3. In their van a fire devours, in their rear a flame consumes. The country is like a garden of Eden ahead of them and a desert waste behind them. Nothing escapes them.
Ik. Ats’esukotoo ts’aɗa takaredoo, itsuŋesukotoo ts’aɗiaka jiru. Sedadinuo takaredee kija, goozosukota jirie akak – nta iwalala taa zuk.
before them a fire devours and behind them a flame burns = ats’esukotoo ts’aɗa takaredoo, itsuŋesukotoo ts’aɗiaka jiru
ats’esukotoo = devours
ts’aɗa = fire
takaredoo = in front of them
itsuŋesukotoo = burns
ts’aɗiaka = flame
jiru = behind them
ats’esukotoo comes from the Verb ats’es, which can mean:
1. chew/gnaw
2. bite/sting (insects)
3. ache/cause pain/hurt.
takaredoo comes from takared, meaning face.
“In their van” or “in front of them” comes from the Hebrew pawnaw (פנה) meaning face.
The verb itsuŋesukotoo comes from itsuŋes, which means:
1. burn
2. brand
3. mend with fire
Think of the Ten Plagues.
They burned the Land of Egypt, both metaphorically and literally (Egypt was shortly invaded after its army drowned in the Sea of Suph.
They branded the Israelites as God’s people.
God appeared to Moses as a burning bush, and this began the process of mending the Jewish people, whom Pharoah was determined to break.
jiru comes from jir, which means back or rear.
“in their rear” or “behind them” comes from the Hebrew akhar’ (אחר) which means hind part.
Both ats’esukotoo and itsuŋesukotoo end with –ukotoo,
-ukotoo has three components, but we will only focus on the first, which is –ukot.
-ukot has two meanings, which are:
1. action is complete
2. action goes away
In his grammar, Schrock treats these as two separate features, but here I dare to join them together. Thus,
-ukot = action is complete and moves on to the next
However, not all uses of –ukot use both meanings. Some use only one. We will see an example thereof later.
the land before them is like the Garden of Eden = Sedadinuo takaredee kija
Sedadinuo = Garden of Eden
takaredee = before them
kija = land
Sedadinuo has two components:
1. seda = garden
2. Idinuo = is (like) Eden.
The Ik like in Icekija (lit. Ik-land), which lies between 6000 and 9000 feet above sea-level. The Turkana people surround their mountains on most sides, and are often hostile. Rains only fall during a few months of the year, and the contrast between dry and wet seasons is extreme.
Thus, they have become expert farmers and gardeners.
and behind them the land is a desolate wilderness = goozosukota jirie akak
goozosukota = desolate is
jirie = behind them
akak = wilderness
I discussed earlier the two meanings of –ukot. Sometimes you have both at once, and sometimes you do not. For example:
goozes = throw/abandon/vote.
If you add –ukot, you have two possibilities:
1. goozesukot = throw away/abandon/misplace.
2. goozosukot = be abandoned/be misplaced.
There is but a single vowel’s difference betwixt both words, yet their meanings are distinct enough to create confusion.
surely nothing will escape them = nta iwalala taa zuk
nta = nothing
iwalala = escape
taa = will do next time
zuk = surely
Ik includes two features which I had never seen before. These are the Removed Past Tense and the Removed Future Tense.
Depending on context, the Removed Past means:
last hour
last week
last month
last year
…and so on.
The default meaning is usually yesterday.
The Removed Future, on the other hand, means either later today or tomorrow.
3. Before them a fire devours, and behind them a flame scorches. The land before them is like the Garden of Eden, but behind them, it is like a desert wasteland – surely nothing will escape them.
Ik. Ats’esukotoo ts’aɗa takaredoo, itsuŋesukotoo ts’aɗiaka jiru. Sedadinuo takaredee kija, goozosukota jirie akak – nta iwalala taa zuk.