Procedural texts: Tujia New Year Customs

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（Play All）Procedural texts: Tujia New Year Customs

Lu Bangzhen, Tasha Rural Township, Longshan County
recorded on 27 January 2003

01	la²ye¹ nie¹ hi² suo¹ nie¹ ci¹ bi² ka¹-hu³, cu¹ mian³hua³ za²-ta¹tiu¹, la²tu¹ zi⁴ bo³ lie²-ji²-lie³-duo³. 'Little New Year' starts on the twenty-third of the last [lunar] month; we can't spin any more cotton at home, and all the gourds must be fed to the pigs.
02	ci¹ bi² ka¹ nie⁴, ci¹ bi² ka¹-liao³, ka¹ nie⁴ me²su³-lie¹, lang³qi¹-cai³ xian¹ wu²-duo³, xian¹ wu²-da²-nie² zi¹ge¹ le qing² ha³-duo³ tang³ tang³ tang³ tang³. On the day of the 'Little New Year', on that day, from daybreak on that day, every evening incense must be burnt. Before burning incense, we have to strike the gongs. (sound of gong being struck)
03	ai¹lie¹ jiu¹ xian¹ wu²-duo³, wu² mo³ kei³ ye⁴-duo³ le? kai¹nian³-lie¹ zeng¹ye¹ la² hi² ong¹ nie¹, la² hi² ong¹ bu² ao¹ ye⁴-duo³. Then we have to burn incense; how long do we need to burn it for? Until the fifteenth, the fifteenth of the first [lunar] month.
04	ci¹ bi² ka¹-liao³ le, luo⁴ci¹ba¹, luo⁴bi³-die¹, guo¹guo¹-ma¹, a²da¹-ma¹, yi²si¹ sa³ cai² li³-duo³, die²ka¹la¹ li³-ta¹ti¹. After celebrating 'Little New Year', grown-ups, children, young men, young women, everyone must speak wholesome words, they mustn't say anything bad.
05	la²ye¹, la²ye¹, nie¹ bu² la²ye¹, nie¹ bu² ge¹ bu² si³jie³, ci¹ tie²ba¹ ka¹-hu³, ci¹ tie²ba¹ ka¹-nie³ si³jie³, ci¹ tie²ba¹ ka¹-nie³ ai¹ si³, ci¹ tie²ba¹ ka¹-hu³, deng¹long³ gua²-ji²-duo³, The last month, the last month, on the twenty-ninth of the last month, New Year is celebrated, when New Year is celebrated, when New Year is celebrated, when New Year is about to be celebrated, we must finish hanging up lanterns,
06	yan³deng³, pa²qie¹-ta³ be² deng¹long³ gua²-duo³, ka¹tao¹ si³tie² zi¹ge¹, si³tie² ka¹tao¹ zi⁴ji³pa³ bai⁴-bo³-duo³, ba¹ba¹-ni³ga³ bai⁴-bo³-duo³, cang³xian³ tie²ba¹ jie²mi¹ti³ he²ba³ xie² wu²-duo³, round lanterns, we must hang lanterns by the walkways, and in front of the table. We must put pig's trotters on the table, and a large 'baba' glutinous rice cake, as well as burning a large incense stick as thick as a finger.
07	sa¹mi¹ nie¹ ci³ seng³kang³ ga³ gong²-bo³-duo³, hong²-bo³-duo³, la²zu¹ nie¹ zi² ti²-bo³-duo³, la²zu¹ nie¹ zong¹gang¹ zi¹ge¹-cai³, seng³deng³ ti²-bo³-duo³. We must put two 'tangsa' crisped rice cakes on the shrine, lean them against the shrine, and light two candles, and a lamp at the front between the two candles.
