qi’qtum’as | Traditional hockey game

Told by Cecelia Alphonse

April 11, 1975
Interviewed by Ruby Peter

  1. CA: qi’qtum’as, qi’qtum’as ts’u tthuwn’e’ullh.
    1. Qi’qtum’as, q’iqtum’as is what they say.
  2. nilh sxte’ qi’qtum’as tthu ni’ulh sul’ul’uthut-s tthuwn’e’ullh.
    1. The one called qiq’tum’as is what those people used to do.
  3. ’uw’ nets’ tthey’, tuw’ st’e ’u kw’ smeent ’uw’ stemus tthey’ ni’ siiw’a’lum’s.
    1. That was different; it was something like a rock that they played with.
  4. kws st’e’ ’u thun’a yath ’uw’ wi’wul’ ’u thu shxuxaatth’ustun’.
    1. It is almost like what we see on this TV.
  5. kwus qw’aqw’uqwutus ’eelhtun si.i.is nem’ ’uw’ xut’e’ ’u tu’i thaas, thu hun’utum…
    1. They would hit it, and then it would fly, hitting this way [showing with her hand] to the big rocked, called…
  6. RP: ni’ ’u ’uw’ nuts’us ’ul’ tthu ni’ ha’kwushus?
    1. Was it only one that they were using?
  7. CA: ’uw’ nuts’us ’ul’.
    1. It was just one.
  8. suw’ qw’aqw’uqwutus ’ul’ ’eelhtun.
    1. They all would just hit it.
  9. nem’ ts’ults’ulan’stum’ tthey’ kwus xut’e’ ’u tthey’.
    1. They would go from one end [of the field] to another.
  10. st’e’ ’u tthu tl’lim’ nuw’ suluthut-s tu’i st’e’ [’u thunu wi’wul’utum’, ni’ ’u thu TV].
    1. Really what like happens there [what they show on the TV].
  11. RP: mukw’ nuw’ kwun’eem’ tthuwn’e’ullh ’u tthu sts’esht ’uw’ ’uw’ st’e’ ’u tthu haki?
    1. And they were all holding a stick, just like in hockey?
  12. CA: hee’ ni’ st’e’ ’u thu haki, lhey’ qi’qtum’as, ni’ st’e’ ’u thu [haki].
    1. Yes, it’s just like hockey, that qi’qtem’as, like hockey.
  13. nilh kwu’elh ni’ shtu’es kwthey’ ni’ [suw’a’lum’].
    1. And that’s the way that game used to be.
  14. RP: ni’ st’e’ ’u kw’u hwyu’sa’lu’qw kwus…?
    1. Was it like two teams?
  15. CA: he.e.e’ st’e’ ’u kw’u ni’ shum’an’tul’ tthuwn’e’ullh.
    1. Yes, it was like they had opposing teams.
  16. hwnuts’a’wuqw tthu lhuq’nets, ’i’ [tl’e’ ’uw’] nuts’a’wuqw [tthu lhuq’nets].
    1. One team on one side and the other team on the other side.
  17. sis nem’ ’uw’ xut’utul ’u tu’inulh kws hi.i.iw’a’lum’.
    1. So, they would play against each other.
  18. RP: ’i’ ’uwe te’ ’un’ shtutulstuhw, ni’ ’u yuhw smeent tthey’ ni’ ha’kwushus?
    1. And don’t you know if it was maybe a rock that they used?
  19. CA: ’uwu, nilh tthu kwun’el’s ’u tthu thqet, tuw’ thithus smuqw’iwsth tthu thqet.
    1. No, it was taken from the tree; it was a big oozing spot on the tree.
  20. tthu p’e’ ni’… stem ’ul’u kw’ snes?
    1. That’s… what’s its name?
  21. ni’ tsun tl’e’ mel’qt kwthu snes. [phone rings]
    1. I forget its name [smukw, she wanted to say].
  22. kw’etqum’ tthu shni’s kwthey’ qi’qtum’as.
    1. The location for the qi’qtuma’as was at kw’etqum’ [this is near the entrance to Greenpoint, near the marsh against the mountain.]
  23. kwthey’ ni’ shni’s lhey’ slheni’ ni’ tsmun’u, stiwuns tthuwn’e’ullh ni’ ’u tthey’ kw’etqum’.
    1. That’s the place where that woman had the child, who was their niece, those people from Kw’etqum’.
  24. nilh ’uw’ lelum’s tu’i kw’etqum’ ’u tu’inulh s’uhal’we’lh ’utl’ xinupsum.
    1. That was their home, here at Kw’etqum’, on the north side of Greenpoint.
  25. nilh shni’s tthuwn’e’ulhl kwsus xut’xut’e’ ’u tthey’ qi’qtum’as mukw’.
    1. That’s the place where they all were playing that qi’qtum’as.
  26. hwun’ netulh ts’i.i.i ’i’ wulh ’eey’ qi’qtum’as.
    1. Even in the early hours of the morning, they would go play qi’qtum’as.
  27. nilh tthey’ smukw ni’ xut’ust-hwus ’u tthey’.
    1. It was that ‘smukw’ [knot of wood] that they used.
  28. ni’ saay’st-hwus tthu ni’ shqw’aqw’uqwul’sth ’eelhtun ’u tthey’ smukw.
    1. They always had their sticks that they hit the smukw with ready.
  29. nilh kwun’el’s ’u tthu thqet tthey’ hun’utum’ smukw tuw’ thithus.
    1. That is from the tree, the one that is called ‘smukw’, that kind of big, round thing.
  30. ts’uhwle’ [’i’] ni’ thi kwsus kwun’el’s ’u tthu thqet.
    1. Sometimes, they become very large on the tree.
  31. ts’sey’ thqet nu sht’ewun’ tthu ni’ shkwun’el’sth tthu sxte’ ’u kwthey’.
    1. I think it’s from the Douglas-fir tree that you can get it from.
  32. RP: ’i’ hay kwthu shumen ’utl’ q’ise’q lhwet?
    1. Who was Q’ise’q’s enemy?
  33. CA: ’i’ hay tthu shumen ’utl’ xeel’s, hay q’ise’q.
    1. That was Xeel’s enemy, Q’ise’q.
  34. shumen ’utl’ q’ise’q tthu xeel’s.
    1. Q’ise’q’s enemy was Xeel’s.
  35. kwthey’ kwu’elh ni.i.i ts’lhyupun’ustul’s ’u lhu slhexun’s ’uw’ stemus, sis ’uw’ stl’uhw tthu q’ise’q, nilh nuw’ hwu tl’itl’up, [hwu smeent].
    1. That’s about that they were using as potion to sprinkle on each other, and Q’ise’q was beaten, and he went down below [in Quamichan Lake] when he was turned into a boulder.
  36. ’i’ hay tthu xeel’s nuw’ tl’hwunuq.
    1. And it was Xeel’s that won.
Cecelia Leo Alphonse