28 Lāvā [Livorno, 1962]
Roasting the Lāvā
A
I.
kāhina kī torī culiyā kāhina lagalëu caukone
II.
kavane saharavā ke bhujäinī lāvā jo bhų̄jäi
III.
sonana ke torī culiyā rūpe lagalëu caukone
IV.
diliyā saharavā ke bhujäinī lāvā je bhų̄jäi
V.
5 kajarī bana lakaṛī komharā ghara ke khappaṛā
VI.
diliyā saharvā ke bhujäinī lāvā jo bhų̄jäi
[p. 78]
[Nieuw Nickerie, 1967]
Mixing the lāvā1
B
I.
mora lāvā tora lāvā ekai mę milāy deyo
e bhujäiniyā, e bhujäiniyā
II.
tora bahinī mora bhaiyā ekai mę sutāy deyo
III.
tore khete boyo maį borā
e bhujäiniyā, e bhujäiniyā
A
I.
Of what is your fire-pit (made) and of what are the four corner supports (which have been) fixed?2
III.
Your fire-pit is (made) of gold (and) the four corner supports are (made) of silver.
IV.
The bhujäinī who is roasting the lāvā is of the city (of) Delhi.
VI.
The bhujäinī who is roasting the lāvā is of the city of Delhi.
B
I.
Your lāvā and my lāvā - mix (them) in one, oh bhujäinī, oh bhujäinī!
II.
Your sister and my brother - make them sleep in one bed.
III.
I have sown the (seeds of) stringbeans in your field, oh bhujäinī, oh bhujäinī.
5After line IV, there may be two question lines analogous to the lines I and II, to which V and VI should be the anwer.
1The ladies take the roasted paddy to a friend's house; two heaps of lāvā are mixed together several times by two ladies who have a marital family relationship with each other, for example a nanad and a bhaujā̈ī. This represents the union of two families and, as the grain being mixed also represents fertility, it is an occasion for lascivious gālīs.
2Four corner pieces of iron placed under the roasting pot on the fire-pit.
3The wife of a man of bhaṛbhų̄jā caste or profession who usually roasts the grains.
4The paddy is soaked and then roasted; the roasted form, like popcorn, is called lāvā or lāvą̄ (S. lājā).
5Any thick forest where elephants roam.
6Khappaṛ, clay tiles used to cover the coals to adjust the heat.
