A Ceremony

Start Time	Peskotomuhkati-Wolastoqey	English
00:01	Nahahte koti-yuhul, akonutomun	I was just going to ask you, tell about
00:05	Claude O'Bear wikuwak.	[that time] at Claude O'Bear's house.
00:06	I know, oh my God!	I know, oh my God!
00:09	Etuci...	It was...
00:10	mec-al tutakin nit pokhulakon.	It must have been this big around, that drum.
00:12	Mec-al twenty-five pounds	It must have weighed 25 pounds,
00:14	li-tkiqon.	it was that heavy.
00:15	Itom Claude,	Claude said,
00:17	sakhiptuwit, "I want you to sing a song."	when he brought it to me, "I want you to sing a song."
00:19	Ntiyahpon, "Claude,	I told him, "Claude,
00:21	etutalokittiyetkiqahk yut pokuhulakon,	this drum is so huge,
00:23	kat-tehc nkisintu."	I won't be able to sing."
00:26	Itom, "Cu."	He said, "You can do it."
00:28	On ehta nwihqehtun.	So I took it.
00:29	Itom naka, "Musa	And he said, "Don't
00:30	sici-punomuhkoc hokek."	put it next to your body."
00:33	Itom, "'Sami kmoshunon."	He said, "Because it's our heart."
00:35	Ma-te, ma-te tama,	No... nowhere,
00:37	tehpu yuktok eliwisihtit...	just these [strings] that are called...
00:41	On kal. Tan wen 'toliwiyan?	I don't know. What would one call them?
00:43	On, kat-olu, nkociciyak niktok.	And, that's right, I know what those are.
00:47	Veins.	Veins.
00:47	- Veins.	- Veins.
00:48	U, cehcisok.	Oh, veins.
00:49	Cehcisok.	Veins.
00:50	Itom ma-te niktok tama, iyey...	They're not anywhere...
00:52	Tehpu 'qotuhkayiw tama opuwok.	They are just by themselves somewhere.
00:55	Itom nikk... ktahcuwi-sakolonomon	He said you have to hold
00:56	nit pokhulakon, itom, naka	the drum that way, he said, and
00:58	ktolapekhomon.	play it.
00:59	Itom cu-oc peciyewiw.	He said it would come.
01:02	Mec-al newonul nkisintuwatomon lintuwakonol.	I must have sung four songs.
01:05	Naka eci-tkiqahk.	And it was so heavy.
01:05	Naka cel skat nit, ipa nit,	And it wasn't even, hey,
01:07	cel-al-ote skat, ansa wiphun.	it wasn't even heavy; it was just like a feather.
01:11	Etutalokittiyekat Tiyena.	Deanna danced up a storm.
01:13	Mec-al 'taspalokittiyekan.	She must have danced this high.
01:15	Tihkehpute-ote nit lamikuwam,	The house was just shaking inside,
01:18	naka wot ehpit, yut-te sehke,	and this woman, she stood right here,
01:20	ahtoli-tpinuwinokot etolintuhtiyek.	she kept watching us singing.
01:24	Naka nihtol, ihil,	And those ...
01:26	wampum,	wampum,
01:27	cel sehkomessik.	that even stood right up.
01:30	Etutahtuwek!	It was so bright.
01:31	Etutahtuwek nihtol.	They were so bright.
01:32	Etutahtuwek nit lamikuwam!	It was so bright inside the house!
01:35	Etutalosultiyek,	We were sweating so much,
01:37	etolintu, etolokat Tiyena.	me singing, Deanna dancing.
01:38	Tiyena-ona etutalokittiyentaq.	Deanna was singing her heart out, too.
01:40	Psi-te ntukcokpawolotipon-ote.	We were all soaked with sweat.
01:41	'Sami nit wampum...	Because that wampum...
01:43	Ceste pomawsuwik.	Just as if it were alive.
01:45	Sehkomu-ote.	It stood right up.
01:46	Nit elessik.	That's what happened to it.
