Section 7.9 Wet'suwet'en - HALHT'Ï'M BÏ C'OLDIW TS'AN
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean
Illustrated by: Bethani L'Heureux
Wet'suwet'en translation by: Rita George and Gary George of the Wet'suwet'en Nation
A note about the recording of this story from Gary George:
“This story had a journey in the actual recording itself.
Rita George's (Gulaxkan) home is located in the Burns Lake (Tsil Kaz Koh) region of BC. Sometimes big trucks can be heard going by her home as it climbs the steep hill and this noise was interfering with the recording. So we drove down by the lake (Bin) also known as Ka Kuz Bin, near the home of the late Henry and Patrick Isaac. It was windy nïlhts'iy) and this too was affecting the sound, so we decided to drive across (nyen) the lake and onto the yinta (land), where we found a quiet spot in the forest and completed the recording. That evening we also saw a deer (niltiw') on the road and it was a beautiful (honzu') on the land.
This recording is the end result of that adventure on the land in July 2021. Thanks to modern technology (i-pad mini), and the perseverance of Rita George (who is now 82), this recording was made possible. It should be noted that similar terms are used in this Wet'suwet'en recording: Yis (wolf) or D'ikuntikh lhic (wild dog). In addition, there are variations on terms depending on location of fluent speakers. For example, the term for bald eagle in Wet'suwet'en is Sggïgit which is similar to Gitxsan term of x̱sgaak, while Wet'suwet'en speakers in eastern regions around Burns Lake, also referred to eagle as Syil-beya (Wet'suwet'en) and s̱balyan (Nadleh-Stella Whut'enne).”
See Appendix A.1 for a glossary of Wet'suwet'en words and phrases
Si Sozï’ Halht’ï’m Bï c'oldiw di cidede’ Tso sa nawinec gwin an adec bitso’ habe nawinec Ts’an këyikh wa zuh ai een ‘ilyegh
My name is Small Number. This is a story that I’ve heard from my grandmother and that she heard from her grandmother. It is about an old totem pole built by my ancestors on a beach close to our village.
’Ëlhidzïn sggïgit yik t’alh ka c’ë’ën lhok cyo oi ya bihl Yik da lehn to guht Yik Kay yit Nadah Bilegh Bits’i yiz zï lhok tabe ‘enekh kya Sggïgit Bits’int’a’ Ti ehl tus tëkh en kya lhok ‘ene khlil
One day, the eagle was looking for food. He spotted a huge salmon just below the surface of the water, he plummeted to the river and caught the salmon with his mighty talons. But, the salmon was so big that even eagle’s strong wings could only lift the fish just a bit above the surface of the water.
Sggïgit Gyehl sihll Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh
“Help! Help!” – screeched the eagle.
Detsan Yezeehs-zi nadah Bidebegh bi lhok ya din geht
The raven heard eagle’s cry, so he flew down and pierced his beak into the salmon’s body.
sggïgit detsan lhok hi-yehl-suhts et dihn ze tabï hehn kyeh Tobegh ne-nihl-zuht
The eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon together, but the fish was so big that they only moved the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh Sggïgit kwa Gyehl sihll
“Help! Help!” – screeched the eagle again.
Sggïgit gyuhl sihl Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh Sus sggïgit gyuhl sihl ut diz tzi da kyun tuhts hahl kla sa yïn belagh kyo beyin Sggïgit hi yiz gowh
The bear heard the eagle’s piercing shrill, ran out of forest, stood up and grabbed the eagle with his huge paws.
Sus sggïgit Kiyh yihl kehl kla sggïgit Detsan lhok ohye Kiyh yihl kehl dinze lhok tabegh un kyah onzah tabï winu naneehlti
The bear was pulling the eagle, and the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh sus dihl gwagh
“Help! Help!” – roared the bear.
D’ikuntikh lhic (yis) sus gyuhl sihl yin diz zigh d’kyun tuht hahl gla duhk dadïn ya kl sus bikyuhn duhtz yiz gowh
The wolf heard the bear’s call, ran out of forest, stood up and grabbed the bear with his long front legs.
D’ikuntikh lhic (yis) sus oh ya ki yihl kehl sus gwïn an sggïgit oh ya ki yihl kehl sggïgit ingwa gih detsan oh ya ki yihl kehl detsan lhok oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok Tabï in kyah adin za lhok Tabï wa zouh ni ki ehl kyot
The wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh Yis gyahl sil
“Help! Help!” – howled the wolf.
Tsa D’ikuntikh lhic Yis di zihs i to guht dut ne c’ikwah wus zu hahlt kla yis bile ba yiz gouwh
The beaver heard wolf’s whimpering, ran out of the river, and grabbed the wolf with her hands.
Tsa D’ikuntikh lhic (Yis) oh ya ki yihl kehl D’ikuntikh lhic (Yis) sus oh ya ki yihl kehl sus sggïgit oh ya ki yihl kehl sggïgit detsan oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok oh ya ki yihl kehl lhok zehl in kyah adin za lhok Tabï wa zouh na nihl ti
The beaver was pulling the wolf, the wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, but the fish was so big that they could only move the salmon just a little bit closer to the shore.
Sleg’iknekh Sleg’iknekh tsa gyahl sil bi kyeht bï to guht hadihl da
“Help! Help!” – the beaver cried as she slapped the water with her tail.
Dilkw'akh, tsa gyahl sil c’ikwah Bikëcin (leg) Dilkw'akh tsa ghyel zihl a diz sigh
The frog heard beaver’s call, ran out of the river, and grabbed the beaver with his legs.
Dilkw'akh tsa gyahl sil sus sggïgit detsan lhok Dilkw'akh tsa yis sus sggïgit detsan lhok
The frog was pulling the beaver, the beaver was pulling the wolf, the wolf was pulling the bear, the bear was pulling the eagle, the eagle and the raven were pulling the salmon, and together they heaved the salmon on to the shore.
Sggïgit detsan, sus, lhok, D’ikuntikh lhic (Yis) tobegh Dilkw'akh
Question: Why did the eagle, the raven, the bear, the wolf, and the beaver need help from a little frog to pull the salmon on to the shore?
