"Watakpeya Tanka" (page 7)

[Clive Bloomfield]

Here is that Lakhotaiyapi description of the mediaeval Spanish  
castle, and the rest of the brief (one-page) first chapter of the  
above well-known translation by Emil AFRAID-OF-HAWK in 1925, together  
with the English original text (upon which it is obviously based) by  
Fr. Bernard H. WILDENHUES, S.J.,  [American Press, NY, 1925],  
together an attempt at a more literal version, accompanied by a few  
philological notes.

What was I expecting? Nothing. What am I hoping for? Perhaps for some  
enterprising postgrad., or post-doc to be inspired/urged to do a  
research paper, or even maybe a thesis-length study of this unique  
writer's language, life & times. What do I want?  : I just wish to  
share these wonderful texts with the people equipped to appreciate  
them, both as Lakhota language, and (as I would argue), as genuine  
indigenous literature, (if in a pioneering Lakhota genre).

After all, there are English translations/versions such as the  
Elizabethan George Chapman's Iliad, or Sir Thomas North's famous  
version of Plutarch's Lives, or Alexander Pope's Homer, or John  
Dryden's Aeneid which are judged as worthy compositions & works of  
English literature in their own right, rather than as being merely  
translations.
Including North's (which in any case was based on Amyot's French  
translation, not on the original Greek -but they were good enough to  
captivate Shakespeare's imagination!), these are all frequently  
grossly inaccurate, but they "work" marvellously as English. Nobody  
seems to care much about their pedantic accuracy.

Even so, I humbly submit that Emil AFH's Lakhota versions also have  
an intrinsic value, which transcends the mere ancillary or derivative  
category of 'translations'!
I would also suggest that, to the best of my knowledge, nobody has  
ever written such Lakhota, either before or since. It is almost like  
having Dumas (père) in Lakhota!



Chapter Heading :  "XAVIER THIWAHE KIN"  (On facing [Page 6] :  
illustration of a large castle)

Emil AFH text (Published in trad. orthography, - in interest of  
clarity, I will endeavour to insert all aspirates, but am sure to  
miss some. Apologies in advance!) :

Miniwanca khoakatan Spayola makhoche el wihinaphe kin iwaziyata  
Navarra makhowashpe el akichita oti wan woimnayan he. Xavier thiwahe  
kin he woitanyankel thawapi oonakijin na owanyeye ko thankthanka  
ehash 'nahasekse' wohinyansya thaninyan akanlkanl hiyeye.

Wildenhues :

"In the province of Navarre, in north-eastern Spain, stood a mighty  
fortress, proud possession of the house of Xavier, fairly bristling  
with lofty parapets and
frowning turrets."

Another version with some observations :

"Away beyond the Ocean, in the north-eastern region of Navarre, in  
the land of Spain, stands an imposing fortress (lit. "stands famously/ 
powerfully-->imposingly").
This is the fastness, their proud possession, of the Xavier clan, and  
its great battlements also stand out here & there upon (its summits),  
as it were, brutally conspicuous & stern."

[NOTES : Thought "oonakijin" was probably a noun (with doubled  
locative intial o- prefix) meaning "place of refuge, defensive  
vantage point/shelter",
hence-->"stronghold/fastness/retreat (n.)".
The precise syntactical structure of the second sentence, in  
particular the word order of the pronominal possessive 'thawapi'  
seems most interesting.
That word appears to be part of a predicate after 'thiwahe kin', and  
to be (nominally) qualifying 'oonakijin'.
The noun 'owanyeye' (B-Md. : 'porthole/loophole', would appear to  
correspond to the ramparts on the battlements, from behind which,  
defenders might discharge missiles.
Might it also, conceivably, refer to the loopholes for arrow- 
shooting, in the catle-walls?
Reduplication of Postposition 'akanl', as also use of verb 'hiyeyA',  
seems to imply the plurality of these ramparts/loopholes/arrow-slits.
That intriguing phrase "ehas nahasekse" (as if excessively  
bristling) : probably /ehash nah^a sekse/ based on Stative verb root  
"nah^a" 'be rough-->'bristle/be bristly/stick out', seems to allude  
to the brutal & menacing aspect of the ramparts/battlements.]




Emil AFH text :

Anpetu lehantukesha hanke aphiyapi yunkhan ehank'ehan akichita k'eya  
mazaogle kithontonpi ca wiphe iyayuzapi na inyan oomani kin ogna  
iyowasyela shna s'e ounyanpi k'un hehan s'elecheca. Pyrenees h^e kin  
ikhinyela wachoka wan Roncevalles eya chajeyatapi ca hetan kaiyuzeya  
akhanlya wan el othan'inyan he, hetu cha Roland ohitika Charlemagne  
awanyanka wah^tekeshni un na echel Moors oyate kin kitanh^ci owe ktepi.