01:49	Nil kahk-te wahte tama nutalokittiyha pihcetu,	But I was somewhere really far away,
01:51	ma-te nkocicihtuwon tama nuci.	I don't know where I went.
01:54	Ntahtolapotomon skitkomiq,	I kept looking at the earth,
01:57	ntolapotomon skitkomiq naka	I looked at the earth and
01:59	kisuhson,	our sun,
02:00	psi-te keq naka kuhkomosson.	everything and our grandmother.
02:02	Wahte tama nti, pihcetu.	I was somewhere far off.
02:04	Mam-ote nkisi-wicuhkemoq not Lillian.	Finally, that Lillian helped me.
02:06	Ah, Lillian...	Ah, Lillian...
02:08	Aha, iya, nutsihpiluwet ehpit.	Yes, she's a healer.
02:11	She, iyey, brought me back down.	She brought me back down.
02:14	Nil, wotta ehpit ahtolikapuwit	With me, this woman kept standing there
02:16	ihik yet oloqiw...	over that way...
02:17	Cuwihc.	Cuwihc.
02:19	Nama, ma kahk Cuwihc.	No, not Cuwihc.
02:20	Ma-te nit ihiwihpon Cuwihc.	Cuwihc wasn't there.
02:22	U, qin-ote?	Oh, really?
02:22	Nama, tehpu nit kilun.	No, just you and me.
02:24	Naka Lillian.	And Lillian.
02:24	- Naka Lillian.	- And Lillian.
02:25	Naka Claude.	And Claude.
02:26	'Sami ktihiponuhpon ihik Ottawa.	Because we were in Ottawa at that time.
02:30	On not ehpit weckuwikapuwit	And that woman that was standing
02:32	nit ihik oloqiw khakonok.	over by that door,
02:35	Ntolitahasin,	I thought,
02:36	neqt nkisi-lapoma,	I looked at her once
02:37	nit-te etoli-miwessit.	and suddenly she disappeared
02:39	Apc nmihqitahasin yuktok	and then I remembered that these
02:42	'pisunuwi-pomasuwinuwok, itomuhtit.	were medicine people, they say.
02:44	Tan ci lapomot	When you look at
02:45	cocahq tama etoli-wicuhkemosk,	a spirit somewhere where they are helping you,
02:47	musa ahtoli-assokapomahkoc,	you must not look at them too long,
02:49	kat-tehc kisi-wicuhkemku.	they won't be able to help you.
02:51	Saku ntolitahasin ma-tehc apc ntolapomaw. Nit-te	So I thought I won't look at her again. Right then
02:54	nomiya nit ahtolikapuwit naka	Right there, I saw her just standing there and
02:56	etutalokittiyentultiyek.	we were singing up a storm.
03:00	Cel nomiya --	I even saw -
03:01	cel pitiyahtuwepu Lillian naka, iya, Claude, wahte ihik...	Lillian was all aglow and Claude, way over...
03:05	Pihcetu... pih... naka....	Far off... far... and...
03:07	Ya, pihcetu...	Yeah, far off...
03:08	Ceste pihcetu eyihtit naka	Like they were far off and
03:10	yut-te ktiyultipon.	we were all right here.
03:13	Tuci-al,	Yes, it was about ...
03:14	ma-te nkosicihtuwon	I don’t know how long
03:15	tan nqoni-iyultinen nit waht,	we were there,
03:17	tama-al ntiyultipon.	wherever we were.
03:20	Naka psiw-ote, elinaqahk, ihil,	And they had put all
03:24	yuhtol, ihil, kisi-punomuhtit yut ihik… tahalu psi-te keq…	these things there …
03:29	Aha, knickknacks.	Yes, knickknacks.
03:30	Ma-te nit keq skicinuwey.	That’s not something Indian.
03:31	Ma-te yaqa ktihiwonewin nit	Because we don’t have anything
03:32	eliwihtasik.	called that.
03:33	Psi-te keq poneqamu	Everything fell down
03:35	’sami eli-tihkehputek lamikuwam.	because of the vibrations inside the house.
03:39	Wihqalokittiyaceyu neket, init?	It was fun that time, wasn’t it?
