i was over at shakespeare's sister reading and i came upon this beautiful apache blessing. i asked the poster if i could share it and he was so gracious as to not only agree but to write me and share more with me. he even sent a sound clip that i wish i knew how to post. the sound of the language is a poem in itself. another big thank you for him!




this is his blog...


http://www.mistrelboy.blogspot.com

i've started reading it. check it out.





ch'inaldildloh bee ihi'adahi

(they laugh all the time and live long)

shi'il na'ash

we go together as friends

yexaidela go deya tc'indii

having been prepared, he walks, they say

from the way of blessing, an old apache ceremony, given to warriors before they leave to do battle.




this is the e-mail that he sent me. i'm reprinting it here:





the prayer comes from a part of a long "sing" or ceremony. when apaches go to war they try to be in a spiritual position of beauty. it is a long process that readies the warrior and his comrades for what lies ahead. it has been around as long as anyone can remember. the way of blessing is done before leaving to fight. upon returning the way of the enemy is performed. both of those are long (like 3 days) ceremonies and would not excerpt all that well. there are also problems with translation. apache is a very specific language. often it conveys a tremendous amount of information in very few words. there are levels of nuance and meaning that can take whole paragraphs to explain a single word. some of it simply can't be said.

In Apache we use the vowels thusly:
A as in father
E as in red
I as in police
O as in go
U as in under
Y is a dipthong, a quick I (as in police) then A like in father

Vowel length is determined by the number of vowels. Most of the consonants are used the same as in English. There is one that doesn’t exist in English called a glottal stop. It is indicated by an apostrophe and pronounced by closing the throat creating a brief pause like saying “uh oh”. When a double consonant is used it indicates both ending the first syllable and beginning the next with a more pronounced consonant sound. Rather than saying the sound twice the sound is emphasized. I can’t think of an English example of this one.

Consonant clusters are as follows:
dl like the final syllable of paddling
dz as in adds
g as in get never gentle
gh is a hard g farther back in the throat like a guttural w
hw as in what
kw as in quick
tl as in Tlingit
ts like pots
x may be sh like shoot when followed by a vowel or used like x-ray when ending a word
or standing alone
zh as in azure


here is a shorter prayer.

The Friendship Prayer - - from Silas John

Si' Zi' bìyì' éd yùd di" di' is-Za'ni' tc' ìndíi*
I stand inside a circle of men and women they say
'ìs' à' nà yái éd yùd 'á lzà tc' ìndí
Long life in a circle, it is made, they say
bìyì' éd yùd híljìj 'ìs' à' nà yái tc' ìndí
Inside in a circle, dances, long life they say
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà k' è' gò józee** tsá lit' tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks like beauty, friends they say
Á bì tc'ìd bìt ' á' ná ná ni sì tsò
Underneath a blanket Mother Earth rests
nùgùsts' án biìká' dé ' ì tc'òdàsdjà í'
On top of Earth, people scattered about,
bìyá tì' jò ní bìnàtsé kè s jò ní' bìdlùk jò ní
Their talk good, their thoughts, good, their laughter good
bínà lzé' 'í t' à' dá' jò dí dò bé' ó ltà' gò'
Their property of all kinds, good, uncountable
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks they say
'ìs' à' nà yái k' è' gòjó gò' nànt' à' dòxá yò' bì ' ágòdo dí ì'
Long life he has, good, chief, never has he trouble
yèxáidèlà gò dè yà tc' ìndí
Having been prepared he walks they say

An offering of prayer and protection from evil. This ceremony performed in the presence of a sacred fire and smudge to ensure the spirits will hear the prayer. The rite takes about ten minutes each night, repeated for four nights under a clear night sky.
*the “they” word used implies that the “they” is our people, if it were others the word would have been “tc’ iindaa”
** the word “joni” or “jodi” or “jozee” means both “good” and “beautiful” depending on context and implication. it's that whole nuance thing.