Yaqui Deer Song

Don Jesús Yoilo'i

Ka ne huni                into ne inia aniat                                ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni                into ne inia aniat                                ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni                into ne inia aniat                                ne na ne welamsisimneKia ne ka ne huni                into ne inia aniat                                ne na ne welamsisimneAyaman ne                seyewailo saniloata fayalikun                                weyekaiKia ne yevuku yolemta wikoli                ne yo yumatakaiYevuku yolemta vaka hiuwai                ne yo yumatakaiKa ne huni                into ne inia aniat                                ne na ne welamsisimneNever again I,                will I on this world,                                I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I,                will I on this world,                                I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I,                will I on this world,                                I, around will I be walking.Just I, never again I,                will I on this world,                                I, around will I be walking.Over there, I,                in an opening in the flowered-covered grove,                                as I am walking.Just I, Yevuku Yoleme’s bow                overpowered me in an enchanted way.Yevuku Yoleme’s bamboo arrow                overpowered me in an enchanted way.Never again I,                will I on this world,                                I, around will I be walking.                                                                                            Don Jesús Yoilo’i                                                                                            Yoem Pueblo                                                                                            May 9, 1981

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Don Jesús Yoilo’i (1904-1982), was born in Potám, a small Yaqui village outside Sonora, Mexico. He fought in the Yaqui Battalion during the Mexican Revolution; afterward, he worked in Arizona and Texas on railroads and in cotton fields. Around 1920 Yoilo’i returned home and collaborated with the elder deer singers in the Rio Yaqui area; he later mentored others in the way of the deer songs and pahko arts.

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