Item details
Item ID
KK1-0781
Title Nga rem numsha (The cowgirl) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Now, I am going to talk about a cowgirl. She was penniless, so she herded and tended the cows of other rich people. She had been working as a cowgirl for a long time. One day, one of the cows went missing. She couldn't pay out for the cow and was afraid to get scolded too. Then she tried to find the missing cow on the other side of the mountain. There was a giant tigress there. She didn't know that there was a tigress. She kept shouting to find her cow. Then the tigress heard her and ran down to the base of the mountain. She had a cub, too. She called her cub and said, "Let's go down. I heard the sound of a human. Huma flesh is much tastier than other meat. You haven't tried it before. Now, we will get a chance to eat special meat tonight. Let's go." Soon, they found the cowgirl. The tigress thought, "It won't work. I should deceive her sight." Then she changed her cub into a beautiful young lady and changed herself into an old lady. She created a hut too. The cowgirl kept looking for the missing cow. Somewhere in the forest, she saw the old woman. Then she asked her, "Grandma, did you see a cow passing by? I have lost a cow. Have you seen it?" The old woman answered, "I think I saw it. Your cow is in our field. Come in, young girl. You must be really tired of looking for your missing cow. Come inside and drink some water." The cowgirl thought they were pure and sincerely friendly, so she took a rest inside their house. She was chatting with them peacefully. After some time, she told the grandmother, "I think I should take the cow back." The old grandmother said, "Let the cow eat grass till it is full. You shouldn't stop it from eating. Let it eat a lot." When it was dark, the cowgirl said, "I think it's time to take the cow back to its owner." The grandmother stopped her and said, "Why don't you sleep here for tonight?" And she told her young daughter, "Cook something for her quickly." It seemed like the cowgirl was quite intelligent, and her observation skills were great. She saw that they didn't eat anything. Then she definitely knew that something was not right. The tigress made her cub wear a bracelet. And she told the cowgirl, "Sleep with your sister tonight." She let them share the room. The tiger cub, who was pretending to be a girl, called her to sleep in the same room. The cowgirl was suspicious and observed the whole situation. The tigress even pretended to be weaving. Later, the cowgirl said to the cub, "Your bracelet is really beautiful. I have never worn that kind of bracelet before. Can you let me wear it for a while?" The tiger cub didn't have a clue, so she agreed, "Yes, you can. Give it back to me tomorrow." The cowgirl promised to give her the bracelet back the next day. Soon, she was thinking hard again. She sneaked a look and saw the grandmother was still weaving. She was suspicious and thought, "Something is fishy. Are they nats or what? Maybe I was wrong to decide to sleep here." She didn't know that they were tigers. Then she told her, "Shall we change the sleeping place? I can't sleep in the corner. Let's change our places." The tiger cub didn't think a lot and changed the place. While they were sleeping, the tigress came into their room and definitely thought that the one who was sleeping in the corner was the cowgirl. Then she grabbed her cub by the neck and cut it. And she dragged her body outside the room without knowing it was her baby cub. The head was