speaking in tongues
What do you do when you’re reading a book and the author uses a word or phrase from a language you don’t know? Do you skip it and keep going, relying on context to figure it out? Or do you flip to the back of the book in search of a glossary? I’ve done a lot of writing this weekend, and one short passage includes two Haitian characters speaking Creole:
Peter looks at me now, daring me to tell his uncle the same bizarre story I have told him. “Judah is…gone. And I need to find a way to get him back. To get back to him, I mean.”
Dr. Celestin frowns and looks confused. “I’m sorry, Genna, but I don’t see how I can help you. I am a chiropractor.” He points to the dangling skeleton near his desk and my face flushes with shame. Is this some kind of joke? The doctor and I turn to Peter. Dr. Celestin’s voice becomes hard. “Sa fè ou di l?”
Now Peter looks at the floor. Dr. Celestin continues. “Li pa yonn nan nou.”
“Mwen konnen, men…li diferan,” Peter says. “She’s different.”
Dr. Celestin looks at me, his eyes searching my face for the difference his nephew claims to see. I self-consciously reach for the scratches that hold his gaze. “I had an accident,” I explain. He makes a strange sideways nod and I rush on to fill the uncomfortable space that has opened between us. “I’m here because Peter said you might be able to help me. I know this will sound crazy, but last summer I—I went back in time. And Judah did, too. Then I came back and left Judah behind—I didn’t mean to, but that’s what happened. And now I’m trying to get back to him. I need to be there, not here.”
Peter’s uncle stares at me without blinking or saying a word. With his eyes still fixed on my face he asks Peter, “Ou kwè l?”
Peter sighs, then runs his hand over his face as if to wipe away his own doubts. “They both went missing in June. Now she’s back and he’s not.”
Right now I’m thinking there will be footnotes on this page of the book so the reader can easily glance down and read the English translation: What have you told her? She isn’t one of us. I know, but she’s different. And later on, You believe her? For now I’m using Bing Translator, which I don’t really trust but I don’t want to approach my Haitian friends until I’ve got something solid to present. This chapter’s quite long, but it isn’t fully connected yet. Peter’s uncle is a houngan, a Vodou priest, and Genna hopes he can help her open a portal that leads to the past. I’m reading Maya Deren’s Divine Horsemen: The Living Gods of Haiti, but Genna’s got a totally different reading list—if she went to the library looking for books on magic, she’d likely check out The Book of Vodou: charms and rituals to empower your life, and Doktor Snake’s Voodoo Spellbook: spells, curses, and folk magic for all your needs. Apparently the latter comes with your very own “voodoo doll.” My point is not to delve into the sacred rituals of any religion, but to show Genna grasping at whatever “magic” she can find in the city. Ultimately, Dr. Celestin turns her away, but Peter has another idea…
That’s where I wrapped up last night; had a headache, tried to sleep it off, but wound up taking half an imitrex early this morning. Good call. Now I’ve got the rest of the day to write! It’s carnival here in Brooklyn, and I would love to hear some steel drums but can’t brave the crowds on Eastern Parkway…
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