Book 4 Lesson 9 ｜ cinon (Weaving) ｜ Tao (Yami) e-Learning

Book 4 Lesson 9 ｜ cinon (Weaving)

Introducing the traditional Tao (Yami) weaving process and the cultural meaning of woven clothing.

🔊 manoma pa o kapanokos so mahaso no mehakay, no ananaro rana am, mi da rana apen no mehakay a. First of all, the men sow mahaso, and when it grows up, the men harvest it.

🔊 kahai da jia, kapongpong da sia do kawalan a kalima araw. kasira da rana sia no mavakes. Then, they cut off the meat (leave the fibers) and hang it up to dry for five days. The women then take it and tear it into thin strings.

🔊 teyka da rana apoasen, senden da rana, kapahawa da sia, kavahawat da sia, kasadang da rana sia. After finishing the string they refine it, then they wrap it onto a H-shaped piece of bamboo to make the spindle. They would then also string the frame.

🔊 teyka da a nisadang, weywayin da, kacinon da rana so sang a pangayan so vahevahed na, teyka da rana cinonen am, akdengan da rana. After this preparation, you spread apart the strings evenly. Then you can begin weaving and making patterns. After finishing making the clothing, you hem the edges.

🔊 o kekjit am, ji da maspasi ori, am o talili aka no ayob am, mi da paspasan do keysakan, ta aro dang o makatokatotoing am, ori o paspasan da do dang, mamareng so kanen o nimaninon so talili. The finished skirts and pants don't need a ceremony of blessing, but the clothing for males and females (shawls) must be taken to the sea for cleansing, because the patterns may bring bad luck. After finishing the cloth, the weaver celebrates with a large feast.

🔊 no mian so ineynahahapan no mehakay am, mi namen rana isakorang ori a mavakes, o mehakay am, isakorang da o ayayob da. When our husbands have a good catch of fish, we women will take the woven clothing out and put it on, and the men will also take out their clothing and put it on.

🔊 no mian so man-gegen a keylian am, babaen ori, a isinmo so nipatoyon a zipozipos do teysa aka ili am; a no mangay isaray o hahakawan no zipozipos do teysa aka ili am, akma sang. If there is anyone in the village holding a boat or house completion ceremony, they will wear woven clothing to welcome relatives from other villages; and when going to other villages to attend relatives’ ceremonies, they also wear woven clothing.

🔊 a no nimalikey o kanakan a nimian do sanggi am, babaen namen ori; nimyapo nokakoa ori a toda vangovangon o kangay namen ombaba so iveyvovoka namen. If a new child is born, we also wear the woven clothing. This has been passed down from ancient times—whenever there is a joyful event, we bring out the finest woven clothing to wear.

Grammar ｜ cinon (Weaving)

(1) Discourse structure: describing production processes

Paragraphs 1–4 show a procedural “how-to narration” with frequent use of the adverb pa “first,” rana “already,” sentence-initial helper teyka “after / once finished,” and sequential nominalizations with ka- “and then.” pa and rana appear after the verb; short pronoun clitics like da precede them. teyka always appears at the beginning of a clause, linking to the next verb with a. ka- forms nominalized sequences used to strengthen descriptive flow. In paragraph 4, the perfective verb nisadang (“warp-beams completed / ready to weave”) closes the preparation stage.

1. manoma pa o kapanokos so mahaso no mehakay, no ananaro rana am, mi da rana apen no mehakay a.
First, men sow mahaso; when it grows, men still harvest it.

2. ka-hai da jia, ka-pongpong da sia do kawalan a kalima araw. ka-sira da rana sia no mavakes.
Then they remove the flesh, dry the fibers, then women tear them into finer strings.

3. teyka da rana apoasen, senden da rana, ka-pahawa da sia, ka-vahawat da sia, ka-sadang da rana sia.
After making thread, they refine, wind, ball, then warp the loom.

4. teyka da a ni-sadang, weywayin da, ka-cinon da rana so sang a pangayan so vahevahed na, teyka da rana cinonen am, akdengan da rana.
After the warp is completed, they spread the threads, begin weaving, add patterns, and hem the edges.

(2) Discourse structure: contexts for wearing woven clothing

Paragraphs 6–8 shift to situational listing, each introduced with no “when / if.” Many events begin with the existential construction mian so “there is… / when there is…” to introduce new settings.

6. no mian so ineynahahapan no mehakay am, mi namen rana isakorang ori a mavakes, o mehakay am, isakorang da o ayayob da.
When men have good catches, women put on the woven garments; the men do likewise.

7. no mian so man-gegen a keylian am, babaen ori, a isinmo so nipatoyon a zipozipos do teysa aka ili am; a no mangay isaray o hahakawan no zipozipos do teysa aka ili am, akma sang.
When the village hosts a completion ceremony, woven clothes are worn to welcome guests; likewise when attending ceremonies in other villages.

8. a no nimalikey o kanakan a ni-mian do sanggi am, babaen namen ori; nimyapo nokakoa ori a toda vangovangon o kangay namen ombaba so iveyvovoka namen.
When a newborn arrives, woven garments are worn. This custom has been handed down through generations.