Ritual songs and folksongs of the Hindus of Surinam

74 iv. Bhāṭ (singer and dancer) seeking his payment [Paramaribo, 1967]

sūmini sūma se byāha bhaye; chaṭą̄kaī dhāna ke ḍāre haį sukhauvā
jaba giddhana ke ghara halla uṭhe; jaba kauvana ke ghara bāje badhauvā
mā̈ī dulle pūta barātai; siyāra bajāvata dhūdhuka thaiyą̄
aba sūmini mą̄ṛa pasāya rahī; jahą̄, būṛi mare sāṛhe cāra sau kauvā

[p. 131]

I.

A miser woman got married to a miser man; they have thrown only a few ounces¹ of paddy for comfort (as an excuse for a gift).

II.

When sounds (of celebrations) rise in the home of vultures, when congratulatory music plays in the home of crows;

III.

(When) mother is the bridegroom and the son the wedding party² (and) jackals play the rhythms of the instruments.³

IV.

Now the miser woman is giving away rice-water into which four and a half hundred crows were drowned and died.

1 Chaṭą̄k: a small measure, one-sixteenth of a kilogram.

2 Perhaps it is the other way round: where the son is the bridegroom and mother alone is the total wedding party.

3 According to D. Siṁha ('44: 296) dhūdhuk is the larger of the nagāṛā drums. Thaiyā is a drumbeat.