File 3703-02-84, ©James Kari, 1984
Ighi, Delgga tsukdu'a ki heł nuhtghelnek.
Well, I'm going to tell you a Raven story again.
Łiq'a Cook Inlet all over Alaska, łiq'a qilal.
There were no salmon in Cook Inlet, or all over Alaska.
Ki łiq'a k'a nch'u qes'igh hnuyu.
They (humans) had not (actually) seen salmon previously.
I don't know, ndahdi hey q'a dałchina dina?
How many years went by?
Yethdi Delgga ghin, Delgga ghini tabagh nugheyuł.
And then that Raven was walking along the beach.
He was walking along the beach.
Taht'in land otter chi'iłyuggi.
A land otter killed a fish.
A "shagela" a non-salmon "trout" fish that we call it "hesten" round whitefish, pinnose.$1
He [Raven] found it.
He found it.
He found it, and
It had lots of scales on it.
(BP He took his knife) He scraped all the scales off that hesten/shagela.
Yiyegh ch'u yeggisga ghin ch'a'iniłqet' ch'u
He kept scraping and he made all its scales slide off of it
He smeared himself all over with the scales.
all over his own head and everything.
He smeared his face with its (whitefish → salmon) scales.
Łiq'a ggisga łiq'a eł nashjaq' gheli t'hulyuq.
He really fixed/decorated himself up with those sticky salmon scales.$2
Ch'u łiq'a qeshqa ghunen yech' tayyu
And Raven went over there to that "Salmon Boss."
then the person to to whom plural salmon swim into .$3
Yech' tayyu ch'q'u yeghe niyu.
He went over to him, he arrived by him.
Qighiyu ch'u duniyu dach'u. "Hey!"
Raven went into an entrance went inside and said "Hey!"
"I"m tired," he said.
And that man took a look at him. [BP: Gave him the once over.]
Łiq'a łiq'a ggisga gheli ndach'u łiq'a eł nashjaq' betsitugh deheł
He (Raven) was all dirty with the fish scales, on his head and everywhere.
"Hey!"
"Where are those fish that swim by me?"
Łiq'a shuq'u, yetde deqeydelghish$3 shuq'u? ni.
"Those salmon I wonder if they (people) are harvesting them for their own benefit there?" he asked.
He got up, and
Those bench-platforms [in the Salmon Boss's house] he tore them down.
Those salmon poured out from there BP: About a million fish dumped out.
Downland by the water they all spilled into the water.
That Raven said this,
"Hey!"
"That can stop doing this!"
Ki, next summer ki shan nuqisdlan da k'a ch'k'tulqadi shi'i yełni.
"When next summer comes again, we've really got something to eat," he said to him.
And he stopped doing that.
Yun'e ghu nutiq' ghu dach' ghu tali dułtił gheli
Upstream in the salt water (of Cook Inlet there was so many salmon) that they caused large swells, waves.
And that Raven goes home.
He has returned with the salmon.
Łuq'u gheli all over Cook Inlet.
Everywhere , all over Cook Inlet.
Łuq'u tabaghh ghu ndaha łiq'a k'elah.
All of the beaches the salmon swim everywhere.
Łiq'a ghini dach' gheli q'u tiy ch'a'ijah gheli t'ejuq.
There are so many salmon, they really jump out (onto the beach), that actually happens.
so then they would see salmon again, regularly
Delgga ghini niłq'ech' t'et'anen shi.
That Raven can do so many impossible things.
Yethdi łiq'a ghuda ghun nch'uk'a chiqeł'igen ghunen yegh niyu ch'u.
That's the time Raven went to the person who had not killed/harvest the salmon. BP: The Salmon Boss made it so that no one else could get any.
"The salmon made me tired," he (the Salmon Boss) said and
They (the people) got lots of fish reguarly.
Gee whiz!$4
Delgga ghini quht'ana dnaghelt'ana łyes Alaska.
That Raven saved lots of people in Alaska.
Alaska gu quht'ana dnaghelt'ana łyes.
Here in Alaska he saved so many people.
That Raven.
Ighi ki ch'adach' benuhtghelnek?
Well, there's no other way to tell this story.
Dach' hqugh yan q'u sheqay$5 eł nuhqulnek.
This is just the way my people they told this one.
And this is a short one (story) too.
Guh qugh q'u qebeł nuhtelnek gini sukdu
This is how they would tell it, this story
.rt End notes
$1 Shagela is typically called "trout" to refer to all fresh water fish other than salmon. The most general Dena'ina. term for salmon is łiq'a.
$2 This is the magical moment in the story, he scaped off the whitefish scales but he decorated himself with salmon scales.
$3 SP's term for the Salmon boss, bedunk'edlehen, is a verb theme Ø+lagh 'fish swim'; it can be etymologized: be-du-n#k'-D-lagh-k
$4 A very subtle use of the benefactive by Raven/SP himself
$5 lit. 'how events happen again regularly', Wow, Gee whis, an expression of great amazement
$6 -qay * a new term kinship term, a true archaism ∀