The Haida language comes from Alaska. It is spoken on Wales Island to the North and Graham and Moresby Islands to the South.
The Dixon Entrance separates Wales from the other two islands, which are so close as to be almost kissing. Between Graham and Moresby Islands and the mainland is the Hecate Strait.
Notable locations include the Skidegate Mission on Graham Island, and Rose Harbour on Moresby Island.
Other towns include Tanu, Skedans, Cumshewa, Kaisun, Chaatl, Hiellen, Kayung, Uttewas, Yan, Kung, Dadens and Yaku.
As its name suggests, Skidegate Mission was where missionaries set up their headquarters. The story of the Haida conversion is an interesting one. There was a conflict over whether evangelisation should take place in English or Haida.
The Haida natives wanted to worship the Lord in English, and it was only through the strenuous efforts of the missionaries that any Haida worship happened at all. For their insistence that worship continue to happen in Haida, a number of missionaries saw most of their congregations desert them.
One missionary was John Heny Keen. He translated three of the Gospels (plus the Acts of the Apostles) into Haida. The Gospels in question were Matthew, Luke and John.
You can find all of these on the Internet Archive.
You can read the whole passage in your physical Bble, and the Haida will be at the end.
Mark 1:21
NJV. They went as far as Capernaum, and at once on the Sabbath he went into the synagogue and began to teach.
Haida. Kiid Gaganjaaw aa hal ists’ugan ’waagyaan Saŋ Saanjuudaa kats’gan kaajgad n’aay ’waagyaan sk’at’adahidgan.
they went into Capernaum = Kiid Gaganjaaw aa hal ists’ugan
Kiid Gaganjaaw = Capernaum
aa = into
hal = they
ists’ugan = went in
Capernaum comes from the Greek Kapernaoum (Καπερναούμ). This comes from Hebrew, where it has two components:
1. kaphar (כפר) = village
2. Nachum (נחום) = Nahum the Prophet.
On a basic level, Capernaum means “Nahum’s Village”. However, both of these components have more to unpack.
kaphar (כפר) village has the same origin as kephir (כפיר) young lion. Bear this one in mind.
Nachum (נחום) Nahum has the same origin as nacham (נחם). This means breathe heavily/sigh, and it extends in several directions, including:
be sorry, pity, console, rue, avenge, comfort/ease oneself and repent.
Kiid Gaganjaaw has two components:
1. kiid = sea lion.
2. Gaganjaaw = breath/windpipe.
kiid means more than sea lion.
It also means spruce/evergreen tree & the wood thereof.
But do the Haida consider the sea lion a mighty warrior?
I know too little of Haida mythology to answer this from that perspective, but there do exist these words:
kii = war shirt
kiidaaw = warfare & warrior/s.
and on the Sabbath he entered the syagogue = ’waagyaan Saŋ Saanjuudaa kats’gan kaajgad n’aay
’waagyaan = and
Saŋ Saanjuudaa = on the Sabbath
kats’gan = he entered
kaajgad n’aay = the synagogue
synagogue comes from Greek, and means something like meeting place.
kaajgad n’aay has two component:
1. kaajgad = meet
2. n’aay = house.
Sabbath coms from the Hebrew shabath (שבת), which means cease, desist or rest.
Saŋ Saanjuudaa has two components:
1. Saŋ = day/period of daylight.
2. Saanjuudaa = rest/relax.
As a Noun, saŋ also means air and weather.
The Hebrew term for synagogue is Beyt Knesset, meaning house of assembly, with beyt meaning house.
and began to teach = ’waagyaan sk’at’adahidgan
’waagyaan = and
sk’at’adahidgan = began to teach
sk’at’adahidgan has four components:
1. sk’at’a = learn.
2. -da = cause.
3. -hid = begin.
4. -gan = did.
sk’at’adahidgan thus means something like he caused them to begin to learn.
Mark 1:22
NJV. And his teaching made a deep impression on them because, unlike the scribes, he taught them with authority.
Haida. ’laa gyaa sk’at’aaw ’laa gu sGaanuuwaagan, ahljiihl dagwiigaay tlaaguusd ’laa hal sk’at’adugan, ta k’aalaŋ ’la’aaylaŋ ilaa.
and they were astonished by his teaching = ’laa gyaa sk’at’aaw gu ’laa sGaanuuwaagan
’laa gyaa = his
sk’at’aaw = teaching
’laa = them
gu sGaanuuwaagan = filled with awe
gu sGaanuwaa means amaze or fill with awe, and may have two components:
1. gu = one another
2. sGaanuwaa = be angry with or hold a grudge against.
How does sGaanuwaa mean both be angry and filled with awe?
It possible comes from sGaan, which has two meanings:
1. killer whale/orca
2. supernatural/shamanic power/spirit.
