I Think They Ate My Cow
Translated with the help of Muḥammad bir Nǧēma at Funduq Ṣalālah, February 1, 2012, and reviewed by his cousin, Saʿīd Musallim Āmr Ǧīd, nephew of Sālim bir Slēm, on 2/2/2012.
| Poem | Translation |
|---|---|
| 1) bir enēḳa šeh ḥḳabk // men amawref ḏe-śḥeyr | Bir Enēḳa, I’m sorry for your situation // [that] of the customs of the mountains [i.e., it grieves me that you fell victim to the customs of the mountain people, who ate you rather than returned you to me]. |
| 2) heh w-lū ṣdūr l-boh // śnekt we-ḫbūb // lawb yḳāʾen menṣeyr | If she had returned to here from the watering hole // to Śnekt and Ḫbūb [two places located in the mountains above Ḥayr] // absolutely, she would have been "the victor" [still alive] |
| 3) le-śrōweḥ le-ǧreh // hel āmer we-ḥmēd // eḫḫəbēr yḳāʾen ġeyr | To the Śrōweḥ, to pass by them // [to arrive] at ʾĀmer and Ḥmēd [two people of Beyt Bir Šālem whom Bir Ḳerheyf trusts and who are known amongst the Śrōweḥ for their honor] // then the “news” would have turned out differently |
| 4) reyt mhēḏen ber ǧroh // ṭ̌ar hōmet ḏe-ryēm // le-šḳābel enśəġeyr | I wish that the alert had reached [them] // atop the peak of Ryēm // to order to face Enśəġeyr. |
| 5) lawb ḏ-yeṭwīyen toh [sic. teh] // eḳḳəlūten ṭāṭ k-ṭāṭ // eṣṣəbīt ḏ-bōlī ḥeyr. | Absolutely, they would set forth at night for him // brothers, one by one, // the bravest youth of the people of Ḥayr. |
| 6) ʾadhem ḫezyīyeh leh // eḳḳiṭawr ḏ-bir dwil // w-śenyōna teh b-ḫeyr | Indeed, they would have prevented it [the slaughter of the cow] // [steadfast] like Bir Dwil // and they would see [to] it [the cow] that it is safe. |
| 7) ke-ṣwōder hem ǧroh // b-ʿiley ḏ-bōtī ǧēt // meštēba emḥəźeyr | With the animals returning from their watering, they pass by // in the heights of the districts of Ǧēt // they will follow [after them] to their green pasturage. |
| 8) [ʾār moh] hem w-lū frawt śawr // we-ṭwībem ḥanwey // śyōḳī [sic. śīwōṭ?] elṣəḥeyr | [recitor’s interjection: and indeed!] If they had slightly shifted their plan // and kept their intentions good // and branded her with fire. |
| 9) yḳā men alḳeyt // we-mṣaybeḫ essəmōt // ʾaw yḳā rīḥ w-ṭayr | [Perhaps] it [the cow] is in [from?] a cave // poisoned by [the bite] of a mṣeybeḫ-insect // Or perhaps from a sickness of “wind” [i.e., gas] or the birds. |
| 10) ḏīma lad tḥawsel lā // we-k-śēher ḏ-hayyərīt // ettəlīk w-hābeyr | None of this is happening // by the light of the moon // they tied her up and took away at night. |