left in bed. The cowgirl heard the sound of someone chewing something, so she secretly looked outside. There, she saw that the grandmother was eating something. She pretended to be a tiger cub and asked the old woman, "Mom, what kind of sound is that? Are you eating something delicious?" The old lady replied, "I am just eating some peas." She was eating her cub without knowing anything. She just thought it was human flesh, so she was eating it deliciously. The cowgirl pretended to fall asleep. The next morning, she asked the old lady, "I heard the sound of chewing something the whole night. What were you eating? I want to eat too." Then the old lady said, "It's human flesh. It's something the young ones shouldn't eat." The old lady continued, "Then do you want to try the leg? Eat it." The cowgirl acted like she was eating the leg. She knew that she was in danger, so she had to think of an idea to get out of the house. Then she told her, "Mom, I want to poop." The tigress said, "Just poop there." The cowgirl said, "No, the smell will be really bad." The tigress said, "Then pull down the bamboo wall and poop at the corner." The cowgirl kept saying no. She said, "There are many rats. They will bite my butt. I want to go outside to poop." The tigress said, "Okay, go there. Wait, it is not safe at all. A lion outside will eat you." Then the girl thought of another idea and said, "Mom, bring a rope. Tie this rope to you and me. If the lion attacks me, I will shout loudly. Mom, pull this rope at that time." The tigress thought it was a great idea, so she tied the rope to her and the cowgirl's waists. When the girl was outside, she tied the rope to a rubber tree. There was a good nat there. Then she asked for help: "Help me, please. I have faced tigers and need to run away." On the other hand, the tigress thought something was not right when it was in the morning. When she checked outside, she saw that the other side of the rope was tied to the rubber tree. She didn't see the cowgirl outside. Then she started chasing the girl. She could catch her at the river. She changed into an old lady again. She saw the cowgirl on the raft, so she shouted, "I'd like to take the raft. Take me." However, the cowgirl wouldn't be deceived this time. The girl told her, "Grandma, swim to me if you want to take this raft." The tigress said, "I can't swim. I won't be able to make it." The cowgirl said, "That's so easy. Take a rope and tie it to your neck. And pull stones on the left and right sides of your body. After that, just take a big jump into the water. Then you will automatically know how to swim and arrive here. Just jump." The tigress really thought that it was true, so she jumped into the water as the girl said. Then she drowned, and she died. The girl went back to her place by raft. And she told her boss everything she had faced. She said, "I encountered the tigers and was almost dead." The boss felt pity for her and comforted her: "Your life is more important than a cow. God is teaching you because you are a well-behaved person. I won't bully others too." The cowgirl got rich with the help of her boss. The boss also regretted his bad actions and didn't bully anyone anymore.

Transcription (Lu Awng)
