KK1-1734 - Magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla (The elephant and the blind men) with English translation and notes

Translation (Seng Pan) This is about an elephant and six blind men. There were six blind men and an elephant. A mahout rode the elephant and passed by the six blind men. At that time, the blind men said, "What is the elephant look like?" Since they were blind and didn't know anything if they didn't put their hands on, they agreed to touch the elephant. For example, if they touch this, they know it is the book. If they touch the table, they know that is the place to put on the things. They only know what it is when they touch it. Therefore, they also touched the elephant. Among six blind men, a man touched the elephant's trunk and said, "The elephant is like a rope." Another man touched the elephant's tusk and said, "The elephant is pointed like a spear." Next blind man touched the elephant's ear and said, "The elephant is like a hand fan." The other man who touched the elephant's leg said, "The elephant is like Shinglin tree (it's a kind of wood-oil tree)." He means that what he touches is like a tree, a Shinglin tree. A blind man touched the elephant's belly and said, "The elephant is like a brick wall." Another man touched the tail and said, "The elephant is like a snake." Then, the mahout gathered all the blind men and explained, "The part you touched is the elephant's trunk, the one that you touched is the elephant's tusk, the part you put your hands on is the elephant's ear, your part is the elephant's leg, the one that you touched is its belly, and that part is the elephant's tail." The mahout explained them well, and the six blind men were also so happy. Transcription (Lu Awng) Magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla, mi na kaga ndai gaw kaga. Ya magwi hte myikyaw ai dingla 6 nga ma ai da. Dai she magwi gawt ai wa gaw gawt sa wa ai da. Dai shaloi myikyaw ai ni gaw magwi ngu gaw kaning re re ta nga ai da. Dai shaloi she da grai masawp yu ga nga na, shanhte gaw myi nmu ai re majaw n masawp yang gaw n chyoi ai le i, masawp yang gaw chye ai, ndai hpe myi nmu ningdi masawp yang gaw laika buk re ngu, ndai masawp dat jang ning re saboi hpe masawp, aw saboi rai mara ai baw re nga chye ai zawn, shanhte gaw masawp yang she chye ma ai da. Ta hte jum yu yang she, re majaw magwi hpe chyam yu ma ai da. Marai 6 re yang gaw maria langai mi gaw da magwi jinlam dai hpe masawp ai da. Har magwi ngu ai gaw sumri zawn re she re hka i nga ai da. Re yang she bai langai mi gaw dai magwi u kawng dai hpe masawp ai, aw magwi ngu gaw n ri zawn masen re ai hka i nga ai da. Bai langai mi gaw na hpe masawp magwi na hpe masawp hkrup jang gaw aw magwi ngu gaw layit zawn re re hka i nga ai da. Bai langai mi bai re jang gaw magwi lagaw hpe masawp hkrup ai da. aw magwi ngu gaw shingli hpun zawn she re nga hka. Hpuntawng zawn re ngu mayu ai ga, shinglin hpun zawn san re i ngu tsun ai da. Bai marai langai mi gaw bai garep magwi a ndai garep hpe sa masawp, aw magwi ngu gaw wut shakum zawn re she re nga i bai nga ai da. Bai marai langai mi gaw bai n mai hpe masawp hkrup ai da. Aw magwi ngu gaw lapu hte bung ai she re nga ai nga tsun ai da. Dai shaloi she da magwi gawt ai wa gaw yawng hpe shaga la na she a tsawm ngu na magwi ngu gaw ding re na masawp ai gaw nang masawp ai gaw na nang masawp ai gaw kawng, nang masawp ai gaw jinlam, nang masawp ai gaw lagaw, nang masawp ai gaw garep, nang masawp ai gaw nmai re ngu na tsun dan ai tsun dan ai da. Tsun dan ai nga mayen ga lawm wa ai, dai ngu tsun dan ai shalen dan ai da, dan na shanhte mung grai kabu ma ai da. Notes 1. This story is widely distributed in Asia and has its root in a parable originated in the ancient Indian subcontinent. 2. For a similar story in Lahu, see Lahu Texts (28) at: https://stedt.berkeley.edu/node/18.html. Language as given: Jinghpaw

译述（Seng Pan）
本故事围绕大象与六位盲人展开。彼时，六位盲人与一头大象同处一地，一名象夫骑乘大象途经此处。盲人们见状问道："大象究竟是何模样？"因双目失明，唯有亲触方能知晓事物形态——譬如触摸书本便知其为何物，触碰桌案便明了其为置物之所——于是众人商议决定触摸大象以探其形。
六人之中，一人摸到象鼻，便道："大象宛若绳索。"另一人摸到象牙，称："大象尖锐如长矛。"第三人抚及象耳，言道："大象恰似团扇。"第四人触到象腿，说道："大象如同油桐树（Shinglin tree，一种木油树）"，其意是他所触之物形如油桐树。第五人摸到象腹，便道："大象好似砖墙。"最后一人摸到象尾，称："大象宛如长蛇。"
随后，象夫召集众人，逐一解释道："诸位所触之处，分别是象鼻、象牙、象耳、象腿、象腹与象尾。"象夫讲解清晰透彻，六位盲人皆欣喜不已。

转录文本（Lu Awng）
该景颇语转写的中文翻译如下：这是一则关于大象与盲人的故事，共有六位盲人。彼时有一头大象，一名象夫骑着大象路过此地。盲人们便问道："大象是什么样子的？"因他们双目失明，若不亲手触摸便一无所知——比如触摸书本便知其为何物，触摸桌子便知其为放置物品之处，唯有亲触方能知晓事物本身。于是他们也前去触摸大象。
六位盲人中，一人摸到了象鼻，说道："大象就像绳子。"另一人摸到象牙，说："大象尖锐得像长矛。"第三人摸到象耳，言道："大象就像折扇。"第四人摸到象腿，说道："大象如同油桐树"，其意是他所触摸的东西就像一棵树，油桐树。第五人摸到象腹，说："大象就像砖墙。"最后一人摸到象尾，称："大象就像蛇。"
随后，象夫召集所有盲人，解释道："你们所触摸的部分，分别是象鼻、象牙、象耳、象腿、象腹与象尾。"象夫讲解得十分清楚，六位盲人也都非常高兴。

注释
1. 该故事广泛流传于亚洲地区，其源头可追溯至古印度次大陆的一则寓言。
2. 若欲了解拉祜族版本的类似故事，请参阅《拉祜语文本（28）》，网址：https://stedt.berkeley.edu/node/18.html。
所用语言：景颇语