Texts

Since they couldn’t read and write, I only spoke Nawat.

Nipejki niaw ka tamachtiluyan kwak nikpiatuya majtakti shiwit. Maya nimumachtij ume taksaya.

I started going to school at the age of ten. I only studied up to second grade.

Yajika kwak naja nichikitik maya niksajsajsaka kumal pal niknamaka. Iwan ipatiw chupi naka pal nikua tay nimuneki, wan chupi pal nimukwepa nikua senpa kumal.

So when I was a boy I just carried kumals to sell (in the market). What I earned was hardly enough to pay for what I needed and to buy more kumals.

Panuk ka nechilwijket ma niajsi ka Kulalmumachtiani pal nechishmatit. Kiunij panuk, pejki niajsi pal nechishmatit, wan kwak nechishmatket, ne nantzin Vicky de Amaya nechilwij:

Then they invited me to visit the Students’ Circle. So along I went, and when they met me, Mrs. Vicky de Amaya said to me:

They say that when the village started, there were not many houses, only thirty-two, and the houses were surrounded by trees.

Padiush, Nan Tal, ka taja tikitak kwak ninesik, tikitak kwak nipejki niweya, kwak nimuchiwki takat. Mupanpa naja niwelik nikchiwa muchi tay niwelik tik ne tunal, ninemik wejwey takapiltzin, nechmunekiket pal nitekitik iwanmet. Panu sujsul tunal wan nimuchiwki chulet, kunij teya akaj nechneki kwak nikukuya, maya nuiknuwan, kenhayuk nechnekit pero ajsi keman teya akaj nechneki, nan nuiknuwan, ajsi se tunal ka naja nimiki, kunij nan nusiwaw nan nupilawan nechnekit, yawit nechmimat ken kimimat ne kupajsul tik ne kupajsultal, maya taja, Tunan Tal, ashta kwak timikit titechneki ka kunij tiktapua mumajmajkul pal titechnamiki. Yajika timetzilwitiat padiush, Tunan Tal!

Thank you, Mother Earth, because you saw when I was born, you saw when I began to grow, when I became an adult. Thanks to you I was able to do everything I did today, I had a long youth, I was needed for work. After many days I grew old, then nobody wants me when I am ill, only my brothers, they still love me but the day will come when nobody wants me, not even my brothers, the day will come when I die, then not even my wife and my children will want me, they will throw me out as they throw out rubbish, only you, Mother Earth, want us even when we die, for then you open your arms to receive us. For that I thank you, Mother Earth!

Kwak yaja kinekituya mukwepa asumati, mukwepa. Mukwepa maya kwak yaja kineki tamutia.

He could turn into a monkey whenever he wanted to. He only did so when he wanted to give someone a fright.

Yajika inan achtu kitakwaltia. Wan kwak kita ka ne tutuchin welia patani, kunij kichiwa ka kiselia mayan, pal pewa patani. Ka su te kichiwa kiunij, ne tutuchin te keman patani, maya kichia ne takwal tik ishumul.

So first the mother feeds it, and when it sees that the baby bird is already able to fly, it makes it go hungry so that it will start to fly. Because if it doesn’t do that, the baby bird will never fly, it will just wait for food in its nest.