Yamson Solisa
                                Originally from Emqesa-waen
                                Air Mata Cina
                                August 11, 1987

(Scroll down for English translation)


Caan, geba keda (Joe Devin), ya dohix saa naa.

Lalen saa tu e ana finar pito.  Ana finar pito naa sir defo braqin tu negrii,
bu sir pito naa nun huma emsika-msikan.  Baru fidi negrii ha dii, mama ix laha
ii saa di huma saa, berarti dapax saqsi.  Jadi di negri taun ha dii, sir pito
emsika-msikan.  Sir pito emsikan fidi nun huma emsika-msikan.

Pee tu lalen saa sir iko di hawa.  Oli fidi hawa, bana sa tehux moh.  Pee tu
du peduen fene, "Sane la d ix laqa bana naa?"

Peduen-peduen e, tu du glada boho-boho haix naa.  Ixnaax memaq ada, bu hansiax
exmatan.  Saa masa moo.  Pee tu peduen-peduen, fene, "Kacili Bohikhena, kae
iko beka!"

Pee tu riq eruk e.  Fene, "Ehe.  Ramax yax iko laha."

Riqe ix laha, riq ix laha di raja muda.  Dena di raja muda nax huma, riq laha
bana ganaa, fene, "Bapa Raja, bana turen emsian naa, do filin pila sa?"

Fene, "Moo.  Egu leux la kim masa la kim kaa.  Sepo tem yax hai la a fala nake
e bageaq."  Fene sepo tem riq hai la da ego nax imbalan.

Pee tu sira exmasa, pa du kaa sepo, pa du bersu-bersuka haik, pee tu raja
dena.  Raja dena, pee tu e raja prepa la sira fene, "Kim kaa, pa kim uhanim
haik e tu ya naq bana laqina dii, pa yax dena la a laha filin.  Ya naqu bana
laqina dii, yax laha kepeq sa bu moo, harta sa bu moo, i-sa-i-saa bu moo.
Cuma yax laha sana ha laqina da baix laqa ya naq bana dii, do musti da kaweq
tu yako."

Pee tu Kacili Bohikhena naa taqi, pa raman dobox-dobok e.  Nake kairo fene,
"KaciliBohikhena, bara taqi beka, tu ramax kami ix due pakeaq tamba la kae.
Ku iko beka."

Baru raja muda naa do rin nax pakeaq dikat sa moo, tu pakeaq fidi kamyoho okon
e--binataq okon naa--jadi KaciliBohikhena mgihix toqi.  Buu Kamyoho fene, "Hai
rahek!"

Pee tu Kamyoho wada nake--KaciliBohikhena nax kofor.  Kacili Bohikhena hai, da
taqi, iko, riq alax rahex eta dena di nax huma.  Dena di nax huma, pee tu e
raja muda an da bapakek e kamyoho okon naa prepa fene--beto taun ha dii ,
sirua bage mohede. Sirua bage epsaman.  Paa Kacili Bohikhena naa, riqe di
kamar saxmena, sedaqkan e raja muda naa rin bage di kau lahin.  Pee tu tepux
kalax ganaa, raja muda na ix rohi.  Rohi hawa.  Rohi hawa prede-predek e, da
ol tuha fafu qi-qisi saa, pa d baredax di gidan.

Sedaqkan e Kacili Bohikhena defo, da manyapo-manyapo ganaa, dena di kau lahin
ha dii, raja muda nake pakeaq ha laqina fidi kamyoho okon dii da baxqoton.
Pee tu Kacil Bohikhena pefah.

Pee tu Kacil Bohikhena pefah ax dii, raja muda oli, sefen.  Sefen ute Kacili
Bohikhena, fene, "Kacili Bohikhena, ka pefa yax okoq ha dii, do ramax tu  nam
kairo xmata kae, moix baa tu kae, mo do nam kairo xmata kae!"
Pee tu Kacili Bohikhena fene moo, ramak e i ha dii do ramax riq taqgoq.

Pee Kacili Bohikhena naa nax gebhaa tete fafu dii, pa riqe xmasak.
Xmasa-xmasax ganaa, mod-moda gana ta pee tu nax kair ne di dena.  Kair ne di
dena, tu Kacil Bohikhena naa nax gebhaa foi sepo haix, pa da ptea di saxmena,
filan balata, filan baleo di huma dih!  Sira fidae brema-breman, sira fene,
"Akeba! Sane ha puna mboti-mbotit e, filan balata filan baleo fila huma naa?
Ha naa do Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa, pi sane naa?"

Saa fene, "Mo! Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa do da pakex kamyoho okon e.  Ha naa
do geb dikax pi tenix naa?"

Pee tu du baepax-epak e.  Sira fen, "Ehe! Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa da gosa
tirin!"

Pee tu sir dena, Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa prepa la e Kacili Bohikhena fene,
"Geba naa, ku ix ptea aki la namu kairo ino."

