120 DAKOTA GRAMMAR, TEXTS, AND ETHNOGRAPHY. 
unjGinpi, tuka ohinni iyonidisiée kta e heen niye taku tyoniéipi kinhay eéen 
we wish, but always you sad will be that 80 you what please you if so 
eéanoy kta ée, eciyapi ; iS tokeéiy yauy kta yacéin kinhay eéen ya) 
you do shall . they saidto whether as you “you be will You want 80 you-be 
him; please 
kta Ge, eGiyapi. Unkan, Ho, tokeéin wauy wacin ée, eya keyapi. Unkay, 
shall [usu- they said to And, Yes, anywhere I be I want , he said, they say. Then, 
ally ?) him. 
Ho, hunktiya wo, Wiyolhipeyata Wakanheza Ptay eni¢iyapi kta ée, eGiyapi 
Yes, go thou forth, “westward ehild otter you éalled shall faane they said 
ally?) to him 
ka hiyuyapi. Unkay heoy dehay ptay sapa e¢eeday yuke éin heon heéetu 
and sent him forth. And therefore now otter — black alone “are the therefore so it is 
keyapi. 
they say. 
NOTES. 
1. The name of the myth: Tasinta means Deer’s tail, and from that is applied to 
the tail of any ruminating animal. Tasint-oStay is the name of the upper joint of the 
tail where it joins the backbone, and is regarded as a peculiarly nice little piece to 
roast. As for yukikipi, it is said to belong to the old language, and they do not 
know what it means. One old woman suggests that yukiki means to twist or rub 
off. It would then mean deer’s-tail-twisted-off. That appears to correspond with the 
reason given by the eldest of the brothers. In reply to Hakaykayna’s question, Who 
were calied Tasiyta yukikipi? he replied, “ Of all people we only are males, and hence 
are so called.” 
2. At first one would think that the four young men constituted the household, 
and that the youngest of those four was called Hakaykayna. But that is not so. 
Hakaykayna was only a boy and is not counted in the four. He was the fifth, as the 
name Hakay would necessarily require. 
3. It is opportune to note the use of “misuy,” my younger brother, used by the 
brothers in their collective capacity, both in a direct address to, and also in speaking 
of, Hakaykayna. Also he uses “ éinye,” older brother, in speaking of and to one or 
all of them together. In like manner they use “ tanksi,” younger sister (of a man), in 
speaking of or to the girl, and she uses ‘‘timdo,” older brother (of a woman), in her 
addresses to one or all of them. It is like our use of “ brother” and “sister” without 
the pronoun “my.” But the Dakotas always say “ misuy ” or “ misuyka,” and a woman 
always says ‘‘miéuy” and “mitayka,” my older sister and my younger sister. The 
peculiarities of the lauguage in the uses of brother and sister, whether older or 
younger, and whether of a man or woman, are well illustrated in this myth; but in 
the translation I have not thought it needful to add the older and the younger. 
4, Everything is possible in a myth, as illustrated by Hakaykayna’s suddenly 
changing himself into a chickadeedee. Animals always have the gift of speech in 
myths. 
5. The wail of the captive girl in her affliction is very affecting: “ Brothers who 
are called Tasinta yukikipi—brothers who once cared for me tenderly.” The word 
‘““wasasya” here used is a very peculiar one, expressing great care and love. The 
same is true of the song or wail of the black caged otter—“‘ Hepay Ginye! Hepay 
¢iyye!—Brothers Haypay! Brothers Haypay! You did not listen to me; now I, the 
