La Glace Copyright © Translated into Atsina by Terry Brockie
Atsina love poem
Abitáatóóúnóóúhuut’ɔ in ‘aθɔ́ɔ́hɔ́bikíitɔɔnh
Niinááh itáh ɔwɔtɔnɔhɔ́ɔ’
Ɔɔh, ’oouniinɔɔnhoouh ‘iyɔhóu’únɔɔ’ɔ́ɔ́h
Itɔɔsíííh "Asinbiθɔɔtaan’ɔ!"
Abitáatóóúnóóúhuut’ɔ in ‘aθɔ́ɔ́hɔ́bikíitɔɔnh
Niinááh itáh ɔwɔtɔnɔhɔ́ɔ’
Ɔɔh, ’oouniinɔɔnhoouh ‘iyɔhóu’únɔɔ’ɔ́ɔ́h
Itɔɔsíííh "Asinbiθɔɔtaan’ɔ!"
Copyright © Bellon Poet http://love.poem.free.fr
Atsina language
I like this translation of the love poem, i think that it will be part of my favorites, because it is in an extinct language, and there is so much poetry in it! On the other hand, it is difficult to find reliable informations about this Algonquian language and people who speak it. The gros ventre (atsina) and the arapaho are two dialects of a common language.
The Gros Ventres
The Gros Ventres are Algonquin Indians from North America met by the French, who named them so, during the American conquest. Established since the 17th century, in Montana, Alberta (formerly part of French Louisiana) and Saskatchewan (Province of Canada), the Gros-Ventres live today in the Montana's reservations (2000 people) Fort Belknap. Each winters they were divided into patrilinear bands for hunting, and every summer they gathered in circular encampments where the work of the skins constituted their main activity.
