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KK1-2226
(Collection Details)
Title Ahkying yam a npawt (Origin of the "Ahkying") with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
The story I am going to tell you is about the origin of "Hkying." (Hkying, also called Yam, is a kind of magic square used for divination.) Once upon a time, a tiger dragged a man away. It dragged him away. The tiger had food for itself. It always drank water first before eating anything. It dragged the man and placed him near the stream. It tried to strike him with its paws. The man didn't move at all. Then the tiger assumed, "This human is dead. Let me go drink water first before I eat him." In fact, the man was pretending to be dead. As soon as the tiger went to drink water at the stream, he ran away. He thought, "The tiger runs really fast. It will catch me anyway. I won't reach home." Then he decided to climb a tree growing by the side of the road. Before he climbed the tree, he fetched some water in a taro leaf, just in case he got thirsty or hungry. Then he carried the water and climbed to the top of the tree. He placed the water he had collected in the taro leaf on his head and sat at the top of the tree. Soon, the tiger arrived at the tree where he was hiding. It was using its magic square to catch the man. When it arrived at the tree where the man was hiding, it took out its magic square to see where the man was, but it could no longer divine. When it tried to divine again, its magic square, which had always been accurate and given correct information, no longer seemed to work. The magic square showed the tiger that the man was in the water. It showed that the man was in the water, with water on his head. The tiger was angry that the magic square was no longer accurate, so it threw it aside and broke it. At that moment, the man in the tree found the tiger's anger amusing, and he accidentally let out a laugh. The tiger heard his sound and looked up at the tree. It saw the man and planned to catch him. The tiger tried to climb the tree, but it couldn't reach the man. Its head got stuck in the fork of the tree. Then the man climbed down from the tree. He killed the tiger. He then picked up some pieces of the magic square that the tiger had broken and went back to his place. Since that day, humans have used the magic square for divination. The time when the man killed the tiger was called 'Grbrang Aten.' Humans started using magic squares for divination since that day. When the magic square was broken, its pieces fell onto the ginger and the vaginant leaf. Since then, divination using vaginant leaves and ginger has begun. Humans have been using the magic squares since that day.

Transcription (Lu Hkawng)
Ya ngai hkai na maumwi gabaw gaw "A Hkying" shing nrai "Yam" ngu ai a npawt re Moi da ndai la langai mi hpe e sharaw hta hpai mat wa ai da sharaw hta hpai mat wa re yang she ndai sharaw gaw shi lu sha shan lu gyam lu tam la re jang she shi ndai lama ma lu sha sha na re jang e hka shawng lu la nna sha sha re ai da ya ndai masha la ndai hpe shi rim hta hpai mat wa nna ndai hkashi makau kaw e wa hpai tawn da ai da hkashi makau kaw wa hpai tawn da nna she sharaw gaw ndai masha hpe e lahtum yu ai da, lahtum yu jang she ndai la wa gaw shamu mung n shamu ya jang she sharaw gaw"aw ndai masha si sai re nga ya n dai masha shan hpe sha na matu gaw ngai hka naw shawng sa lu la na re" ngu nna she hka sa lu na matu sa mat wa jang she ndai la wa gaw mi gaw shi si masu su da ai re nga ndai sharaw hka lu na nga nna re mat wa shaloi she shi gaw rawt hprawng mat wa sai da rawt hprawng mat wa re nna ya Sharaw mung gai lagat chyang ai rai re gaw ngai nta du wa hkra ngai lu hprawng na ma nre shi hkan dep kau na ra ai ngu nna she shi gaw lam makau kaw na lam makau kaw e hpun langai mi tu ai dai kaw she hpun kaw lung nna lung dung mat ai da shi gaw hpun kaw rai n lung ai shaloi e ya shi hka ni lu mayu kawsi wa hpang gara re wa yang na matu ngua na she nai lap kaw e hka mung ja majaw hpai di na she htaw hpun ningdung de lung dung nga sai da hpun lapran kaw e shi ja hpai ai nai lap kaw e ja majaw la ai hka majaw dai hpe gaw shi abaw kaw mara tawn di na she hpun lakung kaw e hpun ningdung kaw wa dung nga re jang she Sharaw gaw kaja wa hkan dep wa sai da hkan dep shi gaw ndai ahkying sha tawt la tawt la re nna she hkan shachyut nang ai da ndai masha la kaw hkan shachyut nang re she dai hpun pawt kaw du jang she ndai ahkying ahkying dek yu jang she ahkang mung n mu mat re nna dai kaw hpun pawt kaw ahkying bai wa tawt yu jang she shi sha woi pyi grai hkrak ai grai loi hkra gai teng ai hku tawt la la lu tawt la la re ahkying yam wa she dai hpun pawt kaw du jang gaw shi ahkying yam dai hpe bai tawt yu jang she masha dai gaw hka kata de rawng nga ai ngu ai hku na shi mu ai da. Masha gaw hka kata de mi rawng, masha a ntsa kaw re jang gaw hka mi bai rai,nga nna she shi gaw yam ndai n jaw sai n man sai n teng sai ngu nna she pawt mayu nna she yam dai hpe kabai shamawng kau dat ai da. Deng she dai hpun ningdung kaw dung nga ai la wa re jang gaw sharaw dan re na rawt pawt mahkut bu taw nga hpe shi gaw yu mani mayu nna she "heeheehee" ngu nna mani tat dat ai da. Mani tat dat ai na dat nna she sharaw gaw hpun ningdung de mada dat yu jang she kaja wa dai la wa gaw dung taw nga majaw shi gaw ya chyawm me ndai kaw na lung shayu sha sana re ngu na she shi gaw hpun de lung na ngu nna lung mahkyit she mahkyit yu tim n lu lung ai wa hpun lapran kaw gaw shi baw bai wa shachya kau da. Dai kaw baw shachya kau na noi nga jang she awra la wa gaw yu wa nna she sharaw hpe mahtang she wa lahtum sat kau sai da. Wa lahtum sat kau na shi gaw ndai sharaw e gabai kau ai ahkying yam dai sha hta lang re nna she shi gaw wa mat wa sai da. Dai shani kaw na gaw ndai shinggyim masha ni gaw ndai yam ahkying ngu ai hpe e lang mat wa sai da. Ya ndai la ndai dai sharaw hpe lahtum sat kau lu ai aten hpe gaw "Gabrang Aten" ngu nna bai masat la hkra di nna she dai shani kaw na gaw ndai Ahkying Yam ngu ai hpe shinggyim masha ni bai lang mat wa re nna ndai ndai ahkying yam ndai hpe e gabai dat ai chyen ni gaw aw nam na shaba lap ni shaman ni hkan bai wa hkra re nna ndai shaba wawt ai ngu ai shaman hte shaba wawt ai ngu ni mung ndai kaw nna byin wa ai da. Shinggyim masha yam chye lang mat ai lu lang mat ai mung dai shani kaw na re da.
Origination date 2017-04-14
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/2226
URL
Collector
Keita Kurabe
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Countries
Myanmar - MM
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Language as given Jinghpaw
Subject language(s)
Jingpho - kac
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Content language(s)
Jingpho - kac
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Dialect Standard Jinghpaw
Region / village Northern Myanmar

