Item details
Item ID
KK1-2281
Title Malu n mai shayawm ai (The Blessed Daughter) with English translation
Description Translation (Rita Seng Mai)
Our elders used to tell us a story that we shouldn't control childbirth. Once upon a time, there was a rich family. They had many children. However, the mother didn't like the youngest daughter. The father didn't know how to solve it, so he said to his daughter, "My daughter, take this gold and horse and leave the house. Stay wherever the horse stops." The girl rode the horse and wandered aimlessly. Later, the horse stopped in front of a house where a widow and her only son lived. She thought, "Anyway, this is the place where I will stay, as my father said." And she walked into the house. She took the boy and went to the market to sell her gold. The boy said, "Can this kind of thing be sold?" She said to him, "Yes, we can sell these things." He replied, "Really? I have seen a mountain of them." She said, "That's great." They went back home and collected the gold from the place the boy had seen, and they became rich. On the other hand, the girl's parents became poor. They had been rich because of her fortune, but after she left home, they became poor. Then they had to go from house to house asking for food. By coincidence, they entered their daughter's house. They didn't know she was their daughter, although she remembered them. She prepared delicious food for them and treated them well. Later, she told them that she was their daughter. The mother passed away after learning the truth. We don't know which child brings blessings to the family, so we should never abandon anyone. These days, people plan how many children they want, but we cannot know how much God will bless us and which child will bring blessings. This story tells us that sometimes only one child's fortune brings blessings to the whole family.

Transcription (La Ring)
Ma lu nmai sharam ai ngu ai maumwi.. moi Kanu Kawa ni hkai ai maumwi nga ai. Dai gaw hpa i nga yang she moi.. dinghku langai mi grai.. lu su ai da. Ma ma grai law rai yang e she, ma hpungdim num kasha hpe gaw Kanu grai nra ai hku rai nga. Grai nju rai yang e she Kawa gaw kaning nchye di nna "E.. nye kasha e nang le..e pru wa su ngu na she shi a gumra kaw ja ni hpa lu sha ni bawn.. dat nna ndai gumra hkring ai kaw wa u yaw" ngu na bawn dat ai da. Dai shaloi dai num kasha gaw kaja wa she gumra jawn rai nna Kawa ni e bawn dat ai hte maren yawng wa yang she kahtawng langai mi kaw du yang she, gaida nta kasha la kasha langai nga ai dai kaw shan nu sha nga ai nta dai kaw dai gumra wa hkring ai hku rai nga. Rai yang gaw dai kaw hkring rai yang gaw "Oh.. hpa raitim ngai hpe Wa htet dat ai hte maren ndai nta rai sai, ngai hpe wa u ngu na tsun ai gaw" ngu na dai kaw wa shang rai yang she shi hpe mi Kawa ni bawn dat ai ja tawng ni lang nna dai kaw na la kasha hpe gat de woi sa rai nna ja tawng dai hpe dut yang she dai la kasha gaw "Aww.. ndai ja aw.. ndai zawn san ai dut sha mai ai i" ngu san, tsun ai hku rai nga num sha wa hpe. "E.. dai grai dut sha mai ai baw re" ngu yang gaw "Oh.. ndai zawn san ai ngai bum ting mu ai gaw" nga ai da i. Bum ting mu ai.. nga yang she "Ah kaja a rai yang gaw" nga nna she shan wa rai nna hpang de ndai ja bum htu sha.. rai nna mana maka lu su nna nga ai..da. Rai yang htawra Kanu Kawa ni gaw yawng byak mat sai. Shanhte lu su ai raitim matsan mat sai, dai num kasha a majaw le i mi lu su ai mung gaw. Rai yang gaw dai num kasha pru wa hte gaw Kanu Kawa ni gaw yawng dinghku byak mat rai yang gaw Kanu gaw dinggai mung dinggai mung gaw dai hku rai na dam mat rai yang gaw dai kasha a nta kaw wa shang hkrup ai hku rai nga. E.. kasha gaw chye, shi gaw nchye rai nna she, kasha gaw atsawm sha lahku, jaw lu jaw sha nga rai yang, loi na rai yang wa she Kanu hpe shi a kasha re ai lam tsun dan yang e gaw Kanu gaw kalang ta dai kaw kajawng nna si mat ai da. Dai majaw dai zawn rai nna dinghku, tinang kashu kasha kade law yang law i, kanang na wa shaman chyeju lawm ai nchye ai. Dai majaw gaw "ma lu nmai sharam ai" ngu hku nna anhte hkam la ai le i. Ya prat nkau mi ma lu sharam, Karai Kasang gaw kade jaw na nchye, tinang langai lahkawng sha ngu, e dai hpe sha kam rai yang gaw nbyin ai mung lawm le i. Dai majaw ma a shaman chyeju ngu ai langai ngai kaw she grau na nta ting a matu lawm ai le i. Dai hku nna maumwi ndai gaw dai hku rai sai...
Origination date 2019-01-28
Origination date free form
Archive link https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/repository/KK1/2281
URL
Collector
Keita Kurabe
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Language as given Jinghpaw
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Content language(s) To view related information on a language, click its name
Dialect Standard Jinghpaw
Region / village Northern Myanmar

