This text, written in April, 2000, in the Nahuatl language of Northern Oaxaca, describes what life was like for a past generation.
001
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Ya already wejkawitl long.ago in in topueblo our.town oyeka it/he/she.was oksé other tlamantle. manner Long ago life in our town was very different.
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002
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Oyeka there.was wejweyi big.pl kuawyoj woods iwan and okatkaj there.were miekej many okuilimej, animals[generic] oyekaj there.were koyomej, coyotes pesojtin, badgers mapachimej, raccoons tlakomistin, ring-tailed.cat kuawkochimej spotted.cavy iwan and oksekimej others miekej. many There were lots of woods and many animals; there were coyotes, badgers, raccoons, ring-tailed cat, spotted cavy, and many others.
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003
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In the kalmej houses mach not miekej many in in oyekaj there.were san only tlapoaltin. they.are.counted There weren’t many houses, only just a few.
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004
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In the kalmej houses oyekaj they.were sakakaltin grass.houses iwan and de of chinamitl, cane.walled in the tlakajtin men nik how omotlakentiayaj they.dressed san only nochi all okimochiwiliayaj, they.made.for.themselves in the okichtin males okonakiayaj they.wore kalson wraparound.pants iwan and inkamisa their.shirt de of manta unbleached.cotton iwan and okinmijkitiliayaj they.wove.for.them inkotonwan. their.work.shirts The houses were made of grass (roofs) and cane (walls); and people all wore homemade stuff; the men wore work shirts and shirts of unbleached cotton, and ponchos that were woven for them.
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005
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In the siwamej women okimochiwiliayaj made.for.themselves inwipil their.embroidered.smocks[huipiles] de of manta unbleached.cotton iwan and inkue their.dresses de of koyammej, [regional]skirts achtoj first okinximayaj they.sheared.them in the ichkamej sheep iwan and okitzaawayaj they.spun.it[wool] iwan and okinmijkitiaj they.wove.them kotomej, poncho kueyitl, dress ichkapayoj, wool.shawl tzojmimej, blankets sinidor wool.sash iwan and nelpiltin. women's.sash[wool&palm] The women made their own embroidered smocks of unbleached cotton and their skirts were the typical type of the region; first they sheared the sheep and spun the wool, and then they wove their ponchos, dresses, shawls, blankets, sashes and belts.
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006
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In the koyamej [regional]skirts iwan and kotomej poncho okipintaroayaj they.dyed.them ika with alkaparrosa, alcaparrosa[dye.from.a.pod] mach not itlaj something oksé other tzotzole clothing okachi more okixmatiaj, they.knew.it/him/her san only yej in in the manta. unbleached.cotton They dyed their skirts and ponchos with alcaparrosa, and the only kind of store-bought cloth they used was just the simple unbleached cotton.
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007
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Nochtin all onemiaj they.walked san only inmijikxi barefoot iwan and mach not okixmatiaj they.knew.it/him/her kaktle, sandal iwan and katlej the.one.who okipiaya he/she.had.it ikak his/her.sandal kijtosneki it.means okimopialiaya. he/she.was.rich They all walked barefoot and weren’t used to sandals; if you had sandals, it meant you were rich.
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008
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Iwan and tlan that.which okipoloayaj they.lacked.it okonkuiaj they.went.to.get.it asta until Tiotitlan, Teotitlán san only onejnemiaj they.went.walking oyayaj they.went ik by Tlakpak, above opanoayaj they.passed ik by Rancho ranch para for Tlajkotepetl, mid.mountain Tzajtzapotlaj zapote.place iwan and ompa there oajsiaj they.arrived Tiotitlan. Teotitlán Anything they lacked they had to go to Teotitlán to get; they would hike to High Point, go past Ranch to Mid-Mountain, then Zapote Place, and from there the would arrive at Teotitlán.
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009
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Ompa there okonkuiaj they.went.to.get.it intliol, their.corn inpanelaj, their.raw.sugar inmistaw, their.salt inpetrolio, their.kerosene insera their.beeswax.candles iwan and oksekin other okachi. more There they would buy their corn, crude sugar, salt, kerosene, candles and other stuff.
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010
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Yonmej those tonaltin days mach not okipiayaj they.had.it tlanextle [electric]light iwan and san only ika with kandil lamp in in ika with otlachiayaj, they.could.see iwan and ijkuak when oyayaj they.went ipan on/in ojtle, path omotlawilijtiayaj they.went.illuminating.themselves ika with okotl. pitch-pine In those days they didn’t have electricity, and used lamps to see with, and when they went on the trail, they would light their way with pitch-pine torches.
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011
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Mach not oyeka there.was karretera road iwan and mach not okixmatiaj they.knew.it/him/her in the kamion, truck/bus ijkonik in.that.way onejnemiaj they.walked ijkuak when oyayaj they.went Tiotitlan. Teotitlán There was no road, and they didn’t have trucks or busses; so they just walked whenever they would go to Teotitlán.
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012
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In the siwamej women oatlakuiaj they.went.to.bring.water asta until kan where meya it.springs.up atl, water okonkuiaj they.went.to.get.it ika with tekomatl water.gourd o or noso or ika with bikkoj. clay.jar The women would go to the spring to bring water; they brought it in gourds or clay jars.
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013
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In the otisiaj they.ground[corn] tlankuijkatokej they.are.kneeling iwan and okipapayatzayaj they.smashed/ground in the nextamale tortilla.dough san only ipan on.it metlatl, metate in the tlitl fire okipiayaj they.had.it ipan on.it tlale ground iwan and okintlaliayaj they.put.them tenamastin. supporting.fire.stones They ground their corn for tortillas kneeling on the ground and grinding the nixtamal (prepared corn) on a metate; they set their cookfires on the ground and used stones to support the comal (griddle).
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014
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Iwan and okinnekiaj they.wanted.them nochi all xoktzimej clay.pots iwan and ayeewamej, gourd.shells yinmej these ika with omaachiwiayaj they.put.water.for.themselves iwan and ijtik inside.it/him/her otlioyayaj. they.shelled.corn They used all sorts of clay pots and gourd shells, for putting water in or for shelling corn into.
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015
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Mach not akaj someone okachi more oyeka it/he/she.was ixtlamatke, learned san only tlapoaltin they.are.counted in the oyekaj; they.were otlatamachiwayaj they.measured/weighed ika with libra balance porke because mach not oyeka there.was in in baskula. scale Hardly anyone had any education, only just a few did. They measured things with a balance because there were no spring scales.
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016
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Mach not okixmatiaj they.knew.it/him/her nion nor radio radio iwan and nion nor doktor. doctor Omopajtiayaj they.healed/treated.themselves san only ika with pajxiwitl. medicinal.herbs They didn’t have radios or doctors; they treated their illnesses with medicinal herbs.
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017
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Nochi all in in yin this ya already kipia it.has kanaj some se one eyinpoale sixty xiwitl. year All of this is how it was about sixty years ago now.
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Text narrated in 2000 by: Severiana Estrada Vásquez
Transcription and analysis: Arnulfo Prado
David Tuggy
© 2008 Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C.
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