhere. They might say, "Give this to me. Give that to me. I am that kind of existence." Then, you will have 'Hpyi' Nat. If there is one person who has 'Hpyi', people from Kachin society just assume that all of his or her family members have 'Hpyi' too. Kachin people assume the whole clan has 'Hpyi'. Actually, that is not good. I have read in a book that there are 'Hpyi' Nats in England too. But they don't assume that all family members have 'Hpyi' Nats. Only one person. The kind of person has power to bewitch people. If one person has 'Hpyi' Nat, English avoids only that person. English don't do anything to the other family members. But Kachin people don't think like that. They assume that the whole family has 'Hpyi'. That is so bad. Kachin people even kill some of them. But some people can live as normal people even though they have got 'Hpyi' Nat. It's because they are rich or related to hereditary chiefs or they have many relatives from wife's family. They may have many relatives. Kachin society is a little bit difference from others. There might be this kind of condition among Japanese, Chinese or English societies which are already developed. If one of hereditary chiefs likes the girl who has 'Hpyi' Nat and gets married to her, then no one could say anything about that girl. No one brings up that matter. That chief uses his power not to talk about his girl. They told, "Hey, if you talk about the chief's girl that she has 'Hpyi' Nat, the chief will oppress you. Don't say anything about her!" Then, the news about the girl having 'Hpyi' Nat has completely disappeared. When the girl who has 'Hpyi' gets married to the rich, all news about her has all gone away. People keep oppressing to the ones who don't have power or money. So, Kachin people are mean about it. But people who live in the upper area of Kachin State help those people not to have 'Hpyi' anymore. If there is one family which has 'Hpyi' Nat, the villagers drive them away. But the word 'Gumlau' that highlanders use and people who live on a plain use doesn't have the same meaning The word 'Gumlau' that people who live on plains means 'revolution'. At Chyai Hka where Sara Maju live, the villagers drive those who have 'Hpyi' Nat away to the forest. They have to live in the forest for seven days or ten days, or twenty days. They are driven away. After some days, they go back to the village and the villagers accept them again. The villagers said, "They become new people from now on." Then, those people carried water in the wrong way. When they are asked to put the kettle on the fire, they put the kettle bottom and head opposite. They have changed into new people. Actually, it is just a lie. They pretend like they have completely changed into new people. And they let other villagers teach them how to do work. They learn the living styles of human again. They thought themselves as they don't have any 'Hpyi' Nat anymore. Then, the boys get married to the girls from the village. And the girls get married to the boys. They start their new lives in that way. The normal people welcome them. After that, no one tells about their past. People get married to their family too. But it is not like that here. People from our place say that they are relatives of the family who has 'Hpyi'. But the villagers act like they don't know about their past if those people have much money and power. We have a lot of problems like that. One of my grandfathers got married to the girl who had 'Hpyi' Nat and had two daughters. I have many grandfathers, and one of my grandfathers got married like that. Since he had many relatives, they discussed and decided to drive his wife away. They told her, "Go now. We don't accept you as our relatives anymore. Let your children live as they like. Let them live at the relative's house." Later, people were talking behind their back, "They got married to the girl who had 'Hpyi'. They had children too." People kept talking about the whole family. There are many people like them. But people don't dare to talk like that to the hereditary chief and the rich. They bully only those who have no money or power. In the past, 'Hpyi' Nat is really bad and evil, and the ones who died because they couldn't give birth are also evil for Kachin. Machyit Mana Nat (a spirit whom we have to give food before we eat) which we have talked about yesterday is not bad. People do things not to pass that 'Hpyi' Nat to the youngers. If there is someone who has 'Hpyi' Nat or died because she couldn't give birth in a family, the rest of family members are bullied and oppressed. They become victims, and there is a big loss in their lives. This is about 'Hpyi' Nat. There are still some people who have 'Hpyi' Nat. Till today, some people are finding out who or which family has 'Hpyi'. One person says, "That girl is beautiful. I want to marry her." Then, they still look into the girl's parent whether the girl's family has 'Hpyi' or not. But, young people nowadays don't care about it. They just ignore it. This is all about 'Hpyi' Nat in Kachin.