Have you ever sailed on a simple coracle – branches and bones wrapped in a thin layer of skin – and seen a whale leap up from the water?
In its wake, the waves hold a fierce debate. Will they feed you the bottomless black depths? Will you live to sail another day?
On another day, the waters hold another debate. They are sick of the orca, and the arrogance with which she leaps above the water’s surface. The waves conspire against her. They whip themselves into a frenzy, and when they combine their forces, they punish the orca with banishment on the sands.
A swan may or may not sing one final song before she passes away.
A sGaan on the sand sings a song that strums the sinew, and ends in a crescendo that makes the cannon in Tchaikovsky’s 1812 overture seem like the tinkling of a tin-eared triangle.
because he taught them as one with authority = ahljiihl dagwiigaay tlaaguusd ’laa hal sk’at’adugan
ahljiihl = because
dagwiigaay = authority
tlaaguusd = on the side of
’laa = them
hal = He
sk’at’adugan = taught them
The Postposition tlaaguusd means on the side of.
The very similar Postposition tlaaguud means after, according to and each time.
The less similar Postposition tlaagw means on the side of.
and not as the scribes = ta k’aalaŋ ’laaylaŋ ilaa.
ta k’alaaŋ ’laaylaŋ = writers (i.e. scribes).
ilaa = different from
ta k’aalaŋ ’la’aaylaŋ has three components:
1. ta = something
2. k’aalaŋ = write
3. ’la’aaylaŋ = people who do it.
’la’aaylaŋ is the Plural form of ’la’aay, which also means one’s own leader.
’la’aay is unusual among Haida Nouns for the simple reason that it has a dedicated Plural Form. Most do not.
Mark 1:23
NJV. And at once in their synagogue there was a man with an unclean spirit, and he shouted,
Haida. ’Waagyaan naŋ kagan eehl tl’aa gyaa kaajgad anaa iihlaŋaas hlgaamsdgan:
a man with an unclean spirit = naŋ kagan eehl iihlaŋaas
naŋ = someone
kagan = evil spirit
eehl = with
iihlaŋaas = who is a man
Haida is strange in how it handles human nouns.
Basically, a man is not a man, he is naŋ iihlaŋaas lit. someone who is a man.
Other examples include:
Naŋ awaas dlaajaagaŋ.= The mother is slow moving (lit. someone who is a mother is slow moving).
Guusgyaa uu naŋ jaadaas isdaaŋ? = What is the girl doing? (lit. what is someone who is a girl doing?).
Xaad kihl uu naŋ lableedgaas gyaahlandgiinii. = The preacher used to tell stories in Haida. (lit. In Haida, the one who is a priest used to tell stories.)
You can use either naŋ lableedgaas or simply lableed to mean priest, but why would anyone want to use the latter?
kagan means evil spirit.
It also means rat, so in many cultures, the meaning of unclean makes an indirect appearance.
in their synagogue = tl’aa gyaa kaajgad anaa
tl’aa gyaa = their
kaajgad anaa = in the synagogue
kaajgad anaa has two components:
1. kaajgad = meet
2. anaa = inside a house or building.
My original translation of in the synagogue was kaajgad n’aay kaahlii (lit. meet house inside). The final cut is no doubt very grammatically dubious.
and he cried out = ’waagyaan hlgaamsdgan
’waagyaan = and at once
hlgaamsdgan = he shouted out
cried out comes from the Greek anakrazō (ανακράζω), which has two components:
1. ana = up to a high point.
2. krazō = scream/cry out.
Curiously, the Haida hlgaamsda cry out may reflect this.
Haida has over 400 classifiers, but we only need to focus on one, this being:
hlga = an object with paired projections.
Obvious examples include: anchors, scissors, forks, hairpins, buckles, chairs and hinges.
hlga also includes natural things like plant roots, frogs, crabs and mosquitoes.
But do not confuse hlga with hlGa. Both are classifiers, but they have very different meanings.
I debated with myself as to whether to make a diagram of this sentence, focussing specifically on naŋ, iihlaŋaas and hlgaamsdgan. I decided against it – instead I encourage you to do so. It will be an education.
Mark 1:24
NJV: ‘What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are: the Holy One of God.’
Haida. “Guus iitl’g ’isgyaan daŋg, Salaanaa naŋ ’Laanaa HlGats’asd? Daŋ huu iitl’ hiiluuda intl’aagaan? Daŋ ki’ii aa dii unsadgan - Iitl’aagdaas gyaa Ilaaw!”
saying, what to us and to you = Guus iitl’g ’isgyaan daŋg
Guus = what
iitl’g = to us
’isgyaan = and
daŋg = to you
The first word of the original Greek is legōn (λέγων), which roughly means saying.
I followed the example of the New Jerusalem, New International, Berean Standard and all those others which leave this out. It’s optional, at best.