08	ai¹ la² pe¹ le, cu¹ jiu¹ ci⁴ luo² tuo⁴-duo³, luo² la² da², he³ la² bu², lao⁴reng³ga³-die¹ sa³ hao⁴ri³-ma¹ jiu¹ dong¹ dang³ dang³ dong¹, That night, we must strike a large gong in the house, a gong and a drum. Old folk who know how to must strike them, (sound of drums)
09	huo² ha³-duo³. tie⁴tie³ ti²-lie³ le, tie⁴tie³ ni² guo² jiu¹ mie², ni² guo² jiu¹ mie²-ta¹ti¹, guo²duo³ mo³ xi²-duo³. bo¹li³-die¹ le, luo⁴ci¹ba¹-die¹ le, yi²si¹ cu¹ ong³, ci¹ ka⁴-bo³-duo³. just like that. Once the lamps are lit, you blow them, you musn't blow them out, but must let them burn themselves out. Children and adults must all sit together at home to see the New Year in.
10	bo¹li³-die¹ nie²-hu³ le, ngo⁴-ti¹ke¹ di³-i-duo³, gao¹ mo³, bang²ye¹ ye⁴-liao³ le, luo⁴ci¹ba¹-die¹ yi²si¹ da⁴ ngo⁴-ti¹ke¹ di³-i-hu³. When the children have gone to bed, we must go and dig for silver, far into the night, all the adults start digging for silver together.
11	suo¹ bu² la² hi² ai¹me¹ ye²geng¹ seng²zong²-nie¹, ai¹lie¹ tie⁴tie³ le, sang² bang²ye¹ le, jiu¹ seng³kang³ dui²-bo³, xia² bang²ye¹ le, jiu¹ wo⁴ta³-bo³ dui²-bo³-duo³. On the thirtieth, things are even more splendid. The lamps, for the first half of the night they are set facing the ancestral shrine; for the latter half they must face outwards.
12	ai¹ la² pe¹ le jiu¹, la¹cuo¹la¹lai¹, lao⁴reng³ga³-die¹ ye¹ hao⁴, bo¹li³-die¹ ye¹ hao⁴, biu² a²da¹-ma¹-die¹ ye¹ hao⁴, guo¹guo¹-ma¹-die¹ ye¹ ca², That night, the whole household, whether they are old people, children, young girls, young women, or young men,
13	yi²si¹ da⁴ ra³ rong²-xi² ru³-bo³-duo³, ra³ ga³gi¹ die³, bong²long¹-ta¹ti¹-nie³ lao⁴reng³ga³-die¹ jiu¹... they must all wait together to hear the cock crow, to hear the cock crow, old people who can no longer move will also sit there ...
14	ai¹ tang³long³ le jiu¹ pao²zu¹ ra³ra³... po¹-liao³, seng³deng³ le, ai¹lie¹ jiu¹ wo⁴ta³-bo³ ba⁴-liao³, ai¹lie¹ jiu¹ song²ga¹ bu²-i-duo³ kuan³tang³... In the main hall, firecrackers are let off, (sound of firecrackers) and the shrine lamp is turned to face outwards. Then the pounder is put to work. (sound of pounding)
15	hao⁴! song²ga¹ bu²-ji²-liao³ le jiu¹ bo¹zuo¹ bo⁴-duo³, gang³lang³lang³... gao¹-ji²-liao³, ai¹di¹ yi²si¹ da⁴ha³ jiu¹ sa¹mi¹ za¹-bo³ ga², sa¹mi¹ za¹-bo³ ga². OK! When the pounding is done, we have to turn the grindstone. (sound of grinding) When that's done, everyone soaks 'tangsa' crisped rice cakes in hot water, soaks 'tangsa' and eats them.
16	me²su³-lie¹ le, ai¹lie¹ you² pu³sa³ jing²-duo³, pu³sa³ jing²-lie³ le, ai¹lie¹ you² da⁴ ci¹ki¹ta¹ ba¹-duo³, At daybreak, we must worship the gods. After worshipping the gods, we paste pieces of paper together
17	da²meng¹ ga³ha² ao²mian¹ ong¹ hhi¹, si² la¹meng³ jie³-xi² ba¹-ji²-duo³, li²kuo¹tong¹, pa², da¹dong¹, yi²si¹ ba¹ mo³, ba¹-ji²-liao³ zi¹hou² jiu¹ suan²liao¹. above the main door, five pieces on each side; paper must be pasted on all four doors. Also on the ploughshare, harrow, threshing trough, paper must be pasted on all of them. When that's done, it's finished.
