Hello, sister!
Greetings! Where did you come from?
I have come visiting. What's up?
Things are OK.
How are things with you?
Things are good with us as well.
It's been a long time since you've come.
I haven't had time to come.
Where have you been? I thought we don't meet at work, and I don't come.
Where do you live?
What have you been doing nowadays?
During the day, I go to work.
I pass time like this sometimes at relatives' places.
And how are things with you?
Everything is good with me.
Tell me other things about you.
How are your uncles?
They're fine.
I don't see them either...
Our [people] are also good.
Recently, my brother's youngest daughter was ill.
She's fine now.
What was wrong?
The forest god gave her trouble...
We went to have him blown out [=ceremony where shaman blows away illness]
where did you go?
To Parbati's.
What did she say?
She said the forest god was playing with her spirit.
She did stuff, and now [the girl] is fine.
Who do you live with now?
Nowadays, Nabin, my younger sister, me, my older sister, my brother's daughter...
How are things in the village?
I hear things are OK in the village.
I spoke with Sane (the youngest son of Dilu's family, but older than Dilu) on the ceremony day...
They're apparently fine.
Mother and her relatives are well.
And down at uncle's everyone is fine as well.
We also spoke with Balani and she's fine.
Did you phone the village?
And what are you doing these days?
Well, what I do is go to work and come back...
Auntie said that they [Bala and others] went visiting.
Yes, we went.
How was it?
Very good.
So it was good...
Yes
It didn't even rain.
We visited at daytime, and it was nice all day.
It was nice.
Are you off today?
What will you do today?
I'm visiting for a minute...
Then I'll go home.
Today I need to go down to uncle Hari's.
It's been a while since I've been down there.
What are they up to?
They're sewing bags these days.
How are the children?
The children are fine.
It's been a month since I've been there...
Don't you live near there?
We only say it's close...
We don't manage to leave the house; after there are children at home we disappear into the house...
Last night I dreamt about Nabin and the others.
We were talking about you yesterday.
I met up with Maya.
I came [to your house]; I heard auntie had come from Dharan.
You met up yesterday?
You weren't there.
Can we go and come back in one day?
You came yesterday?
I did.
To our place?
What time?
At ten.
I was in a hurry.
What Maya there?
She was.
I didn't speak much and left.
Auntie wasn't inside the house.
We only spoke with Auntie for one second and then I left.
How far have you gotten in your studies? How's that?
No, my studies aren't finished.
How about your sister's?
What is she doing?
Her work is fine.
In the morning the two of them, with Nabin, go to work [=school] at 10.
They go at 9:15.
In the evening they come down together.
I dreamt of Nabin yesterday night.
[Her parents] married her in the house.
Her parents asked around for an unknown man and married them.
That man is not handsome.
And then I said "why did you marry her to a person like this?
In this period, we like each other and then get married" I said to her parents.
And Nabin didn't agree to get married.
I said: "She should get married with someone she herself likes".
The man was not handsome.
That was my dream.
Are you going to the village this year or not?
I probably won't go this year.
There aren't that many opportunities for going to the village.
You're not going at Dasai?
No, probably not.
And Nabin and the others are not going?
None of us are going.
What are you doing here?
We've got to stay here.
The two [Nabin and Kaili] don't have any holiday.
They don't have much holiday, there are two of them.
For myself as well it will be difficult to go.
One person was supposed to go, for our project [documenting Thulung culture].
How is it that I can find time to go to the village?
When do we have until for our book?
Must it be ready by Dasai?
By September/October we need to write the whole thing, then later...
Then we must send the book.
We have to do the typing.
It's a lot.
Until then, whatever you know about our culture, write it.
There's the sysy, the nagi, what they call and do as our [culture], the sase...
What worships do you perform in your house?
At our place, we do Kholom in front of the house.
If you know about that, write it down.
Ask.
When you talk to sisters or anyone about cultural ceremonies, write down what they say.
Parbati told me to write about when we enter the house and perform Puja.
But I don't know that.
In our house, one thing we have to do is Kholom.
The reason we do Kholom is that we had red rice [planted].
Until we perform Kholom, we can't eat that rice.
Do you know how to perform Kholom?
For Kholom, they make special beer.
To prepare special beer, the house is entirely cleaned and then the special beer is cooked.
That beer is kept separate.
The shaman is called, and he sprinkles the beer.
After that rice is friend, it is distributed as offerings.
They sprinkle it in the hearth, they offer it to god.
Then the ceremony is done.
Do you have to kill a chicken or pig, or not?
We don't.
Then we do the ceremony for the red rice, and we need beer.
Then there's what's called Tulem.
Only after we do the ceremony can we we eat the new corn.
They call that Tulem.
How do they do it?
To do Tulem, after cooking special beer, the old people sprinkle it.
Any old person from the village sprinkles it.
It's not someone from the house.
We bring them from outside, and only after they sprinkle the Tulem can we eat the corn.
If we eat new corn without having sprinkled it first, then small pock-like wounds appear.
We get very painful wounds.
For the new rice as well, on a certain date, we go up to GhumnePani to perform the ceremony.
We can't eat rice from up in Darmali or Chanaunte until we perform this ceremony.
Only after performing the ceremony on a certain date has Phuke happened [allowing us to then eat the rice].
If that were the case, you'd do a lot of whatever.
Yes, we worship a lot.
Write it! All these things that come to you like this write down and give to me.
I'm sure you're in a hurry too.
OK, I am leaving now, let's meet later, one of these days.
I haven't given you anything to eat or drink...
I am also in a hurry.
Come again, OK?
OK, come later, and come to stay.
OK, go!
Stay well, sister.
I'm leaving.