draft manuscript - Linguistics - University of California, Berkeley

iii. m1t1R1pe 1p1sasui comulgayaRayakatu maRai kuRataRaSi, nuamai utSaya[Ra]RaSi, Ranasawaitimia
santísimo sacramento?
m1t1R1pe 1p1sa =sui 232 comulga 233 =yaRa =ya =katu
in.middle.of night =abl receive.communion =poss.nomz =sim =intsf
maRai 234 kuRata =RaSi nua =mai utSa 235
thing drink =nass be.big =inact.nomz sin
Rana= sawaiti 236 =mia santísimo sacramento
3pl.ms= encounter =irr Holy Sacrament
=yaRa
=poss.nomz
=RaSi
=nass
close: ‘Drinking in the middle of the night like a communicant, having big sins,
would they encounter the Holy Sacrament?’
target: ‘Drinking in the middle of the night like a communicant, but being a great
sinner, would they receive the Holy Sacrament?’ 237
spanish: none
b. i. Roayamania ranasahuaitimia.
ii. roaya mania ranasahuaitimia.
iii. Roaya mania Ranasawaitimia.
Roaya
neg
mania
how
Rana= sawaiti =mia
3pl.ms= encounter =irr 238
close: ‘There is no way they would encounter it.’
target: ‘There is no way they would receive it.’
spanish: none
(6.33) a. i. Nesepiari tipa ay quiera upacatu Dios comessamaicana, aicetui Dios, upai higuatara,
roaya vischanisuri, roaya mue tasuri, Dios cumessa Ycua?
ii. Nesepiaritipa ayquiera, upacatu Dios comessamaicana, aicetui Dios, upai higuatara,
roaya vischanisuri, roaya muetasuri, Dios cumessaYcua?
iii. nesapiaRitipa aikiaRa, upakatu Dios kumesamaikana, aisetui Dios, upai ikuataRa,
Roaya wiSanisuRi, Roaya m1tasuRi, Dios kumesaikua?
232 The appearance of the ablative =sui in m1t1R1pe 1p1sasui is likely the result of a calque based on Spanish en medio
de la noche or German mitten in der Nacht (depending on the native language of the author). The corresponding
modern expression for ‘midnight’ is 1p1sam1t1R1pI, where =m1t1R1pI functions as a postposition, without need for
the (additional) postposition =sui.
233 From Spanish comulgar ‘receive communion’.
234 The appearance of maRai ‘thing’ as an apparent object here is probably a relic of the generic element noun
incorporation process common in Tupí-Guaraní languages Dietrich (1994:112)’. The construction is not attested
in modern Omagua.
235 In modern Omagua, the affricate of this form has lenided, i.e., uSa.
236 See footnote 228.
237 The doctrinal point being made here is not immediately clear, but we believe that the Jesuits were attempting to
clarify that merely drinking sacramental wine was insufficient for absolution, and that the wine had to be drunk
in the context of Holy Communion in order for it to have the desired spiritual effect. In particular, we interpret
the mention of drinking in the middle of the night ‘like a communicant’ as referring to the hypothetical act of
sneaking into the church and surreptitiously drinking the sacramental wine. We find it plausible that the Jesuits
would have found it particularly important to communicate to new indigenous converts that salvation can only be
achieved with the mediation of the priest, and not directly from the bread and wine consumed in the rites.
238 Omagua permits third-person object pro-drop in this context; the appropriate pronominal object would be muRa.
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