Kelabit Nursery Rhymes
Caleena Lallang Sakai sings a selection of nursery rhymes in the Kelabit language. These are rhymes that would have been sung to comfort children or send them to sleep. They were recorded in Bario on 10th February 2019.
nih si'it nuk belaan kamih pemetaso anak
this is something we used to say to calm children
nga' deh la' rudap ih
when they want to go to sleep
neh neh nani belaan kamih
these are the songs we sing
kinih dih
it goes like this
iu'-iu' alung-alung
the bracken fern is clapping its hands
mey niko diu' takung
go and bathe in the pond
pinub muh edteh luang siung
you dived and caught a siung fish
penguman tauh dengeruyung
to feed our family
iko teh la' tadun
you want to be the best
kapeh niko na'am tadun
how could you not be the best
nuk iko men anak udung
you are the youngest child
anak i'it ko beruh mulun
your life has just begun
nih edteh beruh
and here's another one
iuk-iuk alung uda'
the young bracken fern is clapping
mey niko diu' ebpa'
go and bathe in the river
pinub muh edteh luang buda'
you dived and caught a white fish
penguman tauh perenga'
for us to eat together
emu' teh ela' mula'
you are a girl that wants a bigger share
kapeh niko na'am mula'
how could you not have a bigger share
nuk iko men anak sia'
you are the baby
anak i'it ko tebara'
a small pouting child
utak anak tauh pelaba-pelaba la' nangey keyh
if our children are really crying
neh neh tauh mala
then we say
uwa-wa
uwa-wa
nangey ngudeh niko rateh-rateh
why are you crying so persistently
nangey mutuh dteh nuba' tu'eh
crying to ask for some boiled rice
kenen ta'ang medueh dengesineh
for you and your mum to eat
edteh beruhman neh neh narih mala
another one we say
iuk-iuk palang-palang
the palang is clapping
at erur teh menengang
the hornbill is tired
lem lubang kayuh kadang
inside the long hole in the tree
nuru' tamam tauh mey mepang
ask your father to slash the tree
iko neh uwan sipan
you will have the drumstick
uwan terur menengang
and the hornbill eggs
neh ken kamih
that's what we say