Lakota Story: The Spirit Road

Wáŋaǵi TaČaŋku Kíŋ
 
Mah́piya ekta Wáŋaǵi TaČaŋku kíŋ kákel slólyapi. Eháŋna wičaša waŋ líla kúja na wáŋna t’a, aŋpétu okíse heháŋyaŋ, na kíni. Máto Tópa ečiyápi kéyapi. Léčel wógláka ča oyáte kiŋ atáya nah́oŋpi.
 
Máto Tópa: Wočičiyákapi kte lo,
 
Le mat́’e kíŋhe waŋkáta owótaŋla waí na čaŋku wáŋ líla owótaŋla ča ógna blé lo. Na okíjáta waŋ el waí. Yuŋkaŋ eh́l wičaša waŋ najiŋ na uŋma čankú uŋma čatkáyataŋ kiŋ ogna ye maši ča ogna blé lo. Na eŋa oíhaŋke ča el waí. Yuŋkaŋ hél wiŋuh́čala waŋ najiŋ na okšaŋkšaŋ waŋmáyaŋke lo na.
 
“Íto le máḱata ih́pečiye ktá tka aké ačiyuštaŋ na oyáte kiŋ atáya olákiŋ kte. Túwa akíto šni kiŋ hé čaŋku waŋ táku waštešni óta na el yáhi kiŋ lél létaŋ kúta ih́pewáye kta ča wówašake maḱupi ye, na túwa akíto kiŋ hé ée čaŋku waŋ wašte kiŋ ogŋa yiŋ kta ča nitúŋkašila ečoŋ maši ye, ča yágnina oyásiŋ akítopi kte.”
 
Na waŋna hétaŋ kúta páoŋzi hékta amáu na ečel om’apáha ča kúta maglíh́paye lo.
 
Hečel oyáte kiŋ oyásiŋ akítopi, hé ohákab. Na le wóoyáke wowíčake, mah́piya ekta mah́́piya waŋ glákiŋǵaŋ h́paye kiŋ hée ča ótaŋ́iŋyaŋ hé é na ičiŋuŋpa waŋna ptáŋyetu ča Wičakíyuhapi ečiyapi kiŋ hé ataŋ́in wičah́pi šakówiŋ mah́piya el yáŋka léčoŋ s’e : Hé wašičuŋ Čiŋška Táŋka eyápi na hé léčel wóoyake hé toháŋyaŋ yaŋke či héhaŋ tuktétu oyásiŋ okíčize yúke kta iyúkčaŋpi nah é Wičakíyuhapi ečiyapi. Na héhaŋl Tayámŋi Ṕa ečíyapi mah́piya el wičah́pi ptáyela hé iš waŋiyetu na blóketu kiŋ nupiŋ oyáka. Héoŋ tóhaŋ líla osni kta a líla kičikiyela ča osni na kičitéhaŋyaŋ ča mašte hečel slólyapi.
 
The Spirit Road
 
The Spirit Road is known to be the way to the Spirit World.
 
Once a man was very sick and died; a half day from then and he came to life. They say he was called Four Bears. There was this account that the whole tribe had heard:
 
Four Bears: I shall tell it to you,
 
Now when I died, I went straight upward, and I went upon a road that was quite straight. I came to a fork. And there was a man standing there, and since he told me to go on one road, the one on the left; on it I went. And I went right to the end. And there stood an old lady; she was looking me over and she said:
 
“Come now. I shall leave you here on earth, but I will again let you go and then you should tell the whole tribe: if one has not tattooed himself there is a road that is much that is not good, and if you get on it, here I will be given strength to cast him down from it; and if one has tattooed himself, it is your grandfather that told me what to do, so one might go on the good road; therefore, you should start out home and everyone mark himself.”
 
And now they brought me back tipped down, and as it is when he pushed me over, down, down, down I went.
 
So, all the tribe were marked, he afterwards. This is a true account {the Spirit Road}; is an apparent cloud stretching to the Spirit Road; and the second is in the springtime, called the “tumbler”, seven stars in the sky appearing to make this, as it were. White men call it the Big Dipper; and as long as there was story-telling this way, they all understood then where there would be fighting battles, so they called it the “Tumbler”. It had been called the Three-headed Deer (i.e., the Pleiades of Taurus), the strs collectively carried a message in the Spirit World, in both the Winter and the Summer. That is why they knew, when it was about to get very cold, when {the Big Dipper and Spirit Road} were close together the weather was cold; and when they were far apart the weather was hot and humid.