Transcription (Ja Seng Roi)
Ya n dai Jinghpaw ni hta grai bat lat ai grai n kaja ai n dai 'Hpyi' ngu ai re yaw. Dai gaw 'Hpyi ' ngu ai gaw ganang kaw na hpang wa ai re kadai ma hkrak n tsun lu ai. Rai timung, n dai Famaily n dai hting gaw ni hpyi lu ai nga kaw na masha ni n ra ai. Kalang lang n dai moi Pade darit prat hta rai jang dai 'Hpyi ' lu ai htinggaw hpe shabra dut sha kau ai. Mayam sha tai kau ai. Yawng hpe Tsawhpwa ni n dai ngut ai masha ni hpe ndai kahtawng kaw n dai ni Hpyi lu ai nga jang yawng dut sha kau,tsan ai shara de. Wo mari ai ni nga ai gaw.Mayam sha rai kau ai. Dai majaw n dai Hpyi ngu ai gaw Jinghpaw mung kan hta n nga ging ai nga. Hkrak gaw lu ai mare n lu ai mare n chyoi. N dai ni lu ai nga sai kaw na gaw shan hte dai hku madi wa ai. Dai kaw she n dai e num mahkawn ni grai tsawm tim la gwi ai n nga ai. La ni kaw num wa gwi ai ma n nga ai. E n dai ni hpyi lu ai nga sai kaw na gaw grai shi matu gaw grai n mai ai. Re,Hpyi dai ganang na lu ai i nga yang she dai kaw na masha langai mi wo masha kaga kaw ga shaga pru wa. Nang dai jaw rit. Wo ra jaw myit.Ngai dai wa rai n ngai nga tsun wa Reng nang gaw hpyi lu sai. Rai jang she Jinghpaw ni nga gaw dai maroi ngai mi dai Hpyi lu sai nga sai kawn htinggaw ting hpe shalawm kau ai Dai n kaja ai.Amyu hku shalawm kau ai. Ya an hte laika hti yu ai wo Ingalan de ning nga ai Hpyi. Rai timung Ingalan de gaw htinggaw ting hpe n shalawm ai gaw. Wan pa sent . E shi hpe hpa baw ngu i nga yang she Wi Pawa, Wi Pawa lu ai masha re I , langai mi hpe sha galaw ai ngam ai hpe n di. Jinghpaw ni gaw n re htinggaw ting hpe shalawm kau Dai grai tsu ai. Jinghpaw ni, n kau ni sat kau ai. Raitim n kau mi gaw lu su ai, Du amyu mung re mayu shayi mung law ai rai jang gaw lu ting dai hku nga lu shi. Jinghku grai law ai. Reng she n dai Jinghpaw mungkan ngu gaw amyu mi re law. E galu kaba sai Japan, Miwa,Ingalik ni hta mung nga na re. Hpyi su ai num langai mi hpe Du la langai ra n la dat jang ' Mapyaw ne daw pyaut de'. Shi Pawa hte. Ma Pyaut ne e. Dai dai Du wa e la ai num hpe Hpyi lu ai ngu yang Du wa nang hpe shakrip na. Hkum shaga sa mat ai nga ai. Pawa nga ai ni la jang mat ai. Roi nan re ni hpe tsun ai. Re majaw n dai Jinghpaw ni gaw, dai gaw akyang n kaja ai. Amyu ting rai ting htaw lahta daw,dai Sara Maju ni nga ai de gaw raw kau ai nga ai. N ta langai mi hpyi lu ai nga jang gumlau shang ai, wa hkam shang ai ngu ai nga ai. Rai ting dai Gumlau ngu ai wawt gaw an hte lawu na rau n bung ai. Lawu de tsun ai Gumlau gaw Du ni hpe e Revulation galaw ai hpe Gumlalu ngu ai. Shan hte htaw Sara Maju ni nga ai Chyai Hka lahta de gaw Hpyi su ai masha ni hpe yawng nam de gawt ai. Nam de gawt di n she grit htum sanit ya,shi ya,hkun ya nam kaw da, Shan hte n ta kawn gawt kau ai. Gawt kau di n hpang gaw bai n ta de wa n na she kahtawng masha ni yawng bai bawp la n she, wo ra ni gaw hpa n chye masha n nan rai sai law ngu n she hka ja ngu n htang hku ja, n di dun mung hkra hpe n lau hku dun hpa n chye zawn rai mat wa ai. N dai masu ai le, le den wa yang Masha n nan re sai lo ning di mu ngu sharin la ai hku rai nga. Sha rin la, bai dai ni gaw n nan rai sai,n dai ni Hpyi n su sai, e rai sai dai kaw na mahkawn ni hpe la ya ai. Sha brang ni hpe jaw sha ai. Di n na pang shang ai ngu n na dai hku galaw la ai shan hte. Pang shang ai. Dai kaw na pang shang sai kaw na gaw hkum tsun sa. Bai la. An hte n dai daw de gaw n re. Hpyi su ai amyu ka amyu be Rai timung n dai wa grai lu su wa hpung shingkang kaba wa yang gaw n chye masu ai. Dai ya an hte kaw mung Pyattana grai nga ai gaw. An hteng a nye a Kaji Kawa ni kaw na la langai wa la langai wa e Hpyi su ai num kaw mahkawn shatai kasha lahkawng lu ai. Lu jang she hte an hte Kaji Kawa ni kaw na grai law ai kawn na la langai mi. E she shi gaw jinghku grai law ai rai jang she jinghku ni bawng n she shawawn kau ya ai. Dai num hpe " wa su nang hpe an hte n la ai" Kasha gaw shi kam ai hku nga u ga. Woo jinghku ni kaw nga ai. Hpang gaw e n dai amyu ni Hpyi su ai num hta kasha lu ai re Masha ni tsun ai, n lu tim tsun wa roi sai galu wa ai. Kaga ni mung dai zawn re grai nga ai. Raitim dai zawnre ni Du ni shingkang rawng ai ni hpe gaw n tsun gwi ai. Roi nan re ni hpe she tsun ai. Dai an hte Jinghpaw hta moi prat na n kaja htum gaw e dai Hpyi nyu ai ma N dang si ai hpe Daju ai ma, wo ra mana yen mani an tsun ai machyit mana nga ai gaw 'taw tin ba de ma ku bu paw naw' Bai n den na matu le. Ya n dai Hpyi su ai law, N dang si ai law ngu ai gaw majoi myi shagrit ai Grai bawa nit na ai. Ya Hhpyi su ai n dai hku re. E ya ang n dai Hpyi su ai amyu nga chye ai.Ya dai ni nang kaw pyi gaw gawn ai. Na kasha wa mahkawn tsawm ai,ngai la na Kanu kawa ni naw gawn ai. Rai ting ma ni 'gayu n tsai ' sai ya gaw. Hpa zawn n nawn sai ra ai hpe la. Dai hku re, n dai Hpyi gaw Jinghpaw ni na dai re. |
