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Isku ñũshĩwu/Alma de paucar/The Crested Oropendola Spirit

  • Item identifier: 2018-33.015
  • Date: 20 Jul 2013
  • Contributors: María Ramírez Ríos (consultant); Kelsey Neely (researcher, donor)
  • Language: Yaminawa (yaa)
  • Place: Sepahua, Sepahua, Atalaya, Ucayali, Peru
  • Description: One .wav file, with accompanying .eaf annotation file. María Ramírez Ríos narrates the story of Isku ñũshĩwu, the Crested Oropendola (Psarocolius decumanus) spirit. A man raises a Crested Oropendola, but it eventually flies away as an adult. The man later finds a nest of oropendola chicks and climbs a very, very tall tree to collect them. His rival comes along and cuts down his ladder, causing him to be trapped in the tree. After calling for help all day, a female oropendola comes out of the nest and helps him -- putting medicine in his eyes so he can see the nest as if it were a human home. It turns out the nest belongs to the chick that he raised, and they send him home safely with two chicks, peccary meat, and a very spicy chili pepper. The man uses the chili pepper to get revenge on his rival. The rival eats the pepper, but can't find any water to cool the heat, so he transforms into a Giant Anteater, lapping at ants to quench his thirst. This traditional narrative was volunteered by the speaker and performed extemporaneously.
  • Availability: Online access
  • Collection: Materials of the Yaminawa Language Documentation Project
  • Repository: Survey of California and Other Indian Languages
  • Suggested citation: Isku ñũshĩwu/Alma de paucar/The Crested Oropendola Spirit, 2018-33.015, in "Materials of the Yaminawa Language Documentation Project", California Language Archive, Survey of California and Other Indian Languages, University of California, Berkeley, http://cla.berkeley.edu/item/26501.

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