Ya tsun na gaw nga rem numsha langai a lam re. Lani mi hta da ndai numsha dai gaw grai matsan ai numsha retim grai matsan ai. Dai re majaw shi gaw hpa bungli galaw i nga yang she masha lauban ni a nga hpe rem ai da. Lani hte lani shani shagu dai hku nga rem na she hkauna pa hkan namhkan e dai hku jahpawt kaw na shana du hkra nga rem rem re na nga ai wa da, lani mi gaw da nga langai wa mi she mat mat ai da. Mat mat wa she tinang gaw dai lauban ni hpe wa nga manu jaw na mung grau lu na mung nrai re na she pawt da na hpe mung shi gaw grai hkrt ai da. Grai hkrit re na she dai bum a oh ra hkran de wa da dai bum ohran hkran de she dai de nga tam hkawm she shi tam hkawm ai nga tam ai hkran de she dawng 9 re sharaw kanu langai mi nga ai da. Dai hpe gaw shi n chye ai le i, n chye na she shi gaw grai dumsu dai shi na dumsu nga ni hpe tam na she marawn she marawn hkawm re yang she dai sharaw kanu wa gaw na kau ai le. Na kau re yang gaw dai kaning re i nga yang she na dat ai hte wa nre i, kalang ta bum lagaw de yu mat ai da. Shi kasha hpe ma woi di kalang ta woi na she kasha mung lu re re ai da, dai sharaw kanu wa kasha hpe nang sa nang sa ya an nu hto masha n sen na sai, masha n sen na ai, ma nang kalang ma nlu sha yu ai nre i, masha shan gaw an nu ni galoi mung nam kaw sha nga ai nam shan ni hta na grau mu ai, an nu gaw dai ni lak lak lai lai lu sha sa na re, sa sa sa lawan lawan bum lagaw de yu wa ga, masha n sen na sai ngu na she sharaw kanu gaw kasha hpe mung woi na she bum lagaw de yu mat ai da. Yu mat re she nga rem ai num kasha wa gaw kaja wa sha du sa wa ai. Du sa wa re shaloi she dai sharaw kanu gaw gara hku re i nga she, dai kaw shi ar shi gaw ndai hku gaw nre, nat jawn ai hku na she masu ra sai, ndai nga rem ai num kasha hpe i myi galau kau ya ra sai ngu na lawan wan yu wa na she dai kaw masha zawn zawn re kau ai da. Kasha hpe re yang gaw grai tsawm ai num kasha langai mi zawn di na she di da, ndai hku nta kasha ginsum kasha langai mi mung gap na she dinggai langai hku na shi gaw dinggai zawn zawn re na she tai masu di na she masha tai masu di na she shi gaw nga taw ai da. Da ni da masu rai na nga taw ai da, dai nga rem ai num kasha gaw nre i, tam chyu tam hkawm wa re yang, masha dinggai zawn zawn re na mu dat ai majaw she e dwi nang ndai de nga langai mi ndu ai i, nye dumsu langai mat na, n du ai i ngu she nre i, mu da ai zawn zawn nga na she e dai i, e sa wa rit, sa wa rit, ma e num kasha e ndai de sa wa rit, nang ya dumsu tam hkawm ai grai ba sa na re, ndai de sa wa rit, hka naw wa lu la rit, nang na dumsu mo oh ah dwi ni na yi kaw yi wa maga de nga ai, mu da sai ngu na masu ai da. Numsha dai gaw kaja wa shadu na shang na, shi gaw da da taw she hka ni lu re na she, dai kaw jahta taw reng gaw, e shat ni naw sha u nga bai nga reng gaw dai hka ni lu la u ngu yang, e ah dwi e deng gaw ya gaw nga ai she nga yang gaw sa la na re, ya yahkring she wa la na re, retim ah dwi ya ngai ndai naw sa dun la na sam ai, e nmai ai shi hkru hkra naw sha la u ga. E shat sha shahpa sha ai shaloii nmai jahkring ai re nga she, dai kaw bai nga she, jan loi du wa na e ya gaw bai shi hpe woi la na aten, woi wa na ten du sai ah dwi e ngai sa la ngu yang she, nra ai law dai na sha gaw nang nang kaw yup kau u ngu na bai masu ai da. Masu na she nga re yang gaw e deng gaw ngu na she nga she, shat e ma e shat lawan wan shadu u ngu na she shat ni sha reng gaw num kasha dai gaw shi gaw loi mi ma hpaji rawng ai masha, nyan rawng ai masha re majaw she yu re yang gaw dai sharaw yen nu wa she shat mung n sha ai da, shi hkrai sha sha re she, shana gaw shi gaw ar ndai gaw myu mi gaw re na re ngu na she, yup mat wa she shan 2 gaw labu palawng kasha sharaw kanu gaw kasha hpe wa she lahkawn ma langai mi hkawn da ya ai da. Lahkawn langai mi hkawn da ya re na she shana gaw ma nang dai na kana hte nang yup u yaw ngu na she gawk de sa yup shangun ai da. Gawk de