Ritual songs and folksongs of the Hindus of Surinam

[p. 149]

86 Birahās viii [Paramaribo, 1962]
Alcārī: the penalties for a gambling husband

saiyą̄ mora juvārī jüā khele sārī ratiyā
bājū hāre bandā hāre hāri gaye nathiyā
solahǫ singāra svāmī kara ḍāle kuvątiyā
are maṭiyā khudāy ke saṛaka piṭavāvę re
aba saṛaka ke ūpar rel dauṛāyę - saiyą̄ mora juvārī
jāy ke tab gorakhpur mę kar de ham nalisiyā
gorakhpur se āy gaye do caparasiyā
hathavā mę beṛī ḍāle goṛavā jąjīriyā
āge āge saiyą̄ calę pāche caparasiyā
kanhavā kudāra dhare muṛavā pai hąsiyā
are dhīre dhīre kāṭau jahalakhānavā ke maṭiyā
kīdhaų svāmī bęt lagę kīdhaų lāge laṭhiyā

My master is a gambler; he gambles the whole night (through).
(He) lost the arm and the armband¹ (and) lost away (my) nose-ring;
All (my) sixteen adornments (has) the master made alien.²
(There are those who) get the earth dug and have a roadway beaten -
(And) on that rail(way a train) runs. My husband is a gambler.
So, then I went and made a report at the Gorakhpur (district police station).
Two policemen came from Gorakhpur.
They place handcuffs³ on the hands and chains on the feet;
(My) master walks in front and the policemen walk behind.
(He had to) place a shovel on (his) shoulder and a sickle on (his) head -

1 Idiomatic: ‘He lost the arm and the band’.

2 Kuvątiyā, the meaning is not clear.

3 Beṛī is actually the chain placed around the ankles; here reversed.

[p. 150]

XI.

(Now,) dig the prison earth¹ slowly:

XII.

Where (on my) master ('s body) the cane gives a lash and where a stick!

1 Perhaps, dig the earth while imprisoned with hard labour. Slowly, for it is a long sentence.