metseepu

Wauja

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mɛˈt͡seː.pu/

Verb

metseepu

1. (intransitive) he/she/it faints, swoons, passes out (is or becomes unconscious)

   ...metseepuwi — MET ... see ... pu ... weyeki itepoyiu.

   [Storyteller:] [The Caiman Spirit] passed right out. He... passed... out... [cold] from [the] delicious itchiness.

   Aitsa akama jano?

   Aitsa wa. Metseeputa. Metseeputa.

   [Audience member, asking for clarification:] Was he dead or what? (lit., Was [he] not dead, that one?)

   [Storyteller:] Oh, no. [He] had just fainted. Merely fainted.

Related terms

• okisempun (“his/her/its dream(s)”)

References

• "...metseepuwi" and "Aitsa akama" (transcript, p. 32) uttered by Aruta, storyteller and elder, and members of his audience, as he recounted the traditional tale, "The Caiman Spirit" (Yakaojokuma). Recorded in Piyulaga village in the presence of assembled elders and others, November 1989.