The K!ek Tbi K!oo, in English The Five Springs, is an influential Tsi work of verse-prose describing the world known to the Tsi and its mythical history. Comprising several thousand lines of verse, its composition spanned the reigns of three Tsi Emperors and elevated its author, N!ʰan Príd, to significant esteem and a comfortable position at the imperial court, much to the chagrin of his detractors, who ridiculed the bad poetic form and the excessively modernizing language used. The personal tastes of the Emperor Bdáát Tạŋ|ọ, a man of greater strength than sophistication, prevailed in the end, however, breaking with the existing norms and ushering in the era of what may be called modern written Tsi.
The work is composed in trochaic trimeter based on syllable weight, with the seventh and final syllable in each verse being neutral. A specialty of Tsi versification is that the trochees are relative -- the "short" syllable in each foot can be long as long as the "long" syllable has a greater weight.
The following lines, describing the Tsi creation myth, are from the very beginning of the work, composed during the late reign of Emperor Bdáát G|ʰaa, the father of Bdáát Tạŋ|ọ and brother of the intervening emperor Bdáát Njọ̀m.
Glory to the family of the Emperor Bdáát G|ʰaa Bdáát G|ʰaa Ngáád-rų qoo to-mbááŋ
In the twelfth year of his glorious reign battse baabʰelʰ dò bdʰá ʃaŋ
"He has worn the Bdha gloriously for twelve years." The Bdha is a ceremonial sash that is worn only by the Emperor and the highest-ranking officials of the tenfold crown. The number 12, as a compound of ten and two, agrees in noun class with dò.
I begin my investigation of the world and its parts báálʰ ŋa loŋ-hạạ btoŋ m!áá ptám
Lo! The sky wooed the sea Pság t!óó n|úúŋ bzá lę-ŋŋáá-gʰum
And she bore five brothers ʃò-tta-zųų tʰó sóŋŋa dʰò
The brothers grew to men and began to feel jealous ʃoo dʰò-rǫǫ kà ʃóó yàdʰ rų
And asked of their father and mother their birthright ptá-n' ŋa dzoo-n' lų pság ma-maaŋ
The sea and the sky gave to each a property n|úúŋ t!óó dááŋŋú dʰò-r' k|ʰagąą
The eldest, Gąą Dbé, in his property Gąą Dbé tbáálʰé dááŋŋú q!ʰąą
Made himself a hot land dʰạạ go báárʰ dzo hunnạ-r' lʰáá-ç
For he loved the sunshine naa ro ktááq yeŋąą lę-ptịị-ç
And he made from dust the first dog to be his companion bráád go dʰạạ-ç k!oo ɢááppʰ-ax ŋóódʰ
Lo! Sri Takʰ, the second Pság Sri Takʰ ro brellʰé tʰó
Loved the darkness, and upon his land kǂạ̀ạ̀mmọ ptịị go dááŋŋú q!ʰąą
Made himself a shady jungle dʰạạ-ni bʰọ́ọ́ qǀʰum ɢááppʰ-ax dʰą̀ą̀
And he made from mud the first leopard to be his companion quuŋ go dʰạạ-ç tʰạ ɢááppʰ-ax ŋóódʰ
The third, De Lu, cleverest of them all De Lu liiyé onta g|íí-ç
The translation here is quite free -- the verse, literally, is just "De Lu, the third, who was clever"
Who loved the fruits of both báárʰ kǃọt kǂạ̀ạ̀m kǃọt ptịị-ç go içç
Thus took his inheritance gondà oqqà dʰạạ-ç go içç
"go içç" is a very useful metrical filler, and the final relativiser carries little semantic information in this verse.
And made of it a land, fertile and temperate mussʰùù ax'bʰii ɢááppʰ-ax dʰą̀ą̀
And he made the first Tsi to be his companion Tsi 'ndà ɢááppʰ-ax ŋóódʰ nri g|íín
T|ąą Pʰò, the fourth, loved the wind and the cold T|ąą Pʰò bʰaaqé sʰị́ị́ç nǃòd ptịị-ç
So he raised his land to a great hight dááŋŋú q!ʰąą go dʰạạ-ç to-mbááŋ
But lo! Sri Takʰ and Gąą Dbé were jealous Pság Sri Takʰ ŋa Gąą Dbé tʰó
So they came upon him by night ʃóó yàdʰ tʃagʰ tʰó lę-ŋŋǃee go
And crushed T|ąą Pʰò’s skull with a stone T|ąą Pʰò-r' qa-ŋŋǃè cuu-hą-x dʰą̀ą̀
They took the land of T|ąą Pʰò dááŋŋú-r' T|ąą Pʰò gondà q!ʰąą
And having split it into pieces, Sri Takʰ devoured his corpse ɢǃònù-x Sri Takʰ cʰẹẹ ed qʰòlʰ
The verb form ed is historically a perfect, with the -d a suffix. In inscription Tsi the distinction is still maintained in some basic verbs, although in more modern literature the aspect forms are often chosen for metrical convenience rather than semantics.
Rą́ą́ Yop, the youngest, at his brothers’ quarreling Rą́ą́ Yop rwààbʰé fʰììrkǂę ro
Felt great sadness andà kdékk-eç mrạạ 'nnạ ro
Far away he fled, beyond the sea wuun 'ndà qǃóŋŋ-ox n|úúŋ bʰị-ç go
And he made nothing in his land oqqà-r' ạnni aŋŋ' hą lʰáá-qǃʰ
But embraced all the mourners gǂụ̀ụ̀ka fị́ị́ rų tʰiil ọxad
To share their sadness with him kdékmo gonn' dzo hunn' d|ʰa mbąą
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