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Originating university Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Operator
Data Categories primary text
Data Types Sound
Discourse type narrative
Roles Keita Kurabe : depositor
Shadau Hkawn Shawng : speaker
DOI 10.26278/5fa176d503c27
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), Shadau Hkawn Shawng (speaker), 2017. Ahkying yam a npawt (Origin of the "Ahkying") with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/WAV. KK1-2226 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.26278/5fa176d503c27
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-2226-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 24.5 KB
KK1-2226-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 4.87 MB 00:05:18.779
KK1-2226-A.wav audio/wav 175 MB 00:05:18.764
3 files -- 180 MB -- --

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Collection Information
Collection ID KK1
Collection title Kachin folktales told in Jinghpaw
Description Recordings of Kachin folktales and related narratives in Jinghpaw. These materials were collected by Keita Kurabe, Gumtung Lu Awng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, Labang Tu La, Gumtung Htu Nan, and Lashi Seng Nan as part of a community-based collaborative fieldwork project in northern Myanmar. As of April 10, 2026, the collection includes 2,491 stories, 2,481 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,814 translations.


Transcriptions were contributed by Gumtung Lu Awng, Pausa La Ring, Galang Lu Hkawng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, and Keita Kurabe. Translations were prepared by Nbanpa Rita Seng Mai, Sumlut Gun Mai, Lazing Htoi San, Maran Seng Pan, Dumdaw Mike Tu Awng, Nhkum Htoi Awng, and Keita Kurabe.

Related resources on Kachin culture and history are available at:

https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK2
https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK3
https://www.youtube.com/@kachinfolktales
https://www.facebook.com/KachinStories

This research was supported by Linguistic Dynamics Science 3 (LingDy3), Description and Documentation of Language Dynamics in Asia and Africa　(DDDLing), and TUFS Field Science Commons (TUFiSCo), all from the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Numbers JP17H04523, JP20K13024, JP20H01256, JP24K03887, JP25H00465), as well as the JSPS Program for Advancing Strategic International Networks to Accelerate the Circulation of Talented Researchers, "A Collaborative Network for Usage-Based Research on Lesser-Studied Languages."
Countries
Myanmar - MM
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Languages
Jingpho - kac
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Access Information
Edit access Nick Thieberger
Keita Kurabe
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Data access conditions Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Data access narrative
Metadata
RO-Crate Metadata
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