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IN THREE PARTS APPENDIX 1245
Stanza (sung twice)
A de (ya) gunayehayata ['at]—To the land of the
dead they went
B/ 'AC xan sigax ya—Near him (?) to weep (?)
C 'ida tuwu—Longing for you
D 'ahe, 'aheya,
B/ ya 'i yeli xawes—Your Raven, thus,
C
D
A'
c-Ginexqwani-yAtxi—Ginexqwan-children,
'ahe, 'ahe ya
(yahaha nuwe!—at end)
The structure is:
Refrain: A B C D B/ C D
Stanza: A B/ C D B/ C D
A B/ C D B/ C D A' (at end)
Sitka Peace Dance Song for 'Canoe Deer' and 'River Marker Deer'
1954, 3-2-G (a); recorded by Frank Itaho on May 7. C gusu di yeH—Where is the Raven?
'ayikden qa'adi 'anaqaguxu—Into it ? he will go (?)
This song, and the following for 'K'^el Deer' (1954, D SAgu 'ani-de 'a hu hu ya hu,—Happy to the land.
3-2-G, b), were composed for a Sitka Kagwantan man, X 'a-ya ne ha ha
Kuckena, who was taken as a 'deer' in a peace
ceremony, and given three names. As Helen Bremner (The implication seems to be that the peace hostage
explained, "Just one person, have three titles .... In is like the Stone [?] Canoe for the Cow-House-People.
that song they keep on singing and have different In it the Ravens can travel safely to the land.)
words for it, and he imitates aU those things and he's
the greatest dancer." In introducing the first song,
Stanza II (sung twice)
Frank Itaho said in Tlingit: "This is my grandfather's A de 'ayaxa—The paddler(s)
song ('ax hlk'^ daciyi 'eya). He was finally (?) called tee ya 'akawhku x^'a—Just (?) know(s)—?
River Marker and Stone Canoe (hin k^eyi qa te yak'^ [t6A?]
hutcu duwasaq'')." The song identifies him as one of B yi hin k'^eyiye—Your river marker
the Xa^hittan-yAtxi, chUdren of the Cow (Moose or ceheyeyAdi yela—O Raven(s)
Buffalo) House People. According to Swanton (1908, C SAgu k^a(ha) da 'aya—(Be?) Happy ? ?
p. 407) they were a branch of the Raven Quskedi of dek q'^a hayi 'at 'ade xa—? ? below (hayi) ?
Sitka. The first stanza mentions the name 'Canoe', D ya ye kax da 'axtca—? ? is always heard (?)
the second, the name 'River Marker' or 'Buoy'
(hin k'^eyi). Unfortunately, the text of the song was
not obtained at the time and has been transcribed
from the tape. The song, with refrain, and two stanzas
(sung twice), lasts 1 minute.
The words and their meanings seem to be:
A'
B
C
D
X
B
Refrain
'ey(he) ye haw, 'a-ya ha ha-ya,
'ey(he) ye haw, 'a-ya(ha) 'a-ha-ha,
'ey(he) ye ha, 'a-ya ha ha-ya, 'e he ye he
'a-ya 'e-ye 'a ho ho ho m hm,
'a-ya he ha ha,
Stanza I (sung twice)
yel yi yagux—Raven(s), your canoe
t6A 'awu(x)siti—Just he is.
'i tuwu xa—Your feelings ? (xa),
Xashittan (i)-yAtxi—Cow-House-People'schildren,
X
ho ho ya, ha
'a-ya-ne ha ha
('a-ye-ne 'a wo!) [at end]
(The imphcation would seem to be that the peace
hostage is like a buoy that can guide the Ravens happily
through the deeps.)
The structure is:
Refrain: A' B C D X
Stanza I: A B C D X (repeated)
StanzaH: A B C D X
A B C D X'
According to Emma Ellis, who heard the recording,
the Xashittan were a branch of the XatJkA'ayi, and this
song had been used for her own grandfather when he
was taken as a hostage (see Case 9, p. 603). Quite
possibly the same melody (but with different words)
was used, since both hostages were Kagwantan.
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