Ło' xiyidighine'. They believed in them. Told by Hannah Maillelle with Katherine Hamilton, Feb. 12, 2004, Anchorage, Alaska.
	Transcribed and translated by Beth Dementi Leonard and James Dementi. Reviewed by Donna Miller MacAlpine, Edna Deacon, Lucy Hamilton, and Alice Taff. There are 5 topics below but we have kept them together in this text to present the flow of ideas from topic to topic in the larger notion of "old beliefs".

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	We were talking about beliefs, beliefs of long time ago.

	What they used to believe in, every little thing. They even believe in what birds do.

	When, when it, like chickadees fly in the tent or in the house.

	Sigiggeg, gho nadidilighusr yitdong.
	Chickadees, talking about them long ago.

	Ło' xiyidighine',
	They believed in them,

	yuxudz ggagg k'idz yił.
	and all the birds.

	Xiłdi,
	So,

	ngitthing sanh qay tr'ididltth'e.
	we were staying down (on the Yukon) at fish camp [lit. summer village].

	Dinadadr k'idz xelanh.
	Our little sister was there.

	Xiviyił itsa'a ye notin dinaghi, dinaghi xinedatl.
	Together two grandmas came to our place.

	Xiłdi, Mom gho xididltth'e ts'i,
	They sat with Mom,

	xinaxidilighusr.
	talking.

	Xiyił sigiggegg xidinat'uq
	Suddenly a chickadee flew

	yix xodhith yet.
	in the tent.

	Xiłdi {xiyogh} xiye nitlchet, Mom.
	Then she tried to get it, Mom .

	Xidonq'ixiniłchet ts'i yuxudz xiyinitlchet ts'i.
	They put down the tent flaps and closed up the tent.

	Xidigał, yiłchet ts'i yuxudz.
	Finally, she got it.

	Niłtoyitlch'ił ts'i xitthiyi- {dighił} -ghilo.
	She tore it up and put it in the fire.

	Yit oghida' 'n at, dinadadr k'idz didiyoq.
	A year later, our small sister died.

	Ndadz dit'anh tux dina yeg iłzre.
	That's what it does then, takes a person's spirit.

	Ało ditht'an ts'i xiłne.
	It doesn't do that for nothing.

	It's off?

	What else?

	(KH) What about frog, you know, frog, xiłghiy?
	... frog.

	Ngido' Swiftwater tr'ididltth'e ts'i.
	Downriver in Swiftwater we were staying.

	Ngine' qay che ntr'ididatl.
	Upriver that village we came to. [Lower Village of Shageluk]

	Xiviyił Mildred and Mary,
	Together with Mildred and Mary,

	yixi q'uxididał vith q'idz.
	around there we walked around on the river bank.

	Xiłdi Ida yił dinayił dit'anh.
	and Ida (Raymond Dutchman's sister) was with us.

	Xiviyił xiłghiy chux yixi q'u'ałtlik yixi.
	A big frog was jumping around there.

	Xiłdi xiyiłchet ts'i yuxudz
	Then they got it and

	xiditthiłt'ogg,
	on top of her head,

	Mary tthiłt'ogg dixiyitlt'anh.
	they put it on Mary's head. [If it stays on your head, it means you will live long, but if it doesn't stay you won't live long. JD]

	Niłq'udz ts'i yit dhido ts'i.
	It stayed a little while on her.

	Nonałtlik.
	It jumped down.

	Dina ts'ili'anh ts'i che vughidluq tr'idlighusr ts'i.
	To us it looked silly so we were laughing about it.

	Xiłdi Ida tthiłt'ogh che dixiyi'itlt'anh.
	They put it on Ida's head too.

	Gee, yit edo' ts'in'.
	Gee, it wouldn't stay there.

	Nonałtlik.
	It kept jumping down.

	Che yit nontr'iłtayh
	We kept putting it back up again,

	che nonałtlik.
	and it jumped right back down again.

	Vughidluq tr'idilighusr.
	We were laughing about it.

	Vantr'atr'ixuneg ndadz dit'anh ts'i.
	We didn't know why it was doing that.

