Section 3.6 Tla’amin - ČIŠƐTAWɬ Kʷ ƛIQƐTƏS TA P̓ƏʔAČ - MƐNAΘEY
Written by: Veselin Jungic and Mark MacLean
Illustrated by: Jean-Paul Csuka
Tla’amin translation by: Mabel Harry, Karen Galligos, and Oshelle, Tla’amin Nation
ɬaxɬaxtən Mɛnaθey. nɛ ƛamɛs kʷ qʷoxʷomiš hɛga šɛ tans ʔi ta qɛxs, Sosan. hoy kʷ tɛwšɛms ʔi θo qaqsɛm kʷ t̓ot̓gatas čičuy ʔatə qaqsɛmawt̓xʷ.
Menathey is a young boy who gets into a lot of mischief. He lives in Squamish with his mother and his older sister, Sosan. After school, he goes with his friends to play at the Friendship Centre's gymnasium.
ʔɛɬtən kʷ hɛhɛw ʔi čɛt ga tɛwšɛm kʷ namaɬ. tɛwšɛm kʷ t̓ət̓mɛʔɛm. hɛɬ ʔa ʔɛʔaǰusxʷəs.
There the boys first have a snack and then they do mathematics for half an hour. Sometimes they do algebra in their workbooks, but usually they play mathematical games.
hɛɬ xatk̓ʷaʔəm ʔa ʔɛʔaǰusxʷas. hɛɬ kʷ xʷots ƛaʔay ʔi xʷot čɩgət.
Menathey's favorite game is “Set”. He enjoys finding patterns faster than anyone else!
hɛɬ saystom tutəmtamiš, ƛɛʔɛƛkʷaʔəm ʔi ƛiqɛtas ta p̓aʔəč nɛ ta qaqsɛmawt̓xʷ. mos kʷa ta p̓aʔəčs ta qaqsɛmawt̓xʷ. piyɛnxʷɛgastəm ta čičuy.
What the boys like the most is playing basketball. They play at the Centre’s gym. There are four basketball hoops in the gym. The boys use a fraction of the court.
hɛɬ kʷa Mɛnaθey xʷot ƛɛƛay ʔi xʷot titol. xʷɛt kʷo xaƛs kʷ čɩgəts nam kespal. xʷɛt kʷo ti tutamiš.
Menathey is the shortest boy in his group, but he is very fast. He tries to hard to be as good a player as his best friend Kespaul, who is the biggest boy on the team.
ti kʷasəm ƛɛƛxʷɛstawɬ ʔakʷ kʷalsəm qatᶿ qax qaymɩxʷ ʔi xaƛɛt kʷas qəmθotɛt. t̓axəmayɛ kʷakʷ čišɛtawɬ ʔi hoy kʷot čɛɬayɛ ʔa ʔanotəm skʷo qamɛts. θiyɛtsayɛ kʷot qəmqəms Mɛnaθey.
On National Aboriginal Day there will be a basketball tournament and the boys want to enter it. Each team must have six players but only three players play at once. There are only five boys in Small Number’s group of friends.
ta:q kʷa gətasəm gayɛtas kʷ qəmθot. ʔi qʷalsəm t̓axmayɛ. qʷay Kɛspal, “šoʔotstəm kʷ xaxaɬ, ʔi ƛaʔay, ʔi čɩgət kʷ t̓ot̓tᶿɛʔəm.” ʔi:mot hot kʷa tutəmtamiš. gət sa ga?
The boys start talking about who they might ask to be their sixth player. Kespaul says, “We need somebody who is tall, fast, and a good shooter.” All the boys agree, but they can’t think of anyone to join their team.
θo kʷa hɛwt Mɛnaθey. hɛw kʷa t̓o...səm. “čɩmčxʷ?” natəm kʷa tans.
When Menathey comes home, his mom notices that he is quieter than usual. “What happened?”, she asks.
toxtoxost kʷ ga ta tans kʷənas čɩm ʔa xʷots nonpeganəm. qasəm kʷ ga tans. “čɩgət? xaxaɬ? ƛaʔay? ʔi čɩgət kʷ t̓ot̓tᶿɛʔəm?” toxʷnɛxʷšot kʷʊnas gət. kʷʊtas ga ta qɛxs Mɛnaθey, Sosan. čɛʔət kʷa hohoǰuxʷas kʷ tɛwšems.
After listening to Menathey's explanation, mom smiles: “Good? Tall? Fast? And a good shooter? I think we both know a person like that!” She looks at Menathey's sister Sosan, who is just finishing her math homework.
xʷot kʷot č̓ɛq̓t̓ Mɛnaθey. ʔi p̓ɛtᶿostas tans. “xaƛnomɛč nat kʷa.” čɩmčɛ ɬɛw jɛʔɛhɛw, hotegən kʷa Sosan.
“I love you, mom!” yells Menathey and hugs his mom tightly. Sosan looks at them very puzzled.
qʷal kʷa ga qatᶿ qɛy, “čɩm ga tatᶿ qɛx, Sosan?” natəm Mɛnaθey.
The following day Menathey says to his friends, “why not ask my sister, Sosan?”
saɬt̓xʷʔit!! natəm kɛspal. xʷotot nukʷǰɛm kʷ ƛukʷɛnas. “saɬɬt̓xʷʔit, ʔi xʷɛt xaxaɬ, ʔi ƛaʔay, ʔi čɩgət kʷ t̓otᶿqɛnəm.” hotɛw kʷa ta tutəmtamiš.
“But she's a girl!” says Kespaul, feeling his heart beating a bit faster. “Yes, she is a girl but she is also tall, fast, and a good shooter!” respond the rest of the boys in one voice.
hɛw ʔi motsəm Sosan kʷ qamɛts. xʷɛtsəm xʷa čɛmas ʔi qayɛwšt. θəmšɛsəm kʷums čɩčšitawɬ ʔi xʷa čɛmasəm ʔi qayɛwsšt.
“With Sosan playing with us,” continues Menathey, “We can have twenty different teams on the court and nobody is ever going to get tired!”
xɛqʷosəm kʷa Kɛspal. “čɩmgaθ hoθot ʔa kʷɛn? čɩnɛɬʔit ʔakʷ xʷɛt čɩgət. xaƛ kʷatᶿ hanəm ʔot qamɛt payɛ.”
Kespaul scratches his head and says: “How can you calculate things like that? And, since I'm the best player, I have to play all the time!”
“opənayɛštʔit čɩčšɛtawɬ..... nigi ʔit xaƛnomɛs!” hot kʷa Mɛnaθey. čɛt kʷa ga ǰɩƛ ɬagaθot. xʷɛt kʷo xaɬɛt kɛspal. qasmɛtəm kʷo ʔakʷ qəmqəms.
“In that case, we can have ten different teams on the court....And she likes you too!” says Menathey as he runs away from a very angry Kespaul while their friends start laughing.
gayɛɬtanč: čɩm ga toxnigit Mɛnaθey ga qəmtɛgas Sosən qʷalsa ga θəmšɛ kʷ čɩčšitawɬ?
Question: How does Small Number know that if Perfect Number were to play with him and his friends, they would be able to have twenty different teams on the court during the tournament?
