vrijdag 6 juni 2014

Tebu's message [Batek story]



Below is a story from 'Changing Pathways: Forest Degradation and the Batek of Pahang, Malaysia' (2004) by Tuck-Po Lye. It is Tebu's message to the world to stop destroying his home forest.  The book gives it in the original language, a literal transcript and a free translation. This is the transcription but with some additional markings omitted.

World-finish - world-finish. Already-no-tree.

When-they-dynamite, Gubar-long time-rain. we remember.
 

Do-only untill-that. We-find-food-same. Can-not-fond of-appropriately-that-we-find-food.
 

River Temoh-no-tree. Oil palm-only.

Soul-to live-upon-tree.


Island hold-up-earth.


That is past-we Peace-no-lose-world.


Person-superhuman-to-say: hearth-earth to make.


They remember they miss.
 

To feel sorry for-song.
 

They love.
 

We listen - - what - - we hold voice.
 

Tree-finish, no-place-we to be shaded.
 

Can-we-meeting, meeting-can-we decide together-do-then. We refuse to give up-world. Don't-
we-lose out on-world. We-know-we-eat, we-know-we-keep.
 

Malays-they-think-of road-they-put down-oil palm. Consider-they-kill-world. Where-we-live. So-they-
kill-world-ours. Before-we-sit-healthy. Now-no-we want-healthy-already. So law-us same.
 

We-miss-time-peace. Remember, we miss. We-show how.
 

Already-broken-earth. Soul river-block. Important-danger. River-not-it wants-flow. It-spills. Land-soft. Land collapse. It make-channel-it-break-there.
 

Like-like, loof for-good - - for-food-we-rich, but-world-none. Know-we-keep. Not-we-rich-we kill-world. Short-we to-become-long. We-know-we-keep. We-look-for-food, we-value-soul-world. 

But-not-they-know-value-soul-world, don't know-then.
 

Value-soul-world. We-remember-before. As long as living-we-in-forest, we-give-instructions. Don't-we-fight, kill each other.
 

Not-easy - - suffering. End of-life-they-do.
 

Kill-world. Ridicule-we-live-wild. No-they-know-they-think. I want-them-know-way-reason.

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