Samri Creation Myth (Niváki)

This is a fictionalised account of the founding of the Samri priesthood & the codification of the 1200 Prophecies (tisuva-tseho kelnahane, literally 'twenty-sixty foresayings'). We will begin with the text in Niváki, followed by a side-by-side comparison with a grammatical gloss & literal translation with preserved syntax, then a proper English translation, and finally an explanation & commentary.

 Niváki 

Ta yesoko tó yeho síqni.

Teno la sisuyuqki netar kelen,

La konhu yasu hwéton,

Isiuk oto,

Isikri mór.

La leseko mihi kyun sorane,

La kisíya mran-mran-mran nane,

Sotte, la esero tóeto hir.

Hepone,

Ngiuni,

Í isasáta suvaika épemo tiwavi.

Kolono kela akin,

Kleono puri kela srengmon,

Hánu hwone manokn

Nyani, nunyati, surili.

Hárui, la kina yahwali.

La lomento épemoa manokn

Nyani, nunyati, surili.

La lomento suhwi épemoa ilhan samui,

Hentolan sári,

Tsepon rukihí pyaí.

Nura kleo usi tókelen yahwali,

Irúra hwone suhwi ónen.

Iruhi la reso tisuva-tsehon kelnahanen.

La hekyo tin épemon,

Isut kyome sunmi soheson.

Hárui la naha yahwali ewa:

「La mi haku tó la ero í ero.

「Men nuri hakui melonen,

「Isut hwone háví épemo netarn írukí.」

Í sripu épemo ámu óhe yahwali.

Gloss

1. Ta y<es>oko tó yeho síq-ni.

HAB <MID>start ALL beginning end-IN

Often, start all beginnings at an end.

2. Teno la s<is>uyaq-ki netar kelen,

 when PF <MID>end-RPT world previous

When done end (they say) the world previous,

3. La konhu yasu hwéto-n,

PF consume fire everything-AC 

Done consume fire everything,

4. <Is>iuk oto,

<MID>burn tree

Burn trees, 

5. <Is>ikri mór.

<MID>boil sea

Boil seas.

6. La l<es>eko mihi kyun sora-ne,

PF <MID>move completely sickness land-IN

Done move itself completely sickness in the land,

7. La k<is>íya mran-mran-mran nane,

PF <MID>die ten-thousand-ten-thousand-ten-thousand people

Done die ten-thousand ten-thousand ten-thousand people,

8. Sotte, la <es>ero tóeto hír.

and-then PF <MID>become all-thing quiet

And then done become all things quiet. 

9. Hepo-ne,

ashes-IN

In ashes,

10. Ngiu-ni,

ruins-IN

In ruins,

11. Í <is>asáta suvaika épemo tiwa-vi

PRG <MID>persist eleven children life-COM

Are persisting eleven children with life.

12. Kolo-no kela aki-n,

know-NEG 3rd.pl language-AC

Know not they language 

13. Kleo-no puri kela srengmo-n,

 can-NEG sow 3rd.pl grain-AC

Cannot sow they grain,

14. Hánu hwone manok-n

and-NEG know name.AC

And don't know names

15. Nyan-i, nunyat-i, suril-i.

star-GEN bird-GEN tree-GEN

Of stars of birds of trees.

16. Hárui, la kina yahwali.

and-then PF come wizard

And then done come a wizard.

17. La lomento épemo-a manok-n

PF teach child-DAT name-AC

Done teach to the children the names

18. Nyan-i, nunyat-i, suril-i.

star-GEN bird-GEN tree-GEN

Of stars of birds of trees.

19. La lomento suhwi épemo-a ilha-n samu-i,

PF teach 3rd.wise.sg child-DAT catch-AC fish-GEN

Done teach he to the children the catching of fish,

20. Hentola-n sár-i,

build-AC house-GEN

The building of houses,

21. Tsepo-n rukihi-i pyai-i.

weave-AC clothes-GEN beautiful-GEN

The weaving of beautiful clothes.

22. Nura kleo usi tókelen yahwali,

NEG can stay forever wizard,

It is not the case that is able to stay forever the wizard,

23. Irúra hwone suhwi óne-n,

though know 3rd.wise.sg much-AC 

Though know he much,

24. Iruhi la reso tisuva-tseho-n kelnahane-n

so PF write twenty-sixty-AC prophecy-AC

So done write twenty-sixty prophecies, 

25. La hekyo ti-n épemo-n,

PF choose two-AC child-AC

Done choose two children,

26. Isut kyome sunmi soheso-n.

for read keep 3rd.inani.pl-AC 

In service of reading (and) keeping them.

27. Hárui la naha yahwali ewa:

and-then PF say wizard QUOT:

And then done say the wizard the following:

28. La mi haku tó la ero í ero

PF see 1st.noble.sg all PF become PRG become

Done see I all (that) done become (and) is becoming 

29. Men nuri haku-i melonen,

IMP mind 1st.noble.sg-GEN lesson-AC

Listen: remember my teachings,

30. Isut hwone hávi-i épemo netar-n íruki-i.

for know 2nd.pl-GEN child world-AC love-GEN

In service of knowing your children a world of love.

