Words of the True Peoples/Palabras de los Seres Verdaderos: Anthology of Contemporary Mexican Indigenous-Language Writers/Antología de Escritores Actuales en Lenguas Indígenas de México: Volume Two/Tomo Dos: Poetry/Poesía

Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez

Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez Ñähñu/ñähñu Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez. Photographed at Cuicuilco, Mexico City. Tseng 2005.6.14 08:08 7273 Montemayor / WORDS OF THE TRUE PEOPLE V2 / sheet 184 of 295 Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez, Ñähñu (Otomí) writer, was born in April 1968 in Temoaya, in the state of Mexico. Ro mähki hñä/La palabra sagrada (The Sacred Word) (Mexico City: INI/CNCA/DGCP, 1998) is his most recent book of poetry in Ñähñu and Spanish. He has been a grantee of the National Fund for Culture and the Arts (FONCA) and is a founding member of the National Association of Indigenous-Language Writers. In 2003 he served as rector of the Otomí University in Toluca, in the state of México; in the same year, he was awarded the Acolmiztli Nezahualcóyotl National Prize for Indigenous Literature awarded by the Cultural Institute of the State of Mexico. Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermudez, escritor ñähñu (otomí), nació en abril de 1968. Es originario del pueblo de Temoaya, Estado de México. Ro mähki hñä/La palabra sagrada (México, D.F.: INI/CNCA/DGCP, 1998) es su más reciente libro de poesía en ñähñu y español. Ha sido becario del Fondo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes y miembro fundador de la Asociación de Escritores en Lenguas Indígenas. En el 2003 fungía como rector de la Universidad Indígena Internacional en Toluca, Estado de México; en el mismo año recibió el Premio Nacional de Literatura Indígena ‘‘Acolmiztli Nezahualcóyotl,’’ otorgado por el Instituto Mexiquense de Cultura del Estado de México. 167 Tseng 2005.6.14 08:08 7273 Montemayor / WORDS OF THE TRUE PEOPLE V2 / sheet 185 of 295 168 words of the true peoples Nzöya xui Nzöya xui ’Ueni go thogi Nzöya xu’mi Di ne go t¯ eni mä ’ñu. Tsi ngande zänä Tsi ngande zänä Ra ’b¯ uhkua n¯ u mä tsi chala do’ I ne gi iniui I nets’¯ u gi nduxtha. Tseng 2005.6.14 08:08 7273 Montemayor / WORDS OF THE TRUE PEOPLE V2 / sheet 186 of 295 Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez 169 Sir Night Sir Night Let me by Sir Shadow I wish to continue on my way. Grandma Moon Grandma Moon Here before you is my precious stone It wants to play with you It wants you to carry it upon your back. Señor noche Señor noche Quítate para pasar Señor sombra Quiero seguir mi camino. Abuelita Luna Abuelita Luna Aquí está ante ti mi piedra preciosa Quiere jugar contigo Quiere que la cargues en tu espalda. Tseng 2005.6.14 08:08 7273 Montemayor / WORDS OF THE TRUE PEOPLE V2 / sheet 187 of 295 170 words of the true peoples Hin gi
b¯ uhs¯ eh¯ u Hin gi ’b¯ uhs¯ eh¯ u Hin gi ’yos¯ eh¯ u Hin gi ñäs¯ eh¯ u Hin gi ’uis¯ eh¯ u. K’ä ri tsi mfinih¯ u Mä mfinihe K’ä gi honih¯ u Di hongohe. Dio d¯ ethäh¯ u Gentho, na tsi thä Gentho k’ä mä ’y¯ uh¯ u Gentho k’ä mä, ñuh¯ u. Y¯ u tsi jä’ni bi du Mä tsi jä’nihe K’¯ u tuhnite bi du ’Nihi ndi nkuhe. K’¯ u ri gidöh¯ u Mä gidöhe K’ä ri ts’onih¯ u ’Nihi mä ts’onihe. K’ä ri hmafih¯ u Gentho mä hmafihe K’ä ri xöntheh¯ u ’Nihi mä xönthehe. K’ä ri jihu xi mföni Ro ji y¯ u di, b¯ uf¯ u födi Y¯ u di ne go p¯ onih¯ u Pa go nuh¯ u n¯ u ’ra’yo hyats’i. Tseng 2005.6.14 08:08 7273 Montemayor / WORDS OF THE TRUE PEOPLE V2 / sheet 188 of 295 Serafín Thaayrohyadi Bermúdez 171 You Are Not Alone You are not alone. You do not walk alone, you do not speak alone, you do not dream alone. Your respectable thoughts are our thoughts. What you seek, we seek as well. We are grains of corn from the same ear; we share the same root, we share the same path. The respected people who died are our people. The warriors who died were also...