yup mu yaw ngu na she yup re na she sharaw kasha mung dai kaw she nang de yup ga yup ga, ngu na tsun she dai kaw na gaw ai n hten sai da. Dumsu rem ai num kasha wa gaw ai nhten, e ndai gaw gaw re ai wa re kun she, gawk kaw na bai masen yu re yang mung dinggai dai gaw dage masha zawn da bai da masu taw re da, re she yahkring re yang gaw shi gaw loi mi zen mat ai majaw she e kanau ndai lahkawn le grai tsawm ai ngai kaw n hkawn yu ai majaw ngai hpe jahkring mi jaw hkawn yu u le ngu na she, sharaw kasha gaw hpa n chye ai majaw e mai ai le, dai na sha re maw hkawn u le, hpawt de bai jaw u yaw, ngai hpawt de bai jaw na nga she, lata hkawn dai hpe ma hkawn la ai da. Hkawn la na she labu palawng ma bai bu re na she nga reng gaw yahkring gaw shi bai myit yu sai, masem yu re yang mung hkrawk hkrawk hkrak hkrak chyu nga na she dai dinggai zawn re sharaw kanu wa dai hku chyu re taw shi gaw ai n hten na, um n byin ai ya gara hku re baw masha ni re kun ndai ni gaw nat re kun, hpa re kun pyi n chye, dai na ngai nang kaw yup shut sai kun ngu she sharaw kasha rai taw ai hpe wa nchye ai, num kasha zawn rai e kanau an 2 shara galai ga le, ah shawng gaw jut de n chye yup ai, dai re majaw nang mahtang jut de yup u yaw ngu na shara galai na yup kau ai da. Yup re na she dai hku yup nga re shaloi gaw sharaw kanu gaw sa wa na she, dumsu rem ai num kasha wa re na sai ngu na shang wa yu yang gaw shara ma galai taw re yang shi shi kasha sharaw kasha hpe wa she dai hku kalang ta lahkawn ma hkawn da ai re nga she lahkawn hkawn ai gaw shi kasha re sai ngu hku na she dumsu rem ai num kasha hpe gaw ngam da na shi kasha hpe wa du kaw na gra kalang ta nyawp di na she shi gaw sha na hpai mat wa ai da. Dai kaw gaw baw gaw dai yup ra kaw ngam taw, shi gaw pru mat wa na she, hkrawp hkrawp nga na she sha, kei masem yang gaw (arya par ya) dai hku sha she sha na she sha taw re jang gaw, dumsu rem ai num kasha gaw sa masem yu yang she, shi mung dai kaw gaw nre i sharaw kasha hku na she e ah nu nu nang le hpa baw n sen ni re kun da, lama ma sha ai zawn zawn nga ai, ar nu wa i nu gaw ndai kaw shapre tum zawn re ni sha ai re nga le ngu she bai yup, sha she sha, sha she sha mak na she a gying sha shi gaw masha shan re sai ngu na she kasha na shan hpe sha taw ai da. Sha taw re she shi mung dai num kasha gaw chye mat sai, bai yup masu su she, jahpawt bai rawt wa re yang mung e nu nang le nsen shana tup ma nsen na ai le, grai sha mayu ai, nang hpa baw sha ai ma ngu she masha shan le, masha shan ma ni n sha ai baw re ngu na she bai tsun dat ai da. Re yang she i nu ngu, nang sha yu, maw ndai lagaw hpe sha u, nang sha yu ngu she, shi gaw dai lagaw hpe la na she dai num kasha gaw sha masu su ai, sharaw na sharaw kasha na lagaw sha masu su re na nga re she, ga deng gaw ya gaw nre sai ngu she hpaji lama mi ngai hprawng na hpaji daw ra sai ngu na e nu ngai namdum grai sa mayu ai ngu she, kanu gaw dai kaw sa kau le i nkam ai grai manam ai she re me ngu she, nre deng gaw dai shakum lau kaw jut kaw sa u ngu ai da, reng gaw shi gaw nrai ning bai ngu da, i nu ndai jut kaw sa yu yang gaw yu grai nga ai da, maidang ni yu kawa ya na ra ai ngu bai tsun ai da. Ngai gaw oh shinggna de she sa mayu ai ngu tsun ai da. Tsun re yang gaw n re i, dai hku deng gaw sa u le, retim nmai ai law nang ma num kasha re hte, dai kaw na hkanghkyi la ma nang hpe ah grawp sha kau yang gaw da hkang hkyi nga ai re lu nang hpe bai hta sha na ra ai, ah nu dai re yang gaw da ndai hpaji bai daw ai le, hpaji bai daw na she numsha dai gaw ah nu deng gaw da sumri langai mi la wa rit, grai ngang