Pee tu riq neix teee, da tuux ixnaat e, pa xqotox di meja, pa sir kaa.

Sir kaa, pee tu--pokonya setiap modan sir dena terus, baraq du bafax Kacili
Bohikhena nake gebhaa gosa.

Paa sir dena terus-terus e, pee tu epax-epak e raja muda na ix balayar.  La d
ix balayar ganaa, da prepa la nax finhaa fene, "Kae ramax ka badefo emsikan e,
tu yako la a ix balayar e tiga bulaq," tem da oli.

Pee tu sir ne dena.  Kacili Bohikhena nake kair ne dena, du prepa la Kacili
Bohikhena fene, "Kae mau la kita hansiax kaweq tu Raja Muda?  Ramak e kae te
gau ii sa moo, kae eptea baa ax saxmena.  Ramax kami xmasa."

Bu Kacili Bohikhena naa nax suka moo.  Riqe fen, "Biar yax seqsara kono, bu
kimi bara kaweq tu ya naq gebhaa toqi.  Yako emsikan beka."

Pee tu nax gebhaa balayar ganaa, sira defo, nax kair ne akoor.  Akoor, pa nun
wai naa do da ptea terus ax saxmena, sira xmasa terus, pa du kasmakaq nun wai,
eta epax-epax la Raja Muda oli balayar, epax la tiga bulaq haix naa, pee tu
sir iko, fene, "Iko la ma midix bui-bui la masi."

Paa sir midi bui-bui, pa du petiban, do eta dena la olax tifun laweee, teme du
oli gandae rahe.  Paa sakaraq du tolak e--tolax leux nun kair ne.  Fen molai
fisaka kai eta dena pao wai.  Du tolax eta-t-eta-t-etaaa sir ne-ne sepo, pee
tu fen bageaq tolak e Kacili Bohikhena.  Du bageaq tolax Kacili Bohikhena, du
tolax eta dena lau masi tifun pee, du fastelax tali, pa d moho!  Da moho dii,
riq bagau nake katanan saa, riq bagau nax tepox telun saa.  Moho lawe olax
tifun dii, masi prerex, pa da bapreren di fatu tuen saa.  Pee tu da ptea di
fatu tuen dii, da kaa nax labun e, nax kataro, pa d batamlagu.  Karomon lewat
e, da egu pa d kaah.  Sedaqkan nax tepux telun naa do da te kaah moo.  Riqe
fen barisux la d pesa.

Pee tu tepux di pesa.  Da pesa, da puna tep lolama.  Tep lolama.  Pee tu tepux
dii bahaa pa d bahaa, pa da puna tepu haa xbate ha.  Pee tu tepux dii
lear-learo da kalak e, "Sio, sio! Kacili Bohikhena lawe nusa mgoi-mgoin!"

Pee tu waga sa lewat e, ana fina di xnika fene, "Ya naq gebhaa epax la d dena
haix pi mohede?"

E gebaro jawab fene, "Mohede.  Ka nam gebahaa ba o reman hede."

Pee tu ana fina dii--pokonya da jaga xnika terus-terus.  Buu ana fina di iqan
sa tehux moo.  Epax la d mata haik e.  Nax teput e lien sakix gandi mansia
dih.  Paa waga lewat e, nax tepux jaga xnika fene, "E Bapa Juragaq e, ka kita
Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa haix pi mahede?"

Fen, "Moo.  Yako kitah haik e.  D epax-epax haix na ta."

Po tepux dii jaga kalax:
Kukutero,
balayar toro naan, toro naan,
Nasi gugur bu rete
Bokhena lawe nusa mgoi-mgoin!

Da kalax eta-t-etaaa lalen pito.  Pee tepux di liqa ganaa, laa sa baboti lawe!
Pee da kalax tarus, tarus, eta polo-geran-paa, pee Kacili Bohikhena nax gebhaa
nax waga dena dii.

Dena, pee tu da touk e nax finhaa.  Tuux, paa da fale sax waga, da foih e, da
riga qisin.  Riga qisin pa d kasmakaq e, tu da te kaa tehux moo.  Rigah e, paa
da barobah eta ana fina di gosa.  Pee tu balayar eta oli dena di nun negrii,
pee tu riq foni ana fina dii di kelder haat.  Kelder haat, riqe epyosox guntiq
haax toqi pa ana fina di.  Pee tu riqe fene, "Ramax ka nam kairo do kae
exmataro emhewak e."

Ana fina di rogo di kelder dii, riq siap haix mama du ro--du bore fefan haik,
pa "Kalo du rogox olono, do kae jaga tindis guntiq, la guntiq jaga guntiq
telax olono."

Parsis nax gebhaa dena da rahe, nax kair ne naa po du kobukane.  Nax gebhaa
pura-pura xnika fene, "e fetan sira, kim kita nim wai fido?"

