Rex Lee Jim, a revered figure in the Navajo community known for his multifaceted contributions as a poet, medicine man, educator, and political leader, has passed away at the age of 63. His work in translating the essence of the Diné language into English has been pivotal.
The task of translating Diné poetry into English goes beyond mere linguistic conversion; it involves a deep understanding of cultural and conceptual nuances.
Rex Lee Jim, an esteemed storyteller, medicine man, and former Vice President of the Navajo Nation, has recently published a bilingual collection of poems. In a 2019 interview, he shed light on his approach to poetry translation:
REX LEE JIM: In Navajo, we really don’t distinguish poetry, plays, storytelling. And we have always been listening to stories most of our lives. As young kids, we listen to coyote stories, we listen to stories about our grandparents going down to the local store on horseback and who was there and what they were discussing. I’ve always listened to elders and the language they use. It’s very beautiful, very descriptive, articulate and authentic. It was just amazing, the vocabulary. They painted pictures with the language they used. And the way they did it, it was very alive, and it’s as though you were there watching them. So, that’s how I got interested in storytelling.
An example that illustrates the challenge of translation is his piece “Nááts’íílid Bee Na’ní’á, The Bridge of Rainbow.”
Sitting in the sandstone alcove.
Fire water firing us up,
We climbed up here on a narrow trail.
In front of us a river runs
Through a tunnel of red willows.
A swinging bridge stretches across.
Whiteman land is on this side,
Navajo land is on the other side.
We want to get back to the other side.
We might make it back to the other side.
If we hold hands together and hold on tightly.
If not then we will go beneath the river.
On the other side, in Navajo country,
I hear drumming of the giant’s heart.
Yíiyá
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Princeton Alumni News
In the Navajo language, the term yiits’a’, translates to “the one walking giant” in English. However, yiits’a’ can be broken down into yii, meaning “fear,” and ts’a’, meaning “big.” Thus, the original concept conveys “big fear,” which is not fully captured by the English translation as “the giant.” Navajos perceive “the big fear” as an internal presence rather than an external entity.
Another poem, “Hózhóójí T’iis, Tree of Peace,” further exemplifies the complexity of language and concept translation:
At the house made of thought
At the house made of action
Where the ponderosa trees meet the sky
Where varied plants take root in the earth
We plant a tree of peace
From here on
Think for seven generations,
Act for them,
We are told.
In this way, the hoop will become whole again,
They are told.
Rex Lee Jim emphasized that discussions on “language preservation” often focus on traditional practices like herding sheep and weaving. However, he advocated for expanding the Navajo language’s capacity to incorporate a broader range of experiences.
This segment originally aired on April 19, 2019, as part of the “Poetry Friday” series, produced by Gillian Ferris, former KNAU News Director.
Throughout his career, Rex Lee Jim served as a medicine man, teacher, author, diplomat and Navajo Nation vice president. He died Tuesday in Albuquerque at the age of 63.
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