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IN THREE PARTS
APPENDIX 1169
A
B
C
D
E
F
Stanza I (sung twice)
t6A hu dutuwu—"It was
'acix tinsiti—his own fault"
wedi gutce, ye—^That Wolf
da ctu 'idaniguq",—Yourself don't (?)
yahe 'ehiye.
yahe 'ehiye, yahe, 'ehiyeye
yahe 'ehiya, 'ay yaha,
A
B
C
D
E
F
Stanza II (sung twice)
yi'i de xawe—For you, thus,
t6Asa guxqalt'ana—Always (?) I wUl long,
'ax kagi hAsa—My uncles,
da yu yin qadjungu, yahe, 'ehiye,—"I want to
dream [about you]"
yahe 'ehiye, yahe, 'ehiyeye,
yahe 'ehiya, 'ay yaha,
[ga hutc 'awe!]—[That's the last word!]
Galyix-Kagwantan Mourning Song: Lament of the Beaver
1952, 7-1-B; recorded by Frank Italio on September 13,
This is a traditional sib mourning song of the Qalyix-
Kagwantan, and was recorded at the request of Helen
Bremner, a woman of that sib. It is preceded by an explanation
in Tlingit by Frank Italio of how the Beaver
composed the song, and how the Galyix-Kagwantan acquired
the Beaver as a crest (55 seconds). A translation
of his remarks and of the song are given in English by
Minnie Jolmson (7-1-D). Finally, Helen Bremner
thanks the singer for rendering the Beaver's song
(7-1-E; 1:32 minutes).
The beavers had buUt a dam and lodge at 'AnAk"6
near Controller Bay, This was destroyed, and aU were
drowned except for one little beaver. A Galyix-Kagwantan
hunter found the beaver, singing this lament
for its lost relatives, took pity on it, and learned the
song (pp. 254-256),
The song lasts about 3 minutes and has two stanzas.
Stanza I
"Who wUl stop buUding the den? But they buUt it just
the same. That's why all my uncles died and left me
alone,"
Stanza II
"Because there was no one to warn them, they are just
as much to blame as the river and the people who
destroyed their den,"
The melody is admitted to be the same as that sung
by the Raven Decitan of Angoon, Teslin, and Carcross
(field notes and recordings, 1950, de Laguna and Mc­
CleUan). The Angoon Decitan caU this the 'Song of the
Beaver Hat,' and tell the story of the Basket Bay
Beaver (Garfield, 1947, p. 440; de Laguna, 1960, pp.
136-137; cf. Swanton, 1909, Tale 68, "The Beaver of
KUlisnoo".) We should note, however, that as yet no
musicological comparison has been made between the
Yakutat, Angoon, and Inland Tlingit versions of this
song,
McAllester notes the hymnlike quality of the melody,
and suggests that it shows European influence.
Omitting variations perhaps due to the singer's
mumbhng, the words seem to be:
A
B
C
D
E
A
B
C
D
X
Refrain
he-ya hine
'e-ya hine ya
'e-ya hine hine
ya 'e-ya 'a"
ya hine he-ya 'a" mm; ha ya
Stanza I (sung twice)
'asasgi 'a—Why someone (who?)
-du qaqatne-ye—[hAsdu iA-kA-na-ye ? (them
ordered) I
'ax kagi-hAs-A nitc—['ax kak-hAs (my uncles)]
[nitckA (empty beach, nowhere)]
-kA 'an lA-yex—a town to buUd
[speaks two sentences here]
he-ya 'a"-m ha ya
Stanza II (sung once)
A 'asagax [tlek' 'eya] hamy)
No then!
'asa ga 'ax] (for what
B du kagi-hAS-A—[hAsdu kak-hAs ? (their uncles)]
C 'ax kagi 'ate—['ax kak] (my uncle)
D -k"a yen-si-kit'—with it down-to-consume (?)
X ya hine, 'e-ya wa
[Breaks off to speak,l
The structure of the melody is:
Refrain: A B C D X
Stanza I: A B C D X
Stanza I: A B C D X
Stanza II: A B C D X
One has the impression that the singer broke off
abruptly. He did not repeat the second stanza, as is
usual. It should be noted that the electric current
weakened during the recording; when the tape is
replayed, the "A" of the pitchpipe recorded at the
end of the song is a half-tone high.