When Udmucrate was king, a delegation of soldiers, with Scelbofe as guide, crossed the Doje[1], because they were looking for Symbaian stowaways. But a cold and strong wind clouded their vision and they lost their direction, so they crossed the Gelsunar[2] thinking that they were crossing the Doje again, returning. On that shore, after days of walking, when they took the last food they had with their hands, Scelbofe saw a town in the snow, thinking that it was Gelcilcian[3], and they approached it. But a young man who had gone hunting crossed his path, who was carrying an elk skin on his head and another in his hands, following a falcon that was flying in the sky. Then Scelbofe chased him and knocked him down on the snow and took him to his town as a hostage, so that the locals would not attack them when they arrived. There were several men like him, with small eyes, thick cheekbones, and black and gray hair. Scelbofe did not learn their language before returning to Gelcile, which is why he did not know the name of the young man, who was called Sbornidalgie[4]. These did not know the gods. They do not know about beings that are above them, but everythings belong to life and death. They believe that trees live and speak with men, as one of their songs said.
“When the sun hides, the trees wake up/and, with their small voice, to those who will go to sleep/, the souls, they say goodbye./But when the hunters pass by them,/they utter violent words/against them so that they Do not enter the forests.”
This says in our words “When Lospidomus hides, the trees wake up and, with their small voice, wish health to the souls that will go to sleep. But when the hunters pass near them, they utter ugly words against them so that they do not enter the forests.” Perhaps they heard singing birds and thought that those who were singing were trees, or hunters from other towns, threatening them so that they would not enter them, and they thought that those who were talking were trees. And they also believe that the animals they hunt are men who, losing their way, took their skin. And their songs also talk about this, as in
“When he went to the forest, he went far away / from his family and his people / and, although the trees told him not to continue / like the moon, he crossed / from one world to the other; / and the bones in his fingers were broken / and his nose stretched out,/and so, under the light of the sky,/he looked like a seal, who,/leaving his spear/and his oa[5] in the snow/went to the waters.”
This says in our words “When he went to the forest, he went far from his house[6] and his town and, although the trees told him not to enter, like Ginit, he crossed from one sky[7] to the other and the bones of his fingers were broken and his nose was stretched, and so, under the light of the sky, he looked like a seal that, leaving its gartiort[8] and his elk skin in the snow, went to the waters." But they fear the lands that they do not know because spirits live there, which they call "bomakuri"[9], some of which take care of them, but others hurt or kill them. And the story that scared them the most was told in this song:
“(1)Children should not be awake when they go to sleep/because wolves cry because they/, all the animals tah hunt,/(2) are afraid a lot of the biggest bomakuri./This one walks through the tundra with an aching stomach/ and cries like a whale./(3) The grandparents said that this one is/as big as the trees/and the hungriest of all his species;/(4) An elk skull is his head,/with arms that emerge from the place/in which are the horns of these animals;/(5) with a white bear's chest,/the arms of tree apes/and walks on fox legs./(5) The grandparents said that he also devours/our children who do not listen to their home/when it tells them not to leave the tribe./(7) They also said that they go through our towns,/looking for men who abandon/sons like wives/(8) But They also say that, when the children sleep,/he knows that he will not find them playing/in the tundra and, for this reason, he goes to the villages/(9) and thus kills each person/and is only afraid of two bomakuris./( 10) The great bird that watches over the tundra,/with the head of a hawk, with one eye on his forehead/and the tail of a walrus and the paws of a wolf./(11)This one ensures that all souls then carry out/their function under the sky/and, when he sees one outside of it, whatever his intention may be/(12), he kills him instantly,/because he fears what will happen/if we leave our path behind./(13) It is not in it to kill for hate,/for revenge, for pride./The other lives in the plain,/(14) which hides behind the lights of the sky,/but is capable resembling any soul/on the earth./(15) And then came two young men/who escaped from their father's house,/at the gates of the forest,/(16) but, being alone, nevertheless/they heard, of the beasts, loud/the noises and they went into the trees/(17) to escape, in this way, from these,/until they did not see them/each of the lights in the sky./(18) Then the bomakuri heard them/and he looked for them./But the oldest/(19) did not notice that his brother then moved away/from him, being seen, however,/at that moment, only by the great beast,/(20) which then approached, with silent steps,/to him and, taking him by the legs,/he split his belly in half./(21) But nevertheless the young man managed to scream/from the pain of death/and his brother managed to hear it/(22) and, thus, he asked/to the bomakuris, for fear,/who made him reach/(23) a beautiful bird, with the color of the clear sky,/with the brother's oa,/which also It was torn (24) in the entire area of the waist/and guided him out of the forest,/the eagle quickly took flight/(25) There they then looked for him, in the light,/some bomakuris, which, looking similar, however, to men,/they escorted him home."