	Xiviyił sitthiłt'ogh che dixiyitlt'anh.
	Then they put it on top of my head, too.

	Iy che xiyodluq xidilighusr; xiłdi getiy niłngath ts'in' tth'iłt'ogg dhido ts'i.
	All of them were laughing about it staying on top of my head a really long time.

	Yit dhido ts'i yit dhido.
	It was sitting and sitting there.

	Xidigał nixayiłchet, he'?
	Finally they picked it up, eh?

	Ało lo che ditht'an ts'i iy nonałtlikda'.
	Sure enough, it doesn't do that for nothing when it jumps down off your head.

	Xidigał che yuxudz Ida yitot a didiyoq.
	In the end, Ida didn't last long.

	(KH) Giłixi che, she say edodz ntr'ididał.
	One time she said we came up from Swiftwater.

	Sanh xelanh.
	It was summertime.

	Ngi'egh ntr'ixiniłghon ts'in'.
	We were playing around outdoors.

	Xiłghiy yixi chux iy,
	A frog around there, a big one,

	yixiy q'u'ałtlik che xichet.
	around there it was jumping and we picked it up.

	Eliza, Dorothy, and me,
	[Eliza is Jeannie Benjamin's mom. Dorothy is Dorothy Workman.]

	Diva go che dinayił q'u'edoyh?
	And who else was walking around with us?

	Yuxudz, yuxudz che ditr'eloq.
	We did like that.

	Yix tthegh q'idz di'uxłtayh tux yuxyił idiyinh dina xi'ne.
	While it's on your head it's making medicine people say.

	Sughiligik dina tr'iłt'ogg, Eliza tthiłt'ogg ditr'itlt'anh.
	Poor person, on her head, on Eliza's head we put it.

	Iy. Yit che edo' ts'in'.
	Oh, no. It never stayed.

	(?)

	Di'ne, di'ne tux che gits'in', gits'in' xiłne lo che.
	When it makes noise it's a bad sign they said sure enough.

	(HM) Didithne' ts'in'.
	It didn't say anything.

	(KH) Didaghine' xiye vitthiłt'ogg diyiłt'anhdi, that's what I...
	It made a croaking sound when they put it on her head.

	Viyetr xitithdlal ts'in'.
	She's not going to live long.

	(HM) Viyetr xitithdlal ts'i tux an, he'?
	She's not going to live very long, eh?

	Xivitthiłt'ogh diyedo' ts'in'.
	It didn't stay on her head.

	Yuxudz xiyan' che yuxudz vaniginiyh anh, Ida.
	That's all I remember about her, Ida.

	And ah, sitthiłt'oghdi xeyitlt'anhdi getiy sughidluq xidilighusr.
	And ah, when they put it on my head they were sure laughing about me.

	Getiy niłngath ts'i iłt'e yuxudz, sitthiłt'ogg dathdo ts'in'.
	A really long time it was sitting on my head.

	(KH) Che yił,
	And also,

	(HM) Uxutiy yił yuxudz,
	Even those ones,

	axa dughinek I mean xiyan nughinek,
	they pay attention to them,

	ggagg k'idz ine' iy.
	even birds.

	Giyixi'ogh,
	A year ago,

	xiday te divan xiveloq hin Grayling, niłyił.
	where those people who drowned in the river in Grayling, together.

	Five boys xit'anh, Lillian and Archie. And
	They had five boys, Lillian and Archie. And

	in the springtime she call me and she tell me she just worried.

	(KH) Deg Xit'an, deg xiq'i.
	Local people, local language. [KH is prompting HM to speak in Deg Xinag.]

	Xulegg,
	In the spring,

	soqo xinayh Lillian.
	Lillian called me.

	Xiyo dił'anh, "Auntie,
	She's worried, "Auntie,

	vinixiłyigg tux, {ggiy} gidint'ey
	early in the morning, a camp robber,

	window xidalning'," yiłne,
	is pecking at the window," she said,

	"yolq'a ngi'os ts'in'.
	"outside the window.

