- Spáth qes te Slílk'yap
- Háwe
- Receiving a xwélmexw name
- Skw'ékw'qáq
- How the Robin got his red breast
- Tháyem te Léx̲wtel
- X̲ex̲pítsel
- How the chipmunk got its stripes
- X̲pá:yelhp
- Lets'lóts'tel
- Yeláwel éy
- Hálx̲eywa
- Xwe'ít te swáyel Létse
- Xwe'ít te swáyel Isá:le
- Xwe'ít te swáyel Lhí:xw
- Xwe'ít te swáyel X̲eó'thel
- Xwe'it te swayel Lhq'á:tses
- Ye Spipáth
- Sásq'ets
Weaving
Kw'e welhíthelh thá:ytes te selyó:lexwe te swõqw'elh teli te sá:ys te p'q'élqel teli te smámelet.
A long.time.ago making-they the Elders the blanket from the wool-of teh mountain goat from the mountains.
Long time ago the people used to make blankets out of goat's wool.
X̱éyq'thet li te theqát ye p'q'élqel osu me háme te sá:ys.
The goats scratched themselves on the trees and the woold would come off.
Loye hókwexes yutl'ólem kw'es léxwtels. Su kwíkwexetes álhtel kw'e swõqw'elh.
That was the only thing they used to use for blankets. They called them swōqw'elh.
Lóye te tskwím thiytíls li te stl'pólwelhs tútl'o léxwtel ew lóyò.
All they had was a red design along the bottom, that was all.
Skw'áy kw'es qéx̱s kw'e thiytíls lámexw tl'ál, ew loye te léts'a.
You can't put too much design on them, just the one line along the bottom.
Tloqá:ys tset hókwex te sá:ys te metú.
Nowadays we use sheep wool.
Yewál kw'as lhíts'eqwt te metú qeyálhes le má:x mekw'.
You gotta cut the sheep first, and then you get all the wool off.
Th'ex̱wót te sá:y. Th’exwótchexw yewál qeyálhes ch'íyxwt.
Wash the wool, you wash it first and then dry it.
Ch'íyxw yélhes texqé:ylt.
It dries and you start to comb it.
Texqé:ylt te sá:y su les xwa hó:y qasu qálets’t.
Comb the wool and everything, and when you've got it all combed then you start spinning it.
Iyólem kw'as qálets’t te sá:y tloqá:ys.
You can spin the wool now.
Lóye te p'áp'eth'els-mashíl lheq' o le hókwex kw'els qáqelets' te sá:y.
I only use my sewing machine sometime, I use it to spin the wool.
Qéx̱ mekw'stá:m hókwexexw kw'as les xwa láts' te shxwtó:mexs te sá:y.
There’s all different kind of stuff that you could use, to dye the wool different colours.
Qex̱ p'elyíws te chewõlhp qas te x̱pá:yelhp kw'es hókwex, hókwex kw'es shxwtó:mexs te sá:y.
You use cedar-wood bark and alder bark, and that's what you use for dying your wool.
Mekw' tselets’lóts’tel ch'ích'esem hókwexexw te shxwelís ew stámes.
All the different kinds of weeds and stuff you can use, to make different colours.
Tskwím...qas te tsqwá:y...qas te skwíkwemel.
Red...and green... ...and pink.
vSu qálets't, qálets't te léxwtel.Osu tl'álx li te shxwelís kw'as qálets'tcha tútl'ò.
So you weave, you weave your blanket . You put it on (your board) where you're gonna start weaving.
Yelíkw mestíyexw qáqelets' teli te tl'ép kw'es mes iyó:thet, qe éwe lis éy. Ewe lis x̱wem syó:ys.
Some people start from the bottom, but that’s not good. It’s not fast work.
Lóye kw'es ew telí se te chíchelh kw'es e me thíyt qesu me stl'epíl.
Only start from the top and work down to the bottom.
Kw'xát mekw' te x̱wéylem yewál qeyálhes thíyt te sx̱éles.
You count all the threads and then you start your design.
Lets'elóts'teles kw'a thíytexw éwe chexw lámexw t'eqw'ót ta' sá:y.
If you're gonna use different colours, you're not supposed to cut your wool off, 'cause you'll make an ugly look on your blanket.
We lámexw ye t'éqw'et we les xwa chílheqw ta' syó:ys.
Chilheqwt' means 'busy head'. That's the way your work will look if you start cutting it off in little pieces.
Lulh hó:y kw'as má:x.
After it's finished you take it off.
Lámes hó:y qesu t'eqw'ót osu lhíkw'et kwálx te álqsels te sá:y.
After you're finished you cut the end of the wool off and then you tuck it in, so nobody can see it.
Le hó:y ta' léx̱wtel!
Your blanket is finished!
| Audio | Halq'eméylem | English |
|---|---|---|
| thá:yt | preparing, fixing, making something | |
| siyelyólexwe | many elders | |
| skw'á:y | can't, can't be, impossible | |
| thíyt | to prepare, to fix, to make it, prepare | |
| yewá:l | first | |
| tl'ép | low, deep | |
| yutl'ó:lem | them, they (male) | |
| stl'epláts | deep bottom | |
| chachíxwt | drying a bunch of things | |
| laléx̲wtel | blanket | |
| kwíxet | to name him/her, to read (tr.) | |
| léx̲wtel | blanket | |
| tloqá:ys | now | |
| qéx̲ | much, many, a lot | |
| skwíx | name | |
| tskwí:m | red | |
| léts'e | one | |
| lhílhéts'eqwem | to get your hair cut | |
| tl'álx | put it on (design), attach it, fasten it | |
| lam | to go | |
| p'q'élqel | mountain goat | |
| th'ex̲wót | wash it, wash (tr. v.) | |
| x̲éyx̲eq'els | scratching | |
| hókwex | to use, to wear | |
| theqá:t | tree | |
| x̲éyq'et | scratch it (itch) | |
| thiytíl | design, pattern | |
| metúelqel | sheep wool | |
| smámelet | mountain | |
| mekw' | all, every | |
| metú | sheep | |
| mesíl | machine | |
| swōqw'elh | mountain goats-wool blanket | |
| smált | rock, also mountain | |
| hémax | taking something off | |
| hálem | be going, be on one's way | |
| lhíts'eqwt | to cut his/her hair | |
| lhíts'et | to cut (it) | |
| sá:y | wool, animal hair | |
| stl'epólwelh | under, underneath | |
| shxwch'á:yxwels | fish-drying rack |
Traditional Stó:lō weaving is explained in this story in Halq'eméylem by Ts'áts'elex̲wot (Dr. Hon. Elizabeth Herrling), an experienced weaver and life-long language champion.
| Name | Description | File |
|---|---|---|
| Story and literal translation | Handout for easy printing | Preview Download |
| pattern handout | Patterns to practise with the weaving story | Preview Download |
| Printable Vocabulary Flash Cards | Printable flash cards for the vocabulary in this unit | Preview Download |
| Vocabulary Anki deck | Vocabulary anki deck | Download |
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