This says in our words: "No child should be awake when they should sleep, because when wolves cry, it is because all the animals they hunt are afraid of the biggest bomakuri that walking through the tundra with an aching stomach. The grandparents said that this bomakuri is tall as a tree and is the hungriest of all; his head is the skull of an elk, with arms that emerge from the place where these animals' horns come out, with the chest of a white bear and the arms of an ape; he walks on two fox legs and hides behind the trees and the mountains. The grandparents say that he devours children who do not listen to their mothers when they tell them not to leave the tribe. And they also say that it also enters the towns looking for men who abandon their wives and sons. But they say that when the children are sleeping, he knows that he will not find them in the tundra playing and, for this reason, he goes to the villages and kills anyone he sees up. They also say grandparents that there are only two bomakuris that he is afraid of. One is the great bird that flies through the skies watching over the tundra, which has the head of a falcon, with one eye on its forehead, the chest and tail of a walrus, and the paws of a wolf. Who ensures that all souls maintain their function in order and, when he sees one outside of it, whatever their intentions, he kills, because he fears what will happen if we leave our path and he is not in it that we kill out of hatred, revenge or pride. And the other is the one who lives in the plain, who hides behind the lights of the sky, but who on earth can look like any soul, who protects them because he loves us. And one day two young men who escaped from their parents' house arrived at the entrance to the forest, but, being alone, they heard the noises of the beasts and went into the trees to escape from them, until the lights of the sky were no longer there. They saw them. Then the bomakuri heard them and looked for them. The oldest did not notice that his younger brother walked away from him, being seen only by the beast that, with silent steps, approached him and, taking him by the legs, split his belly. But the young man screamed for the pain of death and his brother, out of fear, prayed to the bomakuris, who made a beautiful bird come to him, from the skin of sky, bringing him the elk skin of his brother, who was torn in the waist area and, taking flight, guided him out of the forest. There some bomakuris of sky light looked for him, who, looking like men, escorted him to his house." And it is perhaps this fear that they had of leaving their towns, of going beyond what they know, that made them leave, because when they no longer had food and the cold penetrated their shelters, they were more afraid of challenging death more than of the arrival of death . Only the gods of the sky know what they saw in that forest. Perhaps it was a large bear or an aggressive warrior who had invaded their tribe.
When I went with them they told me a story which didn't have a song, but rather a child told it to me like one talks to another person. And he said that a woman from his tribe went away one day with her husband and a child in her womb, because their families had cursed them. And they walked through the ice looking for the forest, but the days passed and they found none. And the woman got tired and didn't walk anymore. So the man distributed what they had of food. But the days passed and the mother did not move from her place and no animal came to hunt, so they began to be hungry and the man tore off his arm to give it to his wife, because he did not want his son to stay there. And when they finished one arm, the man tore off the other. But one day, the woman did not wake up and, no matter how much the man tried to wake her up, he could not do so and sadness covered him alone in the desert. Then he took out of his shelter some rocks that he had stored and covered them with his wife's clothes, taking them for his son, and he took care of them like a child. Then, when he slept, feathers arose from his body and animal flesh arose from the place where his arms were, but not bone, and his feet grew and membranes arose between his toes. And there arose the father penguin, who takes care of only his stones, waiting for one day his sons to emerge from them.
[1] It is the river that is immediately before the Gelsunar, on the way from Tharcay. See river 61 on the map.
[2] It is the river that is furthest to the east, among those known to the Tharcaians. See river 62 on the map.
[3] Term with which the Tharcaians referred to themselves.
[4] Sbornidalgje, "elk skin" or "elk coat".
[5] oa, moose skin coat.
[6] kuts maləs, the author uses the word male (“house”) to translate “family” because in Tharcaian there is no specific word for “family.”
[7] The word ngewuia ("the place on high") in Bornidalgie means both "sky" and "world", since these people conceived of the sky as the roof that delimited their sensible world, which is why they called each person "sky". “world”, by metonymy. But in Tharcaian there is no word for “world.”
[8] gartjort, Zarquean spear.
[9] Bornidalgies spirits of nature.