Ritual songs and folksongs of the Hindus of Surinam

[p. 147]

84 Birahās vi [Paramaribo, 1965]
Alcārī: the woman with a roving eye avoiding the Gaunā

mora muṛavā nā bānho näuniyā, e bhaiyā
aba hama gäune na jāb
are gavane ke laḍüā savere köī khäihaį, alabelā
aba ciräi däihaį hamār
are calī jāta gorī hiri phiri cita mę, alabelā
aba naynā milegā roy
naynā baṛā kharāba, ai bhäiyā
aba saba se karata pirīt
are eka choṛi ke hajār karatu hai, alabelā
aba yahi mūrukha kā rīt

Oh näunī, tie not the (hair on) my head, oh brother.¹
Now, I shall not go (to my marital home in the) gaunā.²
Somebody else will eat³ the laḍḍūs (of the occasion of) gaunā.
(They) will give my (portion) to the birds.
- Go (along), fair one, with (some) turn of the mind;⁴ (won't you?).³
(If I go), the eye will meet a cry,⁵ oh brother;¹
The eye is very bad -
(It) falls in love with (any and) all.
It leaves one and makes (with a) thousand -
This is the custom of a fool.

1 Only a stobha.

2 The bride's final farewell to the parental home to go to her husband's house, after she has been there once for a short while and returned to the parents' home. Cp. de Klerk (51: 182) and under Dongā (ibid.: 186).

3 Alabelā, a swain; here, a stobha.

4 Hiri phiri cita mę: after turning the matter this way and that in (your) mind.

5 The wording in the text is rather free; naynā milegā roy: ‘(?) the eye will cry out’.