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1164 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 7
"When I look out at the mountains of my grandfathers'
land, I imagine that my grandfathers are stiU
alive." That is, when he opens the door in the morning
and goes out, he sees a big rock standing up, just like
a man walking, just as though his grandfathers had aU
come alive and were walking across from the other side
of the bay. But it's nothing but rocks sticking up.
The structure is:
Refrain:
Stanza I:
Refrain:
Stanza II:
A
A
A
A
B
B
D'+
B
A'
A
A'
A
C
D
C
D'+
A'
C
A' C+
McAUester remarks that the melody bears a faint
resemblance to that of the 'Song for the Frog Screen'
(1954, 2-2-A) by the same composer.
TluknaxAdi Song for the Frog Screen
1954, 2-2-A; recorded by Frank Italio on May 7,
1954, 6-2-A; recorded by Mrs, Frank Dick on May 17,
This song was composed by Dry Bay Chief George,
Qawusa, (1850 ?-1916) about the Frog Screen in the
house for which he gave a potlatch at Dry Bay in 1909,
The recordings were made at the request of Mrs. Annie
George, who hoped to be able to take a phonograph
record made from the tape to a TluknaxAdi potlatch
which was to be given in Juneau in November 1954.
This would have reaffirmed TluknaxAdi claims to the
Frog (pp. 288-291). It was not possible to make the record
in time, however.
The first recording by Frank Italio (1954, 2-2-A) was
preceded by an introduction in Tlingit (1:30 minutes),
explaining how the Frog had been found at Gusex (pp.
272-273). The song with Refrain, Stanza I (sung twice),
Refrain, and Stanza II (sung twice), lasted about 4:30
minutes. This was followed by a recorded translation
of the mtroduction (1954, 2-2-B).
The second recording (1954, 6-2-A) was made by
Frank Italio's sister, Mrs. Frank Dick. She also introduced
the song with a Tlingit explanation about finding
the Frog (55 seconds). This version also has Refrain,
Stanza I (sung twice). Refrain, and Stanza II (sung
twice). However, after singing the Refrain and starting
Stanza I, Mrs. Dick interrupted herself because she
had made a mistake in the melody. She exclaimed 'No
then! No!' (tlek 'aya! tlek!), and laughed at herself
before beginning Stanza I over again. She accompanied
herself with the drum, which her brother had not done.
The words to the song were dictated by Mrs. Dick, and
my transcriptions were checked and translated by Mary
Thomas and John EUis. The various versions, dictated
and sung, are compared below.
As dictated, the words are:
Stanza I
hin cak xenAyi 'akitcgeuAx—From out of the inside
of the wings of the fishtrap at the head of the river,
ke uwa at de xixt6—The frogs begin to come out.
'akitcgede tcA—Inside the Avings, indeed
duwA'axtc—They make a noise.
'At qugaq 'Asikudjin—On account of the visitors
duwA'axtc—They make a noise.
The "visitors" are the fish runs.
Stanza II
de 'ax djixa 'asgi—Within my reach almost
yeq 'uwa 'at—To the beach they came,
hutci 'ayi 'ax kak—My last uncle
'Adjit wudzigit—By accident feU in.
de 'awlixatc—Already I give up.
The second stanza refers to the composer's uncles
(or fore-fathers) who drowned almost within reach
of the beach.
Despite the addition of meaningless syUables to
fit the text to the melody, or the insertion of some words
forgotten in the dictation, the words as sung seem to
to have the meaning of those that were dictated.
These are:
Refrain (2-2-A)
A 'i, hi ya ha,
B 'a ya ha 'i xi hi ye ya,
C 'i ya ha ha,
D 'a ya 'a hi ya ha ha,
E 'i hi ya ha ha,
(' i . , , ya . . . ) [on repeat]
F 'a ya ha 'i xi hi ya ha,
X 'i hi ya,
Y 'a ya ha 'i hi hi ya,
Z 'a ya ha ha ya
First (incorrect) Refrain (6-2-A)
ya ha-hi ha-ya ha ha,
ya ha-hi ha-ya {'akya! [spoken])
ya ha-hi 'a-yau hu-hu [clears throat] hu ya,
ya ha-hi ha-ya ha, ya ha-hi 'a-ya ha-ha-ha- wa ya.
A-j-
B
C
D
Second Refrain (6-2-A)
'a ya 'i-ya ha ha ya ha 'i-hi hi ya ha-ha,
'i ya ha, 'a ya hi ya ha ha,
'i ya ha-u, 'a ya ha 'i-hi hi ya ha,
'i hi ya, 'a ya hay hi 'i ya, mm-ya [coughs]