kwakwoho

Wauja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /kwaˈkwɨ.hɨ/

Noun

kwakwoho

1. men's house in the central village plaza, where the sacred flutes are stored.

   ... iyawe kwakwoho onaku wi. AITsa inyaun waka wi, aitsa wi. Ejekepei – tsan tsan tsan tsan atukutawakatapai yiu.

   She went inside the men's house. There was absolutely no one there, no one there at all. She began to play – tsan tsan tsan tsan [humming of the flute] – she was summoning all her companions [lit., summoning in every direction, on all sides].

   Umejo iyawi, iya kwakwoho onakuwi. Punupa kali, yuutapai ninyu wi? uma pa kai.... Ehn, ninyu apakatapai yiuwi. Nejo kala awatanatapai yeyawa han... Aitsa yuutapai hyan? uma. Hain? Nejokuma kalano? umakonapai ipitsi.

   Her husband went, [he] went into the men's house. "Now see here, do you all know about my wife [what my wife has been up to]?" he surely did say.... "Well, my wife is causing [the Flute Spirit] to sing. She's the very one who has been playing the [sacred] flute in the middle of the night.... So you all didn't even know about this?" he said. "What? Could she possibly have been the one [to do such a thing]?" they all said about it.

References

• "... iyawe kwakwoho" and "Umejo iyawi" uttered by Itsautaku, storyteller and elder, recounting the traditional Wauja tale of the "Man Who Drowned in Honey," in the presence of his adolescent son Mayuri, adult daughter Mukura, and others. Recorded in Piyulaga village by E. Ireland, December 1989, transcript pp. 3, 5. In this part of the story, a bold young woman commits a grave sacrilege by sneaking into the men's house in the dead of night and playing the sacred flutes, the mere sight of which is forbidden to women, with severe penalties for infraction.