Fen, "Moo. Kam kitah moo, tu riqe fene riq ix hama kae.  Po eta skaraq naa riq
oli moo.  Sisa kam ne baa.  Kam sohix-sohix, pa kam hama lepax-logox, bu
xnewax moh."

Pee tu nax gebhaa fene, "Eeh.  Do kim iko la"--man emsia-msian e, e nax gebhaa
siux emsia-msian pa fene, "Dena lawe do kim rogax olonim di keler dii, la kim
egu ya naq emaas dih."

Pee tu emsia-msian iko.  Dena lawe, du rogax olono, ana fina di tindis guntiq,
wadun gutuk, ana fina di hefax olon pao masi.  Dii, til-tilo saa dena dii,
rogax olon, riq guntiq, eta-t-eta-t-etaaa da guntiq seporo.  Guntiq sepo, pa
da xmata nake kair ne-nee ha dih, pee tu nax  gebhaa iko, pa da fuka keler.
Fuka keler, paa da plaqax riqe.

Oli dena di negrii, pee tu ix sirua nunu pesta kaweq.  Soalnya fidi sira molai
kaweq dii, du ix pesta saa moo.  Pee tu du ix pesta kaweq ha dii, paa du tulis
di e nake ieqan saa fene,
"Kukutero
Belayar toro naan, toro naan,
Masi gugur bu rete
Bokhena lawe nusa mgoi-mgoin!"

Paa gebar dena, mama du xnika fene, "Mama tulis ha q dii do nax arti tenik e?"
Fene, "Ha dii nax arti do e Bokhena naa nax kair nee du swelik e Bokhena naa
lawe olax tifun e, pa masi prerex di fatu tuen e, pa nax teput e kalax ganaa,
pa nax teput exnika gebaro emsian tu emsian eta-t-etaaa badapax nax gebhaa
nake waga ha dih e."

Pa du ix pesta ha dii betor pito lear pito, pee tu sepuh.
INTERPRETATION:

Once there were seven girls.  They lived close to a town in a house of their
own.  Now the people of the town made it very humiliating to ask for anything
at any of the houses there.  So these seven girls had no one to rely upon but
themselves.

One time they went inland to their fields.  When they returned home, there was
no more fire in their home.  So they argued with each othersaying, "Who will
go to fetch fire now?"

As they argued, they grew very hungry indeed.  Food they had, but it was all
raw.  Nothing was cooked.  So they argued on until someone said to the
youngest sister, "Kacili Bohikhena, you go!"  So she agreed, and said "Okay.
I will go ask.

Now when she went to ask fire, she went to the house of the prince.  Arriving
inland at the house of the prince, she asked, "Bapa Raja, how much for one of
these pieces of fire?"

He answered, "No.  Go ahead and take one so you can cook and eat.  I will come
to collect payment later."

So they cooked, and ate, and were rejoicing when the prince arrived, and said,
"You have eaten and been satisfied by means of my fire, and now I have arrived
to ask payment.  I am asking no trade goods for my fire, nor am I asking for
money, or other material goods.  I am only asking that the one who came
earlier today and took my fire will be required to marry me."

So Kacili Bohikhena cried until she had swollen eyes.  Her sisters said,
"Don't cry anymore, KaciliBohikhena, because we will give you more clothes.
Just go now."

Now Kacili Bohikhena had a reason to loath the young prince, because he wore
nothing but civet cat skins for clothes.  But the civet cat said, "Just
follow," and he carried KaciliBohikhena's clothing chest on his back.  Kacili
Bohikhena followed crying all the way to his house.  The young prince kept
wearing his civet cat skin that whole night, and they did not yet sleep
together. They slept apart.  Kacili Bohikhena slept in the front room, while
the young prince slept in a tree.

Now as soon as the rooster crowed, the young prince went out to stalk game in
the fields in the early dawn.  He returned with a tusker, and threw it down on
the packed earth outside the house.

Now Kacili Bohikhena had been sweeping the yard while the young prince was
gone, and had found his civet cat skin laid at the base of the tree, and
burned it.

He returned angry at Kacili Bohikhena, and said, "Kacili Bohikhena, you have
burned my skin, and now your sisters will kill you, and no one will be
responsible but you!"

But Kacili Bohikhena said she would take care of that matter herself.

So Kacili Bohikhena's husband butchered the pig, and she cooked.  She cooked
through the day, and her six older sisters arrived as she was cooking in the
afternoon.  By this time, Kacil Bohikhena's husband had bathed, and was seated
in the parlor.  His radiance was shining out of him and spreading through the
house!  From a long way inland, they said, "Akeba! Who is this
light-complected one whose radiance shines and spreads there in the house?  Is
this Kacili Bohikhena's husband, or someone else?"

