Charchaxan

Comment

Recorded from Vasilij Shalugin in 1990. The folk etymology relates the name Charchaxan to the meaning 'curved, pock-marked'. However, although the stem charqE- 'curved' is present in Tundra Yukaghir, it has not been clearly attested in the modern Kolyma Yukaghir.

Translation

(19-1) A long time ago lived Charchaxan. (19-2) He had a wife and she had a child (19-3) Living in this way Charchaxan was the biggest shaman. (19-4) It was a time when there were many shamans. (19-5) So he lived. (19-6) He roamed on a boat in summer and on a dog sledge in winter. They lived roaming. (19-7) One day Charchaxan was shamanizing all the time. (19-8) When the shaman shamanized, his wife asked him about it. Later he told her: "I saw that and that." (19-9) His wife understood some of it. (19-10) That woman understood the language of the ravens. (19-11) If she asked him soon afterwards, he used to tell her what he had done. (19-12) One day they roamed away from their place. He said: "Let's roam on the big road," and so they went. (19-13) So they came to the place where they were going. They had had the silver spoons, but saw that only the spoon case was left. (19-14) And hose silver spoons had either been left behind, or had been lost on the road, perhaps. (19-15) He sent his child. (19-16) He sent his best child to see if they were lying on the road. (19-17) To find them the child walked on the recently frozen ice. When he was walking on the ice, the ice broke, he fell and died. (19-18) His wife mourned over him. In her mourning she asked what had happened to him and where he had disappeared. And she said: "Why were you shamanizing all the time? (19-19) Why didn't you see what happened?" (19-20) Charchaxan didn't answer. (19-21) He was pretending that he was crying. (19-22) One day a raven came flying past. (19-23) The woman asked it: "What happened to my child? (19-24) He could have grown up to be an adult. What happened to him?" (19-25) Then the raven answered: "It happened because he was defeated. (19-26) Your husband is a shaman. He fought against two shamans and they defeated your husband. When they started defeating him, he gave them his child instead of himself. (19-27) With this he escaped and was rescued." (19-28) That's how it went. (19-29) That woman wanted to beat Charchaxan very much saying: "Why did you do that?" (19-30) Then Charchaxan said: "How do you know I did it?" (19-31) He said: "Who told you?" (19-32) The woman said: "The raven told me why you did it." (19-33) The shaman didn't know she could speak to ravens. She used to look at the road, watch and ask. (19-34) At the time when she was little and didn't speak, any child who didn't speak was fed with raven's eggs. (19-35) That's why they understood the language of the ravens when they wanted to speak it. (19-36) Now there are people like that who live in the forest. (19-37) They say that some people can understand it. (19-38) It is like this here. (19-39) This is the end.