Jul 24, 2008

A very good traditional Balinese story

I thought I'd let you all listen to a Balinese story told by a native Balinese speaker, since it's an interesting language to listen to. The story is called "Miss Bean Angel" (Ni Kacang Dedari), and it basically concerns a young woman who is advised by her mother to not step out of her family compound since there is a dangerous demon named "I Lantang Idung" (Mr Long Nose) wandering about. The mother steps out each morning to go sell and buy various items in the market. Every time Kacang Dedari's mother is at the market, I Lantang Idung tries to lure her out of the compound, to no avail. The mother, though, has a special song that she sings to get her daughter to open the door. Later, as soon as the mother goes to the market, I Lantang Idung forces a nearby duck farmer to sing the mother's song for him in her voice (why this works I don't know). Ni Kacang Dedari, thinking that she hears her mother's voice, opens the door and is kidnapped by I Lantang Idung. This is the end of this first video.

Vocabulary items one should watch for:

peken 'market'
anak 'person'
(Notice that Balinese uses this Austronesian word for 'person' where elsewhere, it means 'child' - the word for 'child' in Balinese is panak/pianak.)
(ng)oyong 'to live somewhere'
(ng)adep 'to sell'
magedi 'to leave'
pesu 'to go out'
lantang 'long'
idung 'nose'
adan 'name'
ampak(in) 'to open (for someone)'
meme 'mother'
biang 'mother (more respectful term)'
rangsasa 'demon, monster'
jlanan 'door'
kacang 'bean'
dedari 'angel'
anak luh 'woman'
panganggon bebek 'duck farmer'
ia 's/he'
ene 'this'
ento 'that'
ditu 'there'
sing 'no, not'
(m)plaib 'to run'; (m)plaibang 'to run away with someone'
(ng)kaukin 'to call someone out'
(ba)kal FUTURE marker
keto 'like that'
(e)da 'don't'
tiang 'I (mid-polite form)'
ada 'to exist'
(n)tepukin 'to find, see'
tulung 'help'
apa 'what'
(ng)aba 'to bring'
teka 'to come'
gelisin 'to speed up'
satua 'folktale'
lantas 'and then'



The storyteller (a friend of a friend, named Nyoman "Target") is very skilled here - pay attention to how he characterizes Ni Kacang Dedari vs. the demon I Lantang Idung. I'll put up part 2 if there's enough interest - but right now, I would like you to just listen to the language itself, since not too many non-speakers take the opportunity to listen to it carefully. I especially like the line from I Lantang Idung Yen sing pesu, kal makpak tulangne! 'If you don't come out, I'll chew your bones!'

1 comment:

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