Section 2.12 Tla’amin - šɛ nuxʷɛɬ hɛga Mɛnaθey
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean Illustrated by: Simon Roy Tla’amin translation by: Mabel Harry, Karen Galligos, and Oshelle, Tla’amin Nation
hɛhew ʔit ʔi:mot t̓okʷ. hojɛyʔɩƛ̓ qʷɛt. ʔukʷtəm kʷʋnɛtas ʔɛʔajuxʷas qaqsɛms. ƛɛƛxʷatawnatəm Kespaul ga gatasəm kʷɛʔɛt nijɛ kʷa t̓aθəmays.
It is a very beautiful day. They ran down to the beach. Everything they saw sparked a new game. Kespaul spoke, “lets see who can throw a stone the furthest in the water”.
heyɛʔot toxʷoxʷəs nəms kʷ ʔi: xajays - tətlɛčeyin, θačays,ʔi θič̓. tawtawusaman ta kʷɛt Menaθɛy kʷ ʔi: xagis.
The boys quickly learn that a good stone that will travel far must be - oval, smooth and flat. Menathey walked far along the beach looking for good rocks.
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θoga kʷumšɩn ta ƛɛʔɛgən. k̓ɛlɛtšɩn kʷ ƛəqƛak̓t ƛaqəm.
He went towards the bushy area. He tripped in the long grass.
ɬaxʷiš ʔi θo hɛgayin. tˢaqɛqʷan kʷ tamas. jaqa kʷa nɛ ša nuxʷɛɬ. xoxmotoɬč nɛʔas, panosʔot ʔata ƛaqəm.
He fell over headfirst. Menathey hit his head on something. All of a sudden he saw the canoe. It must have been there a long time, covered over in grass.
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nɛ kʷ kʷakʷɛšit ta tutəmtamiš, qapqaptas ta nuxʷɛɬ. hɛhew xoʔoɬomiš. hɛhew ti:mot. “kʷɛnayɛčɛ qayɛmɩxʷ tət ʔowoɬɛtoɬ?” natəm Menaθɛy.
The boys stand around the canoe. Rubbing their hands over the top of the canoe. It looks very old. It is very big. “I wonder how many people it would have held”, said Menathey.
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“čɩmčɛ θuxʷɛns xoʔoɬos ta hititoɬ?” natəm Kɛspaul. niʔyɛxʷɛgas kʷ qaqsɛmos. nɛ kʷ ga taqəm kʷənas gət yiqašoɬ ta nuxʷɛɬ.
“I wonder how old it is”, said Kespaul. The boys forgot about their game. They spent a long time talking about who might have used the old canoe.
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jɩƛ ju Mɛnaθɛy kʷ nes kʷʋkʷpa ʔɛʔɛxɛtas ša ti kʷaɬt. hotot qayɛhəm hanəm qʷašqʷiš Mɛnaθɛy. šoʔosəm kʷʋkʷpas. papkʷatas ta q̓ax ʔičsɛns Mɛnaθɛy. “čɛmoɬčxʷ?” natəm kʷʋkʷpa. niyɛxʷəm Mɛnaθɛy ša ʔičsɛns. ƛaʔayin tawtas šɛ kʷʋkʷpas ninijɛ kʷ θiyɛyčs ša nuxʷɛɬ. qʷayin tasɛčoɬ kʷ qʷomis.
Menathey ran home where grandpa was carving a huge feast dish. Menathey is shouting excitedly. Grandpa looks up. He saw the bruise on Menathey's forehead. “What happened”, asked grandfather. Menathey had forgotten that he had bruised his forehead. He began to tell his grandpa about the canoe they found. “It must be at least a hundred years old”, said Menathey.
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nonpeganəm Mɛnaθey hɛhew kʷ ƛačts,“namθam kʷatˢ ƛoƛsəm, ʔukʷsam tam hayhitən, nam kʷatˢ hɛhew.” gayɩtˢəm ʔatˢ kʷʋkʷpa kʷisəm kʷʋnas kʷɛnayɛ ʔayɛštanos ʔatˢ čɛčmɛqʷ? saʔa, čɛlas,mos,θiyɛčɩs,kʷanas kʷɛʔɛt?
Menathey was thinking just as he was about to fall asleep, “when I grow up I will also be a builder and carver. Just like them. I will ask grandpa tomorrow how many brothers his father had. Two, three, four, five or more…”
gayɛɬtanč: čɛmasčɛ nonpeganəms Mɛnaθey kʷʋnas kʷɛnayɛ ʔayɛštans ša čɛčmeqʷs - saʔa, ,čɛləs, mos, θiyɛčɩs,kʷanas kʷɛʔɛt?
Question: Why did Menathey think that that his great grandpa might have two, three, four, five or more brothers?
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