Indian Antiquary Vol 51

Author(s): Richard Carnac Temple, Devadatta Ramkrishna Bhandarkar
Publisher: Swati Publications

Page 70

62
THE INDIAN ANTIQUARY
[APRIL, 1922
So saying he spoke. Then the elder brother said: "If it had been born from your cow, it would have been in your herd. I will not give up the calf born from my bull." There arose a quarrel between the two brothers. The elder brother said: "If it was born from your cow, collect assessors."
Again, the elder brother collected all his assessors; the younger brother seeking assessors could not find any. Then grief coming into the mind of the younger brother, he went into the valley. Then the younger brother saw a jackal coming from there. Then he said: "O jackal, I will ask from you a judgment." The jackal said: "What is the judgment?" Then he said: "My elder brother has laid claim to the calf born from my cow, saying it is born from his bull. Then I: It is a calf born from my cow: give it me.' But he did not give it. How will this case be?" So saying he asked the jackal. The jackal said: "Do you now go; I will come after. I will settle this case."
Going to a forest where a fire had gone burning, and having rubbed the black on his face, he came. Then the elder brother asked the younger brother, saying: "Have you any assessors?" The younger brother said: "My assessor is coming behind." So saying he spoke. After that in a little while the jackal came. Then the elder brother's assessors said: "O jackal, why are you late?" Then the jackal said: "Oho! A fire has come burning in the river: so keeping on picking up the fish and eating them, I became late.' Then the elder brother's assessors said to him: " You fool! does a fire ever burn in the river?" The jackal said: "You fools! does a bull ever bear a calf either?" So saying the jackal went to his home. After that, the two brothers having taken counsel, the elder brother's assessors, having reconciled the two brothers, gave his calf to the younger brother. All the assessors completely reconciled them, saying: "A fire never goes in the river; a bull never bears a calf. Most certainly the calf was born from your younger brother's cow."
Notes.
The speaker was a Gurung, whose native language was Gurungkurâ, not Nepali. His Nepali, like that of most native Mongolian speakers, is chiefly remarkable for the following points :
1. Tendency to turn unaccented a, and unaccented e before r into a e.g., bhanya < bhanya, pugye tsa < pugyá cha, etc.
ê>i in miro tiro phiri < mêro téro phêri.
Unaccented é > i in ghansira < ghasera (influence of 8 ?); elsewhere >e or a. cj>t8-8-, dz -z- without palatalisation of the sibilant. ch jhts -8-, dz -z- with loss of aspiration.
2. Fluctuation of pronunciation: a remains in tsura < chôrâ, but becomes a in bhanyǝ pugya tsa etc. hinnacheri (< hirdâkheri). Tsai beside dzai zai; dázi beside dádzi. This should perhaps largely be ascribed to the hesitation of my ear.
3. Simplification of grammatical forms:
(a) The noun has one form only for direct and oblique case, singular and plural: e.g., baran ko tsora; tyo gai ko bâtsi; û le (but also us le); tiro gai le, etc.
(b) There is one form only, that of the 3rd sing., for both numbers of the 3rd person: e.g., thiu (<thiyo), isa (<cha), bhanyu (<bhanyo), rakhyo. The only exception seems to be the honorific plural bhanys (<bhanya) used with the Jambumantri.
wile < uile: lit. 'when' kaile 'when'? yeli 'when'.
"
then': from pronominal stem u. Cf. aile 'now' taile then' jaile Kâémiri also has an l- suffix in adverbs of time: e.g., teli 'then, '