Wildenhues :

"Even today in its state of partial reconstruction it calls up  
pictures of those glorious days of old, when men in armoured mail  
made its arches ring with the clash of
steel on the cobbled pavement. It stands on an eminence not far from  
the Pyrenees Mountains and the valley of Roncevalles, where Roland,  
undaunted paladin of the mighty
Charlemagne, was slain by the Moors."

A literal version :

"Although nowadays (the castle) is in a state of semi-repair (lit.  
"part/half they-repair- it"), it (still) has the aspect it had back  
then, when old-time warriors wearing
suits of armour (iron breastplates?), brandished their weapons, and,  
raised the echoes, so to speak, as they infested (lit. 'inhabited')  
its stone walkways. It was in a (mountain) valley, in the vicinity of  
the Pyreneees, easily visible from a vantage-point not far distant,  
that Roland, (the Emperor) Charlemagne's valiant & resourceful  
paladin stood sentinel (lit. "was capably watching"), and accordingly  
was, in the end, massacred by the Moors (in 778 AD)." (lit. "they  
bloodily killed him")

[NOTES : Could reduplicated verb there : "kithonthon", be a  
collateral/dialect form of "kic'un" 'wear', or just of the general  
verb-formant : '-kiton/kitun' /kithoN.kithuN/?
Here, the word would seem to have the sense of  'to put on; don'.  
Perhaps E. AFH has coined a new verb "mazaoglekithun" 'to don/wear a  
suit of armour, or cuirasse', for the occasion?
Suspect the "inyan oomani" are the "stone walkways/gangways" (on/ 
along the battlements/castle walls), rather than just any "stone  
pathways".
That adverb "iyowasyela" does not appear in Buech-Manh., but  would  
appear to have a sense something like 'clanging/resounding/echoing'.  
The root seems to be the same as in the word 'yaiyowaza' 'echo' .
Translated adverb 'kitanh^ci' (pace B.-Md.) as : 'at last/'in the  
end'(after an arduous struggle), rather than ''with difficulty/ 
hardly', in the context. But perhaps both layers of meaning are  
present. The senses are obviously akin.]




Emil AFH Text :

Thiwahe kin lel April 7th, 1506, ehanl akhe thokata akichita sh'akin  
kta wan thonpi. He Don Juan de Jassu na Doña Maria de Azpilcueta  
chincapi ca wichicisakpe hakakta
thaowachekiyepi el miniakashtanpi na Francis eya chasthonpi.

Wildenhues :

"Here on April 7th, 1506, another great knight of the future was  
born. He was the sixth and last child of Don Juan de Jassu and Doña  
Maria de Azpilcueta, and at his
baptism in the parish church received the name of Francis."

A literal version :

"Into this family, on April 7th, 1506, was born one who was to prove  
again & again, in future years, a mighty soldier. This (babe), the  
son of Don Juan de Jassu and
Donna Maria de Azpilcueta, as their sixth-born youngest offspring,  
was baptized in their (family) chapel, and christened "Francisco/ 
Francis." (lit. "Francis saying
they-named-him."

[NOTES : Seems to be nothing especially noteworthy here.]




Emil AFH Text :

Francis atkuku Don Juan, tohantan kin akichita oyuonihanyeh^ci unpi  
kin hecha etanhan ohutkanke, na wokinihanca hecha, heon  
Wichashayatapi John eciyapi Navarra etanhan kin owotanla kilah^ca  
wiyukcan khiye, chankhe oehake iyagleya wichakeya nakicijin, eya  
hecheca esha waphipishni na woshkishke echela wishi yuhah^ce k'eyash.

Wildenhues :

"Don Juan, his father, noble scion of a long line of honoured  
knights, was the trusted counsellor of his king, John of Navarre, and  
was faithful to the last, though
trouble & misfortune were the only recompense he ever received for  
his loyalty."

A literal version :

"Don Juan, the father of Francis, being the type of man ('hecha') who  
derived his roots from (lit. "had roots in/rooted in") the sort of  
people who had, from time out of mind ('tohantan'), been warriors of  
great renown, was a highly respected man : hence it was that he had  
incurred the estimation in (the eyes of) King John of Navarre (lit.  
"the one called K.J. from Navarre"), of being one whose highest value  
was integrity/uprightness/'straightshooting', so that he stood by him  
till the (bitter) end ('oehake'), in spite of the fact that he was  
ill-starred, and even though he only ever received trouble/messy  
complications in recompense."

