| Description |
Translation (by Mike Tu Awng)
Now, I am goint to tell you about how people started dying from drowning. Long time ago, there was a young man who was walking along the river bank, he saw a tree that was drying and dying out because of wood beetle. He knew it, and he removed that wood beetle from the tree with a dagger. After removing the wood beetle, the tree started growing big beautifully again. It lived on like that. Then, one day, that young man went fishing. He threw the fishing-net to the river. When he pulled it, it got stuck with something in the water. He tried to pull it out but could not. When he could not pull it out, he tied the rope of the fishing-net on a tree. Then, he returned home. The thing he caught with his fishing-net happened to be a huge dragon-like snake. That huge snake had a daughter. Even though that daughter was not a human being, she could transfigure as a human being. She went to the tree. "Long ago, you were very sick but now you look very fresh. How did you become well again?" And the tree replied, "A young man cured me and I got well again." Then, that dragon girl asked the tree if that young man was coming back to it. The tree replied, "He will." Then, she said, "Introduce me to him." When the young man came, the tree, indeed, introduced her to him. When the dragon girl met him, she said, "I heard that you can cure sick people. My father is sick at the moment." That young man also knew that the girl was a dragon even though it was not sure the tree told him. The young man knew that the dragon must be stuck with something but when the dragon girl said that he thought to himself, "When I threw the net, I had caught the dragon." And he agreed to cure her father. The first day he removed a bit of the net from the dragon, and the dragon could move a little as it was covered with the net. It was freed a little. Then, the next day when they met the young man asked,"How is your father?" The dragon girl replied, "He is getting better." The following day also the same the young man was removing the fishing-net from the dragon a little by a little even though he could just pull it out. They went on like that for seven days and when she said the father was almost recovered, the young man asked, "If I cure your father, what will you give me as a gift?" The dragon girl replied, "I will marry you. Cure my father." Then, he removed the fishing-net competely. The father was well again. As the father was cured, the dragon girl married to a human being and they lived together. When they lived together, as this dragon girl was from water, creatures that lived under water like shrimps were her cousins. They lived together and they breed together. The young man had 9 other young men who were his neighbours. Those 9 young men always went fishing. Then, the dragon girl said to her husband, "Don't go fishing. Those in the water are my cousins." The young man replied, "I did not go fishing but my friends invited me so I went with them just for fun. I do not eat fish, I don't fish, and I do not bring fish home." She added, "Even so, don't go." He kept on going with his friends, and they were watching him. And they said, "This young man does not eat fish, when we give him fish, he refuses." Then, they put a stone loach in his bag. When they put it, he was not aware of it. When he got home, he did not know that they put a stone loach in his bag. But, his wife, as she was a dragon girl, knew it immediately, and said, "I told you not to go but you did." "I can get fragrance of my cousins." He replied, "I do not bring anything, I do not eat anything." When she shook the bag and saw the stone loach, she said, "This is my fourth cousin brother, Hpu Tu Sumbrun." She continued, "I told you many times not to go but you did not listen to me." After saying that, she went back to her father. She turned to snake and went into the water. When she had gone, the young man was very sad. He went to sit where his wife went into the water and cried so hard for losing his wife whom he came to love so dearly because she was very beautiful. Then, the father dragon asked his daughter to go back to her husband. But the dragon girl said, "I will not go back to him because he does not listen to my words." Then, one day, the dragon girl spread her hair at the spot where he usually sat down. Once he came and sat down, she swept him down to the water. The young man was drown to death. From that day on, we, human beings, started to drown and died in the water. The story is told.
Transcrition (by Lu Awng)
