B12 Nipuxta

Victor Orshan of Zumallan in Los Angeles, California

mədrə gu-māt-Zumallan ʾətva ⁺ʾalma k̭at-ʾə́tvalə carmanə. cut-⁺ʾalma ʾə́tvalə xa taxta, ya-tré taxtə, ya-xá tanap carmanə. ʾita b-⁺danət ⁺k̭eṱa ⁺ʾalma c-azəlva carmanə ⁺ʾanvə ci-⁺jammívalun. ʾannə ⁺ʾanvə ci-pešiva ⁺jummiyyə b-⁺k̭ərṱalə. ci-mayyívalun ⁺ʾal-⁺xasé. gu-bətvatə cut beta c-oya tanuyə ʾə́tvalə xa-čaraz. ʾannə ⁺ʾanvə gari garšívalun b-⁺xasé mən carma hal gu-čaraz. gu-čaraz ʾannə ⁺ʾanvə ci … ⁺marč̭ívalun k̭at-miyyé ⁺palṱilun. ⁺bar ⁺mrač̭ta ʾannə ⁺ʾanvə, ʾannə miyyət … ⁺ʾanvə ci-darívalun gu-xacma … ⁺taǧarət ci-⁺k̭araxlun ʾannə ⁺taǧarə c-aviva ⁺k̭irə ⁺ʾarra mutté gu-⁺ʾarra hal palgé. ⁺bar ʾannə miyyət ⁺ʾanvə ci-darívalun gu-⁺taǧarə ʾətva xa … mən ʾupra, c-aziva mən-xacma ⁺rumyatə tamməz, ci-mačxívalə, b-šəmmət ⁺xorana. ci-mayyívalə xač̭č̭a mənné ci-⁺xoṱívalun gu-dannə miyyət ⁺ʾanvə. b-lelə ⁺ʾorava ⁺ʾal-móriša ʾe-⁺dān ʾativa ʾannə miyyət ⁺ʾanvə k̭at c-aviva xviṱə ʾax miyya ⁺ṱinanə k̭a-móriša c-aviva ʾax꞊ət-ʾamri ⁺səpyə ʾax-ziga. ʾita mən-dannə miyyət ⁺ʾanvə ⁺səpyə ci-šak̭liva xač̭č̭a ci-darívalun gu-⁺tiyan. xač̭č̭a ⁺xvarət bita ci-⁺ṱarpiva ci-maxiva gavé. ʾa ⁺tiyan ci-mattívala ⁺ʾal-⁺ʾojaxta. ʾojaxta b-šənnə k̭ámayə, ʾax bətxarən, k̭esə ci-mattiva ⁺ʾallo. ʾina šənnə ⁺xárayə k̭at ⁺ʾalma ʾə́tvalə zuyzə c-⁺amsiva zoniva ⁺nuyṱa. b-⁺nuyṱa buš-zoda ⁺ʾojaxyatə zúrzəva. har-ʾó-⁺šula c-odívalə, ʾina buš hasanáy, buš tamməz. ʾa … miyyət ⁺ʾanvə ci-⁺mardəxxívalun xa-palgət ⁺saʾat, balcət ʾarp̂i xamšá dak̭ik̭ə, clítəla ⁺ʾal-⁺guruytət ⁺tiyan. ⁺xarta ʾannə ci-⁺palṱava nipuxta. ʾa nipuxta c-aviva rango cuma. ci-⁺jammívala gu-k̭adalə. b-yumanə gari ʾaviva ʾa nipuxta k̭esa ci-mattiva gavo, ci-⁺ṱarpívala. b-⁺ṱraptət nipuxta rango mən-rangət cuma ci-⁺xavərva c-aviva ⁺xvara. ʾita ci-k̭ašyava c-oyava tak̭riban ʾax ⁺carra, ʾina rango xač̭č̭a smuk̭naya. cul betuyta, c-oya tanuyə, ʾa-⁺šula … c-odívalə, bašaltət nipuxta. b-⁺k̭eṱa ʾa ⁺šula c-odívalə k̭at k̭a-cullə mətxət sətva ʾannə ʾavilun nipuxta. ʾu-hajat ⁺buk̭ara bitáyələ ⁺ʾal-šəmmət nipuxta. ʾaxnan xa-šə́mmələ har-⁺šə́myuvax ʾina lēx ⁺raba ⁺suxsiyyə ⁺ʾallu mut-⁺manáy ʾətlə. b-xá-tahar bitáyələ b-⁺xabrət na-poxté. ⁺yanə balcət xa … ⁺farsaya … ʾáviva xəzyə mírəna mu vádətun? mírəna bašuləx xə́zyələ xá-məndi balcət mírələ ʾaha na-poxte-la ⁺yanə lela bšəlta. ʾa ⁺xabra b-mətxət šənnə ⁺xdírələ šk̭ílələ šəmmət nipuxta. xá-sama xina꞊da ⁺ʾalma ʾəttən k̭at-ci-tani mən-gibət nipuxta meye poxté săbab me b-líšanət ⁺farsət har-mədrə ⁺manayət ⁺xamra yávəla. har-nipuxta꞊zə mən-miyyət ⁺ʾanvə pyášəla šk̭əlta, ʾalbatta la ⁺xdira ⁺ʾal-xamra, mírəna meye poxté. mədrə har-b-mətxət šənnə ʾa ⁺xabra ⁺xdírələ víyyələ nipuxta ʾax꞊ət ⁺bəddayəx k̭at-ʾudyu. ʾan ⁺ʾadattə, c-oya tanuyə, gu-matvatət ʾUrmi c-odívalun k̭a-bašaltət nipuxta ʾudyu yuma꞊zə laxxa gu-América gu-mditət Turlock, hatta laxxa gu-mditət Los-Ángeles ʾaxnan ganan꞊zə mədrə ʾo-⁺šula c-odaxlə. ⁺yanə c-azax ci-zonax ⁺ʾanvə ci-⁺marč̭axlun ci-bašlaxlun har-b-dé səstimət gu-mata c-odáxvala. ʾá-⁺šula laxxa꞊zə c-odaxlə ʾita ʾaha꞊zə xa mən-⁺ʾadattət bne-ʾÚrmila k̭at-gu-mətxət šənnə vídona ʾudyu yuma꞊zə ⁺nṱírona.