[NOTES : A most difficult paragraph, (apart from first) imho.
Took 'ohutkanke' as prob. a collateral form based on a common etymon  
shared by : 'huta/ohute/hutkan/ohutkan' 'root'-->'scion'.
Was particularly perplexed by the exact meaning here, of the verb  
"kila" with that attached intensifier-->"kilah^ca".  The sentence's  
Subject seemed to me to be "Don Juan", who, we are told, incurred an  
opinion ('wiyukcankhiye'), [in the eyes of]  King John (dir,obj.?),  
of being one who passionately believed ['kilah^ca'] in honour/honesty  
and the precise subordinating construction governed by that  
Causative : "kiye". Would argue that 'bitter' (end) is implied by  
context.
Also wondered whether the reduplication (if that is what it is) in  
"waphiphisni" was  intensive : "(He) was extremely unlucky/repeatedly  
unfortunate/ill-starred" But perhaps rather it should read : 'waphipi  
shni', with that '-pi' being used, as frequently, to form abstract  
idea : 'misfortune/ill luck'. On balance, prob. the latter.
Translated phrase 'hecheca esha' as 'even though that was so/the  
case'-->'nonetheless/nevertheless/notwithstanding'.
Intensive suffix on 'yuha' appears to emphasize fact that  trouble &  
bad luck was all Don Juan ever received in return for his pains.]



Emil AFH text :

Navarra el othonwahe wan aithanchanyan yanke kin he Pampeluna e,  
yunkhan he echa nakikshinpi na el akichita sh'aka wan, Ignatius  
eciyapi Loyola etanhan kin oiglushicin na heon hankeya makha  
woyuonihan el oshkinchiyeh^ce k'un hena ayushtan, na isamya wowashi  
wophethethushni oic'ile kta cha, Ithanchan Thawa Iyotan Thanka kin  
etkiya Christ Jesus.

Wildenhues :

"The capital of Navarre is the city of Pampeluna, in the defense of  
which, another great knight, Ignatius of Loyola, received that injury  
which led hin to abandon the career of worldly honour and to seek a  
more honorable service in the livery of His Supreme Commander, Christ  
Jesus."

Another version :

"The capital/leading city of Navarre is Pamplona, and there, during  
its defence a mighty warrior, Ignatius Loyola, (incurred disgrace/ 
obloquy ??), and for that reason he
finally quit his feverish endeavours/activities in honour of land  
(conquests?), in order to seek out for himself a less mercenary  
occupation, for the sake of his Supreme Lord, Christ Jesus."

[NOTE : 'aithanchanyan' seems to mean (city which was) 'overlord  
over' the others. Could we have another example here also, in that  
locative 'a-' prefix, of that (here, implied) comparative 'more than'  
idea, as mentioned in a previous post?
Exact sense of Reflexive Verb "oiglushicA" remains unclear to me -  
ones learns from historical research that St. Ignatius Loyola, a  
founder of the Jesuits, (as was St. Fr. Xavier), was originally a  
rapacious military captain who had his leg shattered by a cannonball,  
in the siege of Pamplona.
Here, (pace Frs. B.&M.'s definition of :  'spoil one's own  
reputation;'disgrace oneself'), the word would appear to signify not  
much more than 'got himself hurt'/'got himself into bad trouble'.
The fascinating word "wophethethu(n)shni", I thought to be prob.  
based on the Root "ophethun" [="buy"], so I interpreted the word as a  
Reduplicated & negated Stative Verb/"adjective" referring to the  
"wowasi" with a sense something akin to : "(He sought out for  
himself) "wowasi" [=work, occupation] that was "isamya" [=more]
"non-commercial-->unsordid"--> 'less mercenary/involving less filthy  
lucre'.]



(Biblical Quotation at bottom of page) : "Wathi taku he?  
Wakhanthanka! Matuwe he?" [1 Par.17, 16.]

"What is my home? God! Who am I?"

The biblical quotation from 1 Chronicles 17, 16.,  does not appear in  
my 1928 edition of Wildenhues's translation, whereas these citations  
from Scripture are given on each page of the 1922 German original.  
(Incidentally, 'Par.' is an abbreviation of 'Paraleipomenon', first  
word of the Greek title of 'Chronicles', in the Septuagint.)



As I see it, given the fact that Emil AFRAID-OF-HAWK was doing  
something quite bold & unprecedented here : In translating a text of  
such a quintessentialy European
provenance into Lakota, he has performed his task with marvellous  
talent & brilliant originality.

I believe also that the exercise of a little imagination allows one  
easily to see the attraction which the turbulent history of such  
"Warrior-Saints" as those militant Basque
firebrands, St.Francis Xavier, and St. Ignatius Loyola, might have  
exercised for a Lakota!
Both men of action, both scions of long line of proud, rebellious  
fighting-men of legendary courage!
What better subject for a Lakota author?

Regards,

Clive Bloomfield.

P.S. Having stated my (or, more importantly, Emil AFRAID-OF-HAWK'S)  
case in the halls of learning, a thing I had long resolved to do, I  
will henceforth call a halt to my 'campaign', in this place, on  
behalf of  the distinguished Lakhota author Emil AFRAID-OF-HAWK!












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