	Iłt'e che yuxudz dit'anh," yiłne.
	It keeps doing that," she said.

	"Ndadz xo'in dit'anh?" siłne.
	"Why is it doing that?" she asked me.

	"Ngo xantr'ixusneg," vidisne.
	"Well, I don't know," I told her.

	"Ało an a dit'anh," vidisne.
	"It's doing that way for nothing," I told her.

	Edi yuxudz sanh, sanhdi yuxudz disiłne.
	All that summer, all summertime she's telling me that.

	Xiłdi, xiyhts'in' che xits'an xitithidhit xiyiłdi soqo xinayh.
	It started to get falltime when she called me.

	"Gee, that gidint'ey yuxudz,
	"Gee, that gray jay,

	iłt'e yuxudz yalq'a xidalning'," yiłne.
	it's always pecking at the window," she said.

	"Gil' gho xiyodidhił'an iy detsan' tlagg.
	"Well, don't worry about it, maybe it's hungry, bum thing.

	Ithe ngi'egh gho gidhuxlo ts'i at," vidisne ts'i yił.
	You should leave food outdoors for it," I said to her.

	Iłt'e yuxudz yigixe'izrisr ts'i.
	They were always drinking.

	Yuxudz, ts'an a yit?
	Everyone, is it true?

	Xiyh an a yuxudz niłyił yuxudz dixidiyoq.
	That winter all together they died.

	Diva go itr'atoneł.
	We have nobody to tell it to. [Stories]

	(KH) Vandhiginik ts'i daxasneł.
	I forgot what I was going to say.

	Xiday that um, xiyixonet che.
	Where's that... I don't know what's up above.

	Nda' ts'i xi'ezre' che yuxudz?
	What do they call that place?

	(HM) Ndagh?
	Where?

	(KH) Yukon Slough.
	Yukon slough. [Edna Deacon says the name is this slough is Tse Yiq.]

	(HM) Vantr'ixusneg.
	I forget.

	(KH) (?) Ne dhi'onh. Yukon Slough.
	An island, Yukon Slough.

	Yit, a...
	There's...

	Edna xogh xinayh.
	Edna was talking about it.

	Viq'idz nihol, nihol an iy, ngo yitdong.
	On it no camping, no camping there, from long time ago.

	Dong, dong go, tthingił tidolningh.
	Long time ago, an axe fell in the water.

	Yit iy an a gho. Vits'i. You know.
	There. And that's why it's that way (formed the island).

	Ngan' ndalningh. Yeah.
	That's how that island is there.

	(HM) Diggadhi'oy chux, xi'ne.
	A big knife, they say.

	(KH) Tthingił...
	An axe...

	(HM) Vits'i diggateł chux xiy.
	The biggest knife there is.

	Diggadhi'oy yuxudz qay yuxudz, yuxudz xiy axa dit'anh hiy xiłne.
	The whole village used that knife they said.

	Viq'a xethtrix xiłdi
	Everybody was crying then

	iy diggadhi'oy chux
	(because) that big knife

	tighiłqadi, xi'ne.
	went in the water, they said.

	Xiq'i xethtrix ts'i xiłdi,
	They cried for it then,

	viq'a che gitidlyo xiłne che.
	they had a parka feast they said.

	Diggadhi'oy chux a gitidlyo, xi'ne.
	They had a parka feast for the big knife, they said.

	Dangan ndagh che q'a che gitalyayh?
	For that iron, why did they want to have parka feast?

	Xunik itl'e iy.
	(I wonder if) it's a true story.

	(KH) Spirit camp, what that ah... xiday [hard to hear] 4-mile xi'ne di tthoggiqay xelanh?
	Up across 4-mile there was a spirit camp.

	That diyin dathonhdi.
	Is that where that shaman's grave is?

	Xiye xingo che spirit camp {dihath} ixitltsenh yixi.
	They made the spirit camp right across from there.

	And Edna, had, what they call Spring Camp?

	(HM) Gan?
	What?

	Gidonik donixi, aa, q'eyh dithtitht'onh hiy.
	Lots of birch trees in a row.

