Bad luck

I haven’t posted any stories in the Bokkos variety of Ron for a while. Here is one told by Pastor Joseph Nggyak in 1998. Sorry, I haven’t got a translation. If any of the Bokkos people would like to add one, just send a comment.

Halnyat kwaal ma ɗing i shangi

Ai maɗufal niin yis ti tutwyai hu shikyan ta wur. Unai maɗufal i ɓyat ɓa ɗeng u yes u dangus ɓa u fas mal i kobo andek kwa. Unai mwen niin lang ya ta ɗom hon ahom ames a wuri. Unai shiken ti lang ta ɗom ti ti’ hai ta lung, hai nggwes ta lung. Unai shikeni ti lang ti lungi ya ta sang kel. Ɗufali yes ɗing shikeni ti lung ta hai, maasi ɓa u ha’ lungi ya ta hai i shikeni. Lungi lang ya kwa. Unai lak ta mulut, ni ɓin ɗat, ɓa i wa i lai som lef ti lo, ɓa si yes, si lef shikeni ya, ɓi i wisi i ha’ hai i shikeni ya ta lung, ka ndok lungi ti ɓak. Unai wa lai som lef ti lo, si yes, si lef shikeni ya. Maasi ɓa u ha’ hai i shikeni ya; hai lang kwa. Maasi wet, unai ha’ lungi ɓak ya, hai i shikeni lang ya. Unai mbe’ wet, ni, “Maaɗing i shangi, i lef shiken asun ya kwa.” Fot kel apil: ma ti shiken kwa, ma ti lung kwa. Unai ta te’i maɗufali shingat. Ɗama mi i shangi nai.

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The bush animals talk about the power of man

I haven’t posted anything in the Bokkos (“Alis i Run”) variety of Ron for a while. So here is another animal tale written by Rev. Benjamin Matawal. Sorry, I haven’t got a translation. I hope one of your friends  from Bokkos can translate it for you.

The basket burial treaty

Mr. Mafulul Lek (right) and Mr. Sati Mangut, in front of the Ron Cultural Institute (© Uwe Seibert, 2004)

Here is another war story written down by Mafulul Lek, a former journalist from Daffo. It describes a trick used by the Daffo people in a war against their eastern neighbors, the Bokkos and Butura people. In the end, the Eastern Ron people called the British for help, who defeated the Daffo people with their cannon.

Modern Ron music

In recent times, young Ron language speakers have started producing modern pop music using Ron language texts. Two tapes were produced by Mark Julson around 1995, one in Butura dialect (“Hu yes ca palang sis”) and one in Bokkos dialect (“Yehun ka palangus”). Another tape containing pop music with Ron language texts (“Fut hai”) was produced by Samuel Tee Mangut around 2000.

The latest production of pop music using Ron language (Butura dialect) is a song in hiphop style (“Ca fut hai la”) by Masarah Kim Usman:

The Christmas story in Ron (Bokkos dialect)

Christmas is close at hand. The following translation of the Christmas story in the Bokkos dialect of Ron was done by Rev. Benjamin Matawal during a translators workshop in Jos in 1998. Since then, Ben has been working with the Nigerian Bible Society  for many years and also helping to translate God’s word into the Ron language. Merry Christmas all!

Why we have house rats and bush rats

Image via Wikipedia

I have collected a number of animal tales which are also etiological tales, i.e. which explain why certain things are the way they are. Here is one form Bokkos told by Rev. Benjamin Matawal. It explains why we have house rats and bush rats.

How tortoise and goat stopped being friends

Image via Wikipedia

Here is another short  animal tale dealing with the tortoise in the Bokkos variety of Ron. It was written by Pastor Joseph M. Nggyak in 1998 during a workshop at Nigeria Bible Translation Trust (NBTT) in Jos. Usually, the tortoise is wiser than the other animals. In this story, the goat shows that it can be smart, too.