"Watakpeya Tanka" (page 7)

Sun Jan 20 14:06:33 UTC 2008

Dear Clive,
I'm glad that you have found the original (if it can be so called) of this.  I bought a copy of the Wthakpeya Thanka a long time ago and read it with enthusiasm, but found some passagess very difficult to work out, particularly the early bits about his early life in the mountains.  I must read through it again with your notes to hand.
Yours
Bruce

Clive Bloomfield <cbloom at ozemail.com.au> wrote: 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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