18	ai¹lie¹ nie¹ ba⁴-bo³ wu² ka³ zuo¹-duo³, yi²zi¹ gao¹ mo³ si³ wu¹ ye⁴-duo³, eng, gao¹ mo³ si³ wu¹ ye⁴-liao³ le jiu¹ ai¹ qian³zi³ ci¹ca⁴-ji²-liao³, guo²duo³ guo²duo³ le la⁴ ni¹-duo³. On an auspicious day, we have to put the yoke on the ox, and these activities continue until the fifteenth. And when the fifteenth comes, then we tear down all the paper on the walls, and everyone gets on with his normal work.

n: 12th month (of lunar calendar) num: two num: ten num: three cl: day n: (New Year) n: small (one) vt: to spend (time) vsuff: [imminent] n: home n: cotton vt: to spin vsuff: [can't+now] n: gourd n: pig part: (IO) vt: to give vsuff: [end] vsuff: [past] vsuff: [want] n: day vsuff: [past+now] vi: to dawn nsuff: [at, from] advt: at night suff: [there/then] n: incense vt: to burn vsuff: [not] vsuff: [yet] n: front part: (new topic marker) n: gong vt: to hit onom: (sound of a gong) conj: then conj: then part: (-wise) pron: where vt: to arrive n: beginning of the year n: 1st month (in lunar calendar) num: one num: five cl: (for compact round items such as eggs, stones, millet, firecrackers, and for events of brief duration) advl: there n: adult n: son nsuff: [plural] n: elder brother vsuff: [doer] n: elder sister advm: all n: words, matters n: good (one) vt: to say vi: to be bad vsuff: [can't] num: nine n: period of time n: large (one) suff: ['s] pron: that n: time n: lantern vt: to hang n: round lantern n: corridor nsuff: [near] advm: also n: on top n: table n: pig trotter vt: to lay out vsuff: [stative] n: glutinous rice cake nsuff: [female] n: incense stick n: finger advm: such a big one vt: to have n: deep-fried puffed glutinous rice cakes cl: (for limbs, rice-cakes, buckets) n: shrine n: on vt: to offer (in worship) vt: to lean against n: candle cl: (for long thin things: roads, sticks, guns, bamboo, candles) vt: to light (lamp, candle) n: middle n: altar candle cl: night vi: to be large n: gong vt: to knock cl: (for trays, hats and bowl-shaped objects) n: drum n: elderly person vt: to know onom: (sound of drum-beat) onom: (sound of drum-beat) advm: so n: lamp pron: you pron: he vt: to blow pron: (him)self vt: to extinguish n: child vi: to sit vt: to guard vi: to go to bed n: silver nsuff: [lump] vt: to dig (up) vsuff: [irrealis] vt: to work, do n: midnight advm: all, together conj: then advm: still more vi: to be grand vsuff: [some] n: first part vt: to face n: latter part n: outside nsuff: [towards] advm: (as a) household advm: also vi: to be good n: daughter vi: to be good n: hen vi: to crow (of a cock) vsuff: [that which] vt: to hear onom: cock-a-doodle-doo! part: (emphasis) vi: to move n: main hall n: firecracker onom: (sound of firecrackers) vt: to place, pasture, release, shoot vt: to look at n: pounding apparatus vt: to pound onom: (sound of pounding) n: grindstone vt: to grind (with a hand mill) onom: (sound of grinding) pron: that advm: all, together vt: to steep vt: to eat, bite advm: again; both... n: god, Buddhist idol vt: to show respect n: paper vt: to stick n: main door n: on n: both sides cl: (for thin, flat things: paper, leaves, flags) num: four n: door, gate vt: to shout, call n: ploughshare n: harrow n: threshing box advt: after, behind expr: OK n: cow n: firewood vt: to hang advm: all along num: ten num: five part: (excl) n: wall paper, poster vt: to tear n: road vt: to look for