Ya gaw ndai hka hkrat si hpang ai lam e dai hpe hkai dan na re. Moi shawng de la shabrang langai mi gaw hka kau hku na garet hkawm wa ai shaloi gaw hpun langai mi hpe latung sha nna shi gaw ganoi she hkraw si wa re hpe gaw shi gaw dai hpe chye na she nhtu hte kran nna she ndai hpun kaw na latung shaw kau ya ai. Latung shaw kau ya jang gaw hpung dai gaw grai kaba tsawm mat wa ai da. E dai hku na nga taw nga ai da. Re shaloi gaw lani mi hta gaw ndai la kasha dai gaw nga hkoi ai le i, nga hkoi ai shaloi gaw hka la-ing de sumgawn kabai bang ai shaloi gaw bai gang yu ai shaloi gaw lama mi gaw dau taw sai. Ah hkyik hkyik nga nna shi nlu shaw, nlu shaw jang she shi gaw dai hpun langai mi kaw ndai shi na sumgawn hpe gyit da na nta de wa re rai shaloi she, ndai shi dagup ai gaw baren rai mat ai hku rai nga. Lapu kaba e de a kasha gaw shinggyim masha wa nrai timmung le i shanhte shinggyim masha tai lu ai le ngu gaw, reng gaw dai kaw shinggan de pru nna hpun kaw sa ai. Nang moi gaw grai machyi nga wa ya nang dai hku bran wa ai gaw gara hku hkam kaja wa ngu gaw gara hku ngu jang she shi gaw e ngai hpe la shabrang langai mi tsi tsi la ai majaw ngai mai wa ai re ngu na hpun gaw tsun dan ai. Dai shaloi gaw dai lapu baren a kasha num kasha mahkawn kasha gaw la shabrang dai nang de nsa na da i ngu, rai jang she, sa na re ngu da. Sa jang gaw ngai hpe matut ya u ngu, kaja wa hpung mung e lasha brang sa shaloi gaw hpun wa mung shi hpe sa matut ya ai le i, e ndai wa re ngu jang gaw baren shayi sha, mahkawn kasha gaw la shabrang dai wa hpe e tsa e nang gaw machyi makaw ai wa hpe shamai ya lu ai nga gaw gara hku, ngai na kawa gaw machyi taw nga ai ngu da. Rai jang gaw shi mung dai shabrang dai mung hpun wa tsun dan ai kun nchye ai baren shayi sha re hpe chye sam ai. Rai nna she shi mi gaw lama ma mi gaw dau ai shadu ai raitim mung dai tsun ai hte shi chye sai, aw ngai gaw baren hpe dagup hkrup sai i, nga yang gaw mai ai le tsi ya na le ngu jang gaw shi gaw dai ning nan shani gaw sumgawn hpe kachyi mi gang sharawt rai jang gaw oh ra lapu gaw mi gaw yawng gup raitim kachyi mi bai lawt sai le i, lawt jang gaw hpang shani bai hkrum jang gaw na nwa gaw gara hku ya loi mai wa sai ngu, dai hte maren hpang shani mung kachyi kachyi sha shi mung kachyi kachyi kachyi di nna she ndai kaw na gang jang gaw malawk sai le i, reng gaw 7 ya tup dai hku ya mai wa sai, mai wa sai, ngu reng gaw ya gaw kahcyi sha ra sai mai na matu ngu jang gaw la kasha gaw nang na nwa hpe ngai shamai ya jang gaw tsi shamai ya jang gaw nang hpa baw kumhpa jaw na i ngu shaloi gaw baren mahkawn kasha gaw ngai nang kaw wa na wa hpe shamai ya u ngu jang, shi gaw kaja wa sha sumgawn hpe gung kau sai le i, kawa mung mai mat sai le. Kawa mai mat sai hte mareng gaw ndai mahkawn kasha gaw shi kaw wa ra sai le, shinggyim masha kaw wa nna dinghku de sha na nga. Dinghku de sha nna nga yang she ndai nga, lapu, baren mahkawn gaw hka de na re majaw i, hka kaw nga ai nga ni, katsu ni yawng gaw shi na kahpu kanau hkrai hkrai re le, shanhte rau nga rau pra hkrai re nga, dai shaloi she ndai la shabrang a htingbu la 9 ma ni ngu ai dai lalaw ma amyu re ga rai nga, la 9 ma ni gaw nga chyu sa hkoi sha sha re da. Reng gaw madu jan gaw tsun ai nga hkum sa hkoi dai anhte a kahpu kanau ni re. Ngai sa hkoi nre, manang ni saw ai majaw majoi mi hka ah she ai she re ngai sha ma nsha ai hkoi mung n hkoi ai, la mung nla ai ngu she, dai tim hkumsa ngu, hkan nang hkan nang re gaw lani mi gaw ndai la 9 la ni gaw yu ai da. Arr shabrang ndai gaw nga shan mung nsha, hpa jaw tim nla re gaw ndai e gaw ngu na she sumbrun ngu ai le i, ndai myen ga hku ( talehto ) nga ( talehto ) langai bang ya dat ai da. Dai nga sumbrun langai mi bang ya dat ai hku nga, bang ya dat re jang gaw shi ndum ai, nta kaw dai nga nhpye kaw bang ya dat ai shi nchye ai. Raitim mung e hto ra shi na madu jan gaw baren shayi re majaw gaw kalang ta na ai, nang dai de hkum sa u ngu ai nang sa ai. Ya ngai anhte a kahpu kanau sama ngai na ai. Um ngai hpa mung nla ai law, hpa mung nsha ai law, ndai bai nhpye ah hpu yu yang gaw e ndai gaw hpu tu sumbrun i nye hpu tu sumbrun she re. Nang gaw ngai kade tsun tim ga nmadat ai ngu na ndai mahkawn kasha gaw kawa hpang de bai wa mat ai. Lapu tai nan hka le-ing de wa mat ai da. Wa mat yang gaw la kasha wa gaw grai shi grai tsawra sai le i, grai tsawm ai she nre dawng, rai jang gaw shi gaw grai yawn nna shani shagu ndai madu jan hka de lup si mat wa ai, aw lup ai nre law hka de wa mat ai shara kaw dung nna hkrap chyu hkrap nna nga ai da. Reng gaw baren kawa gaw e wa su hpa nra ai, raitim dai baren shayi sha gaw um ngut ngai nwa na re, ngai tsun ai nye ga nmadat ai ngu, lani mi gaw dai kaw chyu hkrap dung nga sai la dai wa gaw, lani mi gaw ndai baren shayi num gaw dai shi dung ai kaw she kara she n galu dawng kara dai hpe she nyep da le, ning rai nep da na sa dung ai hte kalang ta hka de ah hkye nna woi mat wa ai, dai kaw na la dai si mat wa sai. E dai shani kaw nna anhte shinggyim masha ni gaw hka hkrat si hpang ai re ngu nna dai kaw na hkai ai lam nga ai.
Notes
1. The animated version is available at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk-75CW0CFY |
