Bill Seward: About Names (Hul’q’umi’num’)

The importance of earning a name

kwusulh wulh kwishuthelum, kwunus hwun’a ’ul’ kwan ’i wulh ’amusthelum ’u tey’ sne ’u kw’unu men.
About how I got my name, when I was born I was named by my father.

’i tsun wulh ts’isum ’i tsun wulh thi mustimuhw ’i’ nilhulh nemustelum
’u thu thi lelum’, kws hwyuthust tthu mustimuhw kw’unus ’i hwu kwun’et tey’ skwish.
When I was when I got older they brought me in the longhouse to tell the people about that name I was wearing.

’i’ uwu, skw’ey kwus suw’ kwunut ’ul’ tthey’ skwish.
And no, you can’t just take a name.

[thut] tuw’ t’at mustimuhw, ha’ ch ’uy’ mustimuhw ’i’ yelh ’un’s kwun’et tu skwishs tu ’uw’ t’at mustimuhw.
The old people say, you have to be a good person before you can carry that traditional name.

’i’ ha’ ch ’uwu niihw tuw’ ’uy’ qul mustimuhw, qaaqu ’u tthu qul sqaqa’
If you are a bad person, drinking the bad alchohol,

’i’ skw’ey kwus kwunut tey’ skwish.
you can’t use that name.

tun’a kweyul ’i’ na’ut hwunets’.
And today it has all changed.

nilh tu s-hwunitum’a’lh snuw’uyulh ni’ st’e ’u kw’uw’ huy’wun’thut.
It’s the white man’s teaching now and it’s going all haywire.

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A story in Hul’q’umi’num’ by Bill Seward, Snuneymuxw First Nations, Nanaimo, British Columbia.
Recorded by Chris Bouris.
Transcribed by Ruby Peter, typed by Sarah Kell, and edited and translated by Donna Gerdts.
Thanks to Chris Bouris, Sean Milliken, and Zoey Peterson for video and post-production.