Comment
Recorded from
Nikolaj Lixachev
in 1986. See also Text
23.
Translation
(28-1) A long time ago some hunters were walking on the Popovka.
(28-2) While they were out walking, the son of an old man went hunting.
(28-3) On his way he saw a woman sitting on a tall tree.
(28-4) A Russian woman was sitting there.
(28-5) She was sitting there, looking at the Rassoxa and the Kolyma, and started singing.
(28-6) She took something with her hand, sat down and sang.
(28-7) When she was sitting and singing, he thought: "How can a person get there?
(28-8) This woman is there. It's interesting where she came from.
(28-9) Well, I will kill her."
(28-10) He stood up in his boat and started shooting.
(28-11) He took the gun and shot her right in the middle.
(28-12) He shot her on her back. The bullet immediately went away from there and made her roll down from the tree.
(28-13) After he made her roll down from the tree, he saw that there was nothing left.
(28-14) Where did she go? Only a rag remained.
(28-15) There was no one there.
(28-16) No bones, there was nothing.
(28-17) The old man, his father, said the following.
(28-18) "Oh, fool, you shot the devil girl.
(28-19) Fool.
(28-20) Why did you shoot her? Do you see anything? Fool!
(28-21) You are a fool. Now you may die.
(28-22) How will he reach home now?"
(28-23) That man saw this, went back to his boat and broke down at once.
(28-24) He had trouble reaching his boat.
(28-25) Then he came to his boat and sat in it. The boat floated by itself when he was lying in it.
(28-26) There was a shaman on the boat.
(28-27) He roared.
(28-28) Then he shamanized and said: "It seems that you killed the devil girl. A statue should be erected in this place, an idol."
(28-29) They call a statue "an idol".
(28-30) "We have to put it by the Kolyma, we have to erect it."
(28-31) So he made that statue.
(28-32) He made it from the poplar tree. He made it look like a man, pierced it in the middle and put it on a tree, so that one could see it on the mountain.
(28-33) He made it eyes out of beads. One could see that it had everything.
(28-34) It had a human mouth and eyes, everything.
(28-35) It had ears, everything.
(28-36) That's what happened.
(28-37) He put it by the Kolyma on the mountain.
(28-38) It stands right on the bank.
(28-39) There was a tree on the bank.
(28-40) Its root was raised out of the water.
(28-41) There were stones all around.
(28-42) Well, it didn't fall down anyway.
(28-43) The statue was taken away by an expedition.
(28-44) They took it away.
(28-45) The tree stands there, but there is no statue.
(28-46) That's the end.
Glosses