Translations

Nʉmʉ tekwapʉ̠ -Comanche language

 

Names:

Pasahòo Kwitapʉ̠ – Pigeon Dung (Jim’s Comanche name)

Parʉhya Kuma̠- Bull Elk (Jim’s adoptive father)

Wʉʔrabiahpʉ̠  -Swift Moving (chief wife, Jim’s adoptive mother)

 

Tsuhni Karʉ- Sit Down Quickly (eldest brother)

Kusisʉkʉi- Fall Plum (chief wife)

Yakeyʉkarʉ- Crying Walking Around (wife)

 

Rʉtsima- Fall by Tripping- (middle brother, closest relationship to Jim)

Ohayaa- Sunflower (chief wife)

Eka Kwinai- Red-tail Hawk (Ohayaa’s son)

Topʉ̠sana- Flower (Ohayaa’s daughter)

Tʉe Tseenaʔ- Little Fox (wife)

Tʉe Kahuu- Little Mouse (Tʉe Tseenaʔ son)

Ekaʉnʉʉ- Red Ant (youngest brother)

Sʉhʉupi- Willow Tree (wife)

 

Close friends:

Kuhtu- Coals in a fire (Jim’s Haitsi̠)

Mopai- Owl

 

Minor characters:

Tuhmeko- Cricket (warrior)

Kuhtsahwitʉ̠ -Burn Something Up (woman)

 

Animals:

Wokweesi*- prickly pear cactus (Jim’s dog)

Full name: Muubiwokweesi –  Nose Full of Cactus/Cactus Nose

Nʉena- wind (Jim’s horse)

 

Off-scene characters:

Hʉwʉni- Dawn (Kiyu’s wife)

Kiyu- Horseback (Hʉwʉni’s husband)

Hiitóo- Meadowlark (woman)

Quanah- Odor

Tatsiwóo- Old Buffalo (medicine man)

Noyer- Snake (beaver medicine man for tuberculosis)

Kwitawooʔwooki- Barking Buttocks

Pooʔaikʉ- Blow It Away

 

 

Words:

 

Kaayʉ̠kwitʉ- cheater

Nʉmʉ tekwapʉ̠ -Comanche language

Tsaatʉ- good (very good)

Nʉmʉ- person

Nʉmʉnʉʉ – people

Esitoyanʉʉ- Mexican Captives

Hʉpenʉʉ- Timber People

Nʉmʉnʉʉ Sookobitʉ-Comanchería

Haitsi̠-True friend (special relationship between men, like brothers with same obligations and privileges)

Tsepuhtuhte-lance with shepherd’s crook

Puha- power, medicine

Taiboo- white person

Nʉmʉnaitʉ̠ -live as Comanche

Tsaa- good

Notsaʔka- sweetheart

Ʉnha hakai nʉʉsuka? -How are you?

Tsaanʉʉmai- lazy

Anáa- ouch

Nʉpetsʉ- wife

Ata-bitsi̠-nʉʉ urʉʉ-ma pahí-nu̠ Yuniwat narʉmuʔikatʉ. (Tell No Hair Non-Comanches attacked them).

Kahni- teepee, home, lodge

Subeʔtʉ – That’s all (narrative closing, end of story)

Pabi- Elder Brother

Tami- Younger Brother

Ʉbia’- Oh! (surprise by women)

Paraibo- peace chief

Patsi-Elder Sister

Piamupits- Big Owl, Cannibal Owl, Ogre

Ahpʉ- father

Ohahuupi- yellow wood

Nanʉwokʉ- payment for damages, particularly for adultery

Dunnia- yellow horse with black mane and tail

Aratsiʔ- Arrow/Hoop game

Kwʉhʉpʉ- caught wife (insult to an adopted Comanche man)

Yamparika- Yap Eaters

Haʔii- Oh, my!

Nami-Younger Sister

 

*I consulted several sources for the correct translation of prickly pear cactus, including Mr. Saupitty, cultural specialist at the Comanche Museum in Lawton Oklahoma. I chose to rely on Our Comanche Dictionary, 2017. Another word, Husi̠, was recommended to me, but OCD translates that as “spirit during peyote ceremony.”

Sources:

Books:
Comanche Language and Cultural Preservation Committee, compiled. Taa Nʉmʉ Tekwapʉ̠ʔha Tʉboopʉ̠ (Our Comanche Dictionary). Lawton, OK: Comanche Language Department, 2017.
Wistrand-Robinson, Lila, and James Armagost. Comanche Dictionary and Grammar. Second ed. Dallas, TX: SIL International Publications, 2012.
Website:
“Search for a Word in the Comanche Language Dictionary.” Comanche Dictionary. Accessed July 15, 2021. https://www.webonary.org/comanche/.
Indigenous Languages Digital Archive: Comanche Nation. Ilda Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2022, from https://mc.miamioh.edu/ilda-comanche/dictionary/entries/6

Visit the Comanche Nation Language Department: https://www.talkcomanche.org/