Jesus the Nazarene? = Salaanaa naŋ ’Laanaa HlGats’asd
Salaanaa = Jesus
naŋ = the one
’Laanaa HlGats’asd = from Nazareth
Saalaana is the native Haida term for Jesus.
I could translate the Hebrew term, but I won’t. I already did this for both Ik and Wardaman, and I will skip it on purpose in order to annoy the completionists in the audience.
Scholars are uncertain were the term “Nazareth” comes from. Some say it comes from the Hebrew for sprout, and others say I comes from the word for guard or watchtower.
My translation of from Nazareth has four components:
1. ’Laanaa = town
...
2. HlGats’a = watch/observe/keep an eye on.
3. -s = is doing.
4. -d = from.
The evil spirit within the man recognises the man with whom he is speaking. Just as you can recognise a country’s ruler based on the flag flying from the border posts and watchtowers, so too, does the unclean spirit know he is speaking with the Lord.
did you come to destroy us = Daŋ huu iitl’ hiiluuda intl’aagaan
Daŋ = you
huu = [Yes/No Question Marker]
iitl’ = us
hiiluuda = to cause to pass out of existence
intl’aagaan = came to
destroy comes from the Greek apollumi (απόλλυμι), which has two components:
1. apo = from
2. ollumi = destroy
The Prefix apo- intensifies the verb ollumi, making it mean fully destroy or cut off entirely. For this reason I chose hiiluu, which means vanish as in pass out of existence or become depleted.
-da is the Causative Suffix.
Like Ancient Greek, Haida has a Yes/No (or Polar) Question Marker. This is huu, and as the name suggests, it turns any sentence into a Yes/No Question.
Koine Greek, the language of the New Testament, lost the Question Marker.
I know who you are = Daŋ ki’ii aa dii unsadgan
Daŋ = your
ki’ii = name
aa = [Focus Marker]
dii = I
unsadgan = know
I wasn’t brave enough to attempt a Relative Clause.
I didn’t want to either.
I could probably justify this by explaining that Christ is the Word Made Flesh, but that would be a post-hoc justification, and at this moment I would rather engage in honest laziness.
the Holy One of God = Iitl’aagdaas gyaa Ilaaw
Iitl’aagdaas = one who is chief
gyaa = ’s
Ilaaw = different one
holy one comes from the Greek hagios (άγιος). This means different, specifically in the sense of being set apart by God.
Iitl’aagdaas is short for Saa Naŋ Iit’aagdaas, the Haida Term for God. It literally means the one who is chief above.
The full Haida:
21. Kiid Gaganjaaw aa hal ists’ugan ’waagyaan Saŋ Saanjuudaa kats’gan kaajgad n’aay ’waagyaan sk’at’adahidgan.
22. ’laa gyaa sk’at’aaw ’laa gu sGaanuuwaagan, ahljiihl dagwiigaay tlaaguusd ’laa hal sk’at’adugan, ta k’aalaŋ ’la’aaylaŋ ilaa.
23. ’Waagyaan naŋ kagan eehl tl’aa gyaa kaajgad anaa iihlaŋaas hlgaamsdgan:
24. “Guus iitl’g ’isgyaan daŋg, Salaanaa naŋ ’Laanaa HlGats’asd? Daŋ huu iitl’ hiiluuda intl’aagaan? Daŋ ki’ii aa dii unsadgan - Iitl’aagdaas gyaa Ilaaw!”
25. ’Laa aa Salaanaa suus st’agiidan, “Kunaŋ da k’absgad! An ’laag kaagaahl!”
26. Daŋ ’laa Gaydaŋs, hlgaamgaŋaaŋs ’laag kagan kaagalgan.
27. ’Waagyaan gu tl’ ’waadluuwaan, “Guus sk’at’adaw Gawtlaa keeŋwulaaŋ? Dagwigaay eehl kagan Hal xaldaaŋgan, ’waagyaan ’laa tl’ gudaa’waaŋ.”
28. ’Waagyaan ’laa gyaa gudaŋaay tliijiidaan Gawŋaayg gihlahldas Gaduu giihliidan.
29. ’Waagyaan kaajgad n’aaysd ist’i’iids, Gudas ’isgyaan Iihlaŋas gyaa anaag isdaalgan, St’ak’us ’isgyaan Gidaas danhl.
30. Gudas jaa aw k’iin tiis ijgaagan. ’Waagyaan ’laa Gideed tl’ suugaŋ.
31. Intl’aas stlaay gijgads tla gyaa’agan. ’Waagyaan laa kawsdaw t’a dlashlgandluu, ’laa hal daayaŋugan.
Source List:
Enrico, John, Haida Syntax (Nebraska: University Press 2003)
Dr. Lachler, Jordan, Dictionary of Alaskan Haida (Juneau: Sealaska Heritage Institute 2010)
- Haida Classifiers, October 2011 (I assume)
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