The rabbit story
LING 570 Linguistics Field Methods, December 8th, 2003
The Rabbit story was elicited from Janice Nelima Nyongesa by Vera Wilhelmsen and Julia Schnake on September 25th. It was part of an assignment for 570 Field Methods, and Janice was our language resource person during the course. We had asked her to tell us a short story in Swahili. We let her know a couple of days ahead of time, so she had time to think. She decided to tell us a story that she knew in her own mother tongue, Luiya, which she translated into Swahili, seemingly on the spot. She said it was a traditional Luyia story.
The story has been handed down though the generations orally. It is a hortatory story, with an explicit moral to it. It was told to children as a warning and encouragement not to steal or lie. Julia and I were discussing if the child who fell in the river drowned, it is not clear form the story but it seems to be the point of the story. He had to be punished for stealing and lying, and since is it meant to scare children from doing that, it may be implied that he died. The story contains several clues to Kenyan culture, but it not possible for me to separate the Luyia culture from the Swahili or general Kenyan culture at this point.
The story was recorded on a tape recorder, the thereafter transcribed phonemically by Vera and Julia. With the help of Janice we then wrote the story out in Swahili orthography. At the time we elicited the story there was many unfamiliar words in it, but as we worked with the text we realized that we recognized many of the words and morphemes from the other story we were analyzing (‘Hadithi ya ngamia aliyekuwa mvivu”). I had made a wordlist for that story and when I interlinearized the rabbit story using that wordlist I only lacked a few words. Janice supplied the meaning of the remaining words.
Janice is in her early thirties, I think. She was born and grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, with her mother and younger sister. She moved to Canada five years ago to study at Trinity Western University. She has graduated now and currently works in the cafeteria at the university, hired by Sodexho. She is unmarried and lives in Langley, BC. Her religion is Christian.
Janice grew up speaking her mother tongue Luiya. She learned Swahili before she started school, by playing with the other kids in her street. In school she learned English, and only later did she get teaching in Swahili. She is however fluent and literate in Swahili as well as English. Even though she spoke the urban slang in Nairobi (Sheng), she knows and was careful to teach us ‘proper’ Swahil. Having completed a degree at Trinity Western University her mastery of English is very good.
Hapo zamani za kale palikuwa na Sungura, bibi Sungura na watoto, walikuwa na watoto kumi.
Once upon a time there was a father rabbit, the rabbit wife and their ten kids.
901: texts in the speaker’s language, 5310: verbal arts, 593: family relationships, 594: nuclear family, 162: composition of populations
This is a traditional story that Janice translated from her mother tounge (Luiya) onto Swahili. It seems to come out of an oral culture, and has a neatly organized structure. It is introduced by the Swahili equivalent to "Once upon a time..". It introduces a family that has ten kids. The number of kids is probably not unusual by Kenyan standards.
Sasa siku moja kulikuwa na njaa, na kukuwa na chakula kabisa kabisa kabisa.
One day there was a famine, and they had no food at all.
731: disasters
The concept of famine is well known in Kenya.
Na Sungura akaenda kila siku alikuwa akipata maziwa anaenda anaweka nyumbani, lakini kila saa wakienda kulima mtu anakuja kuchukua mazima, anakunywa.
The rabbit went every day to get milk and he kept in in the house, but every time they went to the field to work someone came and drank the milk.
240: agriculture, 685: property offences
The rabbits worked in a field, farming, as does 70% of the population in Africa. Stealing food is not accepted in this culture.
Saa siku ingine baba Sungura aka, akaka, akafikiri, akafikiri akasema “Ngoja nitashika huyo mwizi.”
Then one day father rabbit thought hard, and he said: "Just wait, I will catch this thief!"
Sasa wakaenda kwa mto, akoweka kamba pande moja wa mto na ingine pande ule mwingine wa mto.
So they all went to the river, and he put a rope on one side of the river, and across to the other side of the river.
Akawaambia watoto wake wote: “Saa kila mtu, lazima avuke hiyo kamba. Yule ataanguka ndiyo ameiba maziwa.”
He told his all of his kids: "Now everyone must cross this rope, and the one that falls in the river is the one who stole the milk."
680: offenses and sanctions, 685: properties offenses, 784: avoidance and taboo
The thief has to be found and punished. There seems to be a religious belief that the thief would be singled out and punished supernaturally.
Saa wakaanza , yule mtoto wa kwanza akaenda, wa pili mpaka wa tisa na kila saa walikuwa wakienda walikuwa wanaimba; Kama ni mimi nimeiba maziwa, kamba ikatike ni-anguke kwa maji.
So they began, first child number one began to go over, and then the second, until number nine, and every time they went over were singing; "If it is me that stole the milk, may the rope break and I fall in the water."
784: avoidance and taboo, 533: music
The children accept the assumption that the guilty one will be singled out. They make a chant that they sing as the cross the river: singing while working is common in Kenya.
Ikafika yule mtoto wa kumi akaenda, akafika katikati akaanguka, wakesema: “ Ahh, kumbe yeye ndio alikuwa anaiba.”
Then it was child number ten's turn, and when he reached the middle of the rope, he fell, and the others said: " Oh, so it is him who was stealing!"
577: ethics
Justice is done, the guilty one is punished.
Sasa, baba Sungura akawambia wale watoto wengine:” Mnaona sasa inawafundisha msiibe na msidanganye”.
So father rabbit said to the other children: Now you have learned that you should not steal or lie!
577: ethics , 867: transmission of cultural norms
The morale of the story is clearly stated to the children, and the listeners. It seems that it is important for parents to set an example for their kids and teach them a lesson of they do something wrong. The parents need to teach the children what is right and wrong.
Imeisha.
The end.
5310: verbal arts
The story follows the conventions and end with a formulaic phrase.
|