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Originating university Tokyo University of Foreign Studies
Operator
Data Categories primary text
Data Types Sound
Discourse type narrative
Roles Keita Kurabe : depositor
Chyamai Min Gam : speaker
DOI 10.26278/5fa1778412d5d
Cite as Keita Kurabe (collector), Keita Kurabe (depositor), Chyamai Min Gam (speaker), 2019. Malu n mai shayawm ai (The Blessed Daughter) with English translation. EAF+XML/MPEG/WAV. KK1-2281 at catalog.paradisec.org.au. https://dx.doi.org/10.26278/5fa1778412d5d
Content Files (3)
Filename Type File size Duration File access
KK1-2281-A.eaf application/eaf+xml 11.2 KB
KK1-2281-A.mp3 audio/mpeg 3.07 MB 00:03:20.993
KK1-2281-A.wav audio/wav 110 MB 00:03:20.977
3 files -- 113 MB -- --

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Collection Information
Collection ID KK1
Collection title Kachin folktales told in Jinghpaw
Description Recordings of Kachin folktales and related narratives in Jinghpaw. These materials were collected by Keita Kurabe, Gumtung Lu Awng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, Labang Tu La, Gumtung Htu Nan, and Lashi Seng Nan as part of a community-based collaborative fieldwork project in northern Myanmar. As of April 10, 2026, the collection includes 2,491 stories, 2,481 ELAN files, 2,481 transcriptions, and 1,827 translations.


Transcriptions were contributed by Gumtung Lu Awng, Pausa La Ring, Galang Lu Hkawng, Sumdu Ja Seng Roi, Hpauhkum Htu Bu, and Keita Kurabe. Translations were prepared by Nbanpa Rita Seng Mai, Sumlut Gun Mai, Lazing Htoi San, Maran Seng Pan, Dumdaw Mike Tu Awng, Nhkum Htoi Awng, and Keita Kurabe.

Related resources on Kachin culture and history are available at:

https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK2
https://catalog.paradisec.org.au/collections/KK3
https://www.youtube.com/@kachinfolktales
https://www.facebook.com/KachinStories

This research was supported by Linguistic Dynamics Science 3 (LingDy3), Description and Documentation of Language Dynamics in Asia and Africa (DDDLing), and TUFS Field Science Commons (TUFiSCo), all from the Research Institute for Languages and Cultures of Asia and Africa (ILCAA), Tokyo University of Foreign Studies (TUFS), JSPS KAKENHI (Grant Numbers JP17H04523, JP20K13024, JP20H01256, JP24K03887, JP25H00465), as well as the JSPS Program for Advancing Strategic International Networks to Accelerate the Circulation of Talented Researchers, "A Collaborative Network for Usage-Based Research on Lesser-Studied Languages."
Countries To view related information on a country, click its name
Languages To view related information on a language, click its name
Access Information
Edit access Nick Thieberger
Keita Kurabe
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Data access conditions Open (subject to agreeing to PDSC access conditions)
Data access narrative
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