Chlouvānem: Difference between revisions

: nilāmulka mæn maildomanom nañelīsa tainā lili no ṣveye primirtaram ñumirlam ।। lilše pārṇam louliriṣya tṛlirlam : naina tī sora pārṇaṃrīs flut mojende heirom nañelīsa : jånirāh mæn lahīlęe kamikækyaiti avyāṣa moe : blikyon lili no amalthirā māmei pārṇaṃrye maitėmęlima ।। meinā mæn buneyon lili no nali jilkire bhadvęs lā dhāne keikom dāmė — toman mæn maiyā pārṇami jånirai ।।

: tainā mæn jñūṃris halimendė bahīri sumenīs heicādrīti nadamė sama isiflun urutha nānumi hanaṃhariana lairu smaurildekte ।। nilāmulka mæn yanadāmė jånirū kamitekyāk tainā mutireti heicīni nusmītite udvī dāmė no sama bahīrah mimendenāntagė naina najoltek nilāmulku lū no tora lijakenartateflunildek no ।। nilāmulka mæn meinā murku milkekte sama dhāne danihaicė tarṣanu juniekūsi væse daṃdhigūlan tadāmė murkirde vārṇaigiyūri kamyūsijunaiti ।।

It was two in the morning<ref>One hour after dawn.</ref> and [my] younger sister Naina came running into our room where Nilāmulka, Tainā<ref>The author's two older sisters.</ref>, and I were sleeping and woke us up. "''Lañye''<ref>A (today old-fashioned) term for "girls", used here just like modern ''blikai'', as a very informal second-person pronoun among sisters.</ref>, nature is blooming!"<br/>

We had been waiting for that day for months — there is not a single girl who does not wait so eagerly for that time of the year! We got up our beds and ran in the yard, under the rain. Even the rains feel different on ''juniahiyunyi jaṃšā''. Dad had already prepared the washing room<ref>Chlouvānem people usually take a wash in the morning and a wash followed by a bath in the evening. Those rituals are quite similar to Japanese washing and bathing - the bath is for relaxation, washing is a separate process.</ref> for us while grandpa and brother Daṃdhigūlan were taking the first lilac ''nāniai''<ref>The ''nāneh'' is the typical Chlouvānem flatbread: lilac means it contains ''hunai'' (purple yam) meal.</ref> out of the tandoori oven and cutting ''kælitsai'', ''mārai'', ''vārīkai'', and ''baubai''<ref>Various types of fruits; note that they're all light orange or golden yellow - the most sacred colour in Yunyalīlti symbology.</ref>.<br/>

Nilāmulka had gone<ref>Traditionally, washing order is generational, with the oldest woman in the house going first, then her husband, and so on. A Chlouvānem person would not need to be explained that Nilāmulka went first as the oldest of the sisters, and the author, Mæmihomah, is third in line as the third-born out of four sisters. Her brother Daṃdhigūlan, despite being older than all sisters but Nilāmulka, washes last because brothers wash after all female siblings — and anyway, during ''juniahiyunyi jaṃšā'', all women wash before all men.</ref> into the washing room and Tainā and me were waiting behind the wall<ref>As typical of hot-climate southern Chlouvānem rural houses, washing rooms are actually little more than three walls and a wooden cover outside the house, and have no actual doors; the entrance is towards a windowless wall of the house, so that privacy is assured anyway.</ref>. We both know this was going to be a special day: Naina had entered her 9th year a few days before and it was time for her to wear her first ''jånirāh''<ref>The Chlouvānem sarī.</ref>, which the girls and I<ref>Mæmihomah and her two older sisters.</ref> had spent the last twelve days preparing. Mum came into the yard with the hands full of orange cotton for the ''buneyon''<ref>Dual of ''buneya'' (older sister).</ref> and I - our own ''jånirai'' for the day.<br/>

Tainā started singing rhythmically<ref>''Heicā'': a style of rhythmic wordless chant, used in religious chanting, Chlouvānem classical music, and even popular songs.</ref> along the notes of a ''bahīrah'' we heard through the trees, and an anise perfume of freshly baked ''nāniai'' filled the air. Nilāmulka came out and put on her ''jånirāh'' as Tainā went to wash without stopping her ''heicā'', and even if the ''bahīrah'' couldn't be heard anymore Naina hummed into and got Nilāmulka and I singing too. Mum took the black<ref>''Lunīla'' berry juice - a kind of henna.</ref> and drew Nilāmulka two stripes per hand, as Daṃdhigūlan came to tie her the black ''vārṇaigīye''<ref>The ''vārṇaigi'' are a kind of sandals tied to the lower part of the leg. Common ''vārṇaigi'' are made of straw and are undyed, but those worn by women during the days of ''juniahiyunyi jaṃšā'' are of black-dyed linen.</ref>.

[TBC + gloss TBA]