ai sumri langai mi la wa rit nga she, ah nu nang kaw ma gyit da di na she ngai na gin shang kaw ma gyit da na , re na dai hkanghkyi la ma ngai kaw htim wa jang da ngai marawn dat na yaw da. Dai shaloi ah nu nang ndai sumri hte gyit a hkye la u ngu na she tsun dat ai da. Dai hku tsun dat re jang she e deng gaw ngu na she dai kaja nga ai ngu gyit na she shinggan de le mat wa ai da. Le mat wa na she kanoi hpun langai mi kaw bai wa nga na she dai kaw wa gyit da ai da. Gyit da re yang she dai kaw gaw nrai nat langai mi nga taw ai da, dai nat hpe she i ngai hpe naw hkye la rit ya ngai dai hku dai hku re na sharaw ni rau latut sai, hprawng ra sai. Re di hprawng mat re yang gaw n htoi htoi shaloi gaw ar ya ndai nre sai ngu na she sa yu yang gaw kanoi hpun kaw sha sumri dai gyit kau ai da. Nga rem ma hpe gaw shi nmu kau ai, shachyut na she shachyut mat wa she dinggai zawn zawn bai shachyut she hka kaw wa she, hka wawn kaw jawn di na she num kasha dai gaw dai hku, shi gaw dinggai zawn bai rai masu na she e ngai ma hkan jawn na, ngai ma hkan jawn na, nga na she bai marawn ai da, ngai ma hkan nang na ah dwi hpe ma woi wa rit ngu jang she, kalang ta dai nga rem ai num kasha gaw da shi kalang ta chye mat sai le. Chye mat sai, ah dwi nang nang de hka rap sa wa u, hka hpung yawt na sa wa u ngu da, ngai hka n chye hpung yawt ai, ndai nang na wawn de du hkra nlu sa ai ngu da, re yang gaw shi gaw dingsa ngu na, nang hpa baw yak ai ma ah dwi sumri langai mi la u, la na she dai du kaw e gyit di na she pai hkra maga gaw n lung bai gyit di u, dai na she nang kalang ta gumhtawn bang u nang hka chye hpung yawt wa na ra ai ndai ngai na wawn nga ai de du hkra nang lu sa mat wa na ra ai ngu na me dai hku ngu tsun ai da. Tsun re jang she sharaw kanu gaw kaja wa dai hku di, dinggai dai gaw gumhtawn yang she hka kaw gumhtawn si mat ai da. Gumhtawn lup mat na si mat yang gaw dai num kasha gaw kalang ta dai hku wawn hpe gawt na she wa mat na shanhte na lauban wa hpe ma dai hpe bai, dai mabyin masa lam hpe shi yawng tsun dan na, ngai kanoi sha si mat ai, sharaw n gup de ganoi du mat ai re ngu na dai hku tsun dan re jang gaw dai shani gaw da lauban wa gaw num kasha dai hpe grai matsan dum mat wa na she, shi hpe ar nang gra myit su ai, dai ni na gaw nang hpe gaw karai kasang garum la ai lam she re sai, dai dumsu langai sha maw masha asak hte dumsu asak gaw masha asak gaw grau kaba ai re. E dai re majaw dai ni kaw na gaw ngai mung myit malai lu ai, masha hpe ma majoi majoi ma nroi rip sha sana re ngu na she num kasha dai shani kaw na gaw da dai lauban wa shi hpe garum la na me i shi lu su sahte shi myit kaja ai majaw lu su sahte rai mat ai da. Lauban wa ma masha hpe roi rip sha na myit ma nrawng na myit malai kaba lu mat ai da.
Origination date 2017-02-11
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/0781
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. Ja Tawp : speaker
DOI 10.4225/72/5989e47a685c8
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), L. Ja Tawp (speaker), 2017. Nga rem numsha (The cowgirl) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/VND.WAV. KK1-0781 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.4225/72/5989e47a685c8
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-0781-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 26.2 KB
KK1-0781-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 11.2 MB 00:12:15.294
KK1-0781-A.wav audio/vnd.wav 404 MB 00:12:15.274
3 files -- 415 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
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