TANI-MNY_2011_023 - Recollection of a hunting expedition

This is a personal narration about a hunting expedition, in which the speaker shot a barking deer somewhere near the mountain behind Riga village. He describes how the deer died immediately on the spot where it was shot. Then, on the way back to the village, he saw a civet and tried to shoot it. He explains how he missed the civet since he was trying to shoot it without actually removing the deer that he was carrying from his shoulder. As he reached his house, seeing the deer, the elders of the village suggested convening a yektup doye ceremony. This was followed by a baŋgo beenam performed by children in the village male dormitory. The head of the deer was presented to an old man from the speaker's close kin. Since the deer was not very large, its meat was only distributed to a few close kin. The next day, the old man brought back the skull of the deer together with some pieces of meat and a pot of rice. It is explained that the event of shooting an animal such as a deer is followed by rituals and also a taboo period for the hunter. The hunter cannot eat anything that comes from his own house. This is why the old man brought food for the hunter. This is followed by a day known as madək, where the hunter will go hunting for a second time in order to remove the taboo. This time he didn't shoot anything.. Language as given: Adi