Are these words for BC game animals?

[David Robertson]

Hi, Leanne and others who've written to me,

I should maybe clarify, the CJ selection I posted was originally in the
Wawa shorthand.  So there were no capital letters in the original.  I added
them for emphasis.

And the Wawa writing is a "write it the way it sounds" system, so a
spelling like KARIN probably isn't just a mistaken spelling of "cairn".

Having said that, I've got to say your suggestion is an interesting one,
Leanne.  In another person's Wawa writing I have found spellings
(pronunciations) that resemble SATAK and KARIN, if these are indeed "stake"
and "cairn".  Some aboriginal folks evidently had trouble pronouncing 2
consonants in a row, and broke them up with a vowel.

But I'm still leaning toward the hunting interpretation.  The fact that
this writer says the (apparently) same thing twice is no problem, because
most aboriginal writers of CJ repeated everything they said, 2, 3 or more
times.

I'm still unclear about KAROWAN and "paper salmon", especially.  Anyone?

--Dave R


On Wed, 3 Nov 2004 15:16:00 -0800, Leanne Riding <riding at TIMETEMPLE.COM>
wrote:

>I'd like to guess on the second part of the note. I'm not sure what the
person
>is doing so it is hard to guess, but I'll hazard the note relates to road
>building or trail making.
>
>I'll speculate that the first part is a list of provisions, while the
second
>part relates to his plans. I'll hazard a guess that KARIN means "Cairn" and
>SATAK means "Stake"? I'll go out on a limb too and say that SOM might be
also
>spelled TZUM. If intended as "writing", perhaps some mail, a work order,
contract,
>  map, plan, or another type of document?? If the intention is "marking",
this
>would be a "blaze", or a mark made on a tree.
>
>Since these suggestions can all be markers, it could be that the intention
>is to measure and mark out some property or claim, or mark a trail or pack
>route.
>
>If "cairn," the activity may incorporate some trail or route finding, since
>as far as I know, a cairn would not be created in the woods or meadows. A
>typical marker cairn would only about knee high, and found in a gravelly,
rocky
>area where other markers might be quickly obscured, such as across a
gravelly
>slope or on top of a mountain ridge. Some mining claims might have been
that
>high. If cairns were made, some could still be in place.
>
>Stakes I'm less familiar with, but they bring to mind the delineation of
property
>or rights. On the other hand, stakes can also be a route marker, across
open
>areas where there aren't any rocks and trees. I'm not sure what size the
stakes.
>  Very large stakes suggest fences.
>
>Blazes are the marking of choice in wooded areas, where all the branches
and
>plants are a little confusing and it is easy to get turned around. A big
gash
>is cut out of the bark of a tree at about eye level, and is easy to spot.
>
>To me it sounds like this person may be planning on doing some trail
marking
>after doing their other work. For example, if the work is road building,
the
>writer may be setting out the route for the road builders.
>
>On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, at 03:59 , David Robertson wrote:
>
>> Hi,
>>
>> Can anybody help me understand the CAPITALIZED words in this passage?
>>
>> Alta naika klatwa kopa muntin; naika tiki [h]ant KARABU pi KAROWAN OK pi
>> PIPA SAMIN.  Pus naika kopit naika mamuk, naika aiak naika klatu kopa
>> muntin; alta naika mamuk KARIN, naika mamuk SATAK pi SOM kanamokst naika.
>>
>> English translation:
>>
>> "Now I'm going to the mountains; I want to hunt KARABU and KAROWAN OK and
>> PIPA SAMIN.  When I'm done with my work, I'm going right away to the
>> mountains; then I'll [do/make] KARIN, I'll [do/make] SATAK and SOM with
me.
>> "
>>
>> Note 1: This was originally in shorthand.  The word [h]ant, which I
>> translated as 'hunt', could alternatively be the numeral 2.  (Don't ask.)
>> And the word OK could be the numeral 9.  So the write could be
>> saying, "...I want 2 KARABU and 9 KAROWAN..."
>>
>> Note 2: I think I recognize the word 'caribou' here.  But what would the
>> other capitalized words mean?  Could any of them be from aboriginal
>> languages?  Or could mamuk KARIN = 'carry[ing]', mamuk SATAK = 'stock
[ing]
>> [up]', and SOM = 'some'*** from English, so the last bit means "I'll pack
>> it up, and I'll cache it and [bring] some with me"?
>>
>> ***som = 'some' is found elsewhere in shorthand CJ.
>>
>> Thanks for your suggestions,
>>
>> --Dave R.
>>
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>>
>
>-- Leanne (http://timetemple.com)
>
>To respond to the CHINOOK list, click 'REPLY ALL'.  To respond privately
to the sender of a message, click 'REPLY'.  Hayu masi!

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