31. Í sripu épemo ámu óhe yahwali.

PRG weep child during depart wizard

Are weeping the children while departs the wizard. 

English Translation

All beginnings start with an end.

When the previous world ended,

Fire engulfed all;

Trees burned;

Seas boiled.

A great sickness spread across the land;

A trillion people perished,

And then everything went quiet.

 

Among the ashes,

Among the ruins,

Eleven children held onto life.

They did not know how to speak;

They knew not how to sow grains;

Nor did they know the names

Of the stars, the birds, or the trees.

 

One day, a wizard came.

He taught the children the names

Of the stars, the birds, and the trees.

He taught the children to catch fish,

To build houses,

And to weave beautiful clothes.

 

The wizard could not stay forever,

Though he had much to teach,

So he wrote twelve-hundred prophecies,

And he chose two children

To read them and keep them.

Then the wizard said:

"I have seen all that has been and ever will be;

"Forget not my lessons,

"And your children shall know a world of love."

The children wept as the wizard departed. 

Explanation & Commentary

If you know me, you may know that Niváki is a conlang (constructed language) which I have worked on since I was a child. Some of the words in Niváki's lexicon were created as far back as 2013. The grammar, however, has changed so much to the point where the Niváki of the past is not the same language as the Niváki of today. The soundscape of the language, too, has changed drastically.

I got into conlangs as a preteen. At that time, I didn't often have access to a computer, so I read and daydreamed instead. I imagined another place where the things I wanted were possible, a place where I didn't feel like an outsider. That place has had many names, but its mythology and main ideas have largely stayed the same. The people who call this place their home are the Samri, and the ancient language from which their present-day languages derive is Niváki. Niváki is made of the words niva and aki. Niva is an old word for 'river' whose meaning has drifted towards 'people', while aki is a word that can mean a few things: language, lungs, breath, voice. 

I am quite happy with Niváki in its current iteration, so I now intend to describe Niváki publicly here on my blog (and perhaps elsewhere), along with the publishing of various Niváki texts.

The story of the wizard and the children is a sort of creation myth for the Samri. While the cosmology of many cultures is often concerned with the actual construction of the physical world, the Samri believe that the physical world has always existed, and so their 'creation myth' focuses on the formation of their society as they know it. The Samri view of time is reflected in the actual words used to talk about time. For example, kelen, which can mean either 'previous' or 'subsequent', is derived from a root meaning 'circle'; it means literally 'around'. Niváki is also a tenseless language; its verbs inflect only for voice and evidential mood, and it uses particles to alter a verb's aspect (the verb's sense of completeness).

The Samri find themselves in a strange world. The world of Tivuinyan experiences periodic apocalyptic events, about every thousand years or so. The Samri calendar thus divides time into Ages called Yahunsopa, or Cataclysms (literally: 'celestial fire-wash'). Each Yahunsopa is so catastrophic that the world of Tivuinyan remains under the feudal mode of production for nearly 7,000 years before the revolutions on the continents of Ponto and Tuvutsima, occurring in the latter centuries of the 7th Age.

Before those revolutions, Samri society is organised as a total theocracy. Serfs live on land owned by a celibate priesthood, to whom taxes are paid. The membership of the priesthood itself derives from the third estate, via success in philosophical debate -- though the nature of this examination process means that much of the priesthood is dominated by rich families, creating a kind of pseudo-nobility; this has caused numerous civil wars. On the subject of war, serfs can be levied in times of war, but the proper professional knights all come from special monasteries.

The lack of a proper nobility is thanks to the 1200 Prophecies mentioned in our story. Supposedly written after the 1st Yahunsopa by a yahwali, a kind of demigod (though I chose to translate it as wizard), the 1200 Prophecies dictate the structure of Samri society, and they include instructions for the creation of a future world that is no longer plagued by Yahunsopa.

An interesting detail surrounding the Prophecies is the literal meaning of the Niváki word for 'prophecy': kelnahane. As I mentioned earlier, Samri time is a circle. Kelnahane could be literally translated as 'foresayings' -- but it could also be translated as 'aroundsayings'. The Prophecies include not just predictions for the future, but also details of the world that came before. This before-world was said to be a world of love, netar írukí, where every being's life was joyful. Then came the 1st Yahunsopa, which made that world of love impossible, and necessitated the current feudal-theocratic structure of Samri society, until such time that a world of love could be made possible again.

A primary fixation on the part of the priesthood is the Prophecies' telling of the incarnations of various people who are said to cause great societal change. The most notable of these are the samhok -- named and known for their distinctive blue skin. Blue is an important colour to the Samri -- it's in their name and it's in their blood (samri means 'blue tribe', and they have blue blood), and their gods are usually depicted as having blue skin. The samhok are said to take the position of Samri Emperor during the transition away from serfdom. The final of these emperors takes the name Ngansuril -- the dreaming tree -- before disappearing from reality altogether, making way for the world of love.

The yahwali in our story here also has a name; he is often called Kelonre, 'the wanderer', and is said to still roam the land. There are many stories about people meeting him in unexpected places.

That's all I have to say for now. Next time, I think I will discuss particularities of Niváki grammar, starting with how it handles verbs.