Palug Rayeh & Palug I'it Fetch Rice
Florance Lapu Apu tells Sineh Nu'uh Ulun the story of Palug Rayeh and Palug I'it in the Bario/Pa Main dialect of Kelabit. Among other mishaps, this story is about how the younger brother tricks the older brother by hiding inside a basket and instructing him to carry it home from the rice hut. The story was recorded in Bario on 11th February 2019 whilst Sineh Nu'uh Ulun demonstrated how to weave a mat.
Palug Rayeh and Palug I'it were at home
and Palug I'it went to collect some honey
collect honey from the honey bees
then he said
"eh big man, Palug Rayeh"
"I'm off to get some honey", he said
"yes, go ahead, you go today"
"you go today"
"I'll go tomorrow", he said
and so Palug I'it went off with his basket
and his water carrier
he went
and collected some honey
I guess he must have already put the spikes in
to make a path up to the top of the nawey tree [where the bees are]
so he went back carrying his honey
weighed down by the bamboo water carrier [where he had put the honey]
then he went up to Palug Rayeh
"you've really collected a lot of honey, Palug I'it"
he said to him
"but you should leave it to those in their prime!"
"we really know where to get honey from"
he said to him
so the next day
Palug Rayeh said he was going to collect honey
he went
and he got badly stung
because he didn't know what he was doing
so the bees swarmed at him
it was bad, and it was difficult for him to get home
because he had been badly stung by the bees
after that, the next day
he went off to fetch some paddy, he said
and he took his basket
and he took his big basket
this is Palug I'it
he arrived at the rice store
and then he carried it back from there
he was struggling as he carried it
carried his basket
so Palug Rayeh asks him
"what did you carry that was making you struggle so much?", he said
"oooh, I carried some paddy back from the rice hut just now", he said
"I'll go back and forth to carry some tomorrow", he said
"ok", said Palug I'it to him
"ok, you go tomorrow", he said to him
"but I'll go first"
"I'll pack the basket for you"
Palug I'it said to him
"ok", he said
"when I'm finished, at around midday"
"then you can set off from here"
said Palug I'it to Palug Rayeh
so Palug I'it went on ahead
and went and sat in the basket
sat in the basket
and looked out
peeped through the gaps in the basket
he saw Palug Rayeh coming from the distance
with a bent back as he struggled up the hill
so, he arrived
"oooh, this must be the basket that I'm supposed to carry"
"that's what Palug I'it said"
said Palug Rayeh
after that he carried that basket
oh this is what Palug I'it said to him before
"if you stop", he said
"don't put the basket down roughly", he said to him
"ok", he said
so Palug Rayeh carried the basket
"what on earth is this?" he didn't know
he put it down
he put it down very carefully
after that he carried on walking
whenever he stopped
he would put the basket down properly
he would put it down slowly and carefully
and when he got to the house
Palug I'it ran out of the basket
"why do you have to be like that, Palug I'it?"
he said to him
and then the day after that
Palug Rayeh wanted to get his own back I suppose
yes
so he says
"you go and carry the rest of the paddy", he said to him
"if you put the basket down"
"put it down carefully"
he said to Palug I'it
"ok", said Palug I'it
so off he goes
to fetch the paddy
he gets there
and is tired
and wants to stop
so he puts the basket down roughly
"ouch", came from inside
he let out a sudden gasp from within
"why is this basket making such funny noises", he [Palug I'it] wondered
did he put himself inside?
yes Palug Rayeh had hidden himself inside
ken temipa burur ieh ngi
did he put himself inside?
yes Palug Rayeh had hidden himself inside
so Palug I'it set off again
he got to a resting spot
and roughly put it down again
he whacked it against a tree stump
and the man inside felt a lot of pain
and the man inside felt a lot of pain
keli' neh tebey' ieh ngi abi?
does he know that he's there?
I think he probably does know
keli' neh tebey' ieh ngi abi?
does he know that he's there?
I think he probably does know
so then he says
"I'm getting out of here!"
"it hurt when you put me down so roughly", he said
after that, then the two of them say again
"let's go and collect honey from the end of the rice hut"
"good idea, there must be a lot of honey"
said Palug I'it
"I'll go", said Palug Rayeh
"ok", he said
so Palug I'it went off
and prepared
and went to the toilet
he collected his urine
"hey, there's Palug Rayeh over there"
so he went to collect the honey
and Palug I'it starts
to pour his urine from up above
Palug Rayeh looked up
the honey smelled of urine
"why do you do this to me, Palug I'it?", he said
so that's the end of that story
and he had already drunk Palug I'it's urine
Palug Rayeh
so that's why they say he is always fooled the most
so that's why they say he is always fooled the most
denganak tu'uh diweh neh keyh?
are they really brothers?
are they really brothers?
they said they were brothers
denganak tu'uh diweh neh keyh?
are they really brothers?
they said they were brothers
but one of them is very easy to trick
so that's why they call him Palug Rayeh [Big Fool]
and as for Palug I'it
it is difficult for him to be tricked by others