Ottawa oral literature and texts
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Traditional Ottawa stories fall into two general categories, aasookaan 'legend, sacred story' (plural aasookaanag)[1] and dbaajmowin 'narrative, story' (plural dbaajmownan).[2] Stories in the aasookaan category involve mythical characters such as Nenbozh.[3][4][5][6] Stories in the dbaajmowin category include traditional stories that do not necessarily involve mythical characters,[7] with the same term also used more generally to refer to any type of story not in the aasookaan category. Published Ottawa text material includes a range of genres, including historical narratives,[8] stories of conflict with other indigenous groups,[9] humorous stories,[10] and others.[6][11]
Ottawa speaker Andrew Medler dictated the following text while he was working with Leonard Bloomfield in a linguistic field methods class at the Linguistic Institute of the Linguistic Society of America, held during the summer of 1938 at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan.[12] Medler grew up near Saginaw, Michigan but spent most of his life at Walpole Island.[13] The texts that Medler dictated were originally published in a linguistically oriented transcription using phonetic symbols, and have been republished in the modern orthography, with analysis.[14]
Love Medicine
Andrew Medler
(1) Ngoding kiwenziinh ngii-noondwaaba a-dbaajmod wshkiniigkwen gii-ndodmaagod iw wiikwebjigan.
Once I heard an old man tell of how a young woman asked him for love medicine.
(2) Wgii-msawenmaan niw wshkinwen.
She was in love with a young man.
(3) Mii dash niw kiwenziinyan gii-ndodmawaad iw wiikwebjigan, gye go wgii-dbahmawaan.
So then she asked that old man for the love medicine, and she paid him for it.
(4) Mii dash gii-aabjitood maaba wshkiniigkwe iw mshkiki gaa-giishpnadood.
Then this young woman used that medicine that she had bought.
(5) Mii dash maaba wshkinwe gaa-zhi-gchi-zaaghaad niw wshkiniigkwen.
Then this young man accordingly very much loved that young woman.
(6) Gye go mii gii-wiidgemaad, gye go mii wiiba gii-yaawaawaad binoojiinyan.
Then he married her; very soon they had children.
(7) Aapji go gii-zaaghidwag gye go gii-maajiishkaawag.
They loved each other and they fared very well.