	Dinato' yixi qidhi q'u... [hard to hear] ogh xitr'idal, tr'ine, anh hin ałine, she say, cause,
	Our father told us not to walk around there.

	Giłixi ts'i qay xadila ts'in'. [hard to hear]
	Once there used to be a village there.

	Yuxudz iy che didltth'en, I guess.
	They were all living there, I guess.

	Yuxudz imo axa.
	They all got sick.

	Dixidiyoq.
	Everyone died.

	"Yixi q'udhuxdidal," hin dina iłne, eh?
	"Don't walk around there," he told us, eh?

	Imo didiyoq ts'i yuxudz.
	Sickness happened.

	(HM) Yuxudz donxidiyoq, yit xadixi'inedi.
	Everyone died there, that place where everyone died.

	Ngido' yoxodo' xiłdi thuxididltth'en,
	Down there where they're staying by themselves,

	nq'ołdałin yan' iy, he', iy?
	only women is that the one?

	(KH) No, that's another one.

	That, aa, what's that Niłti'ileyhdi?
	Lower Village?

	Lower Village xoq'odz qay xixilidi.
	Lower Village, across from it, there used to be a village.

	Yit an at xi'ne.
	That's the place they're talking about.

	(HM) O, yit'egh.
	Oh, there.

	Ginadhingonhdi.
	That's where everybody died (from sickness or starvation).

	(KH) Yit an at giłigginh chel
	That's where one boy

	baby viyetr xelanh.
	baby was alive.

	Tr'ałtth'et gitthing yan', gitthing ngohon yan' ntidlghusr.
	In the kashim only blowflies, there was only blowflies buzzing.

	(HM) Xiyiłchet ts'i xiłdi xeyitlyonh anh chel k'idz.
	They took him and they raised him that little boy.

	Dredluq gidighedhit.
	He barely survived.

	Che, vonh didiyoq xingo
	His mother was dead while

	yima' ghiłtet.
	he was drinking her milk.

	Xiłdi xivito' nda sre' diyaghił'an ts'i.
	I wonder what his father did (to help the child recover).

	Xidigał xełedz dondiyoq.
	Finally he got well.

	Anh nq'ołdałin xivito'.
	The girls' father. [He was the one who blew on the baby to help him get well.]

	Dan an xivoda' xiłdi yinitlyo.
	The older sister raised him.

	"Q'a'ididhit ts'i xiłdi nginixi q'utasdoyh," ine',
	"I'm grown up (and) I'm going to go back there and walk around," but,

	"Ngine' tigheyo," an xiłne iłt'e.
	"Don't go upriver," they told him all the time.

	Xiłdi, ngichux ts'i didiyoq ts'i xiłdi,
	Then he grew bigger, then,

	"Ndadz goxo ningine' tigheyo an sixi'ne?" inedhinh.
	"Why not go upriver do they tell me," he is thinking.

	Ngine' qay xighelidi.
	Up river there used to be a village site.

	Neyo xiyił didiggixalnek.
	Walking then he found himself there. (In that village.)

	Voxo ndadz sre'
	He didn't know anything

	dixi'et'adi.
	about that place.

	Ts'an at edo' n'idiyo.
	So he went back downriver.

	Singonh yiłne anh xiłdi,
	The one he called Mother,

	nughił dighene.
	he told her.

	Iy givitsiy ghiluq xiłdi,
	His poor grandpa then,

	itrix, tr'ine. Tatthtrax.
	he was crying, it is said. He started crying.

	Xitl'ogh xiłdi yi nughił didighine', tr'ine.
	But after that he told him, it is said.

	"Ngine' ginadhingonh dan at,
	"Upriver, where everybody died,

	ngidithinqay yił yuxudz.
	your parents and everyone.

	Tr'ałtthet, tr'ałtthet ngq'iholnek go dan," yiłne.
	The kashim, (in) the kashim, they found you right there," he told him.

	"Dred xiłdi gidagh ngidhit," xiłne, tr'ine.
	"You barely made it," they said, it is said.