Section 2.9 Nisga'a - GADIM G̱AN G̱ANHL W̓II MM̓AAL
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean Illustrated by: Simon Roy Nisga'a translation by: Hlguwilksihlgum Maaksgum Hlbin (Emma Nyce), Ksim Git Wil Aksnakw (Edna Nyce-Tait), and Wilp Sim’oogit Hleeḵ (Allison Nyce)
Amg̱oogidim sa, sa ahl gwooyim, gyamgim sa,w̓ay n̓ihl dim g̱o’odiit dim wil g̱alaaḵdiit g̱anhl ansipsiip’inskwt.
It is a beautiful, sunny, spring day and the boys run down to play near the water.
Tx̱aan̓itkws aguhl dim wilaa g̱alaaḵdiit ii n̓ihl wildiit g̱ans Waḵhl Ts’imilx, aniip’inskwt tgun, silg̱awilit, silg̱asg̱ootgwit iit sag̱ootkwdiit dim guutdiithl lo’op, tx̱a’am lo’op siwadim̓ bax̱ lo’op tgun ahl lax̱ aks, hlaa ma’uxwdiit bax̱t.
Everything there sparks a new game, and Gadim G̱an’s friend, Waḵhl Ts’imilx, suggests they see who can make a stone skip the farthest on the surface of the water.
Wilaaxdiit wil n̓akwhl dim wil bax̱hl lo’op tgun lax̱ aks iit guutdiit sim t k’ubax̱a’atdiit ahl g̱a’at n̓i wilaa jabihl game dip siwadis gun huxwdii wilim̓ yukw sisuusin.
The boys quickly learn that for a stone to go far it needs to be smooth, black and oval shaped.
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Yukwhl wilt gigil̓hl lo’op dim ang̱alaaḵt iit n̓ihitkwhl ligii agu sbayt, ligii agu, um, haas, g̱an haas t’’ahlihl lax̱ts’eehl aks n̓i wil t’ahlihl g̱an haas n̓ihl nii bax̱at, nidiit wilaax aguhl wat nigit t’il̓t wilaaxt.
As Gadim G̱an wanders far along the shore looking for a good stone he scrambles through the tall grass, tripping over something.
Iit n̓ihl hitkwhl aguyama’ahl watchit log̱am tgwantkw, log̱am ksg̱ooḵ t’img̱est ahl agu tgun, log̱a mm̓aal an win n̓ii bax̱at ii nidiit t’il̓thl wilaaxt.
He falls headfirst into an old canoe hidden in the grass.
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Yukwhl alalgax̱diit ii n̓i wil hit ahl silg̱awilt si’ansiip’inskwt, “Ndahl g̱abiidima’ahl gathl batsdihl luuwandit g̱an mm̓aal dip gunsa?” Nidiit wilaaxdiit.
Gadim G̱an asks, “How many people do you think it could hold?” They didn’t know.
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“Ndayima’a hlaa g̱an̓agwihl hlidaa japkw”, diyahl friendtt Waḵhl Ts’imilx yukwhl liseexwkwdiit sim git agu tgunsa.
Waḵhl Ts’imilx asks, “How many generations ago was it built?”
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Hlaa bakwdiit wil joḵdiit iit ga’adiit hlaa wil yukskw Niye’etdiit way laay̓um ts’ak’im g̱anhl jabit dim hookst ahl dim wil lil̓gitdiit.
Gadim G̱an races home where Grandpa is carving the surface of a huge wooden dish.
Yukwhl wildiit kw’ihl luu-amaamhl g̱ag̱ootdiit luu-si’amaakwdiit aguhl ga’adiit jabis Niye’ediit iit ga’as Niye’et wil mukwhl hupxt iit gidax̓at, “Ndahl wilhl hupxt g̱ang̱an mukwt?” diya.
Gadim G̱an shouting very excitedly and Grandpa looks up. He sees the bruise on Gadim G̱an’s forehead. “What happened?” Grandpa asks.
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Ji t’aayihl g̱oott hlaa yukwdim woḵt iit ḵ’oom̓ax̱kw g̱oot dim hugax̱ wils dip nibipt g̱ans dip niye’et dim dii jabithl agu dim hlalbithl g̱an, totem pole, ts’ak’, lip agu n̓ihl hasak̓thl dim jabit.
That evening just before falling asleep, Gadim G̱an thought, “I’d like to carve canoes and totem poles just like my ancestors.”
K’iit gidax̱at, “Dim misoolhl wakgwin,” diya, “Silg̱a tx̱alpx̱dool, kwsdinsool n̓ihl gidax̱at as Niye’et.”
“I have to ask Grandpa tomorrow how many brothers his father had, four, five or more?”
Aguhl g̱ant han̓iig̱oodihl huxw wans wakkwt txalpxdool, kwsdinsool, gidax̱as tgusda?
Question: Why did Gadim G̱an think that his grandpa had two, three, four or five more brothers?
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