One said, "No, Kacili Bohikhena's husband wears civet cat skin.  This must be
someone else or something."

Then,as they drew near, they said, "Hey! Kacili Bohikhena's husband is truly
beautiful!"

And when they arrived, Kacili Bohikhena's husband said to Kacili Bohikhena,
"Go sit with your sisters, that they may drink."

So she set tea, and set food on the table for them to eat.

And having eaten, they kept coming to eat every afternoon, because they saw
that Kacili Bohikhena's husband was beautiful.

Then the time came that Kacili Bohikhena's husband would set sail, and he said
to his wife, "You remain here alone while I go on my voyage.  I will return in
three months time."

Then her six older sisters arrived and said, "Would you like all of us to
marry the young prince?  You will not have to touch a thing.  All you will
have to do is to sit in the parlor.  We will cook."

But Kacili Bohikhena did not like that idea.  She said, "Don't also marry my
husband, even if I have to suffer.  Let him be mine alone."

So when her husband had left them, the six sisters conspired.  They kept
cooking and feeding their youngest sister, who just sat in the parlor, until
the three months were nearly up for the young prince's return.  Then they went
out, calling to their youngest sister to "come and play with the swing on the
beach."  So they went, and played with the swing, and pushed each other far
out over the middle of the sea, and then back over the land.  They pushed the
six older sisters first, saying that they would go from oldest to youngest.
They pushed all six of the older sisters, and then said that it was Kacili
Bohikhena's turn.  They pushed her out over the middle of the sea, and cut the
rope, and she fell!  She fell holding a knife of hers and a hen's egg.
Falling into the middle of the sea, the tides carried her along and washed her
up on a rocky islet.  Now living on the rocky islet, she ate her blouse and
her pants, and remained naked.  When leaves drifted by, she took them to eat.
But she refused to eat her hen's egg.  She thought, "Let it hatch."  And so it
hatched.  It hatched a male chick, which grew,and grew, and became a very big
rooster.  And every day that rooster called, "Sio, sio! Kacili Bohikhena is
out on this desert isle!"

And when a ship would pass, Kacili Bohikhena would ask, "Is my husband about
to arrive yet?"

And the people would answer, "Not yet.  Your husband is still a long way off."

But she kept on asking again and again, until at last she had no voice.  And
when she was near the point of death, her rooster's voice changed, and became
like that of a human being.  So when a ship would pass, he would call out, "O
Captain Sir, have you seen Kacili Bohikhena's husband?"

And the reply would come "Yes, I have seen him, and he is near at hand."

So the rooster would cry: "Kukutero,
balayar toro naan, toro naan,
Nasi gugur bu rete,
Bokhena is out on this desert isle!

He called until seven times.  Then he looked, and saw the white of a distant
sail out at sea, and he kept calling until fourteen times, and Kacili
Bohikhena's husband's ship arrived there, and he saw his wife.  He picked her
up, and raised her onto the canoe, and bathed her, and pried open her teeth to
feed her, because she was no longer able to eat.  Then he cared for her and
gave her medication until she was well again, and they sailed on to their
hometown, where he hid her aboard his ship in a big crate.  He also put a big
pair of shears in this crate for her.  Then he said, "You will kill your own
sisters."

When the girl got into the crate, they had already drilled a hole, so that
when the sisters put in their heads, she could just push shut the shears, and
cut them off.

These six older sisters of hers rushed her husband as soon as he stepped on
the shore.  Her husband pretended to ask, "Sisters, where have you seen your
youngest sister?"

They said, "We have not seen her, because she has gone looking for you, and
has not returned until now.  Only we remain.  We have waited and waited, and
searched high and low, but she is no more to be found."

So her husband said, "Okay."  Then he told then, one at a time, to go down to
the ship, saying, "When you arrive down there, put your head into the crate,
and get some of my gold."

So they went down one-by-one.  As each one arrived at the ship, she would put
in her head, and Kacili Bohikhena would press on the shears, cut it off, and
throw it into the sea.  This went on with each one until she had severed all
six.  Then her husband went down and opened the crate, and carried her to
their house.

Home at last, they held their marriage celebration.  They had never yet
celebrated their marriage, so they celebrated, and wrote on a piece of cloth,
"Kukutero,
belayar toro naan, toro naan,
Masi gugur bu rete
Bokhena is out on this desert isle."  And when people would ask, "What does
this inscription mean?"  they would answer, "It means that this Bokhena's six
older sisters swung her out into the middle of the sea, and the tide cast her
up on a rocky islet, and her rooster called thus,and asked people one-by-one
until he found her husband's ship."

And they held this great feast for seven nights and seven days, and so ends
our tale.

("Kukutero,
belayar toro naan, toro naan,
Masi gugur bu rete" is poetic, having no clear meaning in the modern Buru
tongue, so I have left it untranslated here. --Joe Devin).