03:41	Ya, init?	Yes, it was, wasn’t it?
03:43	Kiluwaw tehpu?	Just the two of you?
03:44	Nilun tehpu.	Just us.
03:45	Ntotoluhkepon nilun.	We were working.
03:46	Ya, ntapoluhkepon.	Yes, we had gone there to work.
03:48	And this was our break. You know,	And this was our break. You know,
03:50	dinner naka wampum naka,	dinner and wampum and
03:52	iyey, teachings.	teachings.
03:54	Sakhiptuwan wot pokuhulakon.	The drum was brought to her.
03:58	Keqsey pokuhulakon nit?	What kind of drum was it?
04:00	On kal.	I don't know.
04:00	Medicine drum anyway.	Medicine drum anyway.
04:01	Ya, metey kahk-olu. Metey…	Yes, metey it was. Metey…
04:04	Metey.	Metey.
04:08	Medicine drum.	Medicine drum.
04:14	Nil apaciyay,	When I came back,
04:17	you know, literally-te	you know, I literally
04:18	npokossin like pemsokhasik.	fell on the floor.
04:21	Poneqalokittiyamu knickknacks.	The knickknacks fell down.
04:28	Took a trip.	Took a trip.
04:29	From singing.	From singing.
04:31	Way up in the heavens.	Way up in the heavens.
04:32	That’s what you call…	That’s what you call…
04:33	Spirit.	Spirit.
04:35	It took you up there.	It took you up there.
04:37	Keq nit liwihtasuwiw	What do you call that when you
04:38	wen skat keq wihqehtuhk naka	don't take anything and
04:41	qinotewey-ote.	it’s the real thing.
04:42	Qinotewey nit wen...	It’s the real thing when...
04:44	It’s a vision.	It’s a vision.
04:45	Espiyat... Ya!	So high... Yeah!
04:46	Tan nit toli-skicinuwihtasu?	How do you say that in Passamaquoddy?
04:49	Gee, on kal.	Gee, I don’t know.
04:51	You’re just as clear as a bell and ...	You’re just as clear as a bell ...
04:52	Transference.	Transference.
04:54	It’s like a spiritual high.	It’s like a spiritual high.
04:58	On kal.	I don't know.
04:59	Ma kahk wen piluwapiqahat.	It's not someone hallucinating.
05:01	No.	No.
05:01	- No.	- No.
05:03	Npiluwapiqaha kahk-ona.	I’m also seeing things, as well.
05:05	Well-ona.	Well that, too.
05:05	Yeah.	Yeah.
05:07	But with all your faculties.	But with all your faculties.
05:09	Traveling.	Traveling.
05:10	Aha.	Yes.
05:11	Spirits take you,	Spirits take you,
05:13	oliyat wen.	if you go along.
05:14	Ma kahk motewolon?	Not the devil?
05:17	On kal.	I don't know.
05:19	Well,	Well,
05:21	on kal, ma nihtawi-	I don’t know how
05:22	skicinuwiwihtomuwon.	to say it in Passamaquoddy.
05:23	It’s like a high.	It’s like a high.
05:23	It is a high.	It is a high.
05:25	But natural.	But natural.
05:26	It’s a natural ...	It’s a natural ...
05:27	It’s a natural high.	It’s a natural high.
05:28	Lintuwakon from, from ...	A song from...
05:31	Olotahkewakon.	A ceremony.
05:32	Ya. That’s what it is.	Yes. That’s what it is.
05:33	Olotahkewakon.	A ceremony.
05:34	Ceremony.	- Ceremony.
05:35	Olotahkewakon.	Ceremony.
05:39	’Sami nit, iyey…	Because that’s…
05:41	It’s a natural high.	It’s a natural high.
05:43	Olotahkewakon, ya.	A ceremony, yes.
05:46	Nit nit kcitpot.	That’s sacred.
05:48	Aha, kcitpot, iya.	Yes, it is right up there.
05:55	Nit ehta toke eyultiyiq.	That’s where we’re at now.
05:58	Nwewomotomon.	I feel it.