Posts Tagged ‘Inuit’

Lullabys

Posted by Victor on .

Mizhakwan shows Defender Zik what she’s been up to in the cavern. Sitting in front of the thickest part of the crystals, she sings an Inuit lullaby. As she sings, a new crystal emerges from the mass and begins to grow towards her.  An amazed Zik watches as it grows and glows in response to her song.

Once it is close enough to be uncomfortable, Mizhakwan ceases her song, giving it a playful tap. She explains that she’s managed to teach the crystal to avoid getting too close with this Pavlovian strategy of feeding it only until it has grown large enough.

Suddenly, their experiments are interrupted by a deep, overpowering sound broadcast into their helmets. All the crystals in the cavern begin pointing somewhere outside. What’s happening?!

DEFENDER ZIK LORE BREAK!

Mizhakwan speaks several languages, including a couple of Inuit languages. She’s singing a lullaby that also teaches the names of the fingers. Here’s the full song, with each line translated into English:

Kullu kullu kullu kullu naaniippi? (Thumb, thumb, thumb, thumb, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)

Tiikiq tiikiq tiikiq tiikiq naaniippi? (Index finger, index finger, index finger, index finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)

Qitirsiiq qitirsiiq naaniippi? (Middle finger, middle finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)

Miikiliraq miikiliraq naaniippi? (Ring finger, ring finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)

Iiqiquq iiqiquq naaniippi? (Pinky finger, pinky finger, where are you?)
Maanippunga maanippunga qaanuippilii? (Here I am! Here I am! How are you?)

Qaanuippisi? (How are all of you?)