Again in the village of Zumallan there were people who had orchards. Each family had a plot or two plots or a tanap of orchards. Now, in the summer the people used to go to the orchards and gather grapes. These grapes used to be gathered in pannier-baskets. They used to bring them on their backs to the houses. One may say that each family used to have a wine-press. They had to carry these grapes on their backs from the vineyard up to the winepress. In the wine-press they used to crush the grapes in order to extract their juice. After crushing the grapes—they used to pour the juice of the grapes into what we used to call ‘bins.’ These bins—they used to have dug up the ground and placed them in the ground up to their middle. After they poured the grape juice into the bins, there was (a kind of) soil, they used to go to some clean hills and find it, (it is known) by the name of ⁺xorana. They used to bring it and mix a little of it with the grape juice. At night and as morning broke, when they came, the grape juices, which were mixed like muddy water, by the morning were, as they say, clear as a bell. Then from this pure grape juice they used to take a little and pour it into a cauldron. They used to beat a little egg-white and throw it in it. They used to place this cauldron on the hearth. In the early years, according to what I remember, they used to put wood on the hearth, but in recent years, because the people had money and could purchase oil, they had mostly made oil hearths. They used to perform the same task, but more easily and cleanly. They used to boil the grape juice for half an hour, or perhaps forty-five minutes, depending on the size of the cauldron. Then the juice would come out as grape molasses. The colour of the molasses was black. They used to collect it in pots. For days they had to place a stick in this molasses. They used to beat it. Through the beating of the molasses its colour used to change from the colour black and it used to become white. Then it thickened and became almost like butter, but its colour was slightly reddish. One may say that every family used to do this thing, the cooking of molasses. They used to do this thing in summer so that they would have molasses for the entire period of winter. The topic, the question arises regarding the (origin of the) name nipuxta (‘molasses’). We have always heard it as being a single name, but we have not researched it much as to what its meaning is. Among one group (of people) it originates in the (Persian) word na-poxte. That is maybe a Persian had seen and said ‘What are you doing?’ Then they said ‘We are cooking,’ he saw something and perhaps said ‘This is na-poxte, that is ‘it is not cooked.’ This word, in the course of the years, changed and assumed the form nipuxta. There is another group of people who instead of nipuxta say meye poxte, because me in Persian has the meaning of wine. Molasses too is produced from grape juice, but of course it has not turned into wine. Thus they said méye napoxte (‘uncooked wine’) and again with the passage of the years this word has turned into nipuxta, as we know it today. They used to practice these traditions, one may say, in the villages of Urmi for cooking molasses. Until now too, we still practice this tradition here in America, in the city of Turlock, even here in the city of Los Angeles. That is we go and buy grapes, we crush them and cook them, just like the system that we used to practice in the village. We practice it here too. So this too is one of the traditions of the Urmi people that they have practiced for a long period of time and they have preserved it to this very day.