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1302 SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY VOLUME 7
T. Max Italio's Love Song to Tl'uknaxAdi-Children
1954, 5-1-G; recorded by Helen Bremner on AprU 30. B hut6inyis xawe,—Because for the last tiriie,
'idjinxu lAtl'ek'',—You shake hands [with me] (?)
C 'u 'eni 'eni 'ay,
ha 'e yeha 'eya, yahu 'aya
The composer, K'^Ani (1874-1940) was the Tl'uknaxAdi
son of a Teqwedi man. The song was addressed
to his wKe, Jean or Jane (1871-1945), a Qalyix-Kagwantan
woman and daughter of Dry Bay George, a
Tl'uknaxAdi man. The song is recorded by the composer's
daughter, who also dictated and translated the
words. (They were again checked with the recording.)
The song, consisting of two stanzas (each sung twice),
lasts 2:32 minutes. Later the singer admitted that she
was not famUiar with the rule that the refrain introduces
the stanzas. At the beginning of the repetition of the
first stanza, she was joined by another woman, probably
Louise Peterson, who sang along with her a third higher.
The words are:
A
B
C
A
Stanza I (sung twice)
tleyex de 'ituwu,—Stop ! your [hard] feelings,
Tl'u]inaxAdi-yAtxi,—Tl'uknaxAdi-chUdren,
'ax hunxu-hAs 'itix-(xAs),—In place of my [dead]
older brothers,
'iyexketuxdatan—You make me feel happy
-tc(A) 'eni 'e 'a,—Always,
hu 'eyeha 'eya 'a 'aya ya
Stanza II (sung twice)
'Ak'^ce }gunaltcic(a),—(Can ?) I thank you,
Tl'uknaxAdi-yAtxi—Tl'uknaxAdi-chUdren,
The first word of the second stanza ('Ak'^ce) imphes
that a question was asked, although this was not indicated
by the translation which was given by the singer.
Another informant who heard the recording said that
the song was sung with different words (perhaps the
same tune with words by a different composer):
Stanza I
tleyek de 'ituwu—Don't! change your mind,
Tl'uknaxAdi-yAtAi—Tl'uknaxAdi-chUdren.
'ax hunxu hAs 'itik—Instead of my older brothers,
'iyAxketu^dAtantc.—You always make me happy.
(The composer was said to want to marry the wKe of
his older brother.)
Stanza II
'Ak'^ce Igunaltcic—(Perhaps) Thank you
'i'ituwu qu'a—For your feelings, because
Tl'uknaxAdi-yAtxi—Tl'uknaxAdi-chUdren
'i yeli-tin xawe 'ik^'qunawu—With your Raven you
wiU die.
"I'm very thankful that you wiU die with me, your
Raven."
B. A. Jack's Love Song for Gmexqwan-Children
1954, 6-1-C; recorded by Jenny Jack and Sarah WUhams
on May 10.
The composer, Wa^ix or Qadaleli (1860-1949), was a
Kwackqwan man, the son of a Teqwedi father. He had
aheady been married to his first wife about 20 years
when he composed this song, presumably dedicated to
her. He made it when he was on a sea otter hunting trip
to Icy Bay and was very lonesome. Before he died, he
gave the song to his clanswoman, Sarah WUliams.
Jenny Jack who sang with her and beat the drum is also
a Teqwedi woman, and the composer's second wife.
The song is supposed to have three stanzas, but the
singers could not remember the words to the third and
it was omitted. The text (that is, the most important
words) was dictated and a free translation was given by
Sarah WiUiams. The latter ended the song with a short
Tlingit conclusion. The song itself, with Refrain, Stanza
I (sung twice), Refrain, and Stanza II (sung twice),
lasts 3 minutes.
The words, as dictated, were:
Stanza I
qasidji 'i yu kasa 'ingi 'inawu
c-Ginexqwani-yAtxi
t6ayax daya 'i 'in katanik
"It's as if someone made whiskey and gave it to him,
but he doesn't want to drink. He just wants to hear
Ginexqwan's chUdren, because he's so lonesome for
them."
Stanza II
qadjii 'ackawudjixit
tcaya 'ituwu
c-Ginexqwan-yAtii
dJA 'Ackawuc:s:idin
"It's as if someone marked it on the minds of Ginexqwan's